GOOD FOOD ALERT! Did you know that Pateros was once known as the Philippines’ “balut sa puti” capital? According to the Philippine News Agency, this municipality once housed numerous duck farms and balut houses that practiced the traditional method of incubating the eggs. Because of pollution and resistance to modernization, breeding ducks became difficult for Pateros natives, but not altogether extinct.
There are still a number of stalls in Pateros where you can find delicious balut and salted eggs, sans the violet dye. Santa Ana Bakeshop, a bakeshop located in Santa Ana, Pateros, is home to a well-known pastry that uses these salted eggs and turns it into a delicious, ridiculously addicting pastry.
What you need to know
Santa Ana Bakeshop is owned by Charlyn Olarte, a 29-year-old baker from Santa Ana, Pateros. When she finished a culinary crash course on making bread, she put up an online cookie store where she worked during her free time, but it was only after she resigned from her full-time job that she devoted herself to opening her own physical bakeshop and bought herself a bigger oven and a bigger mixer.
Santa Ana Bakeshop opened in March 2019 and it started with having a “normal” bakery menu consisting of malunggay pandesal, Spanish bread, ensaymada, hotdog rolls, and Charlyn’s signature cookies. One of her bestsellers, worth every penny, is the salted egg buns (P200/half a dozen and P390/dozen).
Charlyn’s salted egg buns aren’t your typical salted egg buns. Instead of the commonly-used mantou buns, Charlyn bakes a golden-brown bread with a center filled with a more than generous amount of salted egg custard filling, topped with bits of white salted egg on top.
Did we mention that when you bite into these buns, the filling oozes out like lava? Make sure to catch every drop!
What we love about it
We might be going out on a limb by saying this, but there’s really nothing we don’t love about Santa Ana Bakeshop’s salted egg buns. If these gorgeous photos aren’t enough to convince you, let’s start with these five words: Salted. Egg. Yolk. Custard. Filling.
According to Charlyn, they use six pieces of salted eggs for a dozen buns, that’s one salted egg for two fist-sized buns. Similar to most Chinese restaurants, Santa Ana Bakeshop also uses the yolk of salted eggs and turns it into a sweet custard by adding condensed milk. But unlike most Chinese restaurants, Santa Ana Bakeshop effortlessly strikes the harmonious balance between the saltiness of the salted egg and the sweetness of the custard.
When you receive Santa Ana Bakeshop salted egg buns, these are freshly-baked on the same day. The buns are muffin-shaped and sweet, like a soft version of monay. So, it’s not surprising that when we received our box, the buns are still soft–and, to our surprise, remained soft, despite being exposed to a cold room for more than an hour.
Eating it as soon as it’s delivered is okay, but we highly recommend heating it before consuming: 10 seconds in the microwave or 20 seconds in the toaster. This will warm the buns and the filling, making it feel like it’s freshly baked out of the oven.
Recommended Videos
Where to find it
You can buy these salted egg buns at Santa Ana Bakeshop. According to Charlyn, they are having a hard time accepting orders online and assisting resellers because the bakeshop is only manned by her and her husband. They found a solution by setting a schedule for pickup, which details are best confirmed once you message them through their official Facebook page.
Be forewarned: do expect late replies as per the owners’ busy schedule, but you will be greatly rewarded for your patience.
Good Food Alert is a weekly update on editors’ picks on new food products, grocery items, desserts that are worth the calories, and dishes you shouldn’t miss out on.
