You’ve Got a ‘Friend’ in L’Ami Frenchy

Ah, dear readers, you’ve been waiting. =)

Let us put that to an end as we talk about the new French place in the our city now. ^^, [Big thanks to eatsplorers, Ms. Ela and Ms. Ryle for motivating me to make a visit to this bakery and cafe that got on my radar while doing recon on Mei Hwa and the 24 hour Samgyupsal resto and while feeding my addiction for Southern dishes and cheesecake varieties (one never expects would work but by Jove, it does!) at my flavor of the month (months? *hihi) food establishment, Ozark Diner.]

Sandwiches A-Plenty and A-Generous

Le Fume – parma ham (smoked and prosciutto like) , cheese, boiled egg, tomatoes, salad, bechamel sauce and of course, butter.

Since the monsoon season is truly in (but with breathers of beautiful sunny days, thank the gods), I’ve been suffering from a light cabin fever. When Ms. SoulsearchingintheClouds.wordpress.com, Ela and then Ms. Ryle asked me about L’ami, I started to browse through the restaurant’s Facebook page. Seeing the slide, “Happiness is a spontaneous dinner with a friend” on their timeline, I was inspired to go on a spontaneous lunch there with my family because how else do you cure cabin fever? By getting out of the cabin. =D

Le Normand – ham, Camembert, tomatoes, boiled egg, salad, bechamel sauce, and yes, more beurre.

The sandwiches at the bakery were subs which totally brought some sunshine into the gloomy day/my day.  The baguettes were stuffed with cold cuts, veggies and cheese displayed artistically and with great attention to detail on their plates.

L’Americain – home made beef burger steak, cheese, egg, salad, homemade french fries, bechamel sauce and butter, butter, butter \m/

Taking a bite out of the sub, (which was no easy feat with its size and the overall texture of the bread), I found myself looking for a bit more flavor.  I wanted so bad to ask for some ketchup but I didn’t want the French chef to think me boorish.  =b

The sub for hungry men … big enough to share. =)

Getting almost full from my sandwich and the scrumptious fries on it, I took the other half of my sub home.  (You bet, I squirted some ketchup and even some mustard on it! Boorish-ing in the comfort of home. Ms. Salty strikes again.=)) )  I got a hankering for Subway sandwiches until recently and it was L’Ami Frenchy that took care of that.  (Merci beaucoup for saving me from a trip to Manila, ‘friend’.)

Savory Crepes

The burger version of the crepe

If you want something lighter for your meal at the Frenchy place, crepes are the way to go.  Contrary to what you might think, this isn’t always stuffed with sugary sweet ingredients.  (Although there are dessert versions of the crepe on the menu, too. Something to go back for, for the sweet tooth-ed. \m/)

Crepe gratinee – chicken, mushroom, cream, and cheese and browned on the grill. Ohh-la-la

These delicate batter cakes were still mild on taste but oh, so creamy-licious. And the stuffing? The ham, the cheese, the burger steak, the egg, the chicken, the mushroom, the fries … fresh ingredients cooked into un delicieux plateau de crepe. (Man, I hope that phrase is correct. *heehaha) (Oh, the thought of the aroma of the mushroom and the butter/cream hovering over our table then! *contented sighs)

Crepe forestiere – ham, cheese and creamy mushrooms.

Let’s take a short break from the blast of color photos and go daguerrotype. *ahh

X and foodie lovies at L’Ami Frenchy

Confections by the French

Ready? From the dessert display, we picked out (with much difficulty because everything there was eye candy) the peach cake, a slice of Le Prestige and a fruits tarte. (“,)

Peach cake

Like a thicker crema de fruta … or should I say, crema de peach; this peach cake makes for a great dessert, I imagine, especially for a hot day for the refreshing feel it has to the mouth.  Individual sized as it was, it was a hefty sweet treat.

Le prestige =D

Le prestige is definitely a dessert that deserves recognition.  What a wonderful contrast the different layers of chocolate mousse, cakebread and caramel had in this!  That’s various textures and various hints of little essences going around in a forkful. You might want to pace yourself with this though.  This one’s pretty luscious.

Fruits tarte ^^,

I enjoyed the L’Ami tart a lot and was thankful that it was bigger than other tarts that I’ve tried.  Just like the peach cake, it was fresh and cooling to eat.  The fruits on top were awesome too … and then that unexpected jolt of sour with the pineapple. *yowzah

Pieces of the bakeshop and cafe (another improvement on steroids, Sage colors too) … their espresso bitter coffee in pretty china, fresh orange juice and mango shake.

Comfort in Truffles … and More

A week later, Race and I were back to our French friend.  I forgot to buy some truffles in the first visit and we ended up getting more comfort through good French food from the sandwiches: Le Classique and Le Vegetarien; and another dessert, Succes.   (Ohoho, PMS was rearing its ugly head then, too! Everyone take cover! *hee)

What does PMS mean? *click photo for larger view. That day, it was all of the above =)))

Le Classique was like the other subs, just without the vegetables. As for Le Vegetarien, I found that that was the sandwich for me.  Warm, buttery gooey to the fingers slices of loaf (yes, not baguette) with cheesy soft tasty tiny cubes of veggies as palaman.  Wee!

For dessert, Succes was a success with choco mousse sandwiched between almond discs (think silvanas).  It’s the truffles, however, that gave me (and my foodie loved ones) such consolation and pure pleasure. (I don’t drown my sorrows; I suffocate them with chocolate. ~Unknown *harhar Thanks for helping me do that, ami!) … and check out the packaging. The itty bitty ‘padlocks’ … eiii, so cute!

Comforted for a second time. (“,)

X marks L’Ami Frenchy for (comfort and solace in) good food in Baguio. You’ve got a ‘friend’ in L’Ami Frenchy.

Food:  but it’s a perfect  for Le Vegetarien and the truffles. *droolworthy truffles.

Service:  Kudos to our lone attendant. The service for food was a tad slow but it might be because the chef was all alone doing all the work in the kitchen. (He dashed out to get something from the ref by the counter and in a split second, was back in the kitchen again.) So if any of you guys are interested, the search for more staff (attendants and bakers alike) at L’Ami Frenchy is on. Cool deal right, to earn a day’s wage and to learn from a real French chef? How exciting!

Ambiance:   Though pretty … we kept thinking, “My eyes! Decor, too bright, too loud. I gotta wear shades.”

Price: 

Uh-oh, someone’s getting ideas … *snickers #breadmonger

L’Ami Frenchy Bakeshop and Restaurant

#19 Marcos Highway corner Legarda Road

(Where the old Bambenny used to be.  Across Botikang Pinoy. After the flyover before the curve and police outpost going to Legarda.)

Baguio City, Philippines

***Title based on the Toy Story theme song.