It started with the Croissaymada, which is a cross between a croissant and an ensaymada. Armed with a steady supply of laminated dough, Donatella Chua, the Croissant Lady herself, turned out batches upon beautiful batches of golden-brown butter croissants and pain au chocolats. Perfectly baked, with a crunchy and flaky crust and a buttery tenderness within, her croissants never failed to delight and soon became a top favorite.

Mostly keeping to the classics, Donna "accidentally" invented the Croissaymada in the afternoon of 24 August 2021. While sipping her favorite Earl Grey tea, she suddenly craved for ensaymada and began searching the Net for possible places from which she could order ensaymada online. When she could not find any that satisfied her, she decided to make her own ensaymada using her own butter croissant. She opened her pantry and went to work. No buttercream — because it would destroy the puffiness and flakiness of the croissant. She brushed salted butter on the bread and sprinkled it generously with Parmesan cheese and brown sugar, then toasted it, and repeated the process. Result: A certified hit.

Now comes her Pain au Chocolaymada, which is a pain au chocolat and an ensaymada in one. It follows the same pattern — of grated cheese, melted butter and brown sugar on top of a classic pain au chocolat — and it actually works because the chocolate in the bread blends harmoniously with the cheese, butter and sugar topping, especially when perfectly toasted. Again, this came about as a result of a craving, with pain au chocolat being one of Donna's personal favorites among laminated breads. Result: Another big hit.

The Croissant Lady offers its latest Pain au Chocolaymada as well as new savory pies — Laing Lava Pie, KimCheese Pie, and Black Pie.

And it came at the perfect time for Donna, as The Croissant Lady PH has just recently opened The Croissant Lady café at the private kitchen studio of Chef Works Philippines (a US established brand specializing in chefs', hotels' and restaurants' uniforms) at Pamana Building along A. Arnaiz Avenue in Makati. There, customers can have their fill of The Croissant Lady's butter croissants, pain au chocolat, mini savories such as Spinach puffs and peppered mushroom puffs, Croissaymada, and, now, Pain au Chocolaymada.

To maximize The Croissant Lady experience, Donna has also come up with a number of savory pies — Laing Lava Pie, KimCheese Pie, and Black Pie. As its name suggests, Laing Lava Pie is Bicolano laing (gabi or taro leaves low-cooked in coconut milk with cheese) in a puff pastry pie. KimCheese Pie capitalizes on the Filipinos' fascination for everything Korean, including food, as it fills a pie with kimchi. As for the Black Pie, the mystery "black" filling is dinuguan!

Another must-try when checking out The Croissant Lady's tasting menu is the CroiBonara. It is carbonara prepared the authentic Italian way — no cream, seasoned with salt and pepper, and sprinkled generously with Parmesan cheese — with angel hair pasta. The twist is in the use of Taiwanese sausage, which is smoky, garlicky and slightly sweet, served with a classic French croissant.

Orders may be coursed through Viber/SMS +639175226009 and Instagram (@croissantladyph).