Lola Nena's Classic Donuts

I grew up in San Jose City, a province in Nueva Ecija, where agriculture is the main source of income. Besides rice, San Jose also produces vegetables, fruits, and onions. Mommy who was a highschool graduate, took baking courses in Manila, and decided to set up a bakeshop in our humble home. During my childhood days, I never needed an alarm clock. What woke me up at 5:00 AM in the morning was the smell of freshly baked cakes and breads - cheesecakes, brownies, banana cakes, tarts, mamon and a lot more.

Nanang was my yaya, our long-time babysitter who also took care of my elder brother and sisters, including our dogs, cats, pigs, turkeys, chickens and wild monkey. Our home in San Jose is a fun place for kids because it's like having a home/bakeshop in the center of a city farmhouse. Nanang was quite old but she had that bursting energy in the bakeshop especially when she is cooking her specialties. The cassava cake that melts in your mouth, the soft and cheesy ensaymada, and old-fashioned donuts coated with cinnamon powder and sugar, prepared in the simplest probinsiya way. In San Jose, there were no Dunkin Donuts nor Mister Donuts, but we always had Nanang's fried donuts.

That day I was thinking of Nanang, I started craving for those old-fashioned donuts. And I thought of my sister and her daughter who introduced me to Lola Nena's Classic Donuts. My sister is a suki or loyal customer of Lola Nena's. Since the prices are budget-friendly, she buys in bulk to share donuts with her friends and relatives here in Metro Manila and far-away provinces such as Nueva Ecija and Iloilo.

The store is just walking distance from our condo so my son and I took a walk that late afternoon to buy a box of Lola Nena's. They had a number of branches and the one that is closest to our place is located at 75 Xavierville Ave. Cor. B. Gonzales St., Loyola Heights, Quezon City. One box of Lola Nena's has 8 pieces Classic Donuts that costs one hundred twenty pesos (P120). If you wish to buy the Triple Cheese Donuts, it costs two hundred pesos (P200). In our case, since we are on a tight budget, we bought a box of Classic instead of the Triple Cheese.

Lola Nena's is easy to find along Xavierville Avenue. You would see a red and white checkered store and a big signage of Lola Nena's. Something that would certainly catch your attention is the poster "RESERVED PARKING FOR LOLA'S APOs" with a picture of the Classic Donut. If you are simply passing by the street, you can smell not only the donuts but also the pichi-pichi, siopao, pancit palabok, canton bihon, Ilocos bagnet, and embotido. Lola Nena's sells also bottled items such as macapuno, adobong tuyo, crispy garlic, spicy garlic, and chili garlic oil.

After the short walk going back home, my son and I were excited to eat the donuts. Although we did read the EATING INSTRUCTIONS inside the box, we were so hungry that we decided to eat the donuts without heating it. Do not get confused with the EATING INSTRUCTIONS posted inside the box because there are two of them - one for Old Fashioned Donuts and one for Siopao Tostado. Ideally, you should heat the donuts in a microwave for 15 seconds each, or oven at 200 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, or you can pan sear the donuts until sugar is caramelized (and this is what my Ate Digna does at home). You can store the Classic Donuts in the refrigerator for up to 7 days or simply have it at room temperature that would last for 48 hours.

Lola Nena's Classic Donuts brought me back to my childhood days. With every bite of the donut oozing with melted cheese - made me feel that I was the six year old Auda - thrilled and delighted to watch Nanang fry donuts the old fashioned way!