The little bakery that could

Friday, February 3, 2012

CALL it the little bakery that could. The Corner Bakery is one of those Cebuano homegrown shops that, well, grow on you.

It’s tucked into a quiet street within a residential neighborhood on President Roxas St., Villa Aurora, Mabolo, Cebu City. The unassuming name fits the bill quite nicely for a restaurant that, although low-key, has much to offer.

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

Owned and managed by Jason and Michelle Ng, it’s been around since 2007 and has a steady stream of customers even without making a big splash through advertising.

“I don’t want to build my business on hype. I want to build my business on the quality of products that I’m offering,” says Michelle.

The Ng couple share a passion for providing good food at reasonable prices. Their first venture was a grill house on Salinas Drive. They then started what would be the foundation of Corner Bakery through a home-based business, baking for friends and family who passed the word around. Now into their fourth year, these foodies travel occasionally to pick up culinary trends they can incorporate into their menu.

In the store, you will find healthy fare like whole-wheat loaf aside from typical bakery staples like pan de sal and ensaymada.

A must-try in the menu is the pasta penne ai funghi. The crunch of the walnuts, combined with the earthiness of the mushrooms and the smoothness of the butter and
cream sauce, makes the texture of this dish very interesting.

One of its best sellers is the hot chicken wings, coated with seasoning and served with a blue cream cheese dip.

As for dessert, there are cupcakes in different flavors (carrot, choco nutty-banana, red velvet, Belgian choco and smores); a variety of cakes such as choco swirl cheesecake, lite choco chiffon, lite mango chiffon and mango cream pie (showcasing Guadalupe mangoes). There are even bite-sized desserts like mochi in mango, strawberry and Nutella flavors, choco-mango loco, tiramisu and black forest cups.

But never ever leave the store without trying the banana cream pie. If you taste the bananas, the custard center, the graham crust bottom, the cream and the caramel sauce individually, you will think this dessert is so-so. But take them all in one bite, and all these individual components melt into one and burst into a symphony of flavors in your mouth. It’s like you died and went to dessert heaven, with the angels singing in the background to boot!

This cozy, homey café is worth the visit.