A Charming Korean Bakery In Ortigas

tea and pastries at Mr. Park's

As I write this on my bed, my female tabby cat is trying to canoodle on my lap and walk right over the keyboard of my HP mini. So, my advance apologies if I sounded a little incoherent on this post. I just couldn't shoo her away. She's too damn adorable. =)

There's a new bakery cafe in Eton Emerald Lofts in Ortigas. But this isn't just any ordinary, run-of-the-mill bakery store since it's has Korean spelled all over the place. I did some checking on the Net and found that Mr. Park's Bread & Cake originally started in BF Homes in Paranaque before they spread their branches in other parts of the metro like in Bel-Air in Makati, in SM Sta. Mesa and now here in Ortigas. Lucky for us who live and work in the area since we don't need to go to their other branches in far-flung places when the craving for good, quality breads and pastries kicks in.

where you could get all the baked goodies you want

a good place to chat while eating breads and drinking coffee

When I first went here, the place was teeming with Korean nationals. A proof on how big of a hit Mr. Park's is since there's a lot of Koreans now in Ortigas. Might be they did some feasibility studies and took cue on the success of Subspace Coffee which only just a couple of blocks away. One is also encourage to use one of those beautiful trays with gold accents and tangerine colored tongs to select the breads and flaky pastries you wanted to have for take-out or (if you can't wait like me) to eat it inside the store. They also have a selection of beverages (hot and cold) that you could order along with your breads and pastries of choice.

sweet potato latte and heart egg toast

break the heart

As I hover over all things bready and beautiful, a moment of indecision came over me. There's just too many to choose from. A very helpful server came to the rescue and recommended to me the Heart Egg Toast. Since I like all things heart shaped, especially the edible ones, I acquiesced. As I scanned the beverage to go along with my toast, my eyes caught the Sweet Potato Latte. I've never known a latte could be made from sweet potatoes. Apparently, this particular hot beverage is very popular in Korea, especially for breakfast. Curiosity got into me and ask for this drink when I paid for the toast at the counter.

I've fallen in love with the toast at first bite. I never thought that the toast has lots of cheese sauce spread over it. Think Kraft's Cheez Whiz. It also has thinly-sliced ham encased between the sandwich and hidden in all those cheese spread. And who wouldn't be enthralled with that heart craved from the bread slice where from it's groove a sunny-side up egg was placed. How they performed this edible artwork still fascinates me. I only just wish that the egg yolk was a little more runny. But that's only a very minor quibble. 

The sweet potato latte has the very flavor of the root crop in it. To coin a term from one of the blog that I've read, "very sweet potato-ey". Milky and smooth with a just a hint of espresso. I took a sip of the latte in complete reverie as I took a bite of the toast in between.

yujacha and some sweets

On my second visit, I loaded in on all the sweets. I was thinking of having the Pistachio Almond Frappuccino. But the seemingly cold weather gravitated me towards the hot beverages, specifically the Yujacha. It's a citrusy hot tea with slices of lemon that were grounded and mashed then sweetened with honey. A perfect perk-me-up drink on this drizzly, gloomy climate.

I was also delighted with the sweet treats that I tried. The Cheese Cream Bun was pillowy soft. The cream oozed out sneakily as I bite into it. It's quite messy to eat but I didn't mind that at all. I mistook the Chocolate Ball to a truffle but that's okay. It's has a moist, mousse-like texture. The chocolate that coats the ball was velvety-smooth and creamy. After one bite, my knees turned to jelly instantly.

I found the Almond Tart somewhat dry, but it's all good. The slivers of almond on top of the tart provided nice balance of texture. I like it's sexier counterpart, the Walnut Tart. It's top glisten under the fluorescent lights while the walnuts doing its own play of peekaboo underneath the sweet custard and crust. This tart was very moist and truly gratifying.

Since I pass by this bakery shop on my way home from work everyday, I can't wait to try their other savory and sweet offerings on my succeeding visits. I'm also eyeing the Korean halo-halo which they call Pat Bing Su once the weather gets a bit hotter.

mrparksbreadandcake.zz.mu