XT Patiserrie‘s eye-poppingly beautiful chocolates and macarons first caught my eye back in October at the Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon. I was casually roasting some marshmallows at the Plush Puffs booth when I glanced over to my right and spied the most gorgeous array of sweets. I was instantly seduced by the shiny jewel-toned chocolates resting in their precious little boxes. I quickly downed my unevenly browned marshmallow and scooted over to XT’s table to steal a taste.
I showed commendable restraint and only sampled two varieties, Saigon cinnamon and kalamansi. Each vibrantly flavored bite melted away smoothly and luxuriously on my tongue. After satisfying my urge for truffles, I simmered down and chatted with Tuan Trinh, the “T” in XT Patisserie. We instantly hit it off because he was Vietnamese-American and a @GastronomyBlog Twitter follower—two of my favorite qualities in a person (ha!).
I learned from Mr. Trinh that his partner, chocolatier Xuan Ngo (the “X” in XT Patisserie), was born in Da Nang, Vietnam and grew up in Les Baux de Provence, France. Chef Ngo spent the summers of his childhood in the kitchen of Oustau de Baumaniére, a two-star Michelin restaurant owned by his adopted father Jean-Andre Charial. Upon graduating high school, he went to work for Pâtisserie Lenôtre, a renowned Parisian bakery.
Chef Ngo came to the United States to work at Daniel Boulud’s restaurant Daniel in New York and later moved to Los Angeles to work at Spago, Sona, and Boule. He currently works at the Belvedere Restaurant in the Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel.
After our chummy conversation, Mr. Trinh sent me on my way with a 12-piece box of chocolates ($24) and a colorful tray of macarons ($12). I couldn’t believe my luck! The box of chocolates included exciting flavors like coconut, Earl Grey tea, ginger, hazelnut, honey, and vanilla. My favorites were the caramel vanilla fleur de sel, passion fruit, and coffee, along with my old standbys Saigon cinnamon and kalamasi. I made a conscious effort to eat only one to two pieces each day to prolong the goodness for as long as possible.
The quality of the macarons was on par with the chocolates. Each bite was incredibly airy and daintily flavored. The vanilla, passion fruit, coffee, and hazelnut macarons made me swoon just a little more than the others.
Having hand-crafted chocolates and macarons available at home meant that all of my meals for an entire week ended with fancy mignardises. What a pleasure! Everyone on my Christmas list is getting something sweet and beautiful from XT Patisserie this holiday season, because expertly made desserts shouldn’t be reserved only for meals out on the town.
For additional information, contact XT Patiserrie by email at info@xuanpatisserie.com or by phone at 714-686-8512 or 714-366-4331.
Hmmm…I think I might see our holiday gifts for LA friends…excellent reporting!
I need power rankings for the macarons please!
Those do look like little jewels…look out! Vietnamese are taking over the chocolate world!!!
Oh lala, designer chocolates by Vietnamese, now that’s what I am talking about!
Damn I’m not on your xmas list am I? Sheeit. I’m a gastronomyblog reader and a twitter follower too. I better be on the wedding invite list. I wants me a Chinese banquet dinner dangit and I will crash the wedding if need be.
Beautiful ART!
Oh wow, these are so beautiful! I’m going to have to make another trip to LA.
Thanks Cathy, nice pics and such kind words. We should get you to do the blogging for us:) I have set up blog.xtpatisserie.com, but have not posted any yet. Soon though…
For now, the chocolates are available online. The macarons will be available online soon as we will be getting our custom packaging soon that will make shipping easier.
Chocolates and macarons are also available for retail at Paris Pastry in Westwood and Tifa Chocolates & Gelato in Agoura Hills or by emailing or calling us. Thanks
Those are def some shiny happy chocolates (holding hands). Still haven’t had a macaron, god help me!
Your gift recipients are very lucky to have you playing Santa for them! I need to pick up some of their macarons from Paris Pastry out there some day. So delicious!
Wow, those chocolates look *almost* too pretty to eat. I am sucker for a little macaron too!
Great pics, CD!
The only thing i don’t like is the fact they don’t yet have their own pastry shop!
C U Later.
Ummm basically those truffles are UTTERLY gorgeous and so are those macarons! So jealous!
XT Patisserie’s macarons are now available in Orange County at:
Paris In A Cup
119 S Glassell St
Orange CA 92866
Phone (714) 538-9411
http://www.parisinacup.com
http://blog.xtpatisserie.com/?p=135
Thanks,
Tuan Trinh