Fulfilling My Cravings for These Yummy Filipino Foods: Star Bread, Classic Ensaymada, Cheese Bread, Bibingka, and Pichi-Pichi

When Mom's bakery is still operating, I am always full, as I can eat the bread that I want. It even came to the point where I got tired of those breads ( ꈍᴗꈍ), as we don't eat anything but bread, bread, and bread. I also want to eat something else, you know. I want to eat junkfoods, I want to eat a biscuits, and I want to eat chocolate, as in, I want to eat the foods that those other kids can eat but I am not allowed to. I can only eat those foods when I'm in school or when Mom is busy making a delivery. I often envy the other kids as they can request those yummy foods from their mom, and it can be granted anytime, but I can't. There even came a time when I started hating bread.

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I just started appreciating bread more when Mommy F closed down the bakery, and we rarely eat bread. But of course this didn't happen after Mom closed her bakery, I just started missing the bread I used to eat years after Mom closed her bakery. But I always long for the taste of Momny F and Papa's bread. I always compare other bread to what they bakes, and there are times that I will be disappointed because I can't find a bakery that is similar to Mom's bread. But in the long run, I get used to some other bakery in our town as I realize that I can't eat my Papa and Mommy F's bread anymore. All the tools we have for baking are already sold, including the two big ovens we had.

Anyway, these past few weeks, I've been craving bread, and I just can't seem to ignore the urges and cravings. And so, every time I or Mama went to the market, I always asked her to buy me bread. I will share those breads with you here, as they are also part of my childhood. Those are the breads that Mom and Pops used to bake, and these versions are also good, especially when it comes to their taste and texture.

This one is one of my favorites, and it is Star Bread, or Putok in Tagalog. I'm not so sure who came up with the name "putok," but putok means body odor, specifically in the underarms. But of course there's another meaning of "putok," but let's skip that part. What I love about Putok is that it is not a soft kind of bread.

In fact, if you bake this, it can become a little hard too, which I really like because it is hard on the on the outside but soft on the inside, and when you bite, it has that satisfying effect, especially when you chew it. It is thick and heavy, and even one small piece of it is enough to make you full. They are like the compressed version of other soft breads out there, they are fully packed.

I already encountered other putok, which is very different from this kind of putok, and I call it fake Star Bread, lol. I'm really just used to it's this kind of texture of star bread that my mouth automatically looks for that kind of texture. Anyway, I'm really not good at explaining, but just look at it yourselves. That's how it looks on the inside. What do you think? And it has sugar on top, which makes it more yummy, and it goes well with the little salty taste of the bread.

Now for the next bread, it is the Classic Ensaymada with margarine and sprinkled sugar on top. It's another favorite of mine, I just love the combination of margarine and sugar. I remember I used to make a sandwich using a bun and margarine with sugar as fillings. It's a yummy snack paired with orange juice. Anyway, this is the classic ensaymada with a shape like this.

In today's time, some people make special ensaymada topped with cheese or filled with spread, like Ube, but nothing can beat the classic one. Those special ensaymadas taste good too, but they are a bit too much, especially the cheesey one. I tried the Goldilocks Cheesy Ensaymada, and I didn't like it that much. I still prefer this one, and I can eat it without getting tired of it. Have you tried this bread before?

This one is soft and very airy, but I like the kind of softness it has. It's not the kind that can make you choke, lol. I also love the crunch of the sugar on top, especially the margarine. That sugary and fatty liquid can leave my mouth wet. I love to pair this with milk or coffee, it is a little sweet, which I like very much. It's not the kind of sweetness that makes your throat itchy, though. It's just well balanced and its Fabolous!

So next is cheese bread. I remember my mom and father's cheese bread, it is very far from this. And it is not even coated in cheese toppings. I remember it as milky, soft, and really delicious, but this one is different. And I bet they didn't use real cheese here. I suddenly miss that kind of cheese bread. Although this version is not bad either, I still prefer the authentic one, which is very rich in flavor. I'm a bit disappointed, but this filled my stomach too, so it's okay.

Now let's move on with the Kakanin. This one is called Bibingka, or rice cake, made with rice flour. This one has grated young coconut inside, which added more flavor to the bibingka. Today, you can see more flavor of bibingka, as you all know, Pilipino just love experimenting. Have you already tried this kind of rice cake? Anyway, this one is a gift from Tita Rosie, she's Mom's friend. She just arrived on vacation, and this is like a pasalubong that she bought nearby. I love this because I love how it is cooked. As you can see, it is burned on top, but that too can add more flavor to the bibingka. I ate this with a happy heart, and oh, it could be paired with coffee too. Try it!

Now for the last one, it's called Pichi-Pichi, made with cassava and coated with grated coconut. This is my least favorite, but I don't hate it. It doesn't taste much, but I like the texture of this one. I can't really explain it that much, but it is a little sticky. I don't eat this much because I always experience stomachaches for some reason after eating it. Maybe because I don't chew it too much? Either way, the purple one doesn't have much flavor in it either, but I like this one as it is a little softer than the normal one.

Overall, I enjoyed these foods on different days. I didn't eat them in one day, guys, I had them when I had snacks on different days and times. A day is always wonderful when you have a yummy snack ready to be devoured later. By the way, has anyone of you tried this food already? Except for my fellow Filipinos, of course I'm sure they already tried some of those. Anyone? (人 •͈ᴗ•͈)