Melbourne’s answer to Adriano Zumbo?

I’ve not been to Zumbo in Sydney… YET. But I’ve seen enough to think when Zumbo finally opens in Melbourne he may just have a bit of competition.

Lux Bite is a cute little cafe with gorgeous looking desserts with quirky names. The staff are extremely friendly, and their enthusiasm for doing what they love is contagious.

Walking in my eyes lit up, I felt like I was in the cosmetic department; but behold, it was better!

So I’ve actually returned two more times since I started drafting this post, so it’s going to be epic and full of food porn so it may just have you craving something sweet by the end of it. And my excessive tweeting of photos and how awesome things are from Lux Bite I know has sent a few of you down there; making that trip into South Yarra from the suburbs! Glad I could help spread the love!

Round 1

It was my birthday! Kat (spat), Kat and I went wondered down from Mopho for something sweet, and as I had been tweeting I was going there, everyone wished me a happy birthday!

Kat ordered a latte – oh so pretty ❤

Kat (spat) and I ordered tea. I felt like I was having tea for the first time, it was so exciting having tea served like this! My first thought was “OMG it’s Pikmin tea” … for those video gamers out there, you’ll know what I mean. Look at Kat and that fine tea pouring action….

It wasn’t until Kat went to Leo’s after and found the tea and teapots she informed us she realised the tea bag is meant to go in the tea pot… since the tea pot has a little hole for the leaf on a string to stick out of…. *massive face palm*

The star dish by far was the hot cross bun pudding, we couldn’t get enough of it! Shame it’s only seasonal. I totally love the chocolate slice as well; gorgeous rich and decadent. The mega macaron with mascarpone and fruit was a nice refreshing dish to help compliment the lovely richness of the other two.

Let me tell you, they were both AMAZING!! The naughty nutty slice may look super sweet, but the lovely combination of nuts helps to break it down and fills your senses will a delicious nutty combination.

“Tastes almost like the golden ball” had me totally stumped. What golden ball? Was it a Willy Wonka reference? I was clearly having a blonde moment and worn out from birthday excitement….only when I tasted it did I realise they meant one of my favourite chocolates… Ferrero Rocher…send face palm of the day. It even had a hazelnut in the middle, JUST like a Ferrero! Loved it, loved it, loved it!

So here’s what I thought of the macarons. Of course I had to get one of each. You know me, all in the name of research 😉 Be aware, I have invented some words to help me describe what I thought. Spelling police; look away.

Kaya Toast – you definitely get the toast taste; transports me back to the breakfast table eating kaya on toast! It’s almost like breakfast in a macaron (and I did have this for breakfast). The butter in the middle was a nice surprise.
Rose & Lychee – lovely rose taste, not overpowering – just right. The lychee was the perfect flavour match combined with the rose.
Salted Caramel – for me, it was the perfect amount of saltiness, which matched well with the deep caramel flavour.
Chocolate Freckle – reminded me of a delicious chocolate cake. The freckles (hundreds and thousands) were a great texture addition to the fudgey chocolate cakeness.
Kaffir Lime – the flavour is spot onto what it says it is. Whilst eating it all I could imagine was mum’s tree in the backyard. Whether I would order it again? For me, probably not, I’m not huge on eating kaffir lime trees. Still maybe I would, it was full of zing!
Passionfruit – More true to the passionfruit flavour than Lindt’s version. The black sesame seeds provide a great passionfruit seed simulation.
Choc Cherry – Chocolate cakey like the chocolate freckle, with a surprise cherry in the middle.
Toby’s Mocha – Loved this one even though I’m not a coffee drinker. It was mellow, with the perfect amount of coffee aroma.
Heilala Vanilla Crème Brulee – LOVED the sugar coating on the macaron shell; provided great texture and very relevant to creme brulee. My notes tell me it was “gorgeous!” and I “loved it!”
White Peach & Jasmine – I thought this sounded the nicest of all the flavours, but for me I didn’t really get a peachy or jasmine-y taste at all. If there was, it was very subtle, and all I could really taste was the almond meal of the macaron itself.
O-o-oreo – subtle but obvious Oreo cookie flavour.
Strawberry Cream – a good strawberry flavour which pairs well with the cream flavour/texture. I couldn’t work out if the strawberry flavour was a bit ‘jammy’.
Sicillian Pistachio – the first pistachio macaron that I could actually taste the pistachio flavour! It was still subtle but more prominent that Lindt’s pistachio flavour.
Peanut Butter & Jelly – smelt amazing. Gorgeously peanut buttery (the nutty variety) and even sticks to the roof of your mouth!! Amazing. Pockets of salt help it come alive. My notes have a big <3 next to this one.
Raspberry & White Chocolate – the raspberry flavour comes through towards the end, and it’s packed full of raspberry-ness. Delicious!
Watermelon Yoghurt – Great, refreshing watermelon taste. This one did go a little soggy after a day or two.
Round 2

I was carpooling with Thanh and he exclaimed we would be going past Lux Bite… eventually we agreed we would go in for a look…. which of course turns into a “oh.. one of this, one of that … oh and you better throw in one of thoooooose!”

I came home with four macarons, a jam donut and an apple iTart.

I don’t even LIKE jam donuts all that much. For me I can take them or leave them. I’d rather a plain ol’ cinnamon any day. But with house made jam, and donut… how could I resist…and man am I so glad I didn’t. YOU must try one of these. DO IT!

The apple iTart… quirky name even has the apple symbol on the description card. Served warm with vanilla mascarpone, it so amazing. It’s all you would ever want, and I think there is even a wee bit of chocolate in the inner crust. Lovely and cinnamony, the fruit is cooked perfectly and the flavours are very well balanced.

Round 3

After a day of Chap-laps with my bestie, we needed some afternoon tea. Nothing too sweet as I’m dealing with a diabetic now, I don’t want to kill her!

We enjoy a cuppa tea each, a macaron each and an apple iTart. I let her choose which dessert to share, although I could have easily eaten them all and rolled out the door.

This is having tea the right way! Tea bag IN the tea pot! Huzzah!

Miss A LOVED the apple iTart, she had to push the plate away and in my direction so she would stop eating it! Bless.

Left home with more takeaway… macarons for mothers day… and this gorgeous caramel slice. (Photos taken in the light box! So pleased with the results).

How is this not perfection? Look at those macaron feet, chocolate, caramel.. crumbly base… slender figure… makes you go weak at the knees 😛

So I always seem to walk out of there with one of these:

So, as you can tell… it’s pretty much my new favourite place. For sweets anyway! I plan on going back many times, and I would love to try some of their breakfasts and light lunches… with sweets to take home! The dessert cabinet rotates it’s delights, so it’s always a good excuse to go back again, and again… and again! And with such a lovely, bright atmosphere, it’s just such a lovely place to relax in.

Head on down and say hi to the crew, and tell them I sent you 😛 I’ve already encouraged enough people to leave the house… I hope I’ve convinced the rest of you to now 😛