Great news for Le Petit Souffle fans—the Century City Mall favorite just opened its SM Megamall Mega Fashion Hall branch. “People up north would tell us, ‘Tayo naman kayo on our side,’” said Kristine Lotilla, one of the creative minds behind the resto.

The Japanese-French restaurant opened just in time for the holidays, perfect for people searching for a place for their Christmas dinners (they have a private function room that seats 15 to 20), goodies to bring to potluck events (“We have a lot of things you can bring without it melting in the car like our Gateau De Voyage.”) or even presents. “Our packaging is cute and we have muffins and really stunning cakes that are perfect for gifting,” said Miko Aspiras, an award-winning pastry chef who is also one of the partners behind Le Petit Souffle.

They’ve also opened the Workshop Bespoke Bakery by Le Petit Souffle on the same location. “We’re so happy because every pastry chef’s dream is to have a shop and now we have it.  It’s our first patisserie. It’s our most complete one. We try to cover all kinds of pastries and confections and breads,” said Miko. “We use foreign techniques married with local ingredients.”

So while the Workshop uses Valrhona’s fine Grand Cru line, they also source quality ingredients locally. “Our whipped cream is fresh whipping cream from Rizal,” said Kristine.

“We’re getting butter from Gawad Kalinga for the breads,” added Miko.

What we ate: The tasty Marinated Octopus Salad, the Le Petit Souffle Bacon, Cream and Egg Pasta (think of it as a really creamy carbonara soufflé—

so good) and our favorite, the Chasyu Camembert. If we can have that open-faced sandwich every day for breakfast, we’d be the happiest person in the world.

What we drank: Yakult Guava Crafted Iced Tea (super refreshing), the Taro Latte (a must-try, we love the addition of chia seeds) and coffee from Yardstick.

If you’re a first-timer, order: Classic souffles, Squid Ink Rice, Foie Gras Mac and Cheese, Porc Bourguignon, Japanese Beef Curry Souffle and the iced teas and the matcha latte.

For gifting: “The Araguani Dark Chocolate Tart is so good, Miko would give it as a present before and people would order it,” said Kristine.

“And our White Nutella Forest Cake, our signature cake,” said Miko.