LAST week, on March 26, 2014, Johnlu Koa, the brains behind the highly successful The French Baker, finally realized another dream – that of opening Lartizan, a boulangerie, restaurant and salon de the (tea salon) that was to be the higher end French dining experience that he was going to offer to foodies and diners in Metro Manila.
A boulangerie by reputation, Lartizan brings to Manila an authentic taste of France with its authentic French pastries and baked products that, surprisingly, will not cost an arm and a leg to enjoy. It specializes in sourdough, incorporating the perfect mixture of sourdough in its pastries, which is a skill and art that could only be possible because of Johnlu’s expertise in sourdough production. Sourdough products are not yet readily available in the metro, and Lartizan just might start a whole new French baking revolution by offering sourdough in the market today.
Lartizan, which opened at Serendra with Senator Grace Poe Llamanzares and former Senator Edgardo Angara in attendance, is also a restaurant, being the refined product of The French Baker owner Johnlu Koa’s efforts to bring in genuine French cuisine to the Filipino connoisseur.
“It’s a recipe of our ambitions to build a spot where the crème de la crème of our products can be presented, ranging from the pastries, breads and sourdough to culinary masterpieces. It couldn’t have come at a better time, since we are also celebrating our 25th year at The French Baker, and given that kind of track record, we are ready to take this to the next level. We want the Filipino consumer to love French cuisine,” Johnlu says.
Having enjoyed dining in a boulangerie and sipping tea with bites of scones and small sandwiches in a French salon de the during his many European trips, he had longed to share the cozy and elegant dining experience with his countrymen, and Lartizan was the answer. Johnlu had actually opened Lartizan Boulangerie Française branches back in 2009 and 2010, but those were confined to a boulangerie. This new store at Serendra is not just a boulangerie but a restaurant and tea salon at the same time.
At par with its premium selection of flavored croissants, muffins, brioche, baguettes and other breads and pastries, Lartizan serves a full range of salads, pasta dishes, soups, pizza and even desserts such as Strawberry Shortcake and Pistachio Sansrival. Johnlu is particularly proud of Lartizan’s Normandy Style Pork Ribs Stew in Calvados Cream, French Onion Soup, Chicken and Wild Mushroom Vol-au-Vent, Lobster Linguine, Truffle Mushroom Ravioli and Shrimp Alfredo Pizza, mostly developed with the expertise of Chef Reggie Aspiras, whom Johnlu got as consultant for Lartizan.
So, when he sat down with the media during the grand opening of Lartizan at Serendra, Johnlu had Chicken and Wild Mushroom Vol-au-Vents, Lobster Linguine and Flank Steak served. He also gave everyone a taste of his new Red Wine Baguette.
As for the salon de the side of the place, well, Lartizan offers 36 tea variants of Mariage Frères, composed of several Earl Grey variants, black and white teas, all having distinct flavors that would make any tea lover shriek with joy. The teas are prepared using a samovar, which is a heated metal container traditionally used to heat and boil water in Russia and is typically used to make tea. Thus, many samovars have a ring-shaped attachment on top to hold and heat a teapot filled with tea.
Lartizan is, to say the least, the complete French dining experience.
(Lartizan is located at Serendra, 26th cor. McKinley Parkway, Bonifacio Global City, and is open from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.)
