Baked GOOD

Baker J brings the Parisian café to Manila

- TRINA EPILEPSIA BOUTAIN

Tucked in the corner of Crimson Hotel Filinvest City’s lobby is Baker J, the cute-as-a-macaron full-service restaurant moonlighting as a Parisian café. The name, which alludes to jesuis (I am), may not sound typically French, but everything else—from the smell of the freshly baked baguettes and pains au chocolat to the candy-colored interiors—is meant to transport visitors to the City of Lights.

Baker J opened earlier this year with the intent of providing freshly made, nutritious and delicious food to residents in the southern area of Metro Manila. But as restrictions loosened up, Crimson Hotel decided to open it—safely—to diners, employing all mandatory health and safety requirements such as temperature checks, health declarations, and the wearing of masks and face shields while not eating. Thanks to all the precautions, diners can breathe easy once inside. In fact, when MEGA visited Baker J one sunny afternoon, the mood was jovial and busy; enough tables were filled with diners having socially distanced têteà-têtes over espressos and the staff was busy with service, bundling up deliveries and food to go.