Ube Piaya

The traditional piaya is basically flaky unleavened salty bread filled with sweet muscovado sugar. The dough is rolled into a ball, filled with the sugar and flattened before they are thrown into the oven for baking. It's originally from the Visayas but you can now see it peddled in every part of the country these days. I like the simplicity of the piaya: I imagine these humid summer afternoons being tempered by a couple of piayas and a tall glass of ice-cold water. It works fine for me.


I went home one day with ube piayas. I've seen it before but I have never tried it, and this was pleasantly surprising. The dough is laced with ube, or purple yams, adding a layer of sweetness. Lovely with an espresso shot.