~Mechanical Princess~: March 2013

Walking around Bonifacio High Street, Serendra and Market Market, we ended up talking about the new craze for French macarons and ended up in this quaint bakery in Serendra named “Chez Karine” (beside Cupcakes by Sonja and Gelato by Gelatissimo). The interiors were simple yet inviting, not too much decors - only the to-go boxes with different designs and colors that put color in the walls of the bakery.

Chez Karine

bunch of people ordering in the middle of the afternoon

Interiors of the bakery

We ordered 4 macarons; we had 1 salted caramel each and split in half the mint chocolate and earl grey. Each macaron cost Php50.00, which we find affordable compared to other patisseries in the metro.

Clockwise from top right: Salted Caramel x2, Earl Grey and Mint Chocolate

This was my second chance to eat macarons, I never really got the cravings to go looking for it. Anyways, the first bite was weird for me; I was expecting it to be crunchy like a cookie but realized that macaroons aren’t supposed to be like cookies. I love how the taste of the salted caramel blended in my mouth; it reminded me of one of my favorite chocolates, Kirkland Macadamia Clusters Salted Caramel Milk Chocolate. I guess one of their bestseller is the salted caramel since the person before and after me ordered salted caramel as well.

Selection of desserts

The Mint chocolate and earl grey also tasted great. I’m not a fan of mint in food, but I liked how the mint blended with the chocolate flavor, although it reminded me a bit of my after dinner mints. I loved the color of earl grey (biased because it’s my favorite color) and how it did not taste strong like the earl grey tea that made me like it as well.

Lennor and I

I would definitely like to try the rest of their flavors when I get a chance to go back. They also have Pistachio, Dark Chocolate, Strawberry, Lemon, Black Sesame, Coffee, and Christmas Tea. These come in different to-go boxes that vary on the number of pieces ordered (same price of php50/pc). Also available are their assorted gift boxes which comes in box of 14 (Php850) and 21 (Php1,200). (see photos of packaging below)

Assorted flavor of Macarons

Also available in their bakery are puddings. They have 6 kinds of pudding that made it a little hard to select which one to get. They have Earl Grey Milk Tea, Muscovado Royal Pudding, Coco Sugar Pudding (diabetic friendly), Chocolate Royal Pudding, Vanilla Royal Pudding and Horlicks Malt Pudding. They also have Mango and Strawberry Panna Cotta.

Chocolate Royal Pudding and Horlicks Malt Pudding

They are all priced at Php100 that comes in a 5-inch glass bottle. It was presented very nicely. I got the Chocolate Royal Pudding that tasted great. It had the right amount of sweetness in every spoonful bite I take. My Friend, who got the better idea, asked one of the girls (which I think may be the owner), her recommendation for the best pudding to taste. Indeed, her recommendation was the best. She recommended the Horlicks Malt Pudding, which was topped with crushed chocolate sable cookie. The way to eat it was get a little cookie and mix with pudding. She quickly told us not to finish the cookie on its own and eat it with the pudding. It tasted heavenly. I would surely recommend the Horlicks to anyone who would drop by there.