SM Aura Premier and Paul Boulangerie Café

Since the construction of the building I knew at once it was trouble, and my fears became horror when I found out that it was an SM mall. Despite the fact that I appreciate SM to an extent for bringing in foreign brands and affordable retails, I can’t help but feel biased when it comes to the feel of shopping in their malls, not to mention their ways of dealing business. Always: miles of plain white walls, boring fluorescent lighting, bad flooring, unclean finishes, unimaginative detailing, and chuck full of people. From where I see it, the huge chunk of boot-shaped wall covered the intricate cityscape BGC had tastefully planned out; always big, but never grand. Now, SM Aura is not part of BGC but of Taguig, so it totally makes sense why they were able to smack the mall right along C5 and mammoth their structure right in front of Ayala Territory. I've also come across articles of it being a green architecture, its name Aura coming from the combination of Gold (Au) and Radium (Ra), and the pending case they have with BCDA…other than that, it’s causing me a lot of inconvenience.

During construction, months of traffic jams along C5 were bad with trucks occupying a whole section of the road. A few days before the opening of the mall, the traffic jams began piling up along the intersections of 26^th Street, Mc Kinley Parkway and C5…plus with the new cumbersome rerouting system of BGC, cars clog in all exit and entry points to the area while leaving the rest of it inaccessible. I hate what BGC is fast becoming, a concentration of bystanders and jammed cars. I hope they’ll resolve such issues ASAP. As in!

With so many people, comparable to the horde in Cubao, I lost interest of taking pictures or even staying long in the mall for that matter. Sarah Jessica Parker was no longer there when I arrived anyway, so the only point of going there was one thing alone, makiki-osiyoso.

SM Aura…well, the stores are pretty (a notch classier than other SM stores)  and I like what I’m seeing except the mall itself. True to its nature, it’s a heaping block of white with unfinished sections. I know, it’s in progress, but I can clearly see it was rushed; uneven flooring and messy paint jobs. They were not keen on hiding their excitement of opening the mall and the haste was made obvious as roughly 60% of the mall is tarpaulined with different versions of Coming Soon statements. The thing reminded me of SM Annex in Q.C. with its long straight hall and boutiques on both sides of the building. Plants on the Sky Park are dying from shock of being transplanted in the concrete environment. People from all walks of life flock in droves with cameras to document their experience and update their profiles. Shops are using the term “soft opening” to disguise their impromptu debut. As a supposed high-end luxury SM Mall, people certainly are not intimidated with stepping in and walking around in their slippers. With a possible fail in their effort to market the mall as an exclusive since it’s right beside a colony of informal settlers and with a common mentality that it’s an SM mall, I don’t know where it will stand on the months ahead especially with the major renovation on going in Market! Market! and the upcoming Shangri-la next year. I suppose the sure winner will be us, the customers, who will benefit from all the rivalry.

"Ang eksena niya parang pinaghalong high end 

na middle class with a hint of masa."

                                                   -Francis N.

I can't wait to try more of their creations. <3

I have crappy handling skills, thus I seldom buy take-out.

Lemon Tart (Php.150.00)

An additional note, Paul Boulangerie Café is something to look forward to in completion as a single bite of their butter croissant made me a fan. The one on the photo is actually a Lemon Tartlet as the croissant never made it home, I devoured it within a few steps after leaving the counter. It was so good that I cannot compare it to any other croissants I've eaten before…it was perfect bliss. The tart…well the filling was all over the box by the time I got home so it didn't look pretty eat, but I do commend it as having a nice crumbly crust and a zestful-custardy-velvety filling. It’s as sour as you imagine lemons to be, but in a good way. I am definitely coming back as soon as they finish the better half of their café.

I shall probably return with a better outlook when the commotion has settled and 90% of the stores open.

*Update#1

I finally made it home with a piece of butter croissant intact, so I took a photo of it just make my claims more convincing.

Butter Croissant (Php.65.00) 

Look at the golden brown color and the how well the layers tuned out.

Fruit Filled-Donut (Php.95.00)

The donut was a little sad to eat...though there's actually more filling than what it looks like, it's not something I would go for a second time. 

Maybe it's me...maybe it's the donut...but it's just what it is. 

And good news! I asked the girl behind the counter when their cakes will be available because I'm not so into their tarts, she said the restaurant will be done either late July or early August. Weeeee! <3

**Update#2 (January 20, 2014)

So apparently the girl behind the counter had no idea that her employer would push back the date to December...and so here I am, back for more croissants--finally! And I liked the interior with blacks and elegant fabrics, plus the use of simple lines--so tasteful and classy! I like it--though I don't feel right at home since quirky-rustic cafes is more of my thing. Still, bread and pastries are always a good thing. And on a side note...I love their menu!!! The layout and photographs I mean, the choices are limited but fine. 

Paul's Hot Coca was my favorite-tasting thing of the bunch.
It was the saving grace of their bland waffle and crepe.
This was sinfully thick and made from good cocoa. Try it!

Their cakes are crazy Php350 a slice! So they don't put a price tag on, so I was surprised when I found out.
It was good though, with many layers and complexities as they mix the cake with many flavors and textures.
Still, my knees weakened at the price. I tasted the one on the rightmost corner--the pistachio-rose-raspberry-thing. 

This waffle sprinkled with powdered sugar was underwhelming.
It was an awkward-tasting thing that lacked "ummmf!" But it is cheap. Php 140 I think?
But just so you know, I don't know the standards of waffles, just not a personal favorite this one.

This was their afternoon tea that is a good starter set for first-time diners.
The cake felt like it was flourless because it was gooey, but not like a brownie
sort of gooey. The macarons were soft and puffy and lightly flavored.
You get the smaller sizes in the set, but the typical ones are pretty big.
And the tea can be shared with cheapskate friends!

I had to edit this photo a lot, but it still turned out as boring as it tasted. :(
The Plain Crepe was also quite cheap, Php120 if I recall right. Just order
the hot cocoa with it to balance the blandness. 

Quite frankly, I prefer their breads to their pastries. Except for their sour apple strudel. 

The Croque-monsieur was really good, including the salad. The price made
me want to flip the table though. So my friend ordered, and I ate my part from her.
The ham was sweet, the bread was soft, the cheese was gooey--yummeh!

The creme brulee was amazingly cheap in a sense that the three of us had
to share it and force ourselves into not wasting the dish. It was average in taste though.
I think it was around Php200...?