Forgotten but still absolutely fabulous

Before I fell asleep last night I realized that I hadn't mentioned the Green Tea Macaroon from Cha-An. I could probably write one entry a day for every dessert or dish I love from that teahouse, but I will not to vary the reading a bit. But I can't believe I forgot to describe how something so small can deliver such great happiness. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You think this is a joke because it's just food. But it is not. I normally don't like macaroons because most of the time they are dry or too sweet. And I am also very wary of trying something flavored with "Green Tea" because that normally means it's just the color green with no real green tea essence at all. In other words, they are usually a huge disappointment (e.g. the Green Tea cookies from Kyotofu in Midtown West). I'd say these green tea sweets are about 1.5 inches in diameter. Perhaps one-third inch thick? Two coin-like pieces, both a deep, dark Matcha green, sandwich a dense red bean paste. Sugar is not the forefront of flavor for this button; there's no sweetness that makes your teeth ache. The best part of all is that the green tea flavor is prominent even if you take a tiny bite. The exterior shell is thin, almost like it's candy-coated (think M&Ms but much more elegant), but then you reach a soft, lava-cake-like texture (like those flourless chocolate cakes but without the gooey lava) that...tastes like...SURPRISE...green tea! This made me estatic. As if the green tea macaroon wasn't enough to fill me with joy, the red bean paste added just the right touch of sweetness with the addition of a smooth paste-like consistency (from the grounded red beans). The time before this, I had a Green Tea Macaroon with Red Bean Butter. A bite-sized dessert worth getting more than one of. The Red Bean is whipped so the macaroon filling is airy, smooth and melts in your mouth.

Something similar to this bite of heaven? The Truffle Button from Something Sweet (11th St. and First Ave.), which I will write about AFTER my dinner at Pistahan.

Lesson of the day: Eat every macaroon you comeby because it can be REALLY good. Not all things labeled "Green Tea" are disappointing.