Mama Chit's Bakery

Mama Chit's Bakery

In a country with countless local bakeries, one does not only rely on taste as the basis of picking the best pastries to buy from. One must also consider the price, the relationship (the “suki” relationship), and the cleanliness. In my case, I have another requirement; experience. I lived in Pasig until I was around 10 then we moved to Quezon City. When we were in Pasig, we used to always have Pan de Sal every morning. Regardless of what we were having, there was always Pan de Sal to serve as an alternative meal. It would always be fresh, crunchy, and from the same bakery. Through the years, this routine buying becomes a memory, an experience, to the point that breakfast wouldn’t be what is it if there is no Pan de Sal on the Lazy Susan. When I moved to Quezon City, I lost that experience because there wasn’t a bakery that would even come close to the bread that I had in Pasig. I had to settle for the commercial ones which were not bad. It was only a couple of years ago where I discovered Mama Chit’s Bakery. Provided that it wasn’t near my house, the Pan de Sal that they made there was almost exactly like the ones I had when I was a kid. It is very soft on the inside with a crunchy exterior and perfect for dunking in the coffee because it absorbs it right away. Most importantly, it presents a feeling of nostalgia. I can assure you that the Pan de Sal and the other pastries that they have in that bakery are the best you can find in the vicinity. Because it is not only about the taste, it is also about the experience. These are some of the breads that they sell:

Cheese  Bread

Corn Muffins

(Brian Galvan)

Sagullo Bakery

Sagullo Bakery

                 I visited this bakery just a jeepney ride from my house called Sagullo Bakery and they make delicious Spanish breads and more. Every morning I buy my bread here because they serve freshly baked pandesal everyday. You can smell the freshly baked breads right around the corner.
       They offer a variety of breads everyday like pande ube, cheesy bread, Spanish bread, star bread, monay, etc. You can buy their monay sliced in a plastic container or a whole.

Monay

       If you have a chance to visit this place try their monay, they are very good and for me one of the best I’ve ever had. Their pastries are very appetizing and mouth watering. Their Pande ude and Spanish bread are a must try for me.

                The establishment is not that exposed to the public so if it’s your first time in Fairview you can’t easily find it. They also sell other products like canned goods, refreshments, and toiletries. As for their service they really know their products and really guided me and helped me out on choosing which breads to try and buy.

                What makes this bakery different from the others is their service. The way they communicate to their customers and respond to the requests, like a specific customer wants their bread sliced with a spread included is allowed in their bakery. Their service is very personal and they take initiative to get to know their daily customers.

                Visiting “Sagullo Bakery” to buy breads every morning is very rewarding having freshly baked goods from them. Not to mention their great service and a large selection of breads to choose from. I will five their bakery a 4 star mark over-all.

(Neil Uy)

Kuya Tolan's Bakeshop

Kuya Tolan's Bakeshop

                Just a few blocks from our home in San Fernando, Pampanga is the Kuya Tolan’s Bakeshop. It’s been there for 12 years now and I can say that they really know what their customers want.  The bakeshop is alongside a main road therefore making it very accessible and noticeable. Aside from that, Kuya Tolan Bakeshop is also open 24 hours providing customers baked goods anytime they want.

                Some of their goods include pandesitos, buko pies, egg pies, chocolate rolls, macaroons (my favorite), and off course the famous “pan de sal”! I’m sure that their products are always fresh because I can smell the aroma a mile away. (from our house)Their bestseller every merienda is chocolate cupcakes, its so soft and chocolaty.

Chocolate Cupcakes(Bestseller)

                In my opinion,  I noticed that their employees are not properly dressed. From what I’ve learned from our lab classes we are required to wear specific apparel to minimize food contamination. And also their ovens are too close to the washroom making it a not so hygienic work place for food.

(Carlo Co)

Vienna Bakery

Filipinos are known for our festivities; the merry making, the big gatherings, and of course the eating. Our very own pan de sal is one of the famous foods we have here. We can find the pan de sal in almost any bakery which in turn are found in almost every corner of this country. In Quiapo, Manila we can find Vienna Bakery. It is located in the heart of the busy street of Quiapo, Carlos Palanca. This one is my favorite:

Choco Crinkles

The bakeshop has two branches, one in Quiapo and the other in Espana. Aside from being a bakery, the branch in Espana accepts orders for cakes which is usually used for weddings. Their bread and butter branch of course is the Quiapo branch. It is a very humble bakery that caters to a large scale of people. Since Quiapo is a commercial area, Vienna Bakery caters to many costumers in that area. Beside the bakery are many business establishments so you can often see employees and workers stay there to eat during their breaks. The prices are on the average and the location is very good. It is very convenient to reach especially from my house. One of my favorites in the bakeshop is the Ensaymada. I especially like it because even when it is not fresh from the oven, it still is very soft plus it is not excessively sweet like the other bakeries sell. One reason why it is a must-go-to-place is because they have this pastry that is similar to a cream puff. It is very crunchy on the outside and a special cream filling that is smooth and sweet.

(Nicko Uy)

Carla's Bakery

Bread connects every race in the world, it gives the quickest answer to every growling stomach. 
Every country has their own specialty on bread thus we can say that bread is our universal food. If France has their French bread, America has their loaf bread and China has their "Siopao", then Philippines has their freshly baked pandesal available anytime of the day. Pandesal is the most affordable and most common basic food for every Filipinos. Aside from the fact that it can be purchased hot and fresh from every bakery most of the time, it may also serve as an heavy meal best matched with hot coffee to start every Filipino morning right.

Rivera Street, Tinajeros Malabon City

Every morning, I always came across this bakery near our house, it stood out among all the other bakeries in town for its freshly baked and affordable breads. This aroma of their freshly baked pandesals never fails to wake up the whole neighborhood. Their breads rate from one peso to twenty pesos, depending on the size and the kind of bread. Because, most people in the community were from the middle class, their delicious and affordable breads attract more customers especially the students who spend on their daily "baons". They bake their first batch of bread at dawn, early in the morning, in the afternoon and in the late afternoon. 

Carla's Bakery

This is Carla's Bakery, most popularly known in the community as the "bakery sa baba" since it is located somewhere down the street. 

Carla's Bakery with Sari sari store

Aside from the different kinds of bread it offers, Carla's bakery also sells spreads, softdrinks, junk foods, canned goods, instant noodles, hygienic items ( e.g. shampoos, soaps, toothpastes..etc). This store is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. People find it more convenient to buy in here, since it is also located at the center of the community, and it stands along the main road. 

Breads at Carla's Bakery

Aside from the freshly baked pandesals, the bakery also offers different kinds of bread such as Spanish bread, ube bread, hopia, cheese bread and loaf breads. We buy pandesals here every morning and sometimes we also buy our merienda here.

Pan de Coco

Hopia Baboy

Ube Bread

Their breads were soft and tasty. I love to buy their bread early in the morning not only that they are fresh but the aroma of their freshly baked breads never fails to let the passers-by stop by their store and buy. People fall in line every morning to buy their pandesal. Their pandesals were never displayed since they were straightly got from the kitchen. Aside from the quality of the bread and the products they sells, this bakery also has the most courteous and kind-hearted employees and owner. Just recently, during the calamity brought about by the Habagat, they gave free breads to the monsoon victims though they themselves were victims of the tragedy. Before their whole bakery was washed away by flood, they started distributing their products and breads to neighbors who lives lower than them. The kindness and generosity of these people made their products more appealing to the market, thus making them loved more by the people and well-known to the public. I would be more than willing to take you to this place when you came along our area. It would not just be a delicious bread trip, but more of an amazing story of how their bread made with love, kindness, hardwork and generosity moved the people in our community.

(Christopher Yu)