Cris del Rosario swears by his bibingka (rice cake) and puto bumbong, saying his version is distinct and unique from the others.

"I've also tasted other bibingkas, so I tried my best to make my bibingka different," said the 27-year-old employee at Pasig City Hall.

Located in front of San Sebastian Parish in Barangay Pinagbuhatan and is open from 3 p.m. until the evening or until supplies last, Del Rosario said the priests allowed him to set up his makeshift stall made up of two tables.

"The priests and the people there like my bibingka," he said.

He started the business only last year with an initial capital of P20,000. He named it Eduardo's Bibingka in memory of his late father.

Initially, he sold the native delicacies made from malagkit or sticky rice in front of their house on Dr. Pilapil Street in Barangay San Miguel during the pandemic, and have been getting positive feedback from customers.

He said he uses galapong or rice dough to make bibingka.

"We wake up early in the morning to go to the market to ensure that all the ingredients that we use are new and fresh. You can eat our bibingka even the next day, just refrigerate it. The best thing is that it tastes even better the next day, which is tastier. Just put it at the top of the rice inside a rice cooker or whatsoever, it can be reheated," he recommended.

"That's why our bibingka is authentic because we don't add any other ingredients," he said, adding he cannot divulge some secret ingredients.

Del Rosario said he uses the original recipe for his puto bumbong.

"If we see puto bumbong that has Leche flan and milk, we don't do that, we still stick to the original recipe," he said.

"Because we only give what people are used to. You can do anything to your puto bumbong, but the people who buy it might not like it because it might be too sweet, things like that."

With bibingka, Del Rosario said it is what you mixed it that determines if it's soft and tastes right.

"What we are doing is that we melt galapong, then we cook rice to make our bibingka soft," he said.

Del Rosario added that their puto bumbong has a mixture of rice to make it a little softer.

"A different way of cooking puto bumbong is that we look for a good sticky rice to make sure that the result is good," he said.

There are days when sales are poor, according to Del Rosario but assured that unsold kakanins are given away to beggars and street dwellers near the church.

"So, it's not wasted, which is still good, because you help other people," he said.

The onset of the Christmas season has helped improve sales. He sells at least 70 to 80 pieces of bibingka and 90 to 100 pieces of puto bumbong a day.

He said he employs four workers, two in charge of cooking the kakanins. He requires them to wear gloves, masks, and hairnets to ensure proper food handling.

Del Rosario added that they also accept online orders and put up stalls at events and other gatherings.

He said he's planning to expand his small business by putting up additional stalls in other barangays.

"Yes, I'm planning to add branches. Somebody has offered me to put up stalls in the Barangays San Antonio and San Joaquin. I welcome that, but it's hard to hire a staff who knows how to cook bibingka. You can't rush it, and your staff must be professional in doing it," he pointed out.

What is definite is that Del Rosario will find a new place for his kakanins after the Christmas season.