Lola Nena’s: Made Fresh Daily

After eight years of striving since 2012, Lola Nena’s has finally received the recognition it deserves.

Ever since Lola Nena’s started booming during the pandemic and became an online food trend for their mouthwatering old-fashioned and ube cheese donuts, I instantly became a fan of the brand. It was only recently, however, that I thought of bringing the delightful treats of Lola Nena’s to our hometown, as they still don’t have a store in our province.

From initially bringing home only their classic donuts, I am now selling a variety of Lola Nena’s products to our community. This has also given me a chance to try their other snacks and coffee drinks.

Classic Donut

Lola Nena’s Classic Donuts have a satisfying size, soft dough, generous coating of sugar, and smooth cheese. The donut is filled with cheese, yet it’s not overwhelming. It has nearly all the qualities of a perfect old-fashioned donut, though I say “almost” because I know a local bakery that makes a better one. It’s the same size with the same amount of filling, but costs only ten pesos. It had added condensed milk , making it more delicious. Still, I can’t deny that Lola Nena’s Classic Donuts are a treat. I also love that they offer different ways to enjoy them, like searing, pressing in a waffle maker, or caramelizing the sugar.

Special Pichi Pichi

When it comes to Pichi Pichi, Amber is the first brand that comes to mind. However, it seems Amber now has some competition. It’s a close match. In terms of texture, this one still has some rough clumps of cassava in the middle, but the edges have a melt-in-the-mouth feel. As for the taste, the cassava is recognizable, which is great. However, it’s overly sweet, and even a generous amount of grated cheese on top can’t mask it. In terms of size, this one is undeniably bigger. It’s actually twice the size of the usual Pichi Pichi.

Canton Bihon

Lola Nena’s offers large servings of pancit dishes, suitable for groups of three to eight people. Fortunately, they also have budget meals, like the combo of Canton Bihon and Tostado Siopao, which I had for lunch. There’s nothing particularly special about the Canton Bihon, though. I was expecting some kind of twist, as they usually add something unique to their products, but it was still good. We also tried their Palabok, which had a bright orange hue and a generous topping of pork and vegetables, though it lacked that shrimp flavor.

Siopao Tostado

As for the Tostado Siopao, it’s so good that it deserves its own paragraph. We even bought boxes of it. What I like most about the Tostado Siopao is how the amount of filling matches the size of the bun. Despite having less bread, the dough was soft and flavorful. The filling had a rich umami taste, making it delicious on its own, though adding salted egg could help balance the flavors. But that’s just my personal preference. How about adding a special siopao for the salted egg addition?

Pastillas Latte

At first, I thought the Pastillas Latte would just taste like a Spanish Latte, since pastillas is primarily made of milk and sugar, which can resemble the flavor of condensed milk. However, Lola Nena’s Pastillas Latte has a distinct flavor that sets it apart. I commend their R&D team for making this possible. The taste of pastillas shines through without overpowering the coffee, which remains strong. Now, I understand its hype from 2020. It was so good that I had already consumed half of it before remembering to take a photo.

Cold Brew Latte

The first thing I noticed about the Cold Brew Latte was its light consistency. It’s not creamy, meaning it contains minimal milk, sweetener, and additives. This allows the coffee flavor to take center stage, while highlighting the magic of cold brew. I do wish we could choose the origin of the coffee beans, as I’m not a fan of Sagada or most local beans. Still, Lola Nena’s did a great job in showcasing the coffee’s flavor notes. I could pick up hints of burnt caramel in the brew.