Gone are the days of desserts being an afterthought and being served substandard ready made frozen ‘delights’ after a meal. There is a new wave of dessert restaurants popping up and they are taking desserts seriously!
The brainchild of husband and wife team Brian and Roselle Campbell, Miann is the Gaelic word for ‘to desire’ or ‘to crave.’ And once you see the glass cabinets full to bursting of delectable treats and delicacies that is exactly what you will be doing!
We went along for the last shift of pastry chef Justin Lee before he departed for Korea to open his own restaurant, “Dessert Bar.”
Choose from any of the treats in the cabinet or feast your eyes on the ‘signature’ menu where you can order something to order. We were treated to a complementary item from the signature menu to start (thank you Justin!) and this started off our Miann experience perfectly.
The A La Carte menu is available every day from 3pm and we began with the Cranachan. A work of art on a plate the cranachan consists of Raspberry, Valrhona Dulcey, Talisker Whisky, Hazelnut and Oats. This was an explosion on the tastebuds! The sourness of the raspberry combined with the smoothness of the chocolate and finishing with the cruncy textures of the hazelnuts and oats provided everything you could want in a dessert and more!
Next we turned our attention to the Patisserie cabinet and could not go past the Macaron Sandwich. Chocolate and Salted Caramel gelato sandwiched between two chocolate macarons. What’s not to love?
From the patisserie section choose from Petit Gateaux , Gelato Sticks, Gelato Cakes, Macarons and Chocolate Bon Bons.
But for now, back to the A La Carte menu. Well you didn’t think we’d stopped there did you? Next up was the Tanariva which consisted of Valrhona Tanariva 33% milk chocolate, Chestnut, Vanilla and Tonka Bean.
The textures in this dessert really made the dish. Crunchy, silky smooth and crispy, it all melded together beautifully. It also wasn’t too heavy so left extra room to fit more patisserie items in.
If you really can’t choose (and we agree it’s such a hard job narrowing down your decision!), you can opt for the 4 course Tasting Menu.
So with desserts now serious business, it’s time to get serious about eating them. And that’s a job we are more than qualified for! Seriously though, give these guys a try, you’ll keep going back for more and more.
Miann
57 Fort Street
Auckland Central
Auckland
Tel: 021 261 8172
