Best Breads

Manilabake by Serye Café Filipino

Like the Filipino version of France’s quintessential boulangerie, Manilabake is a tiny, no-fuss, artisan bakery that focuses only on creating perfect breakfast staple breads, what many consider to be a lost art.

And where the French have croissants, Manila has pan de sal – literally ‘salt bread’, ubiquitous throughout the country but here perfected with quality ingredients including sea salt from Pangasinan province and mascabado sugar from Sultan Kudarat, and baked to perfection in a charcoal-fired ceramic oven, the final step in a prep process that takes no less than thirteen hours.

There’s the classic pan de sal and the whole-wheat variant, or more adventurous sesame roll and barbecue-filled options. Other Filipino favourites like Macapuno Pandan Cake, Calamansi Muffin, and Bibingka sell like, well, hot cakes, alongside Spanish buñuelos and slices of honey cake made with Palawan wild honey.

And since Manilabake is the official bakeshop of popular Serye Café Filipino, it also serves a selection of café favourites, including Tsokolate (Filipino chocolate) beverages, Filipino coffees and Tanglad tea, plus a range of savoury foods like Shepherd’s Pie a la Cubana, chicken curry empanadas, and Filipino pastas. There are but a few seats in this grab-and-go bakery, but it’s well worth the wait for some of the best breads in town.