Iron Chef Shellie
 

Lux Bite

New kid in town, serving up some serious sweets!

Travel & Dining

Lux Bite
May 9, 2011
Dining

Let's Be Friends

Subscribe to my newsletter to stay in touch and be first in line for new recipes and regular subscriber-only treats.

Click to Subscribe

Lux Bite

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 πŸ˜‰ 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 CrΓ¨me 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 πŸ˜›

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 πŸ˜› I’ve already encouraged enough people to leave the house… I hope I’ve convinced the rest of you to now πŸ˜›

Comments

24 comments on “Lux Bite
  1. Briony

    Wow what a post! I love all of it – and your photos in the light box look brilliant. I will have to avoid this place when we visit Melbourne (until the wedding, after that I can’t make any promises!!)

    Bri – http://www.theglasgowfoodblog.blogspot.com

    May 9, 2011 at 10:48 pm
  2. Martyna@WholesomeCook

    Oh my! I absolutely adore the little Luxe Bite cards branding each of the desserts! Stupid question: are they edible? It would be so cool if they were!!! And the huge range of macarons reminds me of the fancy macaron stores in Hong Kong (of all places)! So pretty, no wonder you leave with a giant bag each time!

    May 9, 2011 at 10:58 pm
  3. Heidi - Apples Under My Bed

    Gasp….Michele this post is incredibly fabulous! So much goodness to try! Must get there soon. Maybe a post exam celebration with Ben! I love the sound of all the macarons – the First Love, Sicillian Pistachio and PPB&J in particular. & the jam dounut too! Yum yum yum to the max.
    Heidi xo

    May 10, 2011 at 7:25 am
  4. Zina @ tastedbytwo

    Yum, what an amazing place! Love the tea bags, wonder if we can get them in Sydney?

    May 10, 2011 at 9:53 am
  5. Leah

    Oh goodness, this is not helping my dieting resolve. YUM! I (strangely for a sweet-tooth) don’t actually like macarons but everything else looks amazing. I may even be tempted to try the chocolate freckle one. So good. Well, looks it anyway πŸ™‚

    May 10, 2011 at 11:09 am
  6. FOOD

    Ahh.. Luxbite!!

    Tried the macarons, 8 flavours out of 16. Love the Kaya toast. rose and lychee, and passionfruit!

    And the Supersized Love and Naughty Nutty Slice will definitely make my day! =)

    May 10, 2011 at 1:03 pm
  7. Chanel

    Epic post indeed! That is the best-looking caramel slice I’ve ever seen! My colleague is going to Melbourne next weekend. I’m going to let her know about this place – yum.

    May 10, 2011 at 1:23 pm
  8. Michelle

    I want to go there too!

    May 10, 2011 at 2:22 pm
  9. Agnes

    Hah, the tea bag / tea pot story made me laugh! (Though I’m very sure I would’ve done the exact same thing.)

    May 10, 2011 at 3:03 pm
  10. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

    Aww I really wish I had time to visit Lux Bite the last time I visited Melbourne. I’ve heard so much about their macarons!

    May 10, 2011 at 5:54 pm
  11. Mez

    I want those Macarons NOW!!! I’m going to drag Hamish there one day.

    NOW I’m off to IKEA tomorrow to divvy myself up a light box, I’m sick to death of not being able to photograph food at night. It’s ridiculous.

    xox

    May 10, 2011 at 6:09 pm
  12. Hannah

    I just ran down here to the comments before reading the post, as with your early paragraph about craving sweets after, I had to crow “I’m all set! I have a bowl of biscotti and white chocolate chips by my side! Bring it on!”

    So yes. Bring it on. *goes back to reading* *back*

    Swoon! This does so much goodness for my dessert-lovin’ heart! The Naughty Nutty Slice and the Caramel Slice are my most wanted (as well as the peanut butter and jelly macaron), but I would happily eat, oh, everything. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (again)

    May 10, 2011 at 6:31 pm
  13. msihua

    Love it love it love it! I’m never disappointed with Luxbite.. and their desserts are safe and heartwarming.. can’t say the same for Zumbo (which I’ve been a few times).. Zumbo is more like taking a risk in an Adventure Park with no safety clips… sometimes you get amazing, sometimes you get yuck…

    Luxbite doesn’t give me a heart attack πŸ™‚

    May 10, 2011 at 6:37 pm
  14. yasmeen @ wandering spice

    i’m tickled that you just posted about lux bite. it’s just down the street from our place + i just went there to post a review!

    i love your macaron-purchasing philosophy by the way. nice work.

    May 10, 2011 at 8:10 pm
  15. GourmetGetaways

    I am so jealous, these desserts are so gorgeous! I love the fact that you purchase one of every macaron, and dutifully taste tester for those of us in www land.

    Great story and divine pics!

    May 11, 2011 at 8:16 am
  16. Adrian in Food Rehab

    So looking forward to our Cakedate at Lux Bit. I will stay LB virgin till then…I will resist!

    May 11, 2011 at 12:14 pm
  17. Sarah

    I went the other day with my mum who bought one of everything practically! I got myself some PB&J macarons and was in heaven!

    May 12, 2011 at 4:22 pm
  18. Susan

    lol, that’s so funny about the tea bag. I so totally would have done the same thing though.

    May 12, 2011 at 4:48 pm
  19. penny aka jeroxie

    They are so so execellent. have to head back soon πŸ™‚

    May 13, 2011 at 7:19 am
  20. Akika @ Ichigo Shortcake

    I totally lolled at the tea story. I didn’t even notice the hole in the teapot until you pointed it out! I’ll remember that for when I go πŸ˜›
    The macarons look divine!

    June 22, 2011 at 3:24 pm
  21. Alison @ MelbourneMumma

    Hi Shellie, this place looks divine, I think I’ll try to head over this week and sample those macarons! Great to see your blog has really taken off and you’ve got lots of sponsors too…you’ll be blogging from Paris in no time! Alison

    July 14, 2011 at 7:49 am
  22. Laura

    Now i’m sad to see that i didnt get to luxbite, i was running late & they were closed when i got there!

    August 2, 2011 at 4:56 pm
Tags  >>  

Shellie Froidevaux

All content on this site is by Shellie Froidevaux - aka Iron Chef Shellie. Her skills include recipe development, food styling in her kitchen studio, lifestyle and travel photography, restaurant photography on location, styling and shooting social media for her clients and photography workshops for people who really want to change their game :)

Subscribe to the Email List

Find out more about Shellie


© 2024 Shellie Froidevaux
All images and content on this site are protected by copyright. Written permission is required from the author if you wish to use any material anywhere on this website. Please be nice, please respect my creative work and hard work.