Yes, it is absolutely more 'pan' (bread) in the Philippines, so to speak!
Most Filipinos have sweet tooth. And I am one of them. Like everyone else, I grew up enjoying different kinds of breads, cakes, and other sweet pastries and delicacies.
(As usual, my domestic in-flight snacks of
'salab' and mamon from El Ideal)
That's why when I fly home, I make sure I get to enjoy all of them, plus a few other favorites. I really don't mind gaining more weight. After all, it's only my luggage that gets weighed in at the airline's check-in counter, and not me. Ha-ha-ha!
(Brunch at Bizu in Greenbelt 3! Thanks, Tina!)
(Macaroons from Bizu!)
And while I usually enjoyed chocolate cakes, brazo de mercedes, ensaimadas, fruit cakes and other sugary recipes on land, I also bring my own snacks on my flights back to Manila and then to Seoul, to make sure my enjoyment continues...up there at 30,000 feet, or higher!
(Puto kutsinta and
ready-to-fly-to-Korea ube halaya!)
(Dolor's sapin-sapin and
Cafe Mary Grace's chorizo and green olive pasta!)
My check-in luggage would always be full with sweets, aside from my clothes and toiletries. Perhaps, if the Customs would x-ray my suitcase, they'd always find that half of it is garments, and the other half is...diabetes. Ha-ha-ha! But I can only bring so much, which would only last for a couple of weeks.
(Checking in my luggage with all my brazo de mercedes and sweets; my weight allowance was 30 kilos.)
(A sunny afternoon flying out from Manila to Seoul)
(The best in-flight snacks ever: turon, sapin-sapin and Jamaican beef patty. And soda with ice, of course!)
But thanks to thoughtful friends, I am able to enjoy these goodies in Seoul a few times in a year. And just last week, I enjoyed the best cheese rolls in the Philippines again! Thanks to Cielo and Mary Grace for bringing me some Mary Grace cheese rolls, suman and banana chips. A shout-out also to Marlu for the Salazar hopia, which I'm digesting as I upload this blog. Ha-ha-ha!
(And maybe Salazar hopia and
Bizu macaroons before landing.)
(And I won this pouch during CebuPac's in-flight game!)
Just like the cool spring weather in Korea, these delights are always welcome any day...and night! I sometimes microwave a piece of the ube-pinipig suman for midnight snacks! The cheese rolls were reserved for breakfast and a pack of the Salazar hopia was for afternoon snacks.
(Mary Grace cheese rolls arriving in Seoul!)
(Mary Grace cheese rolls as breakfast in Korea)
Although there are also a lot of sweet delicacies and fancy pastries here in Seoul, having these goodies I enjoyed growing up is an entirely different thing on its own. The local desserts and snacks here just can't compare.
From ensaimadas to otap to piaya to panara; let's throw in bibingka, barquillos and empanada, puto manapla and hopia...I could go on and on, but I'm salivating now! I have to stop! Ha-ha-ha!
With all that variety of baked, steamed or fried goodies, it's indeed more pan in the Philippines!
(Mary Grace goodies arrive in Seoul!)
From where I grew up, in the province of Negros Occidental, fresh lumpia must be eaten within a day it's made because the ingredients don't allow it to stay long. But since the Ilonggo-style fresh lumpia is specially yummy, they usually don't actually stay on the table for long. Ha-ha-ha! The last time I had fresh lumpia Ilonggo-style was at El Ideal Bakery in Silay City in Negros Occidental, when I bought a dozen to Manila for Tita Sylvia. And that was more than a year ago.
(Spacious and airy!)
But this time, during my tour of Binondo, courtesy of my friends Diana and Marlu, it's a different style of fresh lumpia I discovered!
The fresh veggies, peanut powder and a few more ingredients which were all squeezed into the fresh lumpia wrapper like a rolled fat, white blanket, and laid out on a plate. A whole fresh lumpia would be lunch for me, but since this was like an up-sized fresh lumpia, it has to be cut into two and shared.
(Tourists waiting for their fresh lumpia!)
I wasn't surprised I have not been to this hidden restaurant, New Po-Heng Lumpia House along Quintin Paredes St. in Binondo, Manila. It was really hidden! One has to know where to find it because its entrance wasn't obvious from the sidewalk. You have to know where to find it, and lucky for us, our friend Diana, a Binondo native, was there to introduce us to the best lumpia not just in Chinatown, but on this side of Metro Manila!
(A courtyard in a lumpia house!)
Aside from their fresh lumpia, they also serve maki, which is a thick, dark saucy broth. And both go well together! Add a soda to the duo and it's perfect for me! And all of their dishes have unbelievably reasonable prices!
(A halved fresh lumpia!)
(Maki!)
Not only is their fresh lumpia is the best for me this side of town, their restaurant is also unique with a mini-courtyard right in the middle of an old building. If you want to visit them, just Google them. They're in Facebook, too!
Aside from the Salazar Bakery, this New Po-Heng Lumpia House should also be in everyone's list when visiting Binondo!
Its crust is flaky and soft; its filling has a real ube taste with its sweetness just enough to flood my palate with memories of one of my favorite snacks.... hopia!
All these years, even as I am away from home, thoughtful friends visiting Korea always brought me hopia as pasalubong. From the Seoul drama queens who brought me these, to my friend Remy who also brought me a box which I shared with the Admiral at Gwanghwamun, to Agnes, and to JM and Jasmin, who also got me a box!
All these years, I have enjoyed the Eng Bee Tin and Polland hopia brands, but on my visit to Manila's Chinatown in Binondo, I was introduced to Salazar's hopia by friends Diana and Marlu!
I think a long time ago, another friend Dia, who used to work in the Binondo area, told me about this brand, but I guess I forgot about it. And today, on our visit to Salazar Bakery in Binondo, I wondered why it was called Salazar Bakery when this was obviously owned by a Chinese-Filipino family. According to Diana, the original location of their bakery was on Salazar Street. Now, it's on Ongpin Street.
But no matter where it's located, or what its bakery name is, this hopia is definitely the best! I just love, love, love it! And it's reasonably cheap, too!
How, I wish I would be able to bring all these goodies back to Seoul, so I can enjoy them every time my tummy grumbles. But I need not worry as Salazar's Bakery isn't going away and I know my way around Manila's Chinatown. This bakery is definitely in my list next time I fly home.
(A happy bunch of Salazar Bakery fans!)
So, in the meantime, let me just enjoy my hopia, one bite at a time.
