For more than three decades, Ling Nam (formerly Ling Nam Starbread) has cultivated a huge following for its sweet, pillowy señorita bread — arguably the Bay Area’s most widely beloved Filipino American baked treat. Now, the new Union City location of the bakery also serves a unique coffee that goes especially well with a fresh batch of señorita bread.
The coffee is called Kapeng Barako, and it’s one of the rarest cups of coffee in the Bay Area. Barako is brewed with liberica, a lesser-known coffee bean from the Philippines that makes up less than 2% of coffee consumption worldwide.
Owner Alexson Lim explains that when he opened the new Ling Nam Express in Union City in July, he wanted to add coffee to the menu to encourage customers to eat the señorita bread fresh out of the oven, instead of taking it to go like they do at other Ling Nam locations…