A few years ago, a co-worker brought in some sweet, buttery rolls shaped like puffy ladyfingers and coated with breadcrumbs. They were Spanish rolls from Nanding's Bakery on Gulick.

"Impossible!" I cried, crumbs flying out of my mouth. "I know Gulick. Where on Gulick?"

"Makai side of North King," replied the co-worker, covered in crumbs.

"Oh," I said with a sheepish grin, "there's a makai side?" And then, like many of Nanding's new customers, I suddenly and desperately needed to find the place to get more rolls.

That's what happened to the Ulep family of Hilo. Siblings El, Amy, Eileen and Margie had flown in for a memorial service on O'ahu. Their nephew, Sunny Ramos, of Wai'anae, brought them Spanish rolls for breakfast before the service.

They couldn't stop eating them. That afternoon, they arrived at Nanding's. How's this for omiyage? The Uleps bought 20 boxes of baked goods totaling $274! As I watched in awe, I thought, "Let's go home to Hilo, my new Ulep family."

With 'ono encounters and word of mouth drawing people in, owner Fernando Paez doesn't need to advertise. Paez is Nanding, by the way. He explained that, in the Philippines, where he's from, it is common practice to take part of a person's name and add "-ing" to create a nickname. Using the "nand" in Fernando, he became Nanding. And soon he will become Nanding, U.S. citizen.

Paez bakes pastries and breads that originated in the Philippines. I recognized the Spanish rolls (three for $1) and butter-laden ensaymadas ($2) that were big enough to take to the park and use as Frisbees.

I decided to buy and try things I had never heard of. Apparently, I needed a cart. The ube roll (75 cents) caught my eye with its bright purple filling made from a yam called ube. I also got the mongo loaf ($2.50), a sweet bread with pockets of mashed mung beans. The taste and texture of both fillings reminded me of an, the azuki-bean paste found in Japanese manju.

My carb spree continued with the flower-shaped pan de hopia (70 cents). I enjoyed its unexpected mochi-like filling made with mashed onions and sugar. My waistline thanked me for expanding its horizons.

Finally, I picked up some pan de sal (25 cents). Filipinos consider these savory rolls (the name means salt bread) their daily bread, something to munch with morning coffee.

It was pan de sal — and Paez's mother-in-law — that played a role in the rise of Nanding's Bakery. In 1996, Paez came to Hawai'i to join his wife, Carmi, and her family.

At the suggestion of his mother-in-law, Paez began baking breads at home during the night. Early the next morning, he sold his bread to Filipino hotel workers waiting at a nearby bus stop. Meanwhile, his mother-in-law took baked goods to work and brought home orders for more.

A friendly visit by the Department of Health enlightened him about the need to find a commercial place to do business. In 1999, he bought the former Paul's Bakery.

To this day, he still gets customers who come in looking for Paul's custard pies. Charlene Hokoana, of Crestview, was one of them. I bumped into her as we were both leaving. I had my box of pastries and bag of rolls; she had nothing, having decided not to buy Paez's custard pie.

Outside, I gave her a Spanish roll and we talked about pie and places to eat for about 15 minutes. When we parted, she walked right back into the bakery, saying the rolls were really good.

Budding entrepreneurs, take note: On a typical day, Paez wakes up at 3:30 a.m., starts baking an hour later and leaves around 9 p.m. His favorite memory of Nanding's is his back-breaking first year, when his only employee would come in late.

"I'm alone," Paez recalled. "All the dough is in my hands. I stop, wash, work the register. I don't know what to do first: put something in the oven or help the customers? I almost gonna cry."

How in the world could that be his favorite memory? "The hard part — I came through that," Paez explained, "and now I have employees."

That's not all. In about a month, Paez will also have a second Nanding's Bakery at the Lee Town Center in Waipahu. I'm sure the Spanish rolls, along with the crumbs, will be flying out.

Lisa Sekiya works in The Advertiser's marketing department and spends her spare time seeking out inexpensive eateries.