Tarts, eclairs and French pastries

What should you order first?

If it is your first visit, order a fruit tart and an eclair, and share both. The tart tells you whether the pastry chef can handle a sweet shortcrust in a humid kitchen, which is not easy. The eclair tells you whether the choux is properly dried and whether the cream is made rather than bought.

1. Fruit tarts, $5.75Strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and tutti frutti. Pastry cream on sweet shortcrust under a clear glaze. These photograph well, which is why they are usually the first to go.
2. Eclairs, $4.00Vanilla, chocolate, pistachio and coffee. Choux piped, baked and dried properly, then filled to order rather than in advance.
3. Flan, $5.00The one French people order and visitors overlook. A thick set custard in pastry, baked dark on top. Less sweet than almost anything else in the case.
4. Paris Brest, $6.00Choux ring filled with praline cream. Named after a bicycle race, shaped like a wheel, and the most technically demanding thing we sell by the piece.
5. Cheesecake, $6.00Tropical or red fruit. The tropical one uses fruit that actually grows within a few hundred kilometres of here.

Do you make macarons?

Yes, and they are the most heat tolerant showpiece we make, which matters on this island. They are made in batches rather than listed at a fixed counter price, so ask at the counter for what is available today, or order a platter ahead for an event. For weddings and receptions a macaron tower holds up far better than a cream finish.

When is the case at its best?

Morning. Everything here is made fresh each day and the case is fullest between opening and around eleven. Cream filled items are also simply better within a few hours of being made, and in this climate they should not be sitting out longer than that anyway. If you want something specific for the afternoon, reserve it.