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We’re pretty sure that in Metro Manila, Japan will soon be synonymous to delicious desserts.
A few months after we were introduced to Kumori’s delicious palm-sized cheesecakes, comes another Japanese classic: Paper Moon Café and its mille crepes.
Paper Moon is opening in Metro Manila this weekend: at the ground level of Glorietta 3 in Makati on Friday and at the fourth floor of Trinoma in Quezon City on Saturday.
At the Glorietta location, the Japanese Wabi Sabi concept seems to be at play. The 12-table cafe sits right smack in the middle of the mall: a little unfinished, a bit incomplete, and with just a cordon defining its space. It almost feels as if it’s impermanent, and waiting only for the actual physical shop to finish construction so it can transfer its fabulousness.
But these details will begin to fade as you bite into a slice of Paper Moon’s Mille Crepe (PHP220 a slice). Twenty layers of paper-thin crepe are put together by the lightest of pastry cream, the top layer of which is torched to a golden caramelized crust.
That’s actually European by way of Japan. The woman behind Paper Moon is actually the same woman behind the acclaimed New York Lady M Boutique: Madame Emy Wada.
Madame Emy was taught by her Austrian mother-in-law the European way of desserts. So can you imagine the Paper Moon experience now: Japanese precision applied to European decadence?
She’s been baking since the 70s, supplying 7 of the 10 best cafes in Tokyo. She noticed the cafes she’s been supplying is consistently in the best list, so in 1985, she opened Paper Moon.
A little later on, she reached New York, opening and founding Lady M. She unfortunately had to give that up to focus on her operations back in Asia. Finally, she’s at our doorstep. Apart from the usual Paper Moon offerings, Paper Moon Philippines features the Mango variant of the famous Mille crepe. The Mango mille crepe (PHP220 a slice) can only be found in the Philippines, a good enough reason for mille crepe fanatics to come over.
We were pleasantly surprise at how good the mango mille crepe is: thin mango slices are put on top of the pastry cream found between the crepe, adding just a touch of sweetness and a whole new flavor dimension. It’s very refreshing and we highly recommend it.
A large cake is PHP2,000. A medium is PHP1,400. A mini is PHP350. A slice is PHP220.
10am-9pm. G/F Glorietta 3, Ayala Center, Makati; 10am-9pm 4/F Trinoma, Quezon City.
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