It's been a while since Fay and I went out for a proper hangout session (what with our schedules and other adulting "responsibilities") so earlier this week we braved the chilly weather for some pretty desserts.
Welcome to BOCAS Modern Patisserie!
Fay and me, I don't really know if you can call us "foodies". One of us has lots of digestion issues and the other, well, she doesn't go to the same place twice if she can help it. So if you've been following our *quite limited* food adventures here,
we tend to go to places that not only serve good food but are:
1. Flying under the radar but have very great reviews from the people who've been there
2. Full of cute things
I especially love it when these places have really thought-out concepts. At BOCAS you don't get just that--- you also get a personal touch from chef Jean Louis instead.
So we come up to the window and eye some desserts on display. The Alsacienne apple tart was particularly eye-catching. I expected it to be served as it was, but then chef took it to his "workstation" and started preparing the dessert right before our eyes!
"It's all about the details,"
said the French native who, we've heard, has been an executive chef for many a high-end restaurant all over the world.
"It's so cool that you prepare it here out front!"
Chef shrugs and tells us that it's better than having to prepare it somewhere behind the counters. Chef talks us through the entire process. We love how he is so passionate about what he's doing. It's practically art.
We see dainty little tools that he uses to pick up little pearls and colorful bits of sugar and chocolate that I don't think I know how to pronounce (desole, chef, my French is basically composed of oui and non only haha).
While he embellishes our dessert (I really didn't think it could get prettier), we take inventory of the cafe.
It's cozy and chic and just a treat to look at. It's full of tastefully placed trinkets and accessories and is every bit a modern patisserie. :)
Fay orders a chocolate gelato macaron, which is, well, dark chocolate gelato in between macaron halves. And yes, true to his word, chef proceeds to place details on the dessert. Have you ever seen someone put a delicate paintbrush on your food?
"Needs a little bit of gold, no?"
And before we know it--- voila!
Look at that:
"Every plate is different," he says with a flourish. Each dessert is uniquely prepared, so don't expect to see the same thing twice.
The best and worst part? Every bit on your plate is edible (even the santan blooms!). The hard part was that I've never seen food so pretty, it was hard to dig in!
Shortly before we begin, chef bids us goodbye. He needs to run off to some other part of the city, it looks like. We thank him for the wonderful experience. Surely you'd have to pay quite a lot to have a professional chef do a demo in front of you right? But all Fay and I shelled out was somewhere around 300+ combined. I think that's a great price in exchange of the experience. It's not every day we get to chat with cool chefs. And in BTC's ground floor, of all places!
BOCAS also offers baking and pastry lessons in their lab at The North Atrium in Mandaue. For more info, visit their website right here. :)
BOCAS Modern Patisserie is located at the Ground floor of Banilad Town Center.
Open Monday – Thursday 10am – 8pm, Friday – Sunday 10am – 9pm.
Oh and here's me and Fay. :D
Bon appetit!
K x
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