Let me tell you a story, a story of how I came to find the best croissants in Melbourne. It all started in a galaxy far, far away, known as the Melbourne CBD, (I work and live in the ‘burbs). One fashionable, funny and famous coffee addict called I-Hua frequently visits Patricia Coffee Brewers for her daily caffeine fix. The non-cake eating I-Hua would usually just have her coffee, but she noticed these pastries (which aren’t cake as she doesn’t eat cake so let’s get that clear), especially the pain au chocolat from Lune Croissanterie. She tried one, and loved it. From that point on, she tried numerous other things, so much so that she became friends with the genius behind the pastries, Kate.
Fast forward a few months and I-Hua, Aaron, Daisy, Ricky, Bryan, Kate and myself were going to dinner. By chance, I was sitting next to Kate and we talked about pastries and cakes. I asked her about some pastry I had in Paris that was like puff pastry but with a sugary outside. She told me it might be a Kouign Amann, a pastry that originated from a region in France. Then I asked if that’s what the Dominique Ansel pastry I had in New York was, and she confirmed that was the case. I had absolutely loved those two pastries and the most amazing part of this story is that Kate was starting to make them. OMG. SHUT THE GATE. GET OUTTA HERE. I was beyond excited.
A special meeting was setup and Daisy and I drove to Kate’s shop to pick up this Kouign Amann, amongst other pastries. The Kouign Amann is mind blowingly awesome. The taste is so simple yet so perfect and just lingers on your tongue like a soft autumn breeze on your face…*licks lips*. Ok that’s what Nigella would have said. I’ll be a bit less poetic and say that the sugar on the outside works so well with the buttery pastry to give the most wonderful simple flavour. There are a number of textures too, from the sugar crunch, to the pastry crunch and the soft interior of the pastry.
Besides the Kouign Amann, Kate also makes plain croissants, almond croissants, pain au chocolat, cruffins (a croissant muffin) and special flavours of things such as pistachio croissants or anything else she feels like making. I’ve had the pleasure of eating all of her pastries. The plain croissants are beautiful, the best I’ve tried in Melbourne. They’re flaky, crunchy, soft, and buttery. Everything you want in a croissant.
And the cruffin. What a stroke of genius. It’s croissant pastry cooked in a muffin tin. It’s not just a gimmick as this method of cooking gives it different textures and flavours as different parts crisp up. Kate fills the cruffins with a variety of flavours, with jam donut, Nutella four ways, lemon curd and raspberry and peanut butter and jam some of the flavours she’s done so far. I’ve tried two flavours and they’re excellent.
When I first met Kate she was selling her pastries through other vendors, but now she has her own shop, so you can pop down and buy some directly from her and have a chat. At the moment, Lune Croissanterie is open on weekends only, but check out the website and Twitter for regular updates.
I urge you to get yourself to the shop and buy everything as the croissants are so good, especially that Kouign Amann.
Read more blog posts and reviews by I Eat Therefore I Am:Â http://ieatthereforeiam.blogspot.com.au/
LUNE CROISSANTERIE
CUISINE: Croissants, Coffee, French
ADDRESS: 29 Scott Street, Elwood. PH: 9077 6463
HOURS: Saturday and Sunday Only. From 8am until sold out
WEBSITE: www.lunecroissanterie.com
TWITTER: @LuneCroissant