Audabon: Macarons and pudding in Chinatown

Dallas-born Penn grad Audrey Chang was in private equity two years ago when, pretty much as an experiment, she started baking macarons and selling them at Suburban Station.

The novelty caught on quickly. Macarons - those round, sweet, spongey filled sandwiches - are French. Chang's are packed with Asian flavors.

Her business turned into a mail-order enterprise that morphed into a wholesale line, in which she'd supply local coffeeshops.

Sometime around then, as she gave up her corporate job, Yelpers discovered Audabon Bakeshop, a play on her name.

"People thought I was a real business," she said with glee.

Well, now she is a "real business" with the recent opening of a storefront at 145 N. 11th St. in Chinatown, which she runs with her boyfriend, Henry Chow.

At any one time, the shop has at least a half-dozen varieties of macarons ($1.50 each) in flavors such as Meyer Lemon Key Lime Pie, Strawberry Daifuku, and Green Tea Passion Fruit. There also are cakes and a few kinds of pudding.

Pudding?

"The macarons [usually made with almond flour] just use egg whites," Chang told me. "And I had all these egg yolks." (I recommend the salted caramel pudding, $5).

All are gluten-free except for the banana pudding, which has cookies in it.

Hours are 2 to 8 p.m. Wednesday to Friday, noon to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.