A childhood favorite street food of Tutubi, long planned to be blogged but not quite til now, is this obnoxious smelling yet delightfully satisfying bibingka recipe variant of Laguna where duck eggs are mixed with abnoy (spoiled eggs) and cooked in clay pots lined with banana leaves where it emits an obnoxious aroma.

One memorable event Tutubi regarding this Laguna delicacy is in Lingga, Pila where his friends cooked them for their group who found the smell too much to endure yet devoured the bibingka itlog in seconds right after they were served.

the bibingkang itlog is usually sold on the streets of Paete and neighboring towns but probably made in Sta. Cruz and Victoria (where the duck industry flourishes). This version is not the best though as you can see holes in them due to added flour or other extenders

The bibingkang itlog vendor at Sta. Cruz Public Market, Tutubi's suki where you can sample difference levels of obnoxiousness before you buy, you can even buy those without the rotten smell/taste but it's not the exotic type Tutubi longs for

The Bibingkang itlog (puro) has slightly yellowish color and not much holes. Costs around PhP100 per pie. You can buy them at the public markets of Lumban, Sta. Cruz, Pila and other towns

Bibingkang Itlog is best served with spicy vinegar and to make it authentic street food, sold on banana leaves, and eaten with toothpicks (as shown on the top picture). Bibingkang itlog though, like other exotic food, requires an acquired taste to enjoy it otherwise it's like a Fear Factor challenge. This is easier to ingest though than the more exotic and challenging bibingkang abnoy of Pateros, made wholly from abnoy (bugok na itlog ng itik) but fried (like torta) then dipped in spicy vinegar.

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other Bibingka Posts:
Bibingka Galapong
Tita's Delight Bibingka of Tanauan, Batangas
Vigan Royal Bibingka

Other future posts of Tutubi just on his drafts folders for ages now :)

Bibingkang Hipon of Paete
Mandaue Bibingka
Bibingkang Abnoy of Pateros

Labels: Calabarzon, Exotic Food, Laguna, Laguna Food Trip, Southern Tagalog

Cylindrical rice cakes usually peddled to bus passengers by ambulant vendors and sold as pasalubong, espasol is a Laguna specialty made from malagkit (glutinous rice), buko (youg coconut), pinipig (rice crispies) and sugar, rolled in rice flour and wrapped in paper.



Espasol Recipe ingredients:

malagkit, buko, pinipig, sugar

Where can you buy the best espasol in town? look for it in the town of Nagcarlan, Laguna, near the Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery. You can see the espasol made in several factories.

espasol recipe, how to make espasol, ingredients, laguna pasalubong, laguna specialties, laguna delicacies

Other Laguna Specialties:

Kinulob na Itik
Buko Pie
Minani
Bibingka Galapong

Labels: Laguna, Laguna Food Trip, Pasalubong

People will almost automatically think of Buko Pie, particularly The Original Buko Pie, when Los Banos comes to mind when it's time for pasalubong shopping. But for those in the know like the locals and students of the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), a "romantic" cake comes to mind that's light on the pocket of students' limited budget: Mer-nel's heart-shaped chocolate cake.

Mer-nel's Place is already an institution in Laguna, with competitively-priced cakes that's not too sweet that Tutubi, a self-confessed non-lover of sweets, was able to enjoy for it's fluffiness and sweet-tooth delight's icing.



With one branch in Barangay Maahas, almost in front of South Supermarket and near the entrance of UP Open University and the International Rice Research Institute (IRR), Mer-nel's Place is hard to miss when driving on the national highway. Their best seller is the heart-shaped chocolate cake, the smallest one costs just PhP140.00 that measures about 8 inches wide and 5 inches thick.


photo of the heart-shaped chocolate cake (taken by an Olympus SW1050 macro-mode with LED in dim light) moments before it was gobbled up.What becomes of the broken-hearted

The heart-shaped chocolaate cake may not be too sweet but it's a definitely a budget-friendly, sweet gift for people with romantic purpose or just plain pasalubong!

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Mer-nel's Place
Telephone No: +63.49.536.4544
Remarks: Mer-nel's Place also is an events venue specially weddings and has accommodations too.
Coordinates: to be posted soon, Tutubi's too lazy to download the coordinates from the GPS...

Tutubi's in the process of putting in place a list of recommended Laguna Food Trip itinerary and this will definitely make it to the list. stay tuned for more...

Labels: Calabarzon, Frugal Food Find, Laguna, Laguna Food Trip, Southern Tagalog

The Laguna town of Victoria's junction along the national highway is dotted with various stores selling duck eggs, balut, penoy, abnoy, itlog na maalat (salted eggs or sometimes called itlog na pula due to the red color) and the town's specialty-- kinulob na itik.

A favorite of Tutubi's younger brother now living in Malabon, kinulob na itik is a deep-fried duck recipe in Victoria, Laguna, a town with duck raising as main industry that was visited by the contestants of Amazing Race 5 where they chased ducks in their muddy shelters to get the next clues of the popular reality show.

Tutubi eats kinulob na itik not on his own initiative but mostly due to his brother's "addiction" to the Laguna delicacy. While in Victoria, he asked some locals around that led him to some sort of "victoria's secret" on the best kinulob na itik in town: Rollyesmer's Kinulob na Itik, deep inside the town center of Victoria, kilometers away from the main highway, in a hidden location yet sought after by locals and people in the know, bypassing the numerous stalls on the highway, including one that boldly proclaims itself as the "original" kinulob na itik, mimicking the highly successful original buko pie of Los Banos marketing ploy.

The owners of Rollyesmer's Fried Duck, Rogelio Ramirez and Esmeralda, both in their 60's, developed their own kinulob na itik recipe that still lures customers to their humble home, lighted only by a simple, slightly damaged sign outside their home. On talking with Mang Rolly about his secret fried duck recipe, he also narrated that he has relatives in Paete, Laguna that Tutubi's father also knew, unlike Tutubi who's now virtually unknown and knows less people in his hometown. Tutubi also asked around for bibingkang itlog (puro), related to the stinking bibingkang abnoy of Pateros.

The secret of the fried duck recipe? Mang Rolly first removes the duck feathers and internal organs before boiling the duck in water for about three to five hours. Garlic, onions and secret ingredients are then added, until the duck’s own oil starts to appear. Then the duck must be deep fried until it becomes crisp. The secret ingredients, in right amounts during the boiling process, removes the smell and pungent taste that turns off most people to ducks.

the wood-fired stove where the ducks are boiled for hours



The result? Tutubi's new kinulob na itik specialty discovery was also eaten by family members who don't normally eat ducks, in any form. Note that most fried duck dealers serve their product with sauce, but Rolly's fried duck don't need the sauce.

Victoria's Secret kinulob na itik, served without the usual sauce. Price is P140 each. Note the lettuce only added by Tutubi to add color.

It's by their special fried duck recipe that keeps them in business, selling about 30 fried ducks a day, in a hidden location somehwere that's called Victoria's secret...now in the open!

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Rollyesmer's Kinulob na Itik
Barangay San Roque, Victoria, Laguna
Contact Number: +63.915.547.7356
Coordinates: N14 13 28.2 E121 19 30.8

How to get there:

Commuting to Victoria, Laguna is easy. Take a bus to Sta. Cruz (either
HM Transport on EDSA, Cubao, Quezon City or a Green Star bus on Taft Avenue near corner Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia, near LRT and JAM bus terminals) and request the driver to drop you off in Victoria's Poblacion (Landmark: Petron gas station and a Victoria poblacion arch, the bus conductors call Balite (probably a balete tree used to be there) a few kilometers from the giant ducks statues in Masapang. Transfer to a
tricycle and ask to be taken to San Roque specifically at Rolly's Kinulob, locals know the place.

Driving Directions to Victoria, Laguna:

If you have a Garmin GPS navigator, the easiest way to get there is to use Open Street Map with the map of Victoria, Laguna updated by Tutubi that shows the actual location of Rollyesmer's Kinulob na Itik deep inside the town :P If you don't have one, just drive down to the town of "Mighty Ducks," enter the main road to the poblacion, a right turn followed by a left turn going to San Roque (a basketball court at the end) then left when you the San Roque arch then a right to an unknown road. Ask for Rolly's kinulob there and you won't get lost.

Labels: Calabarzon, Delicacies, Frugal Food Find, Laguna, Laguna Food Trip, Southern Tagalog

A food discovery of Tutubi suggested by his adventurous but "misinformed" sister who directed him to drive to the town of Famy, but wary of his sister as direction-challenged, opted to ask around at the junction of the highway Siniloan and Famy and discovered it's near the poblacion of Siniloan.

On going to the former Pandeño Bakery, reportedly owned by a foreigner from the US of A, Tutubi even got lost (deep into Halayhayin St.) while avoiding a one-way street sign at the corner of Pandeño Street and Salubungan only to find out later that it's a misleading sign that should be corrected by town authorities.

However, getting lost has it's reward as Tutubi discovered the map of Siniloan he's using is full or errors and thus was able to correct them. (Will post the interactive map of Siniloan, Laguna one of these days)

Tutubi's ate ordered two family size pizzas (about 18" in diameter): a pepperoni (price: P260.00) and a vegetable pizza (P200.00), plus a burger with fries (P115.00, about the size of two regular hamburgers of Jollibee).

WAPS Vegetable Pizza around 18" in diameter (family size) for just P200.00
Don't be fooled by the ordinary brown carton as packaging while the hot sauce is really hot, not just another sauce pretending to be chili hot

Tutubi prefers the vegetarian pizza with these ingredients that he was able to identify: tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, pineapple, sweet potato (camote), and mushrooms. The crust is not like popular commercial pizzas (Pizza Hut, Shakey's) and the taste is tuned more to the Filipino palate-- more like Greenwich sans pepperoni, sausages and other meats. It's price at P200 is unbeatable, suited for a small town, that can feed a typical family.

WAPS Burger is super-sized, with two patties, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and cucumber

In the future, some sort of Laguna Food Trip itinerary featuring various Laguna delicacies complete with directions and GPS coordinates.

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WAPS Burger Restaurant (formerly Pandeño Bakery)
Address: #3 Pandeño St., Siniloan, Laguna
Coordinates: N14 25 16.2 E121 26 43.6
Location: near Siniloan Municipal Hall, St. Peter and Paul Parish (Siniloan Church) and Jollibee Siniloan.
Telephone Number: +63.49.813.1474
Parking is a problem there as Pandeño St. is where public utility jeepneys bound for Siniloan pass by, too narrow as a two-lane road. You can park at the church patio for P20.00 parking fee if you don't want to risk your vehicle with scratch marks later.

How to get to Siniloan, Laguna:

Commute from EDSA crossing, board a jeepney to Tanay, Rizal then transfer to a Siniloan-bound jeepney at the Tanay terminal. WAPS is walking distance (or a short tricycle ride) from Siniloan Public Market that doubles as the jeepney terminal (you can also ride jeepneys going to the towns of Infanta and Real in Quezon province via Famy) or to Laguna's capital town of Sta. Cruz (to pass by towns of Pangil, Pakil, Paete, Kalayaan, Lumban, Pagsanjan. Jeepney fare from Paete to Siniloan is P19.00 per person)

Labels: Laguna Food Trip, Laguna Restaurants, Vegetarian Food

For as long as Tutubi can remember, there's only one buko pie he craves for. He doesn't have a sweet tooth but the thought of buko pie from Los Baños, about an hour away from his hometown makes his mouth water.

the bakeshop located on the national highway always has vehicles parked near the place with people lining up to buy the freshly-baked specialty of the town (drive and shoot photo taken through the glass, Canon Ixus 30)

Orient The Original Buko Pie Bakeshop on the National Highway of Los Baños, Laguna churns out freshly baked buko pie that people passing by the place queue up just to buy them. If he remembers correctly, the brand Orient has only been added to the name to distinguish itself from other "original" buko pies peddled elsewhere, even by ambulant vendors, a "disease" that Tutubi refers to as "The Original Syndrome."
three boxes of the pie bought my Tutubi's brother. Each pie costs P130.00

Orient Original buko pie recipe simply uses tender buko slivers (young coconuts) and not the already mature ones. This is different from G&B buko pie of Tuao North, Nueva Vizcaya where milk and cheese is part of the buko pie recipe.

Tutubi wasn't able to take a buko pie photo whole for as soon as he opened a box, a hand swooped in on the pie to take a slice

Note: The bakeshop doesn't sell Buko pie via ambulant vendors who board buses selling bootlegged "original" buko pies.

Question: Which one would you consider the best buko pie in the Philippines? Tutubi personally thinks it's this buko pie closely followed by G&B buko pie which is too sweet for his taste but good. He has sampled other buco pies like Collete's, Rowena's (Tagaytay), El Mare (San Pablo City) even Babe's Buko Pie in Batangas...

the best buko pie though is a subjective matter and Tutubi won't bother if you have your own preference :P

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Notes:
Other pasalubong and delicacies in Laguna include espasol, puto binan (of Biñan town, do you know Nila's Puto Biñan?), kesong puti (white cheese of Sta. Cruz made from carabao milk coagulated in vinegar, very similar to India's paneer but using lemon juice), minatamis na calamansi (sweetened Philippine lemon) in Pagsanjan, the obnoxious-smelling-yet-delectably-good bibingkang itlog similar yet less rotten-smelling than Pateros' bibingkang abnoy (mostly in Victoria town but peddled as fas as Paete), monay buns of Bay and minani and bibingkang galapong in Paete and Pakil. There are also vendors giving away free taste of their candies in buses, e.g. macapuno, espasol, ube et al, that you can buy at a cheap price of P10 per pack.

Other interesting places/tourist spots and attractions in Los Banos:

University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) with it picturesque campus, Homma-Yamashita Shrine (the execution site of Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita and Gen. Masaharu Homma at the end of World War II), Dampalit Falls, Paciano Rizal Shrine, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and its Rice Museum, the original baths built by Spaniards (where the town got its name), and lastly, Mt. Makiling (Tutubi won't call it mystic mountain for almost all mountains in the Philippines are considered mystic by many people) with forest for trekking including mudflats.

How to get to Los Baños, Laguna:

If you're specifically going to buy at The Original Buko Pie Bakeshop, you need to board a bus to Sta. Cruz that pass by Calamba and Los Baños. HM Transport Bus on EDSA Cubao (Southbound, near Victory Liner) or GreenStar bus on Taft Avenue (northbound) near corner Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue (walking distance from LRT Buendia station) and request the driver to drop you off there just before you reach Olivares Plaza and the place called College (going to the University of the Philippines Los Banos campus). Those buses don't pass by Alabang ilalim, you need to ride an HM Transit bus, usually non-airconditioned, to get there. If you're somewhere in Calamba hot spring resorts, you need to get to the highway to board Sta. Cruz-bound jeepneys to get there then board HM Transport bus going to Cubao or GreenStar Express bus to LRT/Taft after buying at the bakeshop.

Commute from Rizal Province: it's better to board a jeepney going to Siniloan, transfer to a Sta. Cruz-bound jeepney at Siniloan public market, then ransfer again to a Calamba-bound jeepney. Alight in front of the bakeshop about a kilometer from Olivares Plaza mall.

Commute from Quezon Province: board jumbo-jeepneys in Lucena or Lucban going to Sta. Cruz then transfer to a Calamba-bound Jeepney.

Driving directions to Los Banos (follow this route to Los Banos): from Makati head towards SLEX and take Calamba exit (the last one) then pass over the bridge going to Calamba city proper. There is a diversion road that bypasses the traffic-prone Crossing where you pass by the new Calamba City Hall and RSM Lutong Bahay branch to exit in Halang but still you have to pass by Bucal and Barangay Pansol (where the hot spring resorts are located). If you missed the bypass road where many vehicles turn right, just drive straight then turn right at Calamba Crossing. You are now on the National Highway (that doesn't look like one). Continue driving until you see the sign on your left (and a portion of the highway where there are many cars parked). You won't reach Olivares Plaza, should you see the mall, you've passed the place and must turn back.

Labels: Laguna, Laguna Food Trip, Pasalubong, Southern Tagalog