croissant – Jellybeans in the City

Yummy baked goodies from The French Baker

I can barely remember a time when The French Baker was not around.

Since the early 90’s, it has been making affordable, premium-quality and freshly baked European-style breads available to more Filipinos, thereby broadening our food horizons beyond the neighborhood panaderia.

The French Baker was born out of founder Johnlu Koa’s desire to bring his Paris experience back to the Philippines in the form of French breads and pastries. Since then, the bakery-slash-restaurant has been churning out baguettes, croissants, sourdoughs and tarts alongside local bakery treats such as pan de sal and ensaimada, and cafe fare like soups, salads, pizzas and pastas.

If it weren’t for The French Baker, I might not have developed such a deep appreciation for the art of bread and pastry-making, and my family also would not be enjoying our favorite baked goods so easily.

These include:

Apple Crumble Danish (Php105). Layered and glazed pastry topped with cinnamon-infused apple streusel. While I usually gravitate towards The French Baker’s Blueberry and Peach Danishes, this is a welcome addition to my faves.

Choco Walnut Danish (Php105). Another variation of the delightful Danish pastries, this time with a chocolate cream filling topped by crunchy chopped walnuts.

Blueberry Muffin (Php72). A buttery quick bread with sweet and tangy blueberries mixed in. This is great for a fuss-free dessert after a meal, or a sweet snack.

Butter Croissant (Php73). A crescent-shaped viennoiserie made by layering the dough with butter, rolling it out and folding it several times resulting in a flaky textured roll with the same airy texture as a puff pastry. This goes so well with butter and coffee as a breakfast treat, and is my daughter’s favorite pastry.

Almond Croissant (Php115). A tasty expansion to The French Baker’s croissant possibilities, thanks to the addition of toasted and sweetened almond slices.

Beef Turnover (Php118). The French version of the empanada, this consists of savory ground beef filling encased in the flaky pastry dough. This is my husband’s go-to quick eats, whether for his coffee break or midnight snack.

What I love most about these baked goodies from The French Baker is that my family and I can enjoy them at home!

Whether with our coffee or hot chocolate in the morning, a sweet way to cap our lunch or dinner or as a delicious snack in between meals, these yummy pastries are always within easy reach.

You too can stock up on your favorite European-style baked goods from The French Baker by dropping by the outlet nearest you and ordering them for takeout. With over 50 branches nationwide, this shouldn’t be too hard. 🙂

You can also order for delivery from its website or via GrabFood and FoodPanda.

Decadent French pastries from PAUL Philippines

France is widely acclaimed for its pastries, their buttery richness, golden brown flakiness and sheer wondrous variety of flavors and textures cementing their place among global favorites.

After many centuries spent crafting these baked creations, the French has elevated baking to an artform, making its patisseries – the stores where such pastries are sold – part of many a tourist’s itinerary.

Fortunately, we won’t have to go all the way to France to feast on its famous pastries, thanks to PAUL Philippines.

Thanks to this chain of French-style bakery-slash-cafes, scrumptious baked treats are quite easily accessible for foodies to enjoy right in the comfort of their homes such as:

Strawberry Tartlet (Php375). Sweet shortcrust pastry filled with vanilla custard cream and topped with luscious fresh strawberries.

Chocolate Eclair (Php220). Light choux pastry filled with chocolate pastry cream and glazed with chocolate fondant.

Pain au Chocolat (Php150). Also known as the chocolatine, this pastry is made with croissant dough wrapped around a heart of dark chocolate.

Croissants. Whether it be the Plain Croissant (Php140) or one of the variations of this classic viennoiserie such as the Almond Croissant (Php170) which is filled with frangipane and topped with flaked almonds, these are buttery pastries perfect when paired with coffee.

Strawberry Cheesecake (Php200/slice). Cream cheese filling with a layer of strawberry jelly on a sugar biscuit base and topped with strawberries.

So if you’re craving for an elevated experience for your post-meal dessert or coffee break, you should definitely say “Bonjour” to PAUL’s French pastries.

To enjoy these tasty French pastries at home, order them for takeout at any of PAUL Philippines’ outlets:

Ground Floor, SM Aura, 26th Street corner McKinley Parkway, Taguig City (Tel: +63 2 88085324 / +63 927 2978893)
G/F, Bench Tower, 30th St. cor. Rizal Drive, Crescent Park West 5, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City (Tel: +63 2 88872057 / +63 915 9712946)
Ground Floor, Al Fresco 1, Mega Fashion Hall, SM Megamall, EDSA, corner Doña Julia Vargas Ave, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong (Tel: +63 995 2525279)
G/F, Unit 164, Powerplant Mall, Rockwell Drive, Makati (Tel: +63 2 77598655 / +63 927 2881646)

You can also course your orders through GrabFood.

Check out my previous posts about PAUL Philippines:

A French cafe experience at PAUL le cafe

PAUL Boulangerie et Pattiserie, SM Mega Fashion Hall

Classic pastries from O’Cakes Patisserie

Got a hankering for some sweet pastries?

There’s a shop that can serve up what you’re craving for and you won’t have to leave home to enjoy them: O’Cakes Patisserie!

Pastries are baked foods made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats such as butter or lard). These baked creations are different from breads due to their higher fat content which give them a crumbly or flaky texture. You will find that good pastries are light, airy and fatty but their structure is firm enough to hold the weight of the filling.

Thanks to O’Cakes Patisserie, pastry lovers can simply order their craved-for baked goods online and feast on them with no hassle!

Check them out:

Classic Croissant (Php450/3pcs traditional | Php270/3pcs mini).

Buttery and flaky French pastry that got its name from its crescent shape. It is usually enjoyed as part of a continental breakfast.

Pain au Chocolat (Php630/3pcs traditional | Php280/3pcs mini).

Also known as chocolatine in the southwest part of France and in Canada, this cube-ish shaped pastry is made with the same layers of dough as a croissant with pieces of dark chocolate at the center.

Belgian Dark Chocolate (Php630/3pcs traditional | Php280/3pcs mini).

A version of the chocolatine that takes the shape of a classic croissant.

Enjoy these delicious pastries for breakfast or paired with your favorite brew during your coffee break. You can even indulge your sweet tooth by having them as your dessert!

To order, text +63 936 9494767, email ocakespatisserie@gmail.com or message O’Cakes Patisserie on Facebook or Instagram.

A taste of Scandinavia at IKEA’s Swedish Restaurant

Have you heard of the recent trending topic called #SwedenGate? It sprang from several anecdotes shared on Reddit which recall childhood experiences of house guests not being invited to dine while at a Swedish household.

While there are myriad cultural contexts behind this custom, and recent reports do share that this practice has been dying out, it does bring to the spotlight a cuisine heretofore unknown to most Filipinos: Scandinavian food.

Recently, this cuisine became a lot more accessible to us, thanks to IKEA’s Swedish Restaurant at IKEA Pasay. Given the time and energy that shoppers expend while browsing through its displays, it’s a good thing that IKEA opened a self-service cafeteria inside the store. It has proven to be quite popular: during my family’s recent visit, we had to wait in line for thirty minutes to an hour before we were able to enter.

Since it employs a cafeteria-style self-service type of operations, we had to line up at the food counters to choose and collect our food in trays and carry them towards the cashiers. This process is greatly helped by the trollies that IKEA provided, which proved to be a great convenience due to the sheer amount of food we ended up buying.

Once we‘re done getting our food, we settled down to eat at the well-appointed dining area which is furnished with Scandinavian-style tables and chairs. Depending on the number of people in your party, you may opt for the small tables for a party of two or a get the bigger tables that can seat up to eight people.

The menu and operations of IKEA’s Swedish Restaurant are guided by its seven food principles:

Lagom – Servings that are not too hearty nor lacking, with responsible portions just right to sate one’s hunger.
Sustainable – Food items should be good for both people and the planet by sourcing ingredients from farms and fisheries that strive to protect the environment, public health, people and communities.
Plant-based – Food items that celebrate seasonal and diverse ingredients as well as make healthier and sustainable living easy.
Animal welfare – Fewer animals are used in its menu and all are sourced sustainably from farms that practice humane treatment of livestock.
Natural – Simple and wholesome dishes that reduce the use of additives while still safeguarding food safety.
Food is precious – Food waste is a no-no from farm to consumption.
Food is pleasure – Food is meant to be enjoyed with others, celebrating different cultures that come together.

The fam did take our cue from the greeting “Smaklig maltid!” (“Enjoy your meal!”) as we shared and feasted on our Scandinavian food orders:

We also enjoyed free-flowing Nordic drinks (Php50/person) to go with our food. These are sparkling or still beverages sweetened only with half the usual amount of sugar featuring flavors such as elderberry, lemon, pear, raspberry, lingonberry, and cola distributed on tap at the drink stations.

When we finished our meal, we quickly cleared our table (to do our share in helping IKEA keep its food costs low) and left so that our table can be readily used by the next batch of diners.

I’m glad that my fam was able to experience this foray into Scandinavian cuisine. #SwedenGate may son be a thing of the past, but this family’s love affair with Swedish food is just beginning.

The Swedish Restaurant is located at the 4th Level of IKEA Pasay City and is open daily, from 9:30 am to 9 pm.

To stay updated on news and updates about IKEA PH, visit its website or follow it on Facebook or Instagram.

Upscale dinner at St. Marc Cafe, UP Town Center

St. Marc Cafe is a Japanese brand of cafe with presence in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, aside from here in the Philippines. The resto’s concept is centered on the promise of providing diners with friendly service and a vibrant environment with which to enjoy their delicious food.

When my daughter #ExhibitA spent a day with her UP friends, we met up for dinner at St. Marc Cafe’s UP Town Center branch.

The cafe has a hip vibe, with a cozy and upscale dining area accented by its avant-garde ceiling lights. The counter also serves as a showcase for the desserts and sweets available, so I found myself considering dessert while I was still looking at my options for our main viands.

To feed a group of four (myself and three young ‘uns), I ordered:

Carbonara (Php300). Pork stock flavored carbonara topped with bacon, parmesan and fresh egg yolk.

Sepia Nero (Php320). Squid ink infused pasta with fresh squid, cream and cherry tomatoes.

Menchi Katsu Burger (Php245). Deep-fried patty of ground beef and pork, with sliced cheddar cheese, fresh shredded cabbage and the resto’s secret sauce, and served with crispy fries.

Original Crotoast (Php180). Homemade French croissant toast served with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with maple syrup.

Who would have thought that these would be enough for me and the kids to dine on?

It was great meal spent getting to know and hanging out with my baby girl’s pals.

What’s even better is that the whole meal actually cost Php1,045 but I had a Php400 discount because of a Metrodeal offer gives Php500 worth of food in this cafe for only Php299 (I bought two vouchers).

This St. Marc Cafe outlet is located at Ground Floor, UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, open Mondays to Thursdays from 10am to 10pm and Fridays to Saturdays from 10am to 11am. For queries and reservations, call +63 2 6254065.

Other branches are located at:

Ground Floor, Mega Fashion Hall, SM Megamall, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City (open daily from 10am to 10pm | Tel No: +63 2 5318062)
Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Greenbelt, Makati City (open daily from 10am to 10pm | Tel No: +63 2 7518456)
Ground Floor, UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City (open daily from 10am to 10pm | Tel No: +63 2 6254065)
Upper Ground Floor, Main Building, SM City North EDSA, Bago Bantay, Quezon City (open daily from 10am to 10pm | Tel No: +63 2 3721026)
Ground Floor, Robinsons Place Manila, Ermita, Manila (open Sundays to Thursdays from 10am to 9pm and Fridays to Saturdays from 10am to 10pm | Tel No: +63 2 2421483)
Evia Lifestyle Center, Daang Hari Road, Alabang, Muntinlupa City (open Mondays to Fridays from 10am to 10pm, Saturdays from 10am to 11pm and Sundays from 10am to 11.30pm | Tel No: +63 2 7768548)
One Parkade Building, 7th Avenue Corner 28th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City (open daily from 10am to 10pm | Tel No: +63 2 5050245)
Ground Floor, Main Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Mall of Asia Complex (MOA), Pasay City (open daily from 10am to 10pm)