Maison Christian Faure

Bakery: Maison Christian Faure
Address: 355 Place Royale, Montréal QC 
Website: https://maisonchristianfaure.ca/
Style: French 
Price: $$

I have no idea how I managed to miss this fancy patisserie in Montreal's Old Town. I walked in through those glass doors and I probably could have smacked my forehead a hundred times -- I should have made my inaugural visit so long ago! I mean, the eponymous head of this patisserie has titles and awards; he's a pro. There's even a pastry school on premises. And the locale is worthy of Parisian patisseries. It's such a beautiful thing! *-* Unfortunately, everyone else seems to think so too -- I was actually planning on escaping the rain for a little bit and taking a tea and cake break there, but the line was huge and with some disappointment I had to take it out (not to mention the insistence from the worker to choose takeout as well, which I didn't find too complementary...). 

Nevertheless, this place is fully stocked, with a wide range of beautiful French baking and pastry art: flaky viennoiseries, countless flavours of colourful macarons and other cookies, and a case filled with delectable-looking cakes and elaborate tortes. How can you possibly decide? The only thing I could say against this wonderful, appetizing array is that, perhaps when dining in you have a menu with everything (names and prices) detailed, it's not very takeout friendly, with no labels or explanations (and it being so full, even pointing is difficult), and no prices. However, for a fancy patisserie in generally ripoff Old Town, I found prices reasonable for what I paid and there seem to be items at a variety of price points, which is also nice.

Not able to settle for just one item (and my love of madeleines getting the better of me), I got two madeleines ($1.50 each). It's been awhile since I've had one! These had the right texture: soft and spongy with a more resistant outside, but they weren't as buttery, and thus flavourful, as I would have wanted them. One more than the other was also browned on one side, which influenced the taste.

In addition to this, I took a "flan" (around $5), a fairly generously-sized slice of a set custard base similar to a crème brûlée atop a thin flaky pastry crust. This was rich and creamy with a hint of vanilla and the buttery multi-layered crust was delicious -- the first bite and I was instantly reminded of something I've had in the past (yes, for me, my Proustian moment with the flan, not the madeleines ;)) and forkful after forkful, I couldn't figure it out. To this day, I have no idea what I thought of when eating this tasty dessert.

A frustrating buying experience and not so stellar madeleines made Maison Christian Faure not as mind-blowing as I had anticipated, but it's still another fantastic patisserie in Montreal. A great find.

Rating: ***