Celebrating 10 Years of Heartwarming Goodness from Bizu Patisserie

Last week, Ken and I, along with fellow foodies, were invited to Bizu Patisserie and Bisro’s Bloggers Party over at their Greenbelt branch. Having been there during the Cadbury Chocoholic night, we were both looking forward to having a taste of more dishes from this pastry shop / restaurant.

I took this photo using my new Nikon D3100. Woot! Stay tuned for better photos soon 🙂

The dinner was graced with the presence of Aaron and Annie Tanco who started it all. They shared with us how their pastry shop was conceptualized, including how they came up with the name of their restaurant. It was all very interesting, especially the part where Aaron told us that Bizu came about after her mom Annie dreamt of people kissing each other on the cheeks (beso-beso) at a restaurant. They decided to use the French word for “kiss”, which is “bisous”, but added a twist by spelling it the way it’s pronounced.

I just want to mention this – I enjoyed how Aaron and Annie spoke to us about their restaurant. You can really feel they’re truly passionate about their food and the service they offer to their diners. They were all very accommodating, even laughing and sharing stories with us throughout the night. Even Chrissy, the lovely lady in the middle of the photo above, was very cheery. 🙂

If you’re after a more casual dining experience, in an intimate setting, I highly recommend you bring your friend or loved one to Bizu in Greenbelt. They also have other branches in Glorietta 4, and soon in Rockwell and Antipolo.

The interior design in their Greenbelt branch is simple, yet very cozy and the ambiance gives you that posh feel.

Bizu Patisserie and Bistro offers European dining in a more relaxing environment. They specialize in pastries, but they have a wide variety of savory dishes that will satisfy your senses. And, so, let me share with you in a li’l while everything we had that night. I’m sure you’d be convinced. 🙂

Bizu Patisserie is celebrating their 10th year of serving heartwarming food to their diners. WIth that, they are holding a photo contest entitled Joie de Vevre (The Joy of LIving). And to give us an idea of what the theme was all about, they gave each one of us this Kodak disposable camera.

I haven’t seen one in years! We were all amused as we’ve all gotten used to our digital cameras and SLRs. We were even kidding around by asking to view a newly-taken photo off it. 😀

We were tasked to use the camera to take photos of each other or anything we see that’s worthy to smile about the whole night. It turned out to be a pretty interesting night of posing, photo opps, and laughter as we take photos of each other. And when I got back to using my digicam, I tried looking at the viewfinder and realized it didn’t have one! 😀 I even attempted to turn the “dial” for the next shot. 😀

Gosh. Just thinking back brought a smile to my face. 😀 Here’s a photo of me with my old school camera. I edited it for some old photo effect. Not sure if it worked though. 😀

Okay, okay. Let me get on with the food. I know you’re all dying to know what were served to us that night.

First up are these three amuse-bouche which are part of Bizu’s Afternoon Tea Set. From left to right:  Caramelized Apples with Brie On Croute, Smoked Salmon with Dill Pistachio Mousseline topped with lungfish caviar, and Mushroom Duxelle in Vol-au-Vent.

I loved all 3 but the creamy salmon with the mousseline on top of that crisp flatbread was my favorite. I think I had thirds. 😀 But, I also enjoyed the sweetness of the apples mixed with the rich flavor of the brie underneath it.

Next up is Bizu’s French Onion Soup. It’s made of classic onion jus braised in balsamic vinegar, croutons and gruyere cheese.

I chose that photo above ‘cause I wanted to show you the cheese that melted on the sides of the soup bowl. The earthy flavor brought about by the cheese, plus the sweetness of the balsamic made me enjoy this a lot, along with the parsley and garlic butter and ciabatta that was served earlier that night. Everyone at my table agreed with me that they make a good combination. 🙂

Next is Bizu’s Truffle Salad. I admit, when I saw this on the menu, I wasn’t that enthusiastic about them serving this. I usually get turned off by truffle oil. I know, some might think that’s hilarious, but that’s the truth. 😀

Anyway, I honestly was surprised that I almost polished my dish clean. The flavors of the truffle oil didn’t bother me. I guess it was all because of the crunch I was getting from the asparagus, and all the mushrooms, and mesclun (young salad leaves) that were perfectly seasoned and flavored that did the trick. 🙂

The last time I was in Bizu before this night, we got a taste of their 10-hour US Roast Beef. Sadly, I was only able to get a small serving of it. But, DANG! I swore to go back to Bizu to just order one whole big serving of it!

Now, imagine how glad I was when I saw it on the menu for that night. 😀 Okay, let this close-up photo of the beef speak for me.

I chose that photo to show you how tender the beef was. It literally was melting in my mouth, I didn’t have to chew at all! Okay, that’s me exaggerating. 😀 I was quite satisfied, obviously, with this plate of food. The grilled veggies, the horseradish and potato gratin made me savor this big chunk of tender beef more.

For dessert, we had their Trio Desserts – Macaron de Paris Lemon, Opera Cake and Strawberry Chiboust – all served on a chilled plate.

I am beginning to fall in love with lemon so I took that macaron first and finished it off in less than a minute! I love this chewy delight!

The Opera Cake, which is the French version of the Italians’ tiramisu, is topped with semi-sweet chocolate. So creamy and I had to take my time with it just to savor the chocolate flavors.

The Strawberry Cheesecake / Chiboust was light and fluffy. 🙂

After we’re done with the desserts, they announced that we’re going to play games where we could win prizes from Bizu. First was the Pass the Truffle. The mechanics? Let me just show you the photos.

The winners won a can of Oatmeal with Muscovado & Raisin Cookies! I didn’t bother joining because I tend to giggle a lot so I know it’ll be unfair towards the team I’d belong. 😀 It was fun watching them though, especially when Ken wanted to pick up the truffle that dropped on the ground ‘cause, well, it’s a truffle! 😀

Afterwards, we had a trivia game. I won twice and got myself a box of Bizu ensaymadas. I got 2 each of their almond, cheese and chocolate variants. Our nanay LOVED them, especially the former because of the almond flakes. 🙂

I also won a can of cookies. Ken won a gift certificate for a personal cake of his choice from Bizu Patisserie. Their personal cakes are actually made especially to just be a small serving (as big as a slice) of your own preferred flavor among the cakes they offer. We’re still thinking about when we’ll avail of it. 🙂

Before we left that night, we were surprised when the servers came out with a huge dish of one of their  best-sellers – French Toast, with a twist!

Their French Toast was creamy, mliky without the mush. It has this pancake-like texture because they drench it in syrup instead of frying it first in butter. This one’s really soft and chewy to my liking. 🙂

We all came home with a box of their French macarons (note: macarons are different from macaroons).

I’m a big fan of French macarons so I loved all of them. I got to try all the flavors and I especially relished the Raspberry, Chocolate Mint (not in the photo), Chocolate and Butterscotch flavors. You can buy them in boxes of 8 (Php 355), 14 (Php 615) and 28 (Php 1,175). Per piece is priced at Php 45.

All in all, it was a TRULY enjoyable night of delicious mix of flavors, interesting conversations, and fun-loving company. I seriously want to go back to Bizu real soon to have a taste of other savory and sweet dishes on their menu. 🙂

Bizu Patisserie and Bistro

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ilovebizu

Website: http://www.bizupatisserie.com/