PHI: Eng Bee Tin
Where purple yam marries cheese~
If you're looking for something to bring home from the Philippines, you may want to consider hopia, a local version of Chinese pastry filled with flavoured paste. From its humble beginning in 1912, Eng Bee Tin has stood the test of time and is well known for its purple yam hopia.
My BFF and I bought some when we visited Robinsons Place Manila. Each of the packets shown above contains four hopia pieces.
Hopia Buko Pandan PHP 46.00 (~S$1.20)
Taste: 8/10
Out of the three flavours bought, I found that the pandan filling was the best as it was aromatic with the right degree of sweetness. While the pastry could be a bit thicker, it was pretty flaky.
Hopia Combi Ube Queso PHP 50.00 (~S$1.35)
Taste: 7.5/10
Instead of getting the pure purple yam filling, I went for one of the combination flavours. While the cheese paste tasted a bit artificial, it lent a savoury touch to the mildly sweet purple yam filling.
Hopia Mongo Supreme PHP 52.00 (~S$1.40)
Taste: 7.5/10
To those looking for a more traditional filling, you may want to opt for the mung bean paste with salted duck egg yolk. It wasn't too sweet, but it could certainly have more of the golden yolk.
Melon's Rating
Taste: 7.5/10
Eng Bee Tin sells more than twenty different hopia flavours, along with mooncakes and other sweets. Pika's advice: Do note that you can't keep the hopia for too long, so don't buy them too early.
Eng Bee Tin
Pedro Gil Street
LG/F Robinsons Place Manila
Manila
Philippines
(Opening hours unknown - Anyone knows?)
*Prices quoted are nett prices.
Have a nice meal,
Cliff(y)
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