Author Heny Sison goes on a nostalgic trip to Malabon to experience first-hand Dolor’s one-of-a-kind famous sapin sapin. Here’s a glimpse of what she discovered:

Malabon’s claim to fame when it comes to food treasures would be the town’s famous pansit Malabon, Rufina’s Patis and Dolor’s best-selling, world famous kakanin. Kakanin comes from the root word kanin (rice) and the prefix ka which pertains to the many kinds of recipes made from rice meant to be eaten as dessert or merienda fare. Kakanin is actually a generic term for all native desserts, majority of which are made with rice, coconut, cassava, saba (plantain), taro and sweet potato. Amy Besa (co-owner of Cendrillon Restaurant in New York City and author of Memories of Philippine Kitchens) sentimentally refers to kakanin as delightful native desserts made to celebrate the harvest of the Philippine Islands.

Aling Dolor is to be commended for being the unsung ambassador of native desserts. She opened her humble doors in the mid-1940s. Through sheer word of mouth, the popularity of her homegrown delicacies spread over the decades. From her passion, creativity and hardworking hands would come a kaleidoscope of colorful native delights such as ube halaya, kutsinta, biko, kalamay de mais, putong puti, putong ube, pichi-pichi, turones de casoy, yema and pastillas. Aling Dolor lived the single life, married to her passion which was dedicated to keeping the allure of native desserts alive. She passed away in 1997, with her niece, Elenita Jacinto, taking over the reins of the business.

Let Heny Sison tour you around Dolor’s Malabon branch. Discover the legacy that lies behind this simple but popular Filipino dessert shop and the wonders it offers in F&B World March-April 2007 issue.