Super flaky and wholesome empanadas
Every former Spanish colony has their version of empanada, which consists of some flat dough folded over some filling. Filipino empanadas are pedestrian. They are easy to find all over the Philippines but it is difficult to find a memorable one.
Super Bakers stands out for its unique dough. Empanadas are traditionally made with a pie dough. The ingenious twist from Super Bakers is to use hopia dough. This results in a short and flaky crust. It’s best enjoyed fresh from their bakery, even though they supply to other businesses in the city.
Chinese-Filipino heritage of hopia
Hopia (好饼, literally good biscuit) has its origins in Fujian province in southern China. It was brought over to the Philippines by Fujianese migrants over a century ago. This sort of pastry is common in Southern China but isn’t called hopia. In fact, it doesn’t have a standard name. The name “hopia” probably derives from a category of confections, hipia (喜饼, literally wedding biscuit), of which hopia is one of them.
Whether in China or Philippines or Southeast Asia, the form is instantly recognizable: a palm-sized disc with sweet fillings inside. The dough is pale brown and flakey like French puff pastry, but without butter. It also crumbles more easily.
The difference with the Filipino adaption is in the filling. While mung beans are still the most popular filling in China and Philippines, a uniquely Filipino filling is ube (purple yam). Baboy (pork) is also common in the Philippines, but not so much in China.
The food
At Super Bakers, the choice is easy because there are only 2 types of empanadas: pork or chicken. Filipinos have a love affair with pork, so I had to go with pork.
The exterior of the empanada was golden brown and flakey. The pleats lacked definition, but that’s the nature of hopia dough. The empanada was fairly sized, about as big as a clenched fist.
The dough was well-made and brought back memories of Fujian/Hokkien pastries in Southeast Asia. Layers of pastry that fell off easily. Mildly flavoured. The filling was simple and traditional. Carrots, peas, potatoes, ground pork, and pepper. Vegetables on the soft side. It wasn’t exciting. Nevertheless, it was a great empanada on account of the novel dough. 8/10.
The other regular offering at Super Bakers is, surprise, surprise, hopia. There are 3 fillings: ube (purple yam), monggo (savoury mung beans), and baboy. Going for ube was a no-brainer. It was also a litmus test of a baker’s versatility with savoury pastries and sweet ones.
The hopia looked the same as the empanada, other than the shape. Not surprising since they share the same dough. It was authentic in form. For reference, it’s the size of a hockey puck.
The ube filling was generous. Almost too generous because ube is a root vegetable and gets heavy to eat. The consistency was the same as traditional mung bean filling. That is to say, like marzipan or ice cream. It was moderately sweet. It had the earthy tones of ube though I suspect some artificial colouring or flavour were used to give a boost. I wouldn’t mind having another though. 7.5/10.
The place
Super Bakers is mainly a factory operation. Their store is 90% kitchen and 10% retail. Customers buy in bulk here. But they do sell individual pastries. They also have specials from time to time. When I visited, they had siopao, which is the Filipino version of Chinese pork buns (叉烧包; char siew bao). Go early to get the good stuff.
Verdict
Empanadas with an unconventional, flakey dough. Hearty, traditional fillings. Beats most empanadas in the Philippines. 8/10.
Practical information
- Name
- Super Bakers
- Rating
- 8/10
- Recommended dishes
- Pork empanada
- Prices (including tax)
- Pork empanada: $2.00. $21.00 for 12.
Ube hopia: $1.60. $18.00 for 12. - Address
- 1122B The Queensway
- Hours
- Tuesday to Friday 0900h – 1700h
Saturday 0900h – 1600h
Sunday 0900h – 1800h - Date of visit
- July 2020