ispahan

So I've always been curious about Pierre Hermé's Ispahan's macaron but the big ones are annoying not available in most of his boutiques except the one across town in the 15th arrondissement and even then you're not sure they're available.  The only way to be sure to get one is to order it online the day before and then pick it up (of course only at the boutique in the 15th).

Seems like a lot of work for a 4 inch macaron but that's exactly what I did.  Afterwards I headed to Jardin de Luxembourg and stumbled across a Sadaharu Aoki boutique and decided to check it out. I was struck by the Symphonie macaron's strikingly similarity to the Ispahan so I picked it up for a taste test.

 Ispahan

Rose biscuit macaron, rose petal creme interior with raspberries and letchis

Symphonie

Violette biscuit macaron, crème brulée infusioned with Earl Grey tea and voilette mousseline cream interior with raspberries.  

The Ispahan is simply delicious (when I say simply I mean it's delicious in a simple way - the rose macaron biscuit just the right texture and the rose petal creme light enough to enhance the freshness of the lichi and rasberries).

The Symphonie on the other hand is more complex, the macaron biscuit heavier, all the flavors mixing together in a, well, symphony.  

It's hard not to think that the Symphonie wasn't inspired by the Ispahan and for 2 euros cheaper I would say it could give it's inspiration a run for it's money.