MANILA, Philippines – Bacolod City’s most famous regional delicacy may just be the well-loved napoleones. Delicate layers of buttery puff pastry, custard cream, and sugar glaze on top is what sweet, flaky pastry dreams are made of!

The homemade treat grew in popularity in 1996, thanks to Bacolod’s OG family bakery Leones Napoleones, who started baking a variety of favorite kakanins – from bibingka to banana cake, meat pie, pianono, pineapple pie, and napoleones. In 1999, Leones partnered with famous pasalubong hub and restaurant Pendy’s and began supplying them with their freshly-baked napoleones.

“These authentic treats quickly became the favorite of tourists visiting Bacolod from all over the country,” Leones told Rappler. From 2007 to 2013, Leones expanded by supplying another big pasalubong center in Bacolod. “Although short-lived, our partnership helped us weather the global economic downturn,” they said.

In 2016, Leones also began supplying Mimi’s Napoleones, a restaurant created when Pendy’s decided to separate into two entities. However, in 2020, Pendy’s had to unfortunately stop operations due to the pandemic, leaving Leones without their primary and biggest client.

“But that didn’t stop us from pursuing our passion of helping tourists get the best pasalubong they can find from the City of Smiles. We decided to build our brand and make it easier to enjoy our authentic Bacolod napoleones,” Leones said. Leones Napoleones was born.

2021 saw a stark uptick in demand from previous Bacolod visitors, as well as fans from Metro Manila. Because of this, Leones began flying their freshly-baked napoleones from their kitchen in Bacolod to Manila every week. “We have honed and perfected our napoleones recipe over the years to become the best napoleones in Bacolod,” Leones said, taking pride in the “crunchy crust, a silky custard center filling, and sugar glazing that will all melt in your mouth.”

Leones Napoleones opens weekly pre-order batches via Instagram. As of this writing, the next batch available is for Saturday, February 25. A box of six costs P360. You can order up to 15 boxes per batch. The pastries are baked without any preservatives and flown on the same day.

A box can last for up to five days when refrigerated, and 10 days when frozen. Napoleones can be enjoyed warmed in the toaster, chilled, or frozen, and are best paired with coffee, tea, or as a solo dessert.

Leones says that the plane will land at 3 pm and the delivery will reach customers’ doorsteps at 4-9 pm with a P175 Metro Manila flat rate. For customers in Cavite and Rizal areas, a P400 delivery fee will be incurred. – Rappler.com