Another food treasure of Malabon: Dolor's Kakanin

Without a doubt, DOLOR'S KAKANIN - that colorful, delectable native treat - is another one of Malabon's food treasures.

A bilao of DOLOR'S KAKANIN typically has sapin-sapin, kamoteng kahoy, ube, kutsinta, mais and biko - making an attractive and tasty dessert that's perfect for rounding off any celebration.

A delectable treat

Remembering the old days when we'd just walk around the block to have our fill of our favorite sapin-sapin, I decided to make a sentimental visit to DOLOR'S KAKANIN at their original location on Escanilla Street.  Escanilla is the street beside the Immaculate Conception Parish Church.  You have to turn left to a smaller eskinita (alley) and there you'll find the place where it all began.

Dolor's Kakanin - original location at Escanilla Street

Unlike the Rosy's Pancit Malabon eatery which still looks just the way I remembered it from old, I would not have recognized the DOLOR'S Escanilla store if there hadn't been a sign to point it to me.  In my memory it used to be small and rather dimly lit inside with a wooden screen door, but now it looks well-lit and modern with its aluminum and glass fixtures. 

I remember whenever we would go to DOLOR'S as children.  Back then, there were big wooden shelves on the right side along the wall where they used to put the huge bilaos of kakanin. Every time you order a bilao of kakanin, the store staff would get the different kakanin from those huge bilaos.  We would watch fascinated, at how the staff would expertly get each strip of colorful kakanin and round them in the bilao size that you ordered. 

Every family gathering or special occasion always had to have DOLOR'S KAKANIN as one of the desserts.  And what a great gift a bilao of kakanin always made - especially during those days when there was only one store, and out-of-town friends doubly appreciated our bringing the kakanin all the way from Malabon!  And oh yes, those were also the times when my former officemates in Makati found out I lived a block away from DOLOR'S, and they would request me to buy a bilao for them on special occasions!

Looking around, I noticed the write-ups about DOLOR'S KAKANIN posted on the cabinet:  one by Heny Sison for Baking Press magazine, and also those by food columnists for the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Manila Bulletin - a sure testament to DOLOR'S success.

According to the write-ups, Aling Dolor (Dolores Santos) started selling her kakanin to neighbors and in the market in the late 1930s. Her kakanin sold very well that she soon opened a store in her house where she personally supervised and mixed in the flavorings for the kakanin in the wee hours of the morning. She worked with a passion for her delicious native delicacies and its popularity spread even abroad.  Aling Dolor passed away in 1997, and the business is now being run by family members.


Before leaving Escanilla, I bought a small bilao of kakanin and was delighted to find out that I could still specify exactly what kakanin I wanted to go into my bilao -- just the way we used to do it when I was young!  I guess that's because the kakanin is also made right there.  So I went for my old favorites, the sapin-sapin and kamoteng-kahoy, and added a little kutsinta which my son likes.


DOLOR'S KAKANIN now offers a wider variety of treats in addition to the original sapin-sapin.  They have puto, kutsinta, maja blanca, akai-akai, cassava cake, pitsi-pitsi, even pancit malabon and rellenong bangus. The ube halaya is delicious - I don't bother to queue anymore at Good Shepherd's in Baguio for ube jam because I can have my fill of authentic ube halaya here. The rellenong bangus is also good - perfect for special gatherings and as a gift.  Sugar-free kakanin is also available now.

As a balikbayan favorite, several small bilaos of DOLOR'S KAKANIN can always be found in my relatives' luggage going back to the States.  They'll buy the kakanin a day before departure, freeze it overnight, then pack it into their luggage at the last minute, well-insulated.  As soon as they get to the U.S. they'll freeze the kakanin again immediately, and it'll keep in the freezer for as long as a year.  Whenever they feel like it, they'll just thaw out the kakanin in the microwave, and savor the sweet taste of home again!


DOLOR'S KAKANIN and MOMMY'S delicacies are now available in many different locations in Metro Manila.  In MALABON, there are two other locations where you can get these wonderful treats:

DOLOR'S KAKANIN on Governor Pascual Avenue

We've been buying from this outlet since it was put up because it's on the main road and is more accessible to vehicles.

MOMMY'S Malabon Pride - also on Gov. Pascual Avenue just right across the street

This outlet is relatively new and has an eatery

Sometimes I wonder how such a simple but tasty little dessert like sapin-sapin could have caught the fancy of so many. Then I thought - maybe it's precisely its simplicity that appeals to us.  DOLOR'S KAKANIN harkens to a time of simple pleasures, and every delicious bite we indulge in reassures us:  yes, life is good....

What a legacy Aling Dolor has left not only to her family, but to Malabon as well!



DOLOR'S KAKANIN
13 Escanilla Street
Barangay Concepcion
Malabon City
Tel. 281.2739 and 282.9710
(beside the Immaculate Conception Church)

DOLOR'S KAKANIN
19 Governor Pascual Avenue
Barangay Concepcion
Malabon City
Tel. 283.5782 and 282.0071
(coming from Monumento, a little past Arellano University - on your left)

MOMMY'S MALABON PRIDE
Governor Pascual Avenue
Barangay Concepcion
Malabon City
Tel. 282.5355 and 281.2739
(coming from Monumento, a little past Arellano University - on your right)


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