Finding Pan De Cielo's Kinalas

It was during one of my visits to my dentist in Mandaluyong that I saw a huge tarp that says "We Now Serve Kinalas, the Bikolano Comfort Food" in front of Pan De Cielo Bakeshop. Without hesitation, I parked my car in front of the bakery, ordered a bowl of Kinalas and texted my dentist to cancel my appointment.

Kinalas is The Noodle Soup to Bicolanos and Pan de Cielos is one of the very few places that serve this dish in the metro. So I got to try.

For those who are not familiar to Kinalas, it is a noodle dish similar to mami or batchoy with loglog or fresh egg noodles. The broth is made from slowly boiling pork and beef heads, bones, aromatics and spices. The meat from the beef and pork heads are boiled so tender they fall off the bones, hence the word "kalas". The stripped off meat is then chopped and is put on top of the noodles together with toasted garlic, hard-boiled egg and chopped spring onions.

But what sets Kinalas apart from other noodle dish is the orange-brown gravy poured on top of the noodle soup. The gravy is like what they put in pancit palabok. This gives the dish additional shrimp taste and gives the broth a richer look.

There is no question that Pan De Cielo prepares their Kinalas with care and respect to the dish. I love the chopped pork tongue! I just hope they put more palabok gravy on my Kinalas like what they do in Naga. But it really doesn't matter for it is still one of my stops on my way to Pasig-Mandaluyong area. 

Also, their toasted siopao is a perfect replacement to Kinalas' original partner, the Baduya.

Pancit Kinalas

@ Pan De Cielo Bakeshop
3511 P. Sanchez St., Brgy 602, 
Sta. Mesa, Manila
in front of Shell Gasoline Station
near Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital