Kim Chong Tin Hopia Factory

Kim Chong Tin Hopia Factory on Carlos Palanca Street (formerly Echague) in Quiapo, remains to this day the best hopia producer in Metro Manila – better than Polland’s and Eng Bee Tin's. 

Its various fillings – from mongo bean paste to baboy (made of candied winter melon, green onions and pork fat) are incredibly delectable. And this is the only hopia store in Metro Manila that sells the most scrumptious mini hopias.   

And one of the secrets of this hopia factory, according to Pam Obieta of the Cooking Class, is that the bakers use the lard or drippings from the ham products sold at Excellente Ham, a few doors away, in making the dough.  This innocent looking  pastry stuffed with yellow mung bean and red eggs has the earthy and smokey flavors of ham. Baked in a traditional pugon oven it is best eaten hot because it is high in cholesterol.

The store looks sparse, but that's because they bake as needed; hence, their hopias are always fresh right off the oven.  Also, the bulk of their business is the hopia filling, which is sold per kilo to various bake shops nationwide.  Its current manager is the affable great grandson of the original owner.

My father started taking me here when I was a kid.  We used to buy a few bags to bring home as Saturday afternoon merienda.  And as a teenager, I used to grab a bag of mini hopias and a can of soda here before buying a ticket to one of the movie theaters along Rizal Avenue.  

According to the Web site Ang Sarap, hopia was introduced to the Philippines by the Fujian Chinese during the American occupation.  It came from the Chinese word ho-pian which means “good biscuit”, it is nearly similar to moon cake wherein a pastry is filled with a sweet paste, and it is also traditionally given as a gift.  

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Kutchinta

Kutchinta has been etched in my memory since the good old childhood days.  The vendor we used to buy it from was a Chinese guy.  Kutchinta was not all he sold.  In his two iron canisters, which he balanced on his shoulder with a long bamboo slat, were puto, buchi, hopia and other Chinese baked and fried merienda goodies.  But the kutchinta was my top choice.  There was another variant of which -- rectangular and thicker -- but I prefer the round ones. Kutchinta is best served with fresh grated coconut.   

In Metro Manila, the best kutchinta for me is made by Dolor’s Kakanin where I used to drive all the way to Malabon just to get some.  But they had since opened a branch in Quezon City which is a lot more convenient.

In Bohol, the best kutchinta I had tasted so far is sold by Sariling Hain at BQ Mall Food Court at Tagbilaran City.

Kutchinta is basically made of rice flour, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, anatto seeds and lye (sodium hydroxide).  This bit of lye water in kutchinta is to help give the rice flour batter a jelly like consistency.

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Suggested read:

Manila Bulletin: Vanishing Kakanin

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Sharing with Food Trip Friday and Food Friday 

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I very much appreciate my articles and photos appearing on fellow bloggers' sites, popular broadsheets, and local broadcast news segments, but I would appreciate even more a request for permission first.

Thank you!

Authentic Pancit Malabon comes to town

Pancit Palabok

One of the foods I missed the most, being here in Panglao Island, were the Pancit Malabon or Luglog and Palabok.  These noodle dishes are easily found at Manila’s eateries, but not in Bohol.  Jolibee’s has palabok, but the serving I find too austere … plus I feel like it has been prepared by a food technologist rather than by a cook.

Anyway, much to my surprise and delight, while walking through the food court of BQ Mall at Tagbilaran City the other day, I saw this food stall that carries authentic pancit Malabon and palabok.  So, before I went to see The Avengers, I had a plate of its palabok.  And right after the movie, I headed back to order pancit Malabon.  They were both good and priced affordably.

Pancit Malabon

Pancit Palabok is made of rice noodles with bright orange thick sauce sprinkled with a variety of toppings. Pancit Palabok comes in various versions, but the famous one hails from Malabon in Metro Manila.  Its ingredients usually include tinapa (smoked fish) and chicharon (crushed deep-fried pork rinds).

Pancit Malabon, on the other hand, is a noodle dish with a yellow-orange color due to its main ingredients of patis (fish sauce) crab fat, shrimp, squid, oysters, hard-boiled eggs, and strips of pork.  Unlike the palabok, this noodle dish contains some vegetables. It is aptly named Pancit Malabon because it originated from Malabon.

Edwin's Special Pancit Malabon

4th floor Food Court - BQ Mall at Tagbilaran City

For special orders contact Alvin or Riza

Cell phone: 0908-455-6604 or 0932-147-3785

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Yummy Sunday

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I very much appreciate my articles and photos appearing on fellow bloggers' sites, popular broadsheets, and local broadcast news segments, but I would appreciate even more a request for permission first.

Thank you!

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Bread Talk: Part 4 - Jojie's Bakeshop

This is my favorite Filipino bakery located at Masagsag Street in Tagbilaran City.   It’s a complete Filipino baked goods shop – from cakes to popular local delicacies.

  

They also offer suman (made from glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk, and then wrapped in banana leaves before they are steamed).  My all-time favorite is the kamoteng kahoy, but here at Jojie’s you can find banana (saba) suman – surprisingly tasteful!  In addition, Jojie’s Bakeshop carry roasted peanuts without any oil or salt!  And when I found these at the counter, I could scarcely conceal my delight.

Incidentally, Jojie’s Bakeshop at Masagsag Street has a dining area with the view of the water – indeed, a very pleasant place to unwind and enjoy a cup of coffee along with those freshly-baked merienda fare.  Jojie's Bakeshop has branches all over Tagbilaran City.

A very amusing read: The 20 Greatest Bread Quotes of All Time

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I very much appreciate my articles and photos appearing on fellow bloggers' sites, popular broadsheets, and local broadcast news segments, but I would appreciate even more a request for permission first.

Thank you!

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Chow King

This was my favorite Chinese dim sum and short order eatery in Manila until I mastered the streets and alleyways of Chinatown in Binondo like the back of my hand, and discovered its various eateries.  And now, here in Bohol, it has once again become my favorite whenever at Island City Mall and suddenly find myself craving for some dim sum.

Of more significance, Chow King, unlike the other nationally-known and popular fast food restaurants that came to Bohol, has not succumbed to the locals' penchant for saltiness.  

All my favorites from Chow King's menu taste just the way they do in Manila.  That is why, for a quick merienda, I'd often head on over to Chow King for its lumpiang Shanghai and pork tofu.  But for lunch (as in photo on top), I'd add a bowl of wanton soup and at times, siomai, too.  All that for less than 150 pesos.  Chow King's lumpiang shanghai, by the way, has got to be the best I've ever tasted in the country.

Apparently, Chow King seems to have turned a huge number of locals into regular patrons, which explains why it is always crowded.

Lumpiang Shanghai and Pork Tofu

Lunch time

Chow King at its opening hour (Ground Floor -- ICM)

However, when craving for even better Chinese food, I go to Shiang Ma Nou

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Please note:

I very much appreciate my articles and photos appearing on fellow bloggers' sites, popular broadsheets, and local broadcast news segments, but I would appreciate even more a request for permission first.

Thank you!

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