Whenever my friends find out that I have a food blog, most of them would say I'm lucky for having tried so many food establishments.  Truth be told, it's the dishes I don't blog that I'm most grateful for.  On most days of the week since childhood, our dishes at home are cooked by mom from the freshest and healthiest ingredients which she buys from the nearby market on a daily basis.  

Another question I am usually asked is what is my favorite dish.  I always just smile because I don't think anyone would believe me if I told them, it's simply my mom's steamed okra and fried pampano. =))  

And mind you, cooking is probably the least my mom has ever done for us.  And, we, as her children have and will always show her how much we love her for that.  


For our pre-mother's day dinner celebration, my siblings and I thought really hard on treating her to establishments she deserves.  We decided that a French dinner which we rarely have would be fitting.  Thus, I suggested Brasserie Cicou by Chef Cyrille who is nicknamed Cicou. I've visited this on the 18th of February three years ago and since then I've been wanting to take the family here to try.


The interiors are as I've remembered it to be, an excellent fusion of elegance and comfort.  The lamps are made of wine glasses and wine bottles which was artistic but in a refined way.


There's a loft which board games.  My siblings played chess here while having an after-dinner coffee.

There are pastries and spreads for sale at the Delicatessen.

Food

Complimentary Bread Basket

I've read a lot of raves about the Complimentary Bread Basket but when we tried it, it was not as spectacular as we expected.  It was thinly crusted so it was quite crisp and flaky on the outer while soft and chewy on the inside.  It was good but not beyond comparison as exclaimed to be.

Appetizers et Snacks

♥ Beef Carpaccio (488 php)

When the Beef Carpaccio was served, we all had the same silent expression which I assumed to be "Wow! That's a lot of fine meat right there."  It was a heavenly as it looked.  My mom and siblings, who are rarely enticed by meat dishes, couldn't help but eat like carnivores.


Les Soupes
We had our soups split into two because we intend to order more solid offerings.  

La Soupe a l'Onion (330 php) *NOTE: this is only half serving

 The La Soupe a l'Onion is a very good rendition of the classic onion soup covered in melted cheese.

 

♥ Prawn Bisque, Sea Urchin Flan (390 php)

All the soups we tried were awesome.  But, my favorite among them would be the Prawn Bisque, Sea Urchin Flan.  I'm very pleased that mom approved of this as well!

Mushroom Soup (310 php)

The Mushroom Soup received the least praise but only because it was more common that the rest.  The bold flavors of the mushroom were enhanced by the cream base.


Salades-Sandwiches

Chef Cicou Salad Single (330 php)

Salad is my mom's favorite course so we ordered the Chef Cicou Salad.  It had croutons, greens, onions, gruyere cheese, dried tomatoes, egg, chicken and ham.  It was really good! 

Les Pates

♥ Seafood Ink Pasta (510 php)

We really didn't expect the Seafood Ink Pasta to be as it is.  It was like a lasagna with black layer of pasta covered in melted cheese and drenched in creamy sauce with bits of prawns, fish, mussels and clams.  It was fantastic!


Poultry

Chicken Breast Fillet (498 php)

I thought the Chicken Breast Fillet looked and sounded plain but I was proven wrong.  The chicken was moist and very tasty.  The pasta was cooked al dente.  This is one of the most precisely cooked pasta, I've ever encountered.


Beef

♥ Onglet Poele (650 php)

The Onglet Poele is one of the best pan-seared US hanging beef tender I've tried!  We had it cooked medium and it was cooked precisely so.  It was also served with thick potato fries and romaine salad.

Fish

♥ Asian Sea Bass a la Plancha (610 php)

The Asian Sea Bass a la Plancha is another hit among us!  The mix match of flavor and texture is light but outstanding.


Dessert

♥ Kougn Amann au Cinnamon (330 php)

For dessert, we had the Kougn Amann au Cinnamon which is aboslutely the best Kouign Amann in the Metro!  We indulged ourselves over this sweet laminted pastry is covered in cinammon sugar and topped with vanilla ice cream.


Coffee

♥ Decaffeinated Coffee Lavazza (120 php)

It's my first time to be acquianted with Lavazza, an Italian espresso coffee brand.  Well, I loved it!  The Decaffeinated Coffee Lavazza was a very soothing after-dinner coffee.

Delicatssen

♥ Vanilla Canelle (20 php) and ♥ Madeleine (15 php/each)

We really bought some Vanilla Canelle and Madeleine for take home snacks because they were so tiny and cute.  But upon tasting them, I found them to be the most ist and soft ones I've ever tried.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Thanks to Brasserie Cicou, I've appreciated French cuisine like never before.  The service is excellent.  The food quality is definitely worth of the price you pay for. 

It's been a few months since we first discovered about Tous Les Jours and we've been huge fans ever since.  Whenever we go out and spot a branch, we'd definitely go in and go out with a large paper bag filled with Tous Les Jours pastries.  I have to admit, we always to tend to buy more than intended because the staff is so friendly and they always advise us of their hidden promo like buy 300 php worth and get a FREE macaron and stuff. 

So when I was invited to Tous Les Jours' opening at SM Jazz Mall, I was ecstatic to come!

*P.S. The new Jazz Mall is a foodie's haven with lots of restaurants that are soon to open!

Tous Les Jours is a French-Asian Bakery that originated in Korea with over 1,000 branches around the world including the United States.  Jazz Mall branch is bigger with lots of pastry display and a dining area.  They offer FREE wifi too.


The shelvings are consistent with the other branches.



It's my first time to visit them in the morning so I'm quite amused that the selections are more bountiful than it is during late hours.

Belgian Waffles
The Belgian Waffles are their new product. 

Blueberry Waffles (48 php)

I chose the Blueberry Waffles. Their version was thin, golden brown and crispy on the outside but slightly fluffy with blueberry bits on the inside.  It was like a hybrid of Holland waffles which is thin and crisp cookie-like waffle and the fluffy American waffles that we Filipinos are well-accustomed to.

Strawberry Waffles (48 php)

Chocolate Waffles (48 php)

Belgian Waffles (48 php)

Cakes

I've always dreamed of trying their cakes. =)  TLJ's cakes are so cute!

Each cake is created with passion by their pastry chef.  I was able to witness how they decorated their Rose Inspiration Fresh Cream Cake (498 php).  Check out the video if you want to learn to how to cake decorate (cake decoration 101).  But seeing how much skill it requires, I feel so lucky that I can just purchase them at an affordable price at TLJ. =)

Classic Chocolate Cake (598 php)

The first I tried was the Classic Chocolate Cake.  I really like Tous Les Jours light icing consistency.  This is probably the lightest chocolate cake I've ever had in terms of texture, consistency and taste.  Too bad, I'm more of a bitter-sweet chocolate lover.  
 

♥ Blueberry Berry Light Cheesecake (598 php)

The Blueberry Berry Light Cheesecake had the exquisite lightness yet still rich in cheesy flavor of a Japanese cheesecake.  It was delicious! 
 

Cookie Cream Cheesecake (798 php)

I'm naturally biased towards everything with Oreos.  So I can't help falling in love with this Cookie Cream Cheesecake.

So this is the dining area.  You enjoy your beverage and pastries here.

I tried the Iced Citron Tea (88 php).   It was a bit diluted compared to those served by other Korean coffee shops.

Almond Kouign Amann (78 php), ♥ Mango Bagel (78 php), Milk Bun (48 php) and Madelaine (38 php)

I already have my own favorite at Tous Les Jours but I took the opportunity to try something new. I tried the Almond Kouign Amann, Mango Bagel, Milk Bun and Madelaine.  I'm adding the Mango Bagel and Madelaine to my favorites list.

It's actually my first time to try the Breton originating cake called Kouign Amann.  TLJ's version was different from what I expected.  According to my research, a Kouign means "cake" and Amann  means "butter" in Breton.  It is a round crusty cake made with bread dough containing layers of butter and sugar folded in resulting into layers like a puff pastry i.e. croissant.  The Almond Kouign Amann was a thin-layered pastry glazed in thin crisp caramel coating with almond bits.  It was good albeit the sweet coating.


Tous Les Jours Patisserie Connoisseur Card

Tous Les Jours Patisserie Connoisseur Card

With the Tous Les Jours Patisserie Connoisseur Card, you can get 2% rebate with a minimum of 100 php worth of purchase.

Tous Les Jours Patisserie Connoisseur Card

How to avail and activate this card?
Step 1:  Purchase a minimum single-receipt purchase of 500 php and get this new Tous Les Jours Patisserie Connoisseur Card for FREE.  
Step 2: Activate by registering at www.tlj.ph

Macarons (28/38 php/piece), Tofu Chips (68 php), ♥ Sweet Black Rice Bread with Cream Cheese (48 php), ♥ Cream Cheese Walnut Bread (128 php) and Pumpkin Muffin (58 php)

Of course, my family will not forgive me if I didn't bring home some pastries for them.  Like I mentioned in my previous post, I love the Cream Cheese Walnut Bread!

♥ Sweet Black Rice Bread with Cream Cheese (48 php)

The Sweet Black Rice Bread with Cream Cheese is now our ultimate favorite!  This is a must buy for us in every visit. 
 

Macaron de Paris: Classics (28 php) and the Premiums (38 php)

We also love their Macaron de Paris.  Aside from being affordable, it's delicious too.  There are two types.  The Classics and the Premiums.  For the Classics, our favorite is the ♥Green Tea as the other variants are too sweet for us.  For the Premiums, we like Grape, ♥Korean Cherry and Green Apple.

Aside from their already reasonable pricing at great quality, the additional incentive of the Tous Les Jours Patisserie Connoisseur Card will surely make us frequent TLJ more.  It's also great that they continue to offer more pastry offerings so we can try something new every once in awhile.