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This Filipino Lady Bakes Authentic Filipino Pastries That Are Soft, Fluffy, And Super Yummy

This Filipino Lady Bakes Authentic Filipino Pastries That Are Soft, Fluffy, And Super Yummy

Her food is a huge hit with her Malaysian friends and family, too!

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Filipino native Micah Bulatao loves cooking and baking, and her Malaysian family and friends are more than happy to do the eating.

Her Malaysian husband brought her cooking to work to share with his colleagues and boss. They loved the food so much, they convinced Micah to open a small food business specializing in her native cuisine.

Thanks to the encouragement, she started La Comida in September 2020. La Comida is Spanish for ‘food’, and the simple name reflects her simple, authentic Filipino food offerings.

Since there are many home bakers in Malaysia and most of them sell ‘kuih’, I thought of making something different to share with Malaysians!

Micah Bulatao to TRP

Soft, sweet, savoury breads

Filipino cuisine as a whole tend to draw together contrasting flavours, and the same extends to their pastries as well.

One of Micah’s bestsellers is the Filipino Cheese Streusel Bread. The soft fluffy bread is both sweet and savoury, made with butter and sugar and then topped with a mildy salty, crumbly cheese for a savoury kick.

Left: Spanish Bread, right: Cheese Bread. Micah’s top selling pastries are quite unlike common Malaysian breads.
(Credit: Micah Bulatao/La Comida)

The recipe is authentically Pinoy, made just the way she remembers in the Philippines.

Being in quarantine, I had the time to try and do it myself. I wanted to make it taste as close to home as I could, so I worked hard to achieve the authenticity of a homemade Filipino bread I was looking for—soft, fluffy, and freshly made.

Micah Bulatao to TRP

She also creates other more familiar desserts all made from scratch such as mini cheesecakes in various flavours like salted caramel, Oreo, blueberry, and lemon curd. Micah also keeps in mind that most Malaysians do not like desserts that are too sweet, and her desserts reflect that.

Left: Oreo mini cheesecakes and right: blueberry mini cheesecakes.
(Credit: Micah Bulatao/La Comida)

A taste of the Philippines

Micah first began craving for Filipino pastries during the MCO, but she couldn’t find a bakery that was satisfactory. The taste of Malaysian pastries are very different compared to Filipino baked goods.

Left: ube Pan de Sal, yam-flavoured bread rolls and right: coffee banana pecan loaf bread.
(Credit: Micah Bulatao/La Comida)

It was very much like when she first arrived in Malaysia in 2013 and was searching for Filipino comfort food: there were not much choices and eventually she simply cooked her own Filipino dishes with recipes she copied from her home.

Growing up, I usually stay in the kitchen and help my grandma with cooking- from there, I developed my love for cooking.

Micah Bulatao to TRP

Now, she is offering an authentic taste of Filipino goodness to those in the Klang Valley, whether it is fluffy pastries, decadent desserts, or signature Filipino dishes such as chicken adobo.

My two personal faves are cheese bread and Spanish bread – these are the ones we usually have upon waking up from an afternoon nap when we were kids, partnered with cold black jelly pearl drink called sago’t gulaman.

Micah Bulatao to TRP

She only operates her little kitchen on the weekends, so plan in advance for a weekend treat and indulge in a bit of tea-time siesta the Pinoy way. Find out more on the La Comida Instagram page here.


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