A WONDERLAND OF DESSERTS AT CHEZ KARINE

        Like everyone else, I like desserts. And drinking tea made me appreciate desserts more, especially macarons. Because the sweetness really balances the bitterness of the tea. And there's a nice little place where you can go to enjoy different varieties of pastries and a whole bunch of good macarons. And that's a French patisserie inspired by flavors of America and Asia. It's Chez Karine (pronounced as "shei kareen") 

        Chez Karine opened a second branch at the SM Mega Fashion Hall not too long ago. It's a simple relaxing place where I can imagine bringing my girlfriends for an afternoon of tea / coffee paired with some fine pastry.

        Chez Karine makes fresh pastries everyday so you can be sure that the quality of the desserts served here have excellent quality. If I'm not mistaken they have over 16 flavors of macarons from Dark Chocolate, to outrageous seasonal flavors like Matcha Red Bean and more. (See complete list of flavors on the menu at the end of this post). One macaron is P55.

        We were able to try four amazing flavors. The matcha red bean, the red velvet, black sesame and... wait for it... MAPLE BACON! 

        It's the yellow one in the picture. It's maple-sweet and you can taste the hint of bacon flavor from the filling. The matcha red bean is perfect for green tea fans. I have a couple of friends who might enjoy this. I liked it too. The matcha taste is not very overpowering. The Black Sesame gives off a rich toasted nutty flavor. I like this because it's not too sweet. The red velvet on the other had has a good amount of cream cheese spread in between. Another sweet and salty macaron for you right there. 

        They also have gift boxes containing these tiny macarons! Look, it's even smaller than my bag hook in the picture! Cute as a button!

        But there's a special kind of macaron that they serve that is definitely perfect for the summer. And that's the Macaron Ice Cream (P70). (I know right?) Same exact size as their macarons but in between is a very thick layer of delicious ice cream. It's like an ice cream sandwich with macaron buns. It comes in dark chocolate, salted caramel, and vanilla bean. For me it's a toss between vanilla bean and dark chocolate. Recently I've been finding the salted caramel flavor too sweet. Not just with this one but with other salted caramel pastries.

        And then recently, for the summer, they released their Strawberry Macaron ice cream! This looks really delicious and refreshing! I wonder if it's here for a limited time? Must try it soon! (photo grabbed from Chez Karine Facebook)

        Another one of their new pastries is the Hokkaido Cake (P70). A Hokkaido cake is technically a Japanese chiffon cake. A super soft cake backed in a paper cup. And Chez Karine's hokkaido cake is just that. Really soft and fluffy, with a lightened vanilla bean pastry cream filling! And then dusted off with pearl sugar.

Photo from Chez Karine Facebook

        Just very recently they released another Hokkaido Chocolate Hazelnut Hokkaido Cupcake (P70)! A light chocolate chiffon filled with hazelnut praline cream, topped with pearl sugar and mini chocolate chips. I'm a chocolate lover so I'm pretty excited to try this one

        If you like fruity and tarty cakes, try the Neopolitan (P185). This pretty little pink cake is made up of raspberry mousse, and then stuffed with vanilla and chocolate bavarois, and the outer bottom is a chocolate sponge cake with almond joconde, and then topped with a fresh fan of strawberry. If you're having a pink and brown themed party, this is the dessert to serve!

        This yellow layered cake is Chez Karine's Mango Caramella (P165). Enjoy layers of  freshly made mango mouse, mango jelly, a thick layer of caramel mouse, and the brown layer is a chocolate sponge cake. It's one of those cakes that is more of fruity with a little sweetness.

        Say hello to Chez Karine's Classic Chocolate Cake (P160). A good bet for dark chocolate lovers. Moist, soft, and very chocolatey. Can't go wrong with this!

        This pretty chocolate dome cake is the Chocolate Earl Grey Igloo (P200). Again, made up of dark chocolate mousee, with earl grey mousse, and a chocolate biscuit base. The marriage of dark chocolate and earl grey is quite interesting. 

        When you drop by Chez Karine, don't skip out on these adorable tiny bottles filled with Royal Pudding (P110). It's one of Chez Karine's flagship product. It's just so adorable! Plus of course, it's good! Very light! It's soft set custard pudding with a dark caramel base. They currently have six flavors. Three of which are classic ones that are vanilla, muscovado, chocolate, and then other half is Horlicks, earl grey, and coco sugar. 

Their new flavors are blueberry cream cheese pudding,

 ... and Cereal Milk Pudding which I can't wait to get my hands on. I love cereal stuff!

Chez Karine also sell pastries, Panna Cotta (also in those small adorable bottles), honey toasts, drinks, and more! Drop by their store at the Mega Fashion Hall or at Serendra and experience a wonderland of scrumptious desserts!

Chez Karine dessert menu, as promised! Again, from Chez Karin's Facebook

Like Chez Karine on Facebook so you can be updated with their latest creations!: Chez Karine Bakery