Often times when I take a bite out of one, I’m reminded of the ones my Lola (grandma) back home in the Philippines would get, although those were more fresh, warm, and more pillowy. Pandesal means “salt bread”, and it originated during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines during the 16th century. The Philippines was introduced to a lot of wheat and bread when they were under Spanish colonial rule for over 300 years, and it had become an essential breakfast staple in Filipino families. In our family, we usually eat it stuffed with scrambled eggs, spam, cheese, or along side garlic rice with hotdogs and tocino (marinated meat for breakfast). Every morning, my Lola would get up at 6 in the morning and bring home a brown paper bag full of warm and fresh pandesal, and by the time I woke up, she would be waiting for me at the dining table making her Kopiko brand coffee. I get a feeling of nostalgia from those comforting moments during my childhood. I haven’t had pandesal as often ever since we moved to Seattle from the Philippines, at least not the same fresh ones my Lola gets, but we make sure to bring the family together during breakfast whenever it’s on the dinner table to keep the tradition somewhat going. 

– KP

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child