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Love Local: Patisserie Le Choux-Colat Opens First Store in Podium Mall
By marrying French techniques with local ingredients, Patisserie Le Choux-Colat found its sweet spot in creating stunning mirror cakes and entremets.
Whether you’re looking for a sweet ending to your meal, something to treat yourself with, a pick-me-up, or a gift to express your love, cake is the answer. A feast for both eyes and the mouth, cakes are showstoppers in their own right, as they showcase the ingenuity, creativity, and culinary prowess of their maker.
Take for example the creations from Patisserie Le Choux-Colat. A passion project that originated at the height of the pandemic, this dessert shop soon won over the hearts and stomachs of many, which prompted the owners—multi-awarded pastry chef Ely Salar and his wife Jiannina—to open their first physical store over at The Podium Mall in Mandaluyong City.


From Humble Beginnings
With world-class elegance truly befitting of its selection, the name Patisserie Le Choux-Colat is actually a smart play on words. It is, after all, a coming together of what Chef Ely is known for: the choux dough pastries he makes often, as well as the chocolate flavors that either form the base of, or adorn, his pastry creations.
Like many businesses that started during the pandemic, Patisserie Le Choux-Colat first debuted on social media, specifically in February of 2021. With Facebook and Instagram to get word across, the dessert shop initially offered only two products—the Chocolate and Coffee Crème Brûlée entremets—which instantly became a hit among cake connoisseurs.
“Entremets are multi-layered cakes encased in a beautiful mirror glaze,” Chef Ely explains. “These confections may appear simple and unassuming, but they will take your taste buds on an adventure with a flavorful medley of fudge or sponge cake, cream, mousse, crunch, and texture. Imagine biting into a symphony of flavors and textures that range from light to creamy, pillowy, smooth, and crunchy.”
Eventually, the shop expanded its dessert repertoire with new flavors. And after multiple appearances in weekend food fairs, Patisserie Le Choux-Colat opened its first-ever physical store on July 8, 2022.



Do as the French Do
Rooted by his principle of elevating the Filipino food experience, award-winning Filipino pastry chef and chocolatier Ely Salar’s culinary endeavors center on bringing together French techniques with Filipino ingredients. Through Patisserie Le Choux-Colat, he creates these French confections with a Filipino twist using high-quality ingredients—some of which are sustainably sourced from his Elfortunella Farm in Leyte.
The result? Handcrafted entremets and gâteaux de voyage (travel cakes) in various flavor combinations—overall picturesque desserts that are familiar to the Filipino palate. “Even with a simple and elegant presentation, each cake is made with a great deal of complexity using the French technique to build all the layers and achieve the desired eating experience,” Chef Ely shares.
Moreover, a lot of skill and artistry goes into creating the perfect blend and form—down to the intricate details, which the chef himself makes from scratch. The result is a creation that is made with love, or simply, a testament to premium quality and pastry craftsmanship.
“Our taste profiles are never too far away from flavors we are used to,” he explains. “From the aroma to the form, glaze, textures, and flavors, each piece is a treat to the senses and taps into a familiar feeling or memory or serves you a wave of nostalgia.”


The Patisserie Le Choux-Colat Experience
Just like what Chef Ely does with his cakes, he—together with Arch. Tricia Perdigon, designer Cal Tavera-Katigbak, and Engr. Romel Laquian—put a lot of thought and love into setting up Patisserie Le Choux Colat’s first store. Decked out in emerald and gold hues, along with white accents here and there, this French-Filipino shop features French Art Deco interiors, paired with local elements like solihiya to reflect the owner’s roots.
Aside from being a Parisian respite in the middle of the mall, Patisserie Le Choux Colat also promises an interactive and sensory experience. The workstation, for example, doubles as a stage where fans can witness the artistry and skills in creating and perfecting the final look of the pastries. From glazing cakes to handcrafting and setting garnishes, customers can see the craftsmanship and care they put into every detail—one cake at a time.




Highlights and Must-haves
While cakes are synonymous with special occasions, sometimes, we find ourselves craving a small piece or two of this sweet treat. While the online arm of Patisserie Le Choux Colat only accepts orders for large cakes, its store in Podium Mall offers mini cakes that you can bring back or enjoy on the spot in the store’s dine-in area.

These snackable small portion cakes in question are part of the Gâteaux de Voyage series—Patisserie Le Choux Colat’s version of travel cakes. While they deceptively look like eclairs, they are actually cakes that come in two seasons of varying flavors, which you can take home in singles or in a box of 6.
Season One features a trifecta of chocolate-themed cakes. These include the Chocolate Rocher—a fudge cake made with feuilletine hazelnut crunch, topped with chocolate truffles and chocolate praline. Another flavor is the Banana Chocolate, which showcases a fresh and indulgent sponge cake, white chocolate streusel, banana ganache, and a decadent dark chocolate ganache. And finally, there’s the Almond Praline, a vanilla pound cake with almond praline, and caramelized whipped chocolate ganache.
On the other hand, Season Two features a mix of familiar tastes and adventurous notes. First off, you have the Carrot Cream Cheese—a carrot sponge cake topped with rich white chocolate cream cheese, sweet glazed carrots, and crunchy milk chocolate praline crumble. Next up is the Tablea Nut Brittle, which features a tablea chocolate sponge, salted caramel nut brittle, and tablea chocolate cremeux.
And to cap things off nicely, a refreshing treat: the Calamansi Bavarian—a bright and tangy calamansi pound cake with candied calamansi, wrapped in white chocolate and dusted with toasted cake crumbs.


Going back to the entremets—the multi-layered mirror glaze cakes that propelled Patisserie Le Choux Colat into fame, Chef Ely debuted two new flavors for his Entremet Collection: the Mango Magnifique and Yema Cacao.
Made with fresh Philippine mangoes, the Mango Magnifique is a summery dessert that features a sweet and citrusy profile. When sliced, you’re treated to delectable layers beneath its white chocolate mirror glaze—from a spread of mango mousse to mango gelee cubes in vanilla diplomat cream, and finally, a vanilla citrus sponge, flanked by a streusel crunch disc.
On the other hand, the Yema Cacao is a local treat for chocolate fans. Bringing together the sweet and silky taste of the well-loved Filipino candy with the decadence of tablea (which is notably not acidic like most tables desserts), you get layers of sponge cake, rich tablea cacao panna cotta, light vanilla sponge cake, and an oozing yema mousse once you cut into the yema chocolate mirror glaze.
And for a final touch, you get a cacao chocolate bark topping, and cacao pod made with a tablea milk chocolate crunch. Truly a delight!



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Patisserie Le Choux-Colat’s first-ever physical store is located on Level 2 of The Podium Mall. You may also order for pick-up or delivery thru this link https://form.jotform.com/213533794041453. For the latest updates on new flavors and seasonal offers, you may follow @patisserielechouxcolat on Facebook and Instagram.