The smell of warm bread greeted early-morning visitors at Kamuning Bakery Café in Quezon City on Oct. 16, as the 86-year-old landmark held its annual World Pandesal Day celebration.
Every year, the heritage bakery gives away thousands of freshly baked pandesal and other breakfast staples to families, students, and workers in nearby communities.
The event coincides with the United Nations’ World Food Day and has become a local tradition centered on sharing and building community.
Vice President Sara Duterte joined this year’s celebration and shared a lighthearted story about her childhood mornings in Davao, where pandesal was always part of breakfast.
“Pandesal is my favorite,” she said. “My favorite filling is cheese and dried fish—or bulad, as we call it in Bisaya.”
“When I was around four or five years old, I put dried fish inside the bread, thinking it had no bones. I took a bite, and one of the fish bones got stuck in my throat,” she narrated. “I cried so hard on the way to school that my father, then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, asked if I wanted to skip class and go with him instead.”
“Of course, I said yes. So that day, I went with him to the Hall of Justice instead of school,” she went on.
The story drew laughter from the crowd, but it also reminded everyone how pandesal is part of the ordinary mornings that shape family life in many Filipino homes.
For bakery owner Wilson Lee Flores, the day is a reminder of how food can bring people together.
“Here we only talk about bread and food,” he said. “Not so much about politics.
He later thanked everyone who continues to support the event. “Thank you to everyone who supports us,” Wilson said.
Kamuning Bakery Café continued its outreach through a free medical, dental, and optical mission on Oct. 26, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, in partnership with the Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center.
Both events were held at the bakery’s home on the corner of Judge Jimenez and K-1st Street, Barangay Kamuning, Quezon City.
