(AUTHOR'S NOTE: This review was originally published in January 2014. I haven't returned to that particular branch ever since, as Bizu opened up other branches in the north. I chanced upon Bizu after a job interview in Makati that ended up unfavorably.)
Mix Monday morning rush, weekday traffic, and Makati City - and you have a recipe for stress and disaster. I learned this the hard way when I arrived almost an hour late for an employment exam at the capital's central business district. Unable to finish the exam properly, I left hungry and frustrated - so I walked towards Ayala Center from PBCom Tower to de-stress.
Bizu Patisserie and Cafe caught my interest, so I entered the place and requested a table for one. I really wanted to feature this joint, named after the French word for "kiss", here at The Monching's Guide. The place still had Christmas decorations themed after "The Nutcracker", with ballerinas and nutcracker soldiers around. The pipe-in music is reminiscent of the tunes being played in Parisian cafes.
Weng, the server assigned to me, took care of everything. She handed me the menu and suggested some good choices for a late lunch, seeing that it was my first time there. I ordered Clam Chowder, Blueberry Pancakes, and a pot of Breakfast Blend Tea. To start off, I got a basket of complimentary bread and some herbed butter to match. The butter paired off very well with the freshly baked bread, with only the addition of basil and chopped garlic.
The Breakfast Blend Tea arrived afterwards, an energizing loose-leaf tea in a silver tea ball to keep the leaves in one place. It's a rather brisk black tea (stronger than Twinings English Breakfast) - too brisk, in fact. I asked for milk to tone down my tea, and it was promptly given.
I was in the middle of enjoying the bread and tea initially served, when the Clam Chowder arrived. Weng asked if I wanted some freshly cracked pepper on top, to which I obliged. The Clam Chowder was served in a sourdough bread bowl similar to The French Baker's, although Bizu's version is a bit smaller. The soup, however, was a different story: it had more body compared to The French Baker's watery take. They didn't scrimp on the clams and chopped vegetables, which contributed to the chunky texture. I chucked what was left of the herbed butter and bread into the soup for extra flavor.
If there were any negative points, it was mostly towards the sourdough bread crust. The sour taste was rather tolerable when paired with the soup, but it became overwhelming over time that finishing the bread bowl became a challenge. Fortunately, Bizu's attentive service saved the day. Weng then approached and asked me if I wanted to refill my tea pot with hot water - which I declined. She then asked me if the pancakes should already be served, to which I replied in the affirmative.
Soon enough, Bizu's Blueberry Pancakes arrived. This stack consisted of four pancakes no bigger than a saucer, topped with a generous amount of blueberry sauce. I used the blueberry as a spread for what remained of the sourdough bread bowl, then dug in the fluffy pancakes and rich blueberry. Sadly, I was unable to finish the pancakes as I was already full at that point - so I opted to have it for takeaway. An entire bowl of clam chowder, coupled with the complimentary bread from earlier, almost made me vomit (which is a no-no in a restaurant like that.)
Which brings me to this final point: don't overindulge too much on foods that easily fill you up whenever doing a review. Fortunately, the long walk from Greenbelt 2 until the Ayala Avenue MRT station helped bring the food down.
Until the next review; bon appetit!