After Dinner Dessert Bento Box: Top : Chocolate Cake and Profiterole
Bottom: Macha Mousse and Pana Cotta
JAPANESE Master Baker Hideo Goto must be smiling with pride every time he visits Fujinoya along Wilson Street in Lahug, which he established two years ago with Carlostito “Tito” Gothong, youngest son of shipping fame Bob Gothong. Fresh from earning his Business Management degree, 25-year-old Tito can now give his undivided attention to his bakery-cum-bistro.
Fujinoya is an established bakery in the Gifu Prefecture in Honshu, Japan since the1950’s famous for its refined seasonal cakes that use only fresh ingredients best during the season.
So Tito and his trained bakers are proudly keeping the good tradition of the Japanese bakery.
Veering away from the family’s shipping business, Tito claims he has always been fascinated by food and its preparation. His passion for coffee started at a young age.
He revealed that he even worked for a coffee shop while he was in college just to learn more about coffee and the art of brewing. A confirmed barista riding on the crest of the third wave movement of the specialty coffee scene in our country, Tito endears coffee as artisanal food experience like wine. He is deeply in the coffee quality and flavor and serves selections from Common Man Coffee Roasters from Singapore. And to ensure the joy of drinking coffee in Fujinoya, an equally young barista, Alexis John “Snicks” Econar has joined Fujinoya. An HRM graduate of Lyceo de Cagayan University, Snicks has five years of experience as a barista. We were impressed with his latte art, which he skillfully demonstrated.
Afternoon Tea Dessert Bento Box : Top: No-Bake Cheese Cake and Macha Short Cake ;
Bottom: Fujinoya Chocolate Cake and Whipped
Icing and Meringue Kisses
To celebrate its second anniversary, Tito presented the unique Dessert Bento Box for its latest Afternoon Tea offering. Not your usual bento box, there are two compositions; a mid-afternoon offered from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and an after dinner available from 8 p.m. to 12 midnight. The Dessert Bento Box is good for two persons and paired with a choice of Sencha green tea or coffee. The lighter box is a delightful assortment of light as a feather No-Bake Cheese Cake, Macha Shortcake with the cake layers filled with “adzuki” or “azuki”or sweetened red mung paste cream and the signature Fujinoya Chocolate Cake, layers of chocolate sponge cake filled with velvety cream in between and iced with Belgian chocolate ganache. Macha is finely ground powder of especially grown and processed green tea. Tito says the best way to eat these delights is to start from the lightest to the richest. In between, the palates can be refreshed with cream and fresh fruits. The After Dinner version include more refined Fujinoya creations–Panna Cotta topped with Fruits, Macha Mousse, Profiterole or cream puff and Chocolate Cake.
Dessert is not a part of a typical Japanese meal. Fresh fruits in season are usually served after a meal. There are so many scrumptious traditional as well as western-style sweets, pastries and cakes. And they are best eaten for between meals with tea or coffee than for dessert. Fujinoya, on its second year, continues to offer the traditional refined Japanese cakes and pastries prepared with detail and precision to satisfy our palates as well as our sense of aesthetics.