Bring Home the Best of Bacolod at These

Famous Pasalubong Shops

When in Bacolod, one can immerse in culture, heritage, and love for all things made with sugar.
One of the best things about Bacolod is the food, as evidenced by its vibrant restaurant scene.
Having that in mind, Bacoleos have created an industry of various pasalubong (take-home
items) centers so that you can share your experiences with friends and family back home.

Sugarlandia

Piaya, or unleavened flat bread filled with muscovado, from Sugarlandia

The roots of Bacolod can easily be revisited by taking a bite out of the delicious treats
by Sugarlandia. It started as a home-based industry in the 1930s. They were the first to introduce
some of the staple delicacies of the city such as barquillos (crispy biscuit roll) and the famous
piaya (muscovado-filled flat bread). Sugarlandia has survived for about nine decades by retaining
the recipes of the family matriarch Tia Dami. The new generation of owners have come up with
innovations such as barquirice, which uses organic rice as a flour substitute. Aside from their two
signature products, they also sell meringue, pinasugbo (fried bananas), candied fruits, and more.
Virgies Homemade Products

Caramel tarts are boat-shaped tarts with meringue icing on top

Similar to Sugarlandia, Virgies Homemade Products also started as a small home-based business
at their rented house where the main branch still stands. They are best known for their sweet-
tasting tarts. One of their best-selling variations is the pastillias de manga (mango tart) which is
a half-moon shaped tart filled with mango jam. The boat tart or caramel tart is also one of their
most popular products. Other variations include cheese tarts, macapuno (coconut sport) tarts,
langka tarts, mango cashew tarts and pineapple tarts. They also have an assortment of delicacies
available in their shop, some of which are dried fish, squid rings, butterscotch, galletas (round
crispy bread), Napoleones (cream-filled puff pastry) and polvoron (powdered milk candy).
Margies Cakes & Pastries

Hopia sebuyas is a mix of sweet and sharp flavors.

If you ask any Bacolod local where to get the best hopia (sweet rolls), they will probably answer
Margies in a heartbeat. The hopia from Margies Cakes & Pastries is so renowned that it was
even featured on an episode of Rated K. Hopia is a circular pastry puff with different sorts of
fillings. One of the more popular variants is the hopia sebuyas which is made with spring onions.
They also have hopia hapon which is filled with sweet mung bean paste, as well as garlic hopia,
hopia wasay (oyster-shaped hopia) and monggo hopia (mung bean hopia). Margies is also
experimenting with new flavors such as orange hopia, langka hopia (jackfruit hopia), and more.
Their other best sellers include ugoy-ugoy (layered flaky biscuit), meringue, pulseras (bracelet-
shaped biscuits), and crunchy pan de sal (bread roll).
BongBongs Piaya

Bong Bongs piaya is best paired with coffee.

BongBongs is one of the biggest pasalubong stores in Bacolod.You can easily find their stores all
over Bacolod. You can also find their branches in the airport and at the pier. BongBongs is known
for their delicious and affordable piaya. They are sold in packs and come in different flavors:
original, chocolate and ube (purple yam). You can snack on their freshly made piaya while you
look around the store. Tourists also flock to BongBongs for their toasted muffins, biscocho
(baked bread), and their wide assortment of flavored barquillos.
Merzci Bread and Pastries

Delectable Napoleones from Merzci

Sa Merzci tanan manamit (Everything is delicious in Merzci) is the famous tag line of this highly
competitive pasalubong center. They started as a small bakery and rapidly grew to become one
of the leading pasalubong centers in the city. They also have a large number of stores around the
city including the airport and at the pier. They serve a variety of delicacies such as bandi (peanut
brittle), banana brittle, piaya, bukayo (young coconut with sugar), crackers, and different types
of cookies.
Rolis Bakeshop

A bit-bit (carry-along) box of Napoleones from Rolis Bakeshop

Rolis is practically an institution in Bacolod City as they have been around since 1940. However,
the small kiosk in Rolis arcade along La Salle avenue has recently been refurbished into a posh
and modern caf. You can still get your boxes of chicken or meat pies, half-moons, and
Napoleones in their new caf. Napoleones, a classic favorite among Bacoleos, is a square-
shaped layered puff pastry glazed with sugar and filled with sweet, creamy custard. It is advisable
to call in advance for orders and reservations.
El Ideal Bakery

El Ideals specialty, the guapple pie

El Ideal Bakery is not your typical bakery. It doubles as a tourist spot in Silay City. The bakeshop
is located at the ground floor of the Cesar Lacson-Locsin Ancestral House, a heritage structure
certified by the National Historical Institute. It has been around since the 1920s. El Ideal is known
for their delicious pies, especially their creative take on the American apple pie. They substituted
apples with guapples, an oversized variety of guavas. El Ideal also has some of the best-tasting
biscuits and pastries. Locals and tourists alike enjoy their sinambag (crumbly tamarind-shaped
cookie), baadas (cookie glazed with melted white sugar), paciencia (meringue cookies), lubid-
lubid (sugar twist), and their assortment of cookies.
The Negros Showroom

The Negros Showrooms carries local pasalubong products from Virgies.

Located along Lacson St., the Negros Showroom serves as a product display and business center
for its member-producers. They showcase different locally made household items, souvenirs, and
trinkets. Here, you can find beautiful laminated coconut husks, art pieces by local artists, lamps,
frames, embroidered clothing, key chains, souvenir shirts, and figurines of the
signature Masskara Festival masks. Some of Bacolods best food products are also sold in the
showroom including Virgies and Sugarlandia.

Have you tried shopping at these famous pasalubong shops in Bacolod? Let us know in the
comments section below!

Click the store links to see the exact addresses and contact numbers of featured establishments.