In 1977, the culinary landscape of Hinigaran, Negros Occidental looked vastly different. Restaurants were few and far between; the relaxed, rural life of the banwa (small town) offered little in the way of dining out. It was in this restful environment that Mila Olaes-Aguilar, a native of Bacolod who had moved to her husband’s hometown, decided to do something about the restlessness of being a housewife. She had all she needed—a passion for cooking and a treasure trove of heirloom recipes—to set up a humble counter down the street with just six stools.
Mila’s menu was simple but comforting: hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, a warm bowl of batchoy (noodle soup with pork offal, crushed pork cracklings, chicken stock, beef loin), soft drinks, and a chocolate cake for dessert. Recognizing her joy in cooking, her husband stepped in to support her passion, financing and building the restaurant’s permanent structure. From those humble beginnings to becoming a beloved institution in Hinigaran nearly five decades later, Mila’s is proof of what happens when a genuine love for feeding people is matched by the family’s support.
The true backbone of Mila’s menu predates the restaurant itself. Those familiar flavors that define the establishment belong to Mila’s mother, Doris Mombay Olaes—a matriarch of the Olaes family, who were pioneer dentists in Bacolod. Doris had traveled to Manila to study college. It was in her Home Economics class where she fell in love with the art of cooking and baking.
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| A Generational Thread: Founder Mila Olaes-Aguilar (left), whose passion for cooking launched a six-stool counter in 1977, alongside her eldest daughter (right), who helps carry on the family’s culinary tradition in Hinigaran. |
These heirloom formulas became the secret weapon of Mila’s kitchen, her eldest daughter Cecil Aguilar Malapitan says. Decades later, the Bacolod branch menu pays explicit homage to this lineage under the section titled, "From Grandma’s Cookbook." Among these treasures is their legendary potato cake—a dessert that is not too sweet, perfectly balanced, and widely considered the absolute identity of the brand. "Potato cake is Mila's," as Cecil fondly notes. Alongside it are their famous royal bibingka, buko pie, chicken ala king, black sambo, and mango tarts—all preserved exactly as Cecil’s Grandma Doris wrote them down.
For the first few decades, Mila was entirely content with her cozy Hinigaran lifestyle. She had no formal knowledge of business metrics; she simply possessed an infectious enthusiasm for baking and the pure joy of seeing people enjoy her food. In the early years, the work was intensely physical. The family only owned a single electric mixer, meaning that during major holidays, Mila and her children had to mix heavy batters by hand.
The turning point toward expansion came when the Mila’s youngest child, then a successful banker in Manila, returned home to Negros after Mila’s husband suffered a heart attack. Managing the family's various ventures, he saw the untapped potential of his mother’s restaurant. Resigning from his corporate banking career, he took over the business side of Mila’s .
While Mila was happy keeping things small, her son brought the modernization the business needed. He invested in heavy-duty mixers, acquired delivery vans, and spearheaded the interior design of the current store—fittingly incorporating Hinigaran’s local heritage of lampirong (Capiz shell) handicrafts. He expanded the brand to Bacolod, while his two sisters continue to help whenever the shop faces peak holiday rush.
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| Generational Flavors: The table at Mila’s features a spread of comforting, time-tested favorites—from rich bowls of batchoy and savory mains to their famous baked goods and royal bibingka. |
Despite turning 79 in 2026, Mila remains the undeniable anchor of the operation. The restaurant, says eldest daughter Cecil, “keeps her alive.” She remains fiercely hands-on, constantly seeking feedback, asking customers if they enjoyed their meals, and figuring out why a plate wasn't completely finished. Even when she isn’t physically on the floor, she is watching the restaurant's live CCTV feed via a tablet, calling the staff at a moment's notice to command: "There's no serving spoon on that table, bring one."
This relentless work ethic is something Mila and her husband instilled deeply in their children, who spent their childhood vacations slicing ingredients for pansit, baking, and running the cash register. Today, the third generation is learning the exact same values, working the counters during summers and holidays.
To maintain the absolute integrity of Grandma Doris’s taste, the family maintains strict control over production. While the staff handles the traying and baking logistics, the critical measurements of the secret recipes are still executed strictly by family members.
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| From Grandma’s Cookbook: Heirloom family desserts, including their signature potato cake, buko pie, and refreshing house drinks, all made using recipes passed down through generations. |
What’s truly remarkable is Mila’s philosophy regarding its 30 regular employees. The staff is not viewed as mere labor, but as partners and family. The loyalty here spans generations—it is common to see lolas (grandmothers) who have been working with the company for over 40 years working side-by-side with their own grandchildren.
"Not being a college graduate doesn't make you less, as long as you do your job well," Cecil Aguilar-Malapitan says. The family actively looks for the hidden potential in their team, and have trained regular staff to become bookkeepers. Over the decades, they have cheered former staff members advance to become police officers, security guards, teachers, and hotel professionals in Manila. The bond is so intimate that when a long-time staff member was recently hospitalized, it was the restaurant family who accurately relayed the patient’s complete medical history to the emergency doctors.
Mila’s has weathered its fair share of modern storms, from the total closures of the COVID-19 lockdowns to devastating typhoons that wiped out their local coconut suppliers, temporarily halting their signature buko pie production.
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| A Hinigaran Landmark: The current storefront of Mila’s in Hinigaran—a far cry from its humble beginnings, now standing as a beloved culinary fixture in the province. |
Yet, looking 10 years into the future, the family’s outlook remains bright. Plans are already underway for a new building featuring better parking to accommodate their growing footprint. But more than infrastructure, the family's ultimate hope is centered on continuity: that the third generation will step fully into production, ensuring that Mila’s remains open, active, and feeding the families of Negros for another 50 years.
Writer: John Mari A. Marcelo
Photos: Jah Javier
