St. Marc Cafe's Chococro doesn’t look like much but it is a little serving of heaven. It has been haunting me since I first tried it upon the recommendation of Joanna.
I have been a big croissant lover since I had my first bite of the buttery, flaky French version at Hotel Meslay in 1993 as a college graduate on my first visit to Paris. I became an even bigger fan when my mom and I enrolled in a croissant-making class at Heny Sison. I realized that achieving those crisp edges while keeping the inner layers meltingly soft takes hours of kneading and a fine-tuned technique.
St. Marc’s Chococro looks rather unadorned except for the dusting of almond bits on top and the dark chocolate peeking out of its edges. This isn’t the dainty bite of an ideal croissant, but the wisps of warm puff pastry giving in to a burst of what tasted like Gianduja-laced chocolate will get you at first bite. It’s something I’d like to have with my coffee every morning and a worthy replacement to my favorite pain au chocolat.
My niece Julia has her own favorite in St. Marc—the Golden Nugget, soft-serve vanilla ice cream with cereals concealed at the bottom of the cone. I had a taste of the ice cream, which had a rich texture and fresh, milky flavor.
We have Ben Chan to thank for bringing St. Marc Café to the Philippines. It opened its first store in 1998 at Ginza Maronie Boulevard in Tokyo. It has since grown to over 300 outlets globally, spreading happiness through its freshly baked bread and pastries.
St. Marc's Cafe
Ground Floor SM Megamall Fashion Hall, Mandaluyong
Ground Floor UP Town Center, Quezon City
2nd Floor Greenbelt 3, Makati
