Mommy Eichel: Balai Pandesal

Daddy Vince and I were both raised with the ultimate Pinoy breakfast staple on our table, the Pandesal. The addicting freshly baked aroma that you can smell from the hot-off-the-oven pandesal makes us go hungry even if we are not. May it be partnered with butter or just simply soaking it on our creamy coffee or milk makes us re-energize before starting our day.

Now that we are living in a city, it is now quite hard to find a typical bakery selling old-school fresh hot pandesal. We are actually not satisfied with the pandesal from convenience stores which are obviously not that fresh. Luckily, we were introduced to Balai Pandesal and we visited their branch in Barangka Drive, Mandaluyong City.

Balai Pandesal is a 24/7 neighborhood bakery whose concept has made it possible for tradition to meet the modern world head on. It has remained true to its bakery roots, making bread in its premises, with the patent scent of freshly baked goodness permeating the store. Balai Pandesal's specially built oven come its flagship product, the Pandesalitas, by now a byword in many households happy with a recipe that has been researched and culled from different bakeries all over the country until the people behind Balai Pandesal combined all the best practices they learned into making their own.

Balai's delicious pandesalitas is dense but soft and a little sweeter than the other pandesal. It can be eaten alone without any palaman, just as the owners wanted it to be. It is really siksik and I loved the rectangular shape of their pandesalitas. It looks very organize seeing it inside the paper bag or in the box - it fits for an O.C. mommy like me, hihi! It almost has the same sizes and tastes really, really good! Thanks to the quality ingredients that they use and of course, for the labor of love of the owners and their passion in making the best breads for us Pinoy. No wonder people lined up for their breads not only in the morning, but also in the afternoon.

PANDESALITAS Php 3.50/piece

At Balai Pandesal, quality goes hand in hand with its commitment to keeping the pandesal culture alive. It means ensuring that the process of making bread adheres to high standards in terms of hygiene and good taste. This includes strictly using filtered water and premium ingredients such as first class flour, milk and eggs for all their breads.

SPANISH BREAD (Php 17.00 Single, Php 32.00 Double)

KALIHIM (Php 35.00)

CHEESE BREAD (Php 20.00 Single, Php 37.00 Double)

BALAI TASTY BREAD (Php 65.00 Whole, Php 35.00 Half)

BALAI WHEAT BREAD (Php 75.00 Whole, Php 40.00 Half)

Preservatives have no place in their heads for their breads and yet in the short duration of their shelf life, the Pandesalitas and other bakery mainstays like the Spanish Bread, Kalihim, Cheese Bread and Tasty Bread remain remarkably soft longer than their regular bakery counterparts.

CHOCOLATE CRINKLES (Php 35.00 Double)

CINNAMON RAISIN SWIRL (Php 29.00)

KLASIK ENSAYMADA (Php 27.00)

MONGGO BREAD (Php 29.00)

Research and the application of best practices to address the changing needs and habits of the Filipino family. Their stores have witnessed long queues of not just pedestrians, but people in cars, waiting patiently to be served by their uniformed and well-groomed staff, whether in the morning or during merienda time. Surprisingly, there is a peak period at night, when working parents drop by to buy their Pandesalitas for breakfast, sometimes hoarding them in plastic containers to last them for a few days before they come back for more.

CHEESE PALO (Php 39.00)

BONETE PANDESAL (Php 1.50/piece, Php 30.00/pack of 20)

WHEAT PANDESAL (Php 45.00/pack of 6)

Balai Pandesal's neighborhood bakery status has taken on a much wider perspective, encompassing even those living far who go out of their way to drop by Balai Pandesal specifically for its Pandesalitas and then come away with more specialty products as baon for the kids. No other convenience store can match this kind of freshness at all times.

A practice rarely applied by bakeries is Balai Pandesal’s commitment to serve the interests of their customers above all. Take a look at their paper bags and this 24/7 hotline: (0906) 526-8622, that is there for you to call for any concern regarding their breads, and with it a promise of replacement or full refund once official receipt is presented. Proof that Balai Pandesal takes the business of bread making as seriously as their customers who expect to enjoy their Pandesalitas in the very best condition.

This forward thinking company has set its sights to serving more of what their loyal customers look for. Don’t be surprised to see products that go beyond the realm of pandesal. Already they have pizza slices, ham and cheese buns, and hotdog swirls moving fast. Soon to launch is their milk bread collection that includes the Lengua de Gato, Cuadrados and Crema de Leche. And as a filling tandem, watch out for their Empanada and Pasta creations to go with their Pandesalitas.

HAM AND CHEESE BREAD (Php 39.00)

HOTDOG SWIRL (Php 29.00 Single, Php 55.00 Double)

It’s a concept whose time has come. Balai Pandesal is, after all, about keeping breakfast memories of distant mornings alive while creating new and lasting traditions for its growing patrons.