FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

A popular bread from a popular local bakery is almost like a dream come true. And at a popular price ( too at just PhP11.50 each), there teren-teren from Tibiao Bakery are among the bakeshop's best sellers that I almost never got them (there were only half a dozen pieces left that time). Teren-teren is among the more popular breads that even neighbourhood bakeries have their own version . It is so named because it resembles simply a ... train. Mini breads with sweet filling (milk, butter and sugar - I guess) are joined to make this train, err, bread more appealing to passengers, ooops buyers. Some varieties though have the fillings exposed thus letting one see what's inside before buying their ticket - lol. See more teren-teren at these stations .

Dainty Restaurant is among the famous old school Chinese restaurants in Iloilo City. Aside from serving their specialties in their mezzanine floor they also have this snack house in the ground floor that is combination of a turo-turo, short order, bakery and take out store. Taking almost centerstage in this part of their store is a display of baked goods and here's a batch of their "tinapay" I bought days ago for the purpose of blogging first before gastronomic pleasure. I just love their hopia monggo especially when hot off the oven or just came from the microwave. It's not your usual looking hopia yet tastes much better for me. It's a monggo-filled flattened flaky bread if it can't be considered as hopia. Though this one wasn't as good as the ones I had before. Just the usual hopia baboy made bigger and better. It has the more recognizable hopia look and filled with teh same "baboy" filling we all are familiar with. What can I say but they...

Tibiao Bakery is among my favorite bakeshops in Iloilo City. They have good quality breads and goodies plus they also serve short orders like pancit molo and sio pao among others. Some of my favorite Tibiao Bakery products include royal bibingka, catalugan, garlic bread, baye-baye (yes they have this native delicacy too), cheese cupcake, teren-teren and sio pao. They have numerous branches all throughout the city and they can also be found in all SM grocery area. Lewdsaint of Skyscrapercity forum shares his latest snacking at Tibiao Bbakery. A bowl of pancit molo with garlic bread and teren teren on the side. Many swear by Tibiao's teren teren as one of the city's best. I have to try it again since I actually have forgotten it's taste.

We often refer a "small unpretentious out-of-the-way place especially a food place" as a hole-in-the-wall. But here in Iloilo City, there is actually one bakery that is literally REALLY a "hole in the wall" and its business mainly revolves around that hole. Known for decades as "Buho" bakery as it means "hole", this bakery has been an open secret for many of the city's residents and seem to keep their fascination about the place with them even as they now someplace else. Buho like any other bakery-snack food establishment where one can buy breads for take out or just merely sit down and have some drinks to go with them. But it’s really the hole that makes business for them since it serves as their connection to the outside world as early as 530 in the morning until closing time as insides bakery itself is closed to the public. Aside from pan de sal, their pancho (grated coconut filled bread) and teren-teren also are best sellers and made ...

Another one of those (almost) famous breads that forms part of the bread offerings from large commercial bakeshops to small neighbourhood bakeries. Teren-teren is made up of small pieces of filled buns then glazed with butter and topped with sugar. Being called as such probably stemmed from the loose local dialect term that refers to anything that is being connected or in a line and moving as one, be it a group of kids or line of cars, but this instance, bread.