Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down and interview Kimberly Camera, the esteemed head chef and co-owner of Kora. For Ms. Camera, Kora isn’t only a bakery, it is a tribute to her Filipino-American heritage and is what makes her recipes so unique. After walking through the bakery, I was truly overwhelmed by the number of pastries there were. I eagerly asked Ms. Camera which pastry was her favorite. She replied, “You can’t ask me to choose [a] favorite among my children.”
Kora is a Filipino bakery in Sunnyside, Queens known for their authentic pastries and genuine flavors. It is accessible to Townsend Harris students via the Q64, and the E and 7 train lines.
Croissant
Critic Rating: 10/10
One of the staple dishes at Kora is the Ensaymada Croissant which is sprinkled with sugar and a generous layer of butter, and topped with a thick layer of shredded Edam cheese. This pastry is a perfect balance between sweet and savory. It was milky, airy and light. The Edam cheese created a salty nutty layer. The layers of flavor all came together to create the perfect bite. What truly made me fall in love with this dish was the blend of the savory edam cheese and the salty butter which created a creamy sensation that melted in my mouth.
Spam and Cheese Pain Suisse
Critic Rating: 9.5/10
Pain Suisse is a French pastry, and it literally translates to “Swiss bread”. Though I personally am not a fan of spam because I find it very fatty, I appreciated this creation. The spam in this dish surprised me because the smokeyness of the pimento cheese overcame the fatty oily spam. The bread was light and airy. The pimento cheese, the smoked paprika, and the chili crisp added a nice kick of spice. The cheese was creamy and blended smoothly, balancing the saltiness and porkiness of the spam.
Ube 
Critic Rating: 9.5/10
Ube is a starchy, purple yam that is native to Filipino culture. The starchiness of the ube definitely made the donut a bit dense. This was offset by the very generous purple ube pastry cream that filled its chewy interior. The ube pastry cream tasted floral and sweet with some underlying earthy tones. This was the most interesting of the pastries and definitely worth a try.
Leche Flan
Critic Rating: 100/10
This was my favorite! It was simply luscious. The dough was layered, crispy and flaky. The center was filled with what I would describe as an upside down flan – the rich caramel was on the bottom and the sweet vanilla custard sat on top. When I took the first bite, the three came together in perfect harmony. No wonder it was Lola Corazon’s favorite!
What truly makes Kora so special is that it represents American cuisine at its finest: a culmination of authentic food from around the world. Having a chance to speak to the co-owner of Kora was truly awakening. I felt a passion for cooking and baking that resonates with everyone—a desire to uphold family legacy while learning from the world around you. Camera named Kora after her grandmother, Corazón. This nostalgia of homemade, generational recipes is what makes Kora so special.