In a world full of bagels...

A funny story from my trip back to Doha.

I was walking to the boarding gate when I noticed someone was waving at me from the corner of my eye. I looked, and I saw my colleague. I knew him because we always seemed to run into each other at the airport, whether in Manila or Doha. He is a senior ground staff member, meaning he is usually one of the first staff who will be on onloaded.

His name is Bernard. A little backstory: We first met when a lot of staff got offloaded in Manila. Since most of us were about to and has only a day before our minimum rest starts, we need to find ways to go back to Doha as soon as possible. We took a connecting flight from Manila to Bangkok, then Bangkok to Doha. I remember there were quite a few of us who did the same route. The next few meet ups is either on the plane to Manila or Doha, and at the airport.

We chatted for a while, and honestly, I cannot remember how our conversation turned to Spanish bread. I told him I have three boxes of Spanish bread and one box of Pan de Coco in my hand carry that I bought in Tagaytay. And he mentioned that he ordered some too, from Lunar’s bakeshop, the ones that have been trending in Manila.

Boarding had already started, and our seats weren’t too far from each other. He was seated in 17K, while I sat in 21D. We quickly said our byes and see you later and headed to our seats.

When we disembarked, he was waiting for me outside the aircraft. We started talking again, and I jokingly said, “What if magpalit tayo ng Spanish bread? Bibigay ko sayo isang box ko then bigay mo yung isang box mo para ma try natin both.” He laughed and agreed.

In short, we swapped boxes, and I got to taste the famous Lunar’s Spanish bread, and at the same time, my all time favorite Balai Palmera’s Spanish bread.

So which one is better? For me, I like Balai Palmera more; it’s creamier, and the filling is evenly distributed inside. When in Lunar’s, I noticed that most of the filling sits at the bottom, which is why it looks overflowing in the videos and its too sweet for me.

I’m still happy that I finally got to try Lunar’s. (Thanks to Bernard, and at least, my curiosity is satisfied, and I can finally stop wondering how I could get some of it from Sampaloc, Manila.)

Still, Balai Palmera is at the top. Next on my list is the famous Spanish bread in Biñan. My cousin also said there are a lot of tasty Spanish breads in Pampanga, but I told him it’s too far from me.

So now you know, in a world full of bagels, I consider myself a Spanish bread person.