Bebe Rouge Patisserie – An Authentic French-Japanese Cake Shop!

I first discovered Bebe Rouge when I was in my Japanese food / bento making phase years ago when I frequented New Hatchin Japanese Grocery along Metropolitan Ave. in Makati. At the time, it was just selling pretty Strawberry Shortcakes and various pastries inside the New Hatchin grocery.

I knew it was Japanese because it was in sold in New Hatchin, of course, but also because of the meticulous attention to detail. The care and attention put into the cakes are evident just by looking at them.

Last week, I was invited by Zomato to check out Bebe Rouge Patisserie. I’d heard that Bebe Rouge now had their own cake shop, but I’d never had the pleasure to dine inside.

Bebe Rouge Patisserie is located right beside New Hatchin! The decor is Japanese-style Parisian chic, if you can imagine it – hot pink, brown, white and black Parisian chic colors with trademark Japanese delicateness and attention to detail.

Upon entering the patisserie, you’ll be greeted with displays of perfectly decorated cakes, fragrant teas and teacup sets, and little tea cakes.

Their bestseller, the Strawberry Shortcake shown below, is P600 for the whole cake.

Here are some close ups so you can get an idea of the prices:

They also sell cookies and Japanese delicacies like Dango, Mochi and Daifuku!

THE CAKES

For drinks, I ordered the Iced Tropical Rooibos Tea (P150) – it had no sugar but I found it refreshing. The deep, fragrant, fruity flavors of the tea more than make up for the lack of sweetness. I’m sure it’s healthier this way, too 

We were served this plate of cake samplers. The cakes are:

The cakes in the picture are small because they are sample sizes for us to try. Don’t worry, a real order will be regular-sized 

My favorite, hands down, is the Cream Puff (P60). To me, no other commercial cream puff comes close. The choux pastry shell is thin, soft, yet sturdy, and it’s just brown enough to provide a hint of bitterness as a foil to the sweet vanilla custard and cream filling. The filling! If your favorite donut flavor is Bavarian, you will love this filling. The filling is similar to your favorite donut’s Bavarian cream, but better, creamier and less sweet. It is made with REAL vanilla, NOT vanilla extract – as in, I could see specks of vanilla (it’s those tiny black dots) in the cream.

The Strawberry Shortcake (P125 for a slice; P600 for the whole cake) is what Bebe Rouge is famous for. It is layers of light, fluffy sponge cake, whipped cream and fresh sliced strawberries. The cake is not too sweet. It’s just a simple strawberry shortcake but the ingredients are top notch – the strawberries are real strawberries (not from a jam or preserve), the sponge cake is soft and not dry, the whipped cream frosting is a light whipped cream that is not sweet at all. This is a must try, especially if you are not fond of overly sweet cakes.

The Opera (P135) is a cake made of layers of almond joconde sponge cake, chocolate ganache, coffee buttercream and chocolate glaze, decorated with edible gold leaf (it’s the brown cake). It’s a moist cake, and each bite gives you flavors of chocolate & coffee incorporated in cold, creamy, spongy goodness. This is like a refined tiramisu, except with more chocolate & coffee flavor and no cheese.

The Matcha Roll Cake (P115) is a matcha sponge cake with matcha cream (it’s the green cake). The two “dots” in the middle are sweet red bean paste. Matcha is an acquired taste – it’s a strong, sort of grassy green tea flavor, and is slightly bitter. I always describe it as “concentrated chlorophyll”. I liked the matcha sponge cake – it is light but springy and not too sweet. I am not a fan of the red bean paste – I just don’t like red bean paste, never liked it, even though I admit the red bean paste used for this cake was good quality smooth anko 

The last cake in the sampler is the Eve (P150). This cake is not usually available at the shop. It is usually by order. At first bite, I couldn’t tell what it was about this cake – there were several layered flavors I couldn’t identify – it was a little sweet, fruity, but there’s a little tartness, too. It turns out that Eve is composed of Granny Smith apple mousse, cinnamon caramel mousse, and is topped with caramelized apples (the orangey-brown things on top of the cake).

Here is a picture of the regular cake slices so you have an idea of their size:

SUMMARY

Have you noticed a common theme? All the cakes are not that sweet. All of the cakes are also light – they are easy to eat and don’t feel nakakaumay at all; for some reason, despite how rich their cakes seem to be, they don’t leave that sickening oily feeling; I also have not encountered a dry cake. No complaints from me, and I’m picky about cakes because I bake!

The secret is no secret – all the cakes are made from scratch, and Bebe Rouge’s owner is very particular about using quality ingredients and maintaining the quality of their cakes. He studied baking in France and Japan before deciding to try his hand at opening this unique bakeshop.

Considering the quality of the cakes you get for the price, I find the cakes at Bebe Rouge to be good value. Their prices are on the same range of the standard coffee chains’ cakes. Parking is also free. Their wifi is not working at the moment, and they don’t have wall outlets to plug laptops into, but it’s still a good place to go if you want some quiet time for yourself or to catch up with a friend – but the best reason to check them out is really because of their cakes!

Aside from cakes and pastries, Bebe Rouge also sells breads and sandwiches.

Bebe Rouge Patisserie
7602 Sacred Heart St, Corner Metropolitan Ave, San Antonio Village
Contact #s: 897-7207, 0917-560-7298
HOURS: 10 AM – 7 PM
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PatisserieBebeRouge