Eng Bee Tin to Visit Cebu for National Hopia Day 2025

What is Eng Bee Tin? 

It’s a popular Chinese deli in Binondo, considered to have the best hopia in the country. Its original branch on Ongpin Street is a go-to pasalubong center in Manila.

Despite having 45 branches nationwide, there isn’t an official branch in Cebu. You can only buy from resellers who distribute limited batches of products from the main branch. 

But for five days in July 2025, Cebuanos can buy from them directly and even try them out for free, as Eng Bee Tin will visit Cebu for the second annual National Hopia Day. 

NATIONAL HOPIA DAY IN CEBU

This year’s National Hopia Day (NHD) will be held at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu from July 16 to 20.

As mentioned on their official website, NHD celebrates the cultural ties between the Filipino and Chinese people by highlighting one of the country’s most popular Chinoy snacks. (2024)

In its first iteration, a huge celebration was held in Metro Manila. Now they are expanding to Cebu, with dates scheduled in Davao as well, to share their love of hopia with more Filipinos around the country. 

Participants can join fun activities like the “Hakot Hopia” challenge. This is essentially a shopping spree to get as many hopia packs as you can. 

Aside from this, the event will have unlimited free-tasting for all hopia flavors, including ones that are yet to be introduced.

There is a special NHD Bundle with five packs of hopia inspired by flavors from the event’s three venues, namely Sisig from Manila, Philippine Mango from Cebu, and Durian from Davao.

Unfortunately, the official National Hopia Day website confirmed that the pop-up stores in Cebu and Davao are only temporary. 

Regardless, many Cebuanos expressed excitement on the Eng Bee Tin Chinese Deli Facebook Page, as they can finally buy their products straight from the source.

WHY PEOPLE LOVE ENG BEE TIN

While they serve Chinese and Oriental favorites, Eng Bee Tin stands out for being proudly Filipino. 

Geraldyn Chua, one of the company’s managers, mentioned in an interview that they aim to bring out all the flavors of the Philippines through its experimental products. (2024)

For example, their bestselling Ube Hopia takes the traditional hopia recipe but adds tons of Ube Halaya to its filling. 

A flavor the deli pioneered, ube has become a marketing scheme for the company. They have since invented other ube-centric flavors like ube-langka (jackfruit) and ube-queso (cheese).

They also experimented on Filipino ingredients like macapuno, buko pandan, and durian, and introduced Kapeng Barako, Benguet Strawberry, and the aforementioned Sisig Hopia in last year’s NHD.

Despite being a household name today, it wasn’t like that in the beginning. In fact, the company faced major issues in the 70s.

A CENTURIES-OLD BUSINESS

Eng Bee Tin first started in 1912 as a small stall run by Chua Chiu Hong on Ongpin Street. At the time, he sold two flavors: baboy (pork) and the traditional monggo (mung beans).

Over the next few decades, more Ongpin Street shops opened and Eng Bee Tin struggled to be more original. It wasn’t until Gerry Chua, Geraldyn’s father, took over the company in the 80s that they regained their footing. 

He looked to rebrand the company through new flavors, visiting the local supermarket for inspiration. It was at a local ice cream parlor that he developed the idea for the Ube Hopia recipe.

The owner mentioned that ube was the most popular ice cream flavor, so Gerry created the Ube Hopia as a staple. This innovation granted him the moniker “Mr. Ube.”

Soon, Eng Bee Tin started experimenting with different flavors and expanded outside of Chinese pastries to sell breads, cakes, frozen products, and even processed seafood. 

They continue to be one of the most popular spots in Binondo, while innovating with new flavors each year.