A French Night To Remember: Grand Opening Of The French Baker @ SM Lanang Premier

The French Baker - 2nd branch in SM Lanang Premier

September 19, 2013 - Bonjour! It has been a year since the first French Baker opened in SM Lanang Premier. It's located at the atrium beside Chatime. I also had a blog post regarding that branch when I ate their Blueberry Danish. I remembered how delicious it was!

This day was a great day as I was invited to grace the grand opening of their 2nd branch here in SM Lanang Premier. This branch is located at the Fountain Court where the dancing fountains are found dancing (hehe!). This is their 51st store in the Philippines.

Ribbon Cutting

To formally start the event, the ribbon cutting was led by the founder of The French Baker Mr. Johnlu Koa. Also present in the ribbon cutting is the head of Department of Tourism - Region XI Mr. Art Boncato.

Inside The French Baker

Function Area

Unlike their atrium counterpart, this branch has bigger space and a better interior design. It's like you've been transported to one of the most romantic cities in the world: Paris. In this way, you'll experience Paris by just dining inside this restaurant.

Buffet and Salon de The (Tea Salon)

For this grand opening, they prepared the left area for buffet which will feature their dishes for their guests, media and bloggers.

They also have Salon de The (Tea Salon). "At the Tea Salon, they have a gold-plated Samovar where fresh water is warmed to its ideal temperature before infusing the tea leaves. They source their tea leaves from one of the best estates in the world including China, India, Sri Lanka and Taiwan. They also use blended tea leaves from the famous tea houses in France who also source their leaves from the best in the world."

Stations

In this branch, they have stations that you can visit and take a good look at them. They now have the Patisserie where they can produce delectable pastries anytime. They also have their Boulangerie for breads and other pastries. They have bigger kitchen where you can see the chefs in action.

Pastry Station Goodies

Alright, I love these pastries! What I love these kind of pastries is the color. They are like an eye-candy and I just couldn't resist on taking pictures with them! First one is the Swan Puff, second is Charlotte Au Creme Diplomat, third is Chocolate Mousse Cake and the last one is Parisian Macarons.

This Parisian Macarons!

To be honest, when I saw these Parisian Macarons, It was like love at first sight! My eyes widened when I saw hundreds of these delectable and tempting macarons in different colors and flavors! Their bestsellers are Lemon and Orange. And for the love of macarons, I can't be contented by just staring at them, I have to take pictures of these sinful yet delicious pastry! They're being sold at 30 Pesos but in France, they're sold at 2.58 Euros! Now multiply it by 58 Pesos. :D

Grand Opening Menu

Appetizers

We were asked to order a drink we like. I asked for their bestseller and the lady recommended me to try their Mint Lemonade. Since I love lemonade, I gave it a try and she was right! The Mint Lemonade really tasted so good! It really has the hint of mint but it has the flavor of the lemonade. 

We had the bread basket with Chicken Liver Pate, Chutney and Relish. It's best to try the Chicken Liver Pate and the Relish as they really go well with the bread although the other two tastes good.

Sweet Corn Chowder and Tuna Salad

For our appetizers, first served was the Sweet Corn Chowder and for our salad, they served Tuna Salad. What I love about the soup is the taste itself. I can taste the sweet corn which helped the overall flavor of the soup. Their salad though needs more dressing. I was eating leaves without something that can give a great taste to the salad. Adding the dressing can greatly improve the taste of the Tuna Salad.

Entree

For our entree, (From L-R) we have Beef Burgundy, Fried Chicken, Three Cheese Ravioli, Squid Ink Pasta, Herbed and Chorizo Rice. They also have the stuffed lechon which if opened, it also has rice inside. :D

My plate

When in party or restaurant, I make sure to just get a little of everything. Okay let's review on each entree:

• Beef Burgundy - I love the sauce and the beef itself is tender and easy to chew which I had no problem at all. But the carrot is just too soft. Maybe they can add carrots a little later when cooking this dish.
• Fried Chicken - To be honest, I was a little surprised when they have fried chicken on their entree but nevertheless, it has big slices which I really like so I made sure to get the big chunk. To make the chicken tasty, I poured the gravy on the chicken. The meat is tender too and it has lots of flavor even without gravy, this chicken can taste so good!
• Three Cheese Ravioli - I've eaten ravioli before and I loved it! I was excited to see the ravioli again since it was 2011 when I last ate them. The Three Cheese Ravioli was a yum! It made me remember the first time I ate the ravioli! 
• Squid Ink Pasta - I've seen this kind of pasta but never tried it. When I ate this pasta, to my surprise, it was delicious! The sauce mixed with the pasta complemented very well and it tasted better with shrimp and mussels as they gave more flavors to the pasta. This is a must try for those who want to eat a unique pasta.
• Stuffed Lechon - I thought this was just an ordinary lechon but when I looked inside the lechon, it was filled with rice! I asked the lady if I could have a little of it and she agreed. I tasted the rice and it lacked flavor that I wanted. I was expecting a flavorful rice but then, it was a lackluster. 
• Chorizo Rice - This is the rice with a diced chorizo in it. I was attracted to this rice mainly because of the color so I only had 2 scoops since I had to get some more entrees. The rice goes well with the entrees and since chorizo adds flavor, it made the rice taste better.

Desserts

After our dinner, it was time to munch in some desserts that we've been waiting for! my blogger friend Sarah Gavile had Charlotte Au Creme Diplomat, Swan Puff, Orange and Lemon Parisian Macarons. I had the Fruit Medley Tartlet, Orange, Lemon and Mocha Parisian Macarons.

• Fruit Medley Tartlet - It's a combination of strawberry, kiwi, blueberry, pineapple and cherry with a cream on the bottom with black crust. I've eaten fruit tart and it was just divine! This one didn't fail me as it has the perfect mix of flavors and the taste of each fruit was perfectly combined.
• Parisian Macarons - Among the three I've picked, I love eating the Orange and Mocha Macarons. The Lemon Macaron tasted like a bit of a medicine when taking a first bite but when chewed, it had a nice tangy flavor that I was searching for.
• Swan Puff - Julie, Sarah and me had a taste on this Swan Puff and we agreed on one thing: It's soft and we liked it that way! It was easy to eat and the cream was delicious! 
• Charlotte Au Creme Diplomat - When we tasted this dessert, we all agreed that it's sweet and delectable. The cream was perfect and it's sweeter than my Fruit Medley Tartlet.

Making Swan Puff

After devouring the dessert, we were asked to proceed in the Patisserie where Chef Johnlu Koa will demonstrate on how to make some of the best pastries in The French Baker. This was a great opportunity for me to learn how the Swan Puffs are made. He told us that it takes time to practice this kind of pastry as it requires mad skills to make a perfect Swan Puff.

Filling in the cronuts

Since cronuts is the talk of the town today, he treated us with these delectable pastry by showing us how to fill them up. He also showed us the French and Filipino way of putting the chocolate frosting on top of the cronut. 

He also demonstrated the way of filling the Parisian Macarons. He generously filled up the macaron and pressed them altogether in a circular motion.

Bite-sized Cronuts

Since cronuts craze invaded Davao, we tried their bite-sized cronuts with 2 flavors. The left side is the chocolate and I forgot the other one on the right. The difference is, the chocolate seemed to be a bit bitter on taste while the other one was sweet and I prefer it's taste. I wonder how much are cronuts a piece? :D

Chocolate Mousse Cake

When I tried this Chocolate Mousse Cake, flavors and flavors partying in my mouth! The presence of dark chocolate made my nose react in a weird way since I'm allergic to dark chocolates but nonetheless, I loved this dessert and I would love to dig in with Chocolate Mousse Cake any day I want! :D

Blueberry and Cherry Cheesecake

I love cheesecakes and this one is on my list. When I sliced these delightful cheesecakes, it went so smooth that I didn't have to worry if it crumbles. When I ate the cheesecakes, it was packed with flavors and it was so soft! This was a perfect ending for a sumptuous dinner.  

Green Tea with Jasmine

To aid our stuffed tummy, we were given a green tea with Jasmine scent. As far as I know, Jasmine is fragrant and to have it on a green tea is a big bonus. Since I love green tea, I felt relaxed drinking it and with the smell of Jasmine, it made my tea experience a lot better than usual.

The Grand Opening was a success and this is indeed "A French Night To Remember" as we listened to the talk of Mr. Johnlu Koa and the history of The French Baker itself. They gained success after so many years and now they've reached the shores of Davao and so far, The French Baker is a big hit and the reason why is their quality of food they serve to its customers. Thanks Dulce for inviting me and fellow bloggers, To Mr. Johnlu Koa for the great talk and for demonstrating to us on how to bake the bestseller pastries. Until next time!

Au Revoir Mon Ami! Thanks for reading!

To visit The French Baker, click the link below:

- The French Baker Philippines on Facebook