Piaya is one of the most popular delicacies of Negros Occidental, a province known as the Sugar Bowl of the Philippines, as it accounts for more than half of the country’s sugar output.
No traveler or visitor leaves the province and Bacolod City without having a box of this crispy flatbread with muscovado sugar filling.
There is always a pack of piaya in every pasalubong store in the province. They come in different shapes and sizes and most of these commercially-made piaya are filled with a generous amount of melted muscovado sugar which usually is very sweet.
What I am sharing with you today is the story and history of this self-proclaimed “Queen of Piaya” that is an heirloom recipe of a prominent family in Bacolod that served this delicacy to guests whenever they hosted dinner in the 1960s.
On a sunny Thursday morning, while being engulfed with the sweet smell of toasted piaya at the reception area of their family’s shop in Bacolod, Ilog town councilor and Crispy Piayita manager Mark John Vargas told me that the humble food business started in the late 1960s.
Councilor Vargas who is the nephew of Concepcion Montelibano-Bailon’s daughter-in-law Nena, said Bailon Foods used to be VarMont which stood for Vargas and Montelibano, the two families behind the very popular and well-loved thin, flat and crispy piaya.
“What makes it distinct from the other piaya being sold is that it is not too sweet and just the perfect coffee partner. Indulging in our crispy piayita does not make its patrons feel guilty of consuming too much sugar while enjoying this treat,” said Vargas.
The family started serving piaya to customers when they opened a restaurant at the Plaza Mart in front of the Bacolod City Public Plaza. “What used to be just served for dessert at family-hosted dinners became so popular and in demand that our Lola Conching’s son Bobby and his wife, my aunt, Esperanza “Nena” Vargas had to be made available to the public especially when the couple had a building constructed at the corner of San Juan and San Sebastian Streets in the 90s now popularly known as “Juan Sebastian”.
In that building, a blue and orange shop became the home of what is now called Crispy Piayita that is pastry made of dough, muscovado sugar and sesame seeds. In the 80s, a branch opened in Manila.
The shop is very unassuming even if it is often frequented by VIPs, celebrities and the who’s who in the province and country just to have packs and boxes of the famous treat. Musician and Professor Ryan Cayabyab, Singer Agot Isidro, Celebrity Vlogger Drew Arellano, Actor-Director Rowel Santiago, Actress-Vlogger Alice Dixon and Chefs Sandy Daza and Margarita Fores are just a few of the celebrities and personalities who have paid the shop a visit just to try and buy boxes of this crunchy and chewy treat which they bring home as pasalubong to family and friends.
Drew Arellano had in his Biyahe ni Drew travel documentary referred to this delicacy as “ang crispy piaya na paboritong pasalubong ng mga biyaherong napapadpad sa Bacolod” or the crispy piaya that is a favorite pasalubong of travelers who have visited Bacolod.
Chef Sandy in his culinary vlog stressed that it is “having just the perfect ratio of muscovado to dough” that makes this crispy piayita stand out from all other piayashe has tasted.
Meanwhile, Alice Dixson did not only document how the piayita was made inside Bailon’s kitchen. The actress also tried her hands on piaya making when she visited the store in 2019.
In the same year, Direk Erik Matti shot one of the scenes of his film “Island of Dreams” for HBO inside the store. On his social media account, he promoted the delicacy with the caption, “This this the one and only best piaya in Negros. No contender! Once you taste this, you will never like any other piaya in town.”
But the family business was not spared from the pandemic. Vargas recalled how they were forced to downsize workers.
“We are already 54 years old. Even in the time of the pandemic, we survived, because of strong divine intervention and we still maintain the good quality of our products. But it was very sad that we had to let go of some employees because we could not sustain the business anymore during the pandemic because sales went down. During the lockdowns, our shop temporarily closed but we sold piaya outside of our store by the side of the road in order to provide for the salaries of our remaining employees,” said Vargas.
Every crisis paves the way for cleansing which allows people and businesses to go through a process where they get to not only survive but also embrace changes that have taken place according to Vargas. They too, he said, are adapting to the new normal in order to make their well-loved pastry treat relevant.
“Our name may have changed but it is still the same fresh, crispy and not so sweet piaya that you love,” he added.
The fresh lumpia, pork siopao and empanada are also among the famous goodies that Crispy Piayita is famous for. Treats that are proof that this province is indeed a home to the best desserts and snacks that will keep anyone who has tasted it to keep coming back for more.*
