This June, Quest Hotel Cebu’s Puso Bistro is dishing out more than dessert—it’s serving up vibrant, flavorful advocacy with its limited-edition “Pride Pastries”. From cheeky names to thoughtful local touches, each item is a nod to both Filipino food culture and the richness of the LGBTQIA+ community.
There’s the “Queer-sant”, a rainbow-hued croissant filled with ham and cheese; the “Love Wins Pistachio Cromboloni”, a buttery hybrid of croissant and bomboloni (the Italian holeless donut); and the visually stunning “Pistachio Pride Cake”, layered in bold, colorful strokes. Together, these desserts transform the hotel’s pastry counter into a vibrant tribute to pride, identity, and inclusion.
But the item that’s bound to perk up any Filipino’s ears is the “Badingka,” a rainbow-themed twist on the beloved native bibingka.
The name itself is a playful mash-up of bibingka and bading (a Filipino word for “gay”), and the result is a pastry that wears its queerness—and its cultural heritage—with pride.
“Badingka” (Rainbow-themed Bibingka)
A tad softer than traditional bibingka, the Badingka’s subtle sweetness and rich rice flavor offer comfort with a twist. Its standout feature, though, is visual: layers of color in full rainbow glory. Getting that effect isn’t as simple as adding food coloring—it’s practically pastry performance art.
To get those colours in the Bandingka is similar to coffee art, shading the treat with many hues before baking. And hearing how Puso Bistro’s pastry chef Alvin Reignald Valendez, more known as “Chef Reighn”, describes the process, getting the colours right may be more of a complicated ordeal than it seems.
To achieve the rainbow effect, the kitchen has to make batters of different colours, pouring them one by one with patience and caution. “That’s the tricky part,” Valendez said in a mix of Bisaya and English. “It’s like you’re pouring cream for a latte. You have to do it really well.”
“Queer-sant” with Ham and Cheese
However, since some colours tend to be more sensitive to others, some badingka come out with the colours mixed or have one colour overpower the others.
The colouring process is part of a long and difficult process of baking the badingka. Take, for instance, the pre-baking steps of pride pastry; to prepare the rice for the badingka, they soak the rice for twenty-four hours.
And all of this meticulous work in the kitchen is in pursuit of providing an authentic local pastry experience for hotel guests and casual diners, baking as many of Cebu Province’s treats and snacks to give everyone access to the province’s wide choices of kakanin.
“We’re trying to push our own [cuisine],” said Valendez. “As Cebuanos, we have a lot of kakanin. So we put in our own twists to encourage people to try them out, our own kakanin in Cebu.”
“Love Wins Pistachio Cromboloni”
One of those twists is the rainbow motif featured on several Quest Hotel pastries, which has become part of the hotel’s celebration of Pride Month. In partnership with LoveYourself Foundation, a Philippine-based non-profit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health and services, Quest Hotel has several offerings in support of the LGBTQIA+ community as part of its “Happy to Be Loved” campaign.
A portion of every sale of Puso Bistro’s pride pastries—including the Bakingka—is given to LoveYourself, supporting the organization’s HIV treatments and prevention programs, as well as its many counselling and health services that can make a positive impact on the queer community.
To emphasize their support for the LGBTQIA+ community, Quest Hotel declared in a press release to the press: “Together, we’ve shaped programs that go beyond the rainbow—programs rooted in compassion, education, and allyship. Whether it’s through heartfelt events, community support, or our day-to-day hospitality, we stand with Pride.”
Photo Courtesy Quest Hotel
