Shanghai Food Review: Aimé Pâtisserie

I noticed the pastry shop: Aimé Pâtisserie for weeks this past spring, but I never mustered the courage to step inside. I finally saw a review for the place in one of the expat magazines that raved about how good it was so I decided to step inside and give it a go…

First Thoughts:

How Creative!

Upon arriving, we were greeted by a very friendly (and attractive) French gentlemen and I quickly conversed with him in (rusty) French about the macaroon flavors. There were 10 different flavors and I decided to try three of them.  I choose a salted caramel, a salted caramel and chocolate combo, and lastly, a passion fruit flavor. My friend ordered similar flavors plus a raspberry chocolate and a pistachio flavor.  Because of the review about the amazing éclairs, I ordered a chocolate pastry filled with chocolate cream, hazelnuts and a chocolate praline bottom. Since we decided to stay and eat, the owner offered us a free sample of his litchi rose cheesecake.  While I waited for my desert to be served, I noticed the bumping tunes in the background. I can definitely tell it was a French place since there was so much Mika (They love him in France) and of course my favorite French jam “Alors On Danse!”

So many flavors...so little time!!

These are to die for!

As much as I liked the décor, I didn’t like the seating arrangement. It was one long, high top table and that was it. I got the feeling that this is the place to order and go; not a place to leisurely sit for hours. To be honest, I don’t blame the owner since this is a big problem with many establishments in Shanghai; especially during the hot and muggy summer months when the locals want to save a few kuai on the electric bill and partake in the free air con at public establishments.

First Bite:

The cheesecake was amazing! It was made with real cream, a nice hint of rose, and a generous fruit taste thanks to the litchi. However, the crust and I mean THE CRUST, was the best cheesecake crust I ever had!   It was very crunchy, sweet and a bit salty and the combination made we want to jump and shout “BIEN!”

My cheesecake sample and chocolate pastry!

After I polished off my cheesecake sample, I moved on to the chocolate pastry and that was equally as good. It was very sweet and chocolaty with hazelnuts layered on top of the chocolate praline layer. I shared some with my friend who also gave it a solid thumbs up. Since I was pretty much in a sugar coma, I only had one macaroon-the salted caramel one and it was really good. It was a good quality macaroon that wasn’t too hard and it didn’t crumble too much all over me. It had a nice caramel flavor and a wonderful balance of sweet with a touch of salt.

From Clockwise: Passion Fruit, Salted Caramel, Chocolate/Salted Caramel Macaroons

Final Word:

I would give Aimé Pâtisserie 5 out of 5 without hesitation. Even with the undesirable seating arrangement, I received good service, ate well, and the music made me want to get up and dance! I will say that you get what you pay for and this place is a bit pricey. Macaroons cost 18 RMB ($3.00 USD) each and unlike some establishments, there’s no discount for buying multiples. Also, I was surprised that there were no macaroon flavors suited for the local crowd (such as green tea or durian). Perhaps the owner wants to keep it strictly to a western palette; or, those flavors are/will be in the works.

The pastries range in price from 35 RMB ($5.75 USD) to 52 RMB ($8.70 USD). But as I mentioned above, you are paying for quality and you can honestly taste real ingredients and not some out of the box imitation.

But fear not my friends… I have some good news!  The pastry shop offers a few ways to lower your bill. Firstly, you can sign up for a black card and save 5% on each purchase.  Secondly, if you sign up for the black card and on a return visit bring a friend who signs up for the black card, you can receive one free macaroon.  Lastly, you can do the social media thing and follow them on WeChat.  If you scan a QR code, you can come back with a code and have one free macaroon.

Official black card holder!

Well Aimé, I will definitely be back for some macaroons and a whole slice of that delicious cheese cake! A bientôt!!! :)

Address: 1008 Huaihai Zhong Lu,
                near Shanxi Nan Lu
                淮海中路1008号,
                近陕西南路