Hidden gem in Eagle Rock: Bulacan Bakeshop & Catering

Tucked away on Colorado Blvd right next to Tea N’ Me, Bulacan Bakeshop & Catering has authentic Filipino food that goes unrivaled. The restaurant is walking distance from ERHS and is a perfect place to settle down with their amazing food. There’s an even stronger ERHS connection: one of the owners’ kids is a senior at ERHS and the other graduated from ERHS last year. Although the Youtube channel, True Food Eats, reviewed the restaurant in 2021, garnering over a hundred thousand views, this hidden gem is an underappreciated part of the Eagle Rock community, so this article is dedicated to showcasing its food.

Originally from the Philippines, Sherry Mendoza and Jun Legayo moved to Singapore in 1997 as part of the team that fixed the Y2K bug. However, when Citibank downsized in 2015, they left for America to start a new life.

The restaurant, founded in January of 2017, has a dramatic history involving crime, money laundering, and lawsuits. The previous owners were involved in a money laundering scheme and attempted to get unsuspecting newcomers to buy the restaurant only to take their money as the sale would be invalid. However, the couple outsmarted these criminals, and they won a lawsuit against the previous owners to rightfully purchase the restaurant. However, the lawsuit, along with complications with immigration statuses, left them in serious financial struggles, and so they’ve been working tirelessly over the years to better their restaurant and create food you can enjoy.

While you can’t order their food online as of yet, I’m glad that I experienced the in-person experience of ordering food inside the restaurant. I got four of their most popular and recommended dishes to-go, and the owners comped me with two bags of pastries that I’m also reviewing.

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All photos by Rio

Lumpias

I went to the restaurant twice for this article and ordered these both times, and the first time it took a while to get the food (although it was very busy that day) but the second time they came out in under a minute! I was presented with fried spring rolls filled with meat and vegetables. The ones in the photo are filled with meat, but I also ordered vegetable lumpias that were twice as big and equally delicious. The outside was crispy and had a nice crunch, and the filling was soft and chewy. This combination of textures left me with a satisfying mouthful, and it was only $3.50 for 2 vegetable rolls (which were pretty big) and $7.50 for 12 meat rolls. Overall, these were delicious and definitely worth the price.

Siopao

They have gigantic siopao for only $3.00 a piece (a small is $2.00 a piece). Also called chicken bao, they were in plastic containers that were a little tricky to open. I ordered 2 small buns, and finished them fairly quickly despite their large size. The outside layer was chewy and stretchy, but surprisingly not sticky which I found very satisfying. The filling was a nice meat stuffing with a soft (and almost creamy) texture. The ratio between bun and filling was perfect, as I was able to taste the amazing inside flavor and still be chewing on the soft outside layer. Overall, it was only a couple dollars for a relatively large dish, and I’d definitely get it again.

Hopia

After trying all their food, when I think of a Bulacan Bakeshop & Catering pastry, my mind immediately goes to the hopias. When they came out in a white paper bag, I was pleasantly surprised when I was told that these were a free addition! Normally they are $1.00 a piece, which I’d still say is a good price for the amount of food you get per dollar. I was definitely prepared for them to be dry based on how they looked from my initial impression of them, and I was left extremely satisfied with the texture, as it was softer than expected and, more importantly, moist. These had a really nice feel, contrasting to what I was expecting. The pastries were stuffed with a purple ube filling that had a rich ube flavor, which complemented and went well with the pastry-like texture of the outside. Overall, these tasted really good and were a nice addition to the meal!

Chicken & Ube Empenada

I ordered three ube empanadas for $0.75 per piece, and was also given a bag of free chicken empanadas! The ube empanadas had a great ube filling, but the outside was a bit dry and crumbled quickly in my mouth as opposed to the chicken empanadas, which were as soft and moist as the hopia. The ube filling wasn’t too sweet, which I definitely appreciated, and the chicken empanadas taste exactly like the delicious smell of inside the restaurant (if you decide to go there in-person you’ll know what I mean). For $0.75 a piece, I’d definitely recommend the chicken empanadas, as they’re affordable and each empanada is pretty large.

Chicken Adobo

Finally, the star of the show, the chicken adobo, was presented to me in a portable white box. The picture doesn’t do this dish justice, but I can say that it is the most popular for a reason. Each bite of the chicken left me with such a rich and enjoyable taste in my mouth, leaving me craving more. The chicken was on a bone, so it was a little messy as I was trying to pick it up with a fork and eventually decided to just eat it with my hands. The egg was also cooked to perfection, being just jammy enough to have a moist texture that was easy to chew, but not too runny that the yolk dripped everywhere. Overall, the chicken adobo was my favorite thing I ate that whole time, and totally worth the $11.50. My dad tried it and agreed it was amazing, and bought two more to eat at home, which I’m totally saving to pack in my lunch tomorrow.

Halo Halo

After I thought I had finished everything, I was recommended to try the halo halo for dessert. For $5.75, I was presented with a cup filled with shaved ice, milk, jellies, and ice cream scoops. I tried to mix it with the straw, but it was thick and hard to mix, so I used a plastic spoon. On top there were two ice cream chunks: one of them a vanilla flavor and the other was a chewy ube chunk, which was my favorite part by far. Normally when I order drinks they come with way too much ice for my liking, and I was pleasantly surprised when this came with the perfect amount of ice. This was such a fun experience to drink, and it wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet like how I expected it to be. I'm very happy that the halo halo was my last impression of the restaurant, and I’m definitely coming back for more very soon.

Overall, I’d 100% recommend trying this restaurant, as it has amazing food, isn’t too pricey, and a walking distance from the school.