My Move to the Philippines

 Ok, so I’m back in the states now and I’m having withdrawl symptoms. Withdrawl from a very special pilipino food and one of the staples of my diet while in the Philippines: pandesal or pan de sal especially from Pan De Manila. I would have it with coffee in the morning, as marienda in the afternoon and a pre bedtime snack.

Pic from wikpedia

For all of you who don’t know what pandesal is I’ll let you know that it is a round bread made of flour, eggs, lard, yeast, sugar, and salt and eaten by most Filipinos and Americans living in the Philippines. I checked up a little on the history of pandesal and found that it was introduced to the Philippines in 16th century and came from Portugal. It started out as just a plain roll eaten for breakfast but has transformed into a sweeter and richer type of bread.

There are arguments over where you can find the best recipe for pandesal and who makes the best. My personal favorite is as mentioned prior from Pan De Manila a franchise that is popping up all around the Metro Manila area especially in shopping malls. What I heard is unique about Pan De Manila is they bake their pan de sal in the traditional brick oven. All I know is if I’m in Pavilion Mall I stop and get some pandesal there along with their peanut butter. It beats any mall food you can get.

Whether you get your favorite from the local bakery or from places like Pan de Manila, hot pandesal is one of the jewels of Pilipino food and something you must try if you are visiting.