You can say that it was an experiment that addressed a rising and yet unforeseen demand. Now, what once was a temporary fair became a monthly event people with a sweet tooth always look forward to. Power Plant Mall's Baker's Fair has become a lot of people's excuse to head on out to Makati. Not to watch a movie or catch up with friends (There's always home for that.), but to go stall shopping from the 17 shops offering breads, pastries, jams and many other baked products. Held at the basement of the mall (along the food court) every weekend, the fair has been running for a couple of months now (up until the end of December, according to the latest report). Hopefully (with fingers crossed), Rockwell grants our wishes and extends the fair to appease our sweet cravings. Here are some of my fave finds. What's yours?

Macarons from Empire
It takes me just one bite to finish a whole macaron, as such I always end up buying at least a dozen. The macarons are available in a variety of flavors--white chocolate, chocolate mocha, lemon, blueberry, strawberry, mango chocolate, strawberry chocolate, and the bestsellers, cookies and cream, pistachio, hazelnut, and triple chocolate.

Other buys: Cheesecake balls

Prices:
Macarons - P30/piece, P350/dozen
Cheesecake balls - P30-35/piece, P270/9 pieces

Empire
Contact info: 09178861190; 5142546; www.empiremacarons.blogspot.com

Other buys: The lone Turkish stall sells dishes like stuffed eggplant, Turkish crepe called gozleme, spinach quiche called borek, meatballs called kofte, and stuffed vine leaves called yaprak dolma.

Prices: a tray good for 40 people/ P2700, half a tray/P1350

Anatolia Cuisine
Contact info: 4374249; 09178558005; 09178558006; 09228557680

Breads from Nic's Bakeshop
This stall sells a lot of items but what I really like (and never fail to buy when I pass by) are their breads, particularly the cheese rolls, mega cheese bread, and Parmesan Ensaymada. Melt in the mouth! And I can imagine eating it in between meals, with tea. The cheese roll tasted like a much lighter ensaymada. It's not over-the-top sweet and the strip of cheese in the middle makes it a sweet-salty treat.

Other buys: They sell cookies like cappuccino chip biscotti, brownie bites and lengua de gato, bars like white choco fudge, lemon bars and peanut butter Mississippi, cakes like bruun butter cake, wheat bread pudding, mango bombe, and mocha chino, pies like banana cream pie, apple pie with a variety of toppings (French, crumb or de bola topping), and peach walnut pie.

Nic’s Bakeshop
Contact info: 7155831, 7160321, Nics_bakeshop@yahoo.com

Prices:
Cheese roll - P28/piece, P300/dozen
Mega Cheese Bread - P75/piece
Parmesan Ensaymada - P45/piece, P540/dozen

Mochi from Dezato
Your eyes won't let you get away with it. No, you can't turn to the side and not see the beautiful array of mochis wanting to be popped in the mouth. And once you pop one, well, you can't stop. Bite into these soft, gummy pillows filled with luscious chocolate. Yum!

Other buys: Other items up for sale are the banana cake with streusel topping, carrot-walnut-pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting, date-nut tart, special bibingka with cream cheese, chocolate covered potato chips, and chicken pastel empanadas.

Prices:
Premium Chocolate Mochi - P385/dozen
Mochi ice cream (mango, strawberry, green tea, coffee, choco, vanilla) - P175/half a dozen

Dezato
Contact info: 7271229, Dezato.multiply.com

Bibingka Malagkit from Q Kitchen
I'm a big fan of local desserts (there once was a time when I craved for sapin-sapin every week). That's why when I got taste a free sample of the Bibingka Malagkit, I knew had to buy a whole slice. I like this, Fina Formoso Quimson's version because it's not too dense and thick that a few bitefuls and I'm done. As a proof, I finsihed one hefty slice in one seating.

Other buys: Her other confections include cookies and chews like cinnamon crunch, oatmeal crispies, banadas, meringue kisses and coconut cookies, breads like apple cinnamon ring, Hawaiian bread, breadsticks and lavish crackers, and pre-ordered food like Ed Quimson’s Iberian chicken, pollo ala Consuelo, creamy beef lasagna, marty’s fabada, callos ala madrilena.


Prices:
Raisin bread - P160 each
Coco jam - P200
Lola Tutung’s Mango jam - P330
Bibingka Malagkit - P450/small, P750/large

Q Kitchen
Contact info: 09228177131

Piaya from Casa Carmela Kitchen
Piaya in different forms and flavors? I instantly got hooked. More so once I got to taste the mango and dalandand version. Yum. Other regular piaya flavors include ube, kalamansi, whole wheat and the traditional organic muscovado. There are also the piayitos available in the same flavors, with an additional espresso, and cocktail piayitos in chicken and chives, sea salt-crusted, country herb, malunggay flavors.

Other buys: The Casa Carmela Kitchen also sells puff tarts in banana cinnamon and mango calamansi, baked polvorn, and deli itemss including sinamak, inasal marinqade and grilling oil, sea salt with cracked pepper or malunggay and lemongrass flakes, chicken inasal pate, and smoked bangus fillets.

Casa Carmela Kitchen
Contact info: 09192116586, www.casacarmelakitchen.com

Prices:
Regular piaya - P105
Piaya ice cream cones - P240
Cocktail Piayitos - P80 to P120
Piayitos - P80 to P120

Other buys: Embutido, Food for the Gods, Chocolate revel Bars, Sansrival bites, empanadas in pastel de pollo, jamon y queso, callos a la madrilenaa, carne norte, atun

Prices:
Tortas - original P330/half a dozen small pieces, P600/4 large pieces; queso P360/half a dozen small pieces, P640/4 large pieces
Pineapple Upside down cake - P195/small, P420/medium, P810/large

San Lo’s Famous
Contact info: 8442853, 09159042631