I confess that if I hadn't been invited by Bella Yuchengco herself (the true gourmet!), I wouldn't have gone to SM Aura. For some reason I have never been drawn to this mall, in spite of the Sarah Jessica Parker hype. But I'm glad I went.
First of all, I didn't realize there were so many interesting new shops (which I have yet to check out). Secondly, I was relieved to finally find a place with parking at the Fort/Bonifacio Global City (BGC) - at least compared to Serendra/High Street, which is absolute hell on any day of the week (try eating at High Street for lunch, you'll be going around looking for parking until 3pm - and even then if you find a spot consider yourself lucky!). Third - and the reason for this post - Shine Bakery was a really great find!
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| Chef couple Rob and Sunshine Pengson at their latest creation Shine Bakery and Cafe. PS They are expecting a baby! How cool is that? Isn't she the most adorable pregnant lady ever? Some girls are truly blessed with everything! :) |
But they offer a full-blown menu that includes soups, salads, pastas, Filipino mains, American mains, and, of course, Sunshine Puey signature desserts. They also lean towards or angle their dishes to breakfast favorites because, I suppose, of the name Shine (let the sun Shine!).
They have a classic croque madame. Really hearty.
Then they pair classic savory dishes like duck with waffles instead of rice or risotto.
Personally, I prefer a traditional pairing but Sandy Daza, whom we had lunch with, loved the combination of duck with waffles. Actually, it doesn't matter what you match the duck with. Eat it alone; it can stand on its own. I had just come from Singapore when we had this lunch and ate at The Black Swan where the duck was beautifully cooked. This reminded me of that experience. Damn good duck.
I returned with my family a couple of weeks later to try their Fried Chicken Steak (which I'll talk about later) and my sister ordered their fried chicken. This, too, was paired with waffles (although you can have it with mashed potatoes instead if you prefer.) Now this chicken is reeaaallly good. It's a buttermilk chicken that is juicy with thick crispy skin. Very Southern. I kind of wondered if this might just be the recipe for chicken that was used in The Help and was inclined to start shouting out a chirpy "Hi, y'all"!
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| Shine Bakery and Cafe signatures: duck confit with waffles, fried chicken with waffles. |
On a blackboard by the kitchen is a sign for Fried Chicken Steak. So enticing I had to come back for it.
Now this is the tricky part. You think it's chicken but it's steak. It's steak that is cooked like fried chicken (actually more commonly known as chicken fried steak). It has the crispy cover of fried chicken but inside it's all the glory of beef. This is truly the best of American Southern cooking in Manila.
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| Shine Bakery's Fried Chicken Steak. It's not fried chicken, it's fried steak! |
They also have burgers. A little on the pricey side though, ranging from P390 to P690, but it's obviously because of the expensive ingredients like arugula and foie gras. (They offer a fondue burger, a bacon and cheese burger, an arugula burger and a foie gras burger.)
Match this with the umami fries. No, not mixed with MSG - but with nori. Highly addictive!
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| Bacon and cheese burger by Rob Pengson. |
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| Shine Bakery's Umami Fries. |
You will be stuffed from all that but don't go home without dessert which Sunshine is most known for. Or, have one of these medjool dates (listed under snacks) which are topped with goat cheese, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with pistachio nuts. Really good.
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| Shine Bakery's medjool date snack. |
If you are that stuffed, take home these Truffle Cookies instead. It's happiness in a box.
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| My gorgeous sister Goldee was so excited to have these Truffle Cookies by Shine Bakery. (Check out her shopping tips in ManilaSpeak.com http://www.manilaspeak.com/author/goldeeluxe/) |
Shine Bakery and Cafe
3rd Level (across Toy Kingdom)
SM Aura Premier
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
+632 553 6566
No reservations needed
Open daily during mall hours
Parking at the basement
Wheelchair accessible
*Gourmandise by Sunshine Puey is no longer in Serendra or Rustan's but the eclairs and other specialties are available at Shine Bakery.
