Kapamilya Restaurant and Bakeshop

Where To Get Filipino Pastries & Kakanins In NYC

"Formerly known as Fritzie’s, Kapamilya is one of the many “turo-turo” style restaurants in Woodside’s Little Manila. These types of restaurants - where you “turo,” or point, to the food you want from a selection laid out on a steam table - can be found as far as Saudi Arabia where I’m from and anywhere else there’s a significant Filipino population. The compact space also features a table with their current selection of pastries and kakanins. Ask for some puto - a whole class of steamed rice cakes in the Philippines. Like most kakanins, puto can be eaten for breakfast, as a snack, or even for dessert. My favorite is the salted egg version where the background sweetness of the cake is accented by the salty funk of cured egg yolks on top. For a more substantial treat, nab a few of their suman sa lihiya. Suman are rice cakes steamed in leaves, and I prefer this one that comes in banana leaf with a side of coconut syrup as it’s cooked in lye water for a chewier texture. Make sure to grab a pack of hopia too. These Chinese mooncake-like pastries were brought to the Philippines by Fujianese immigrants and feature Filipino fillings like mung bean, ube, and even pork." - paolo espanola