Yummy Hopia from Salazar Bakery

Last week, I had a craving for hopia so I visited Binondo Chinatown to buy me some packs of these delicious mongo paste filled goodness. Since I already tasted the hopia from Eng Bee Tin and Polland, I decided to drop by Salazar Bakery, which is another popular bakery in Binondo Chinatown.
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Salazar Bakery is located along Ongpin Street, Binondo Chinatown. It is just few minutes walk from Binondo Church. The bakery can easily be seen once you crossed two small bridges as you walk along Ongpin Street.

Salazar Bakery was established in 1947 and it offers authentic Chinese delicacies. Salazar Bakery now has branches in different malls around Metro Manila. However, only the Binondo Chinatown branch of Salazar Bakery can only give customer that Chinese ambiance.
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Salazar Bakery, Ongpin Street, Binondo Chinatown.

I bought Hopia Mongo, which costs 38 Pesos, and Hopia Dice, which costs 39 Pesos. The plastic wrapping of Hopia Mongo is simpler than those of Eng Bee Tin and Polland.
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Hopia Mongo of Salazar Bakery.

The Hopia Mongo tastes good but it is different from the hopia of Eng Bee Tin and Polland. The Hopia Mongo of Salazar Bakery has thicker breading and tougher than the hopia of the other two bakeries. The mongo paste, on the other hand, is less sweeter. I am a fan of very sweet delicacies but I am not complaining with Salazar Bakery's hopia.
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Yummy hopia dice.

The Hopia Dice also tastes good. I can't compare it with similar hopia from Eng Bee Tin and Polland because I am yet to buy Hopia Dice from those two bakeries.

All in all, I give both Hopia Mongo and Hopia Dice a thumb up. I am placing Salazar Bakery in my list of good food shops around Binondo Chinatown.

Now that I had tasted hopia from Eng Bee Tin, Polland and Salazar Bakery, my next target is Ho-Land Bakery that is also located in Binondo Chinatown.

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Read my post about the wedding cake from Salzar Bakery.

Visit Ahab Reviews and Tips and read about PHIVOLCS Earthquake-induced susceptibility maps.

Discover My Favorite Hopia

In an old post about Polland hopia, I said that I will try to compare that hopia to other hopia that is being offered by other stores. Guess what, I finally visited the most famous hopia shop in town and I got the taste of their special hopia. I also discovered my favorite hopia, which I tell you later.

The shop that I am talking about is this:
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This is Eng Bee Tin, the most popular Chinese food shop not only in Binondo Chinatown but also in the City of Manila. During the recent Chinese New Year, many people flocked to all branches of Eng Bee Tin to buy tikoy.
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People lining up for tikoy.

As I had said, Eng Bee Tin is also the home for best hopia.
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A rackful of hopia!

Eng Bee Tin offers hopia with different kinds of flavors. There is the original red mongo hopia and the hopiang baboy. Other flavors are the ube hopia, mocha hopia, wintermelon hopia, choco hopia and other flavors that I never thought would be good for hopia.
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Mochipia and hopia red mongo.

Last December, My Beloved's parents (a.k.a. my future biyenans) visited Manila. As a pasalubong for their grandchildren in Davao, I bought a basket-full of hopia.
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There I discovered my favorite hopia and that is pastillas-ube combi hopia. It became my instant favorite because I love pastillas and it suits my addiction to sweets.

Sadly, I also discovered my most unliked hopia and that is pandan hopia, which tastes bland.

Compared to Polland's hopia, Eng Bee Tin's hopia is softer and tastes better. So, whenever I crave for hopia, I prefer Eng Bee Tin's hopia than Polland's hopia.

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Visit Ahab Reviews and Tips and read about the shops where you can buy the best hopia.
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Go for Polland's Hopia

Every sweldo day (pay day), I usually try to buy some food to reward myself for working hard during the past fifteen days. Sometimes I buy snacks, biscuits, or just the ice cream from a Mini Stop branch near our office. However, if I am really craving for something sweet, I go to the nearest Polland store located along Escolta and buy some of their sweet and delicious hopia.

Hopia is a kind bread that is usually circular in shape. What makes this bread delicious is the mongo paste that is used to fill the hopia. Original hopia is filled with either the red mongo or the ordinary mongo. Nowadays, hopia has many flavors ranging from the original flavor, durian flavored, chocolate flavored, watermelon flavors, and many more. These kinds of hopia can be found in Polland. However, even if there are new flavors of hopia, my favorite still is the regular mongo flavor.

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Polland’s hopia became my favorite because it sweeter and tastier than the other hopia that I had tasted before. But then again, I still have to taste other hopia from Eng Bee Tin to make a better judgment.

Still, even if I had not visited Eng Bee Tin to taste their hopia yet, I could say that Polland’s hopia is delicious and is not a waste of my hard-earned money.

So, if you ever found yourself in the Binondo Area or Chinatown in Manila and you are craving for something, I suggest that you go visit Polland and taste their hopia.

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Read my book review of Jane Auel’s novel, Clan of the Cave Bear, in Ahab Reviews and Tips. Also read about the shops where to buy the best hopia.

Image of Polland's hopia came from the multiply site: "Sino sino, kung anu ano, atbp."