Timing the steaming process is very important to achieve a good result and a moist and succulent Puto Bumbong. Once cooked, the sticky rice delicacy is thumped out of the bamboo stick by beating the hands into each other so the finished rice roll glides out of the bamboo stick.

Fresh margarine or butter and freshly grated coconut flesh are sprinkled over the Puto Bumbong to finish the dish.

There are no instant mixes or wheat flour substitutes and no ovens being used for these rice specialties. Like in the old days, one needs to fan the charcoals and grind the rice for the Malangkit in order to appreciate a vendors work. After all it is high business time at 5 in the morning, but somehow the scent of freshly baked Bibingka or Puto Bumbong never fails to excite the early church visitor, and no Bibingka or Puto Bumbong eaten at any other time of the year tastes so festive and brings out the spirit of Christmas so well.