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Bunso Breads' Story

A photo of the Bunso Bread's Cafe in Pleasanton, California

Bunso Breads is the first and only Filipino Bakery in the Tri-Valley. Rina is the heart and the baker behind the delicious breads. Our best sellers include Ensaymada Balls™ (bite-sized versions of the traditional Filipino brioche), Buko Pie (young coconut pie), and anything and everything Ube.

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“Bunso” in Tagalog means the youngest sibling, the dearest of all! Rina is the Bunso among six siblings. The name reflects who the owner is, as well as the Filipino family culture of calling every youngest sibling in the family “Bunso” instead of by their names.

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Rina earned her Culinary Arts and Advanced Baking Degrees from the University of Hawaii. She worked at the Four Seasons Hotels in Maui and Washington, DC as a baker for several years. Rina also trained in the US Army as a Food Service Specialist and ended her 28 years of military career as a Chief Warrant Officer (CW2) in Food Service. 

 

Long before Bunso Breads, Rina had been baking from her home in Rockville, Maryland while attending nursing school. It was obvious that her love for baking and cooking was stronger, and her passion for baking eventually became a career. In 2013, Rina, along with Olla, began working out of their home kitchen and became as one of the first official Home Bakeries in Northern California. The Home Bakery was registered and licensed under the California Cottage Food Operations (CFO) Class A. In 2017, Bunso Breads upgraded to Class B and welcomed customers to their Home Bakery.  Finally in February 2019, the first brick-and-mortar Filipino commercial bakery in Downtown Pleasanton, CA opened.

Check out our interview with Adobonation!

Filipino Flavors

Tan plant decoration with curl at the left side
Tan plant decoration with curl at the right side
Illustration of a young, green coconut cut off to show the white meat inside
Buko

Buko is young coconut meat which makes it tender and creamy. Often it is used in buko pie. 

An illustration of a Ube, purple yam, cut in half
Ube

Ube is a purple yam and a staple in Filipino cuisine. It's popular for its bright purple color and flavor.

An illustration of a mature coconut that is cut in half to show the jellied coconut meat
Macapuno

Macapuno is like jellied coconut meat. It has a sweeter coconut flavor & is used for many Filipino desserts.

An illustration of three yema candies, a traditional Filipino candy made from eggs and milk.
Yema

Yema is a classic Filipino candy. Eggs, milk & sugar are combined to create a tasty custard. 

An illustration of Ube Halaya, purple yam jam, which is formed into a pudding shape on top of a leaf
Ube Halaya

Ube Halaya is ube mashed with condensed milk & butter into a jam. It's used as a base for many Filipino desserts. 

An illustration of two pandan leaves
Pandan

Derived from leaves, Pandan flavor is fragrant, sweet & mild. It's often combined with buko. 

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