FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

I was choosing over tons of pasalubong items at Deco's pasalubong shop when these items caught my attetion. It was just ordinary to see ube, mango flavours for piayas but I did take another look when I saw a red piaya and one labeled "calamansi" Starting the most obvious flavous and clockwise, strawberry, buko pandan, mango, ube, mango-pineapple, pineapple and calamansi But I had to go back again since not all flavours were comeplete that time. Then it was picture time and eating time. Buko pandan and mango-pineapple were good. I didnt find any hint of tanginess in the calamansi.

Probably the best "packaged" pasalubong item from the city. Yet it was a tourist that introduced me to this stuff. Luckily, it was available sa Deco's Pasalubong center in from of SM Delgado (very convenient rather than going all the way to Arevalo). Priced almost a hundred pesos each, these crunchies and chewies are a welcome change from the usual pasalubong stuff. Crunchies are thin and crisp "cookies" with pinipig, cashew and tsokolate varieties to name a few while chewies (in mango) are thicker and .... chewy. Additional photos courtesy of Weekend Pastime

This is one of my simple pleasures. Unlike the ones found in most bakeries, this one from Tibiao Bakery is the best there is. Though I think it is only Tibiao among the well established bakeshops in the city which makes this bread. For around PhP8 a piece, you can be sure of not being shortchanged since the filling is thicker than the bread and tastes "quality" too. The filling comes in red and light yellow (mostly found in small bakeries)

It was its novelty that made me buy this at their stall in SM City. Piaya Crisps , so thin that they literally didn't have filling and sort of became biscuits. At first I thought it was so-so until I find myself addicted to it. Even the simple honey-molasses flavor can make you crave for this piaya innovation by Susannah's cottage industries. c/o QUEENSK9 of PEX Now, another item added to my MUST TRY list. Each pack cost a litte more than PhP25 .

Simply this is just peanuts "glued" together by caramelized sugar and topped with sesame seeds. Believe it or not, the best quality bandi I've seen is not found in any pasalubong shop nor in groceries but along the sidewalk of Delgado street in the Amigo Plaza vicinity. There you can find vendors selling export quality, Molo-made bandi at 7pesos a piece. ( but you can have 3 for 20, automatically ) \\

Dont expect a real bibingka since this one is made of mamon with macapuno filling topped with butter and sugar. Costs PhP18.50 a piece but it's worth it since it makes you really feel like a a royalty.

The first time I tried this buko pie from Trapiche, Oton, it was really heaven in a pastry! From its flaky crust and thick filling, I raved and craved for it for days. It was sold at PhP 75/whole at their store and PhP80 for delivery within the city. (Now its 100 pesos per plate) It was November of last year, when someone came along our neighbourhood selling this buko pie and I was surprised that it sort of became small but still it tasted great. They also have buko pinya pie and buko pandan. Nang Palang's Buko Pie Feature

If there's one product that stands out from this shop, it would be their pinasugbo. Thanks to IMPRESARIO of SSC for this set of photos. Incidentally, his in-laws own Rosy's Delicacies.

Rosquetes of Panaderia de Molo is a unique tasting cookie. Its distinct grainy texture and distinct taste makes you think you are eating a cookie made with rice flour.

Hojaldres of Panaderia de Molo is a pasalubong item I take for granted. But Food Magazine's Iloilo issue made me want to try this one again since I cant remember when was the last time I had one. Sure enough, the lady selling at a Panaderia de Molo was telling another customer that this is their signature cookie and 2 very thin pieces sold at 15 pesos will be worth it. So I bought 3 packs myself and was astonished that this isn't the one I had in mind. It was very thin, flaky likened to otap but very thin in fact, just by looking at it you're sure that it'll melt in your mouth. It was worth the price paid but you'll just have to be very careful since it very brittle.

I really thought this was a sort of banana cake since it was a marble cake (a chiffon cake with choco swirls) that first came to mind. It was only after reading Food magazine's article on Biscocho Haus that I had an idea what it was.It even outsold biscocho when it was introduced. At 30 pesos per pack, this was reminiscent of tamarind candy, from its sugar coated balls to its wax paper wrapper plus its hard chewy consistency.

With close to hundred pasalubong stands dotting the highway to the new Iloilo airport, tourists often wonder what is "baye-baye"? Its an all time favorite native dessert made with a mixture of scraped young coconut meat, sugar and pinipig. Appearance-wise its like espasol without the dust. Now you know ... Aside from the pasalubong strip along the hi-way, Biscocho Haus and Tibiao have their own version of this native delicacy. But still the hi-way stalls offer the lowest price at around 20pesos for a 5 piece pack plus you might even get some freebies if you play your cards right. There's more than just a free taste ..... Among the more famous brands are Liit's, Dolping's and Jaspe.

Serafina is a collective term for those small fried sugar rolled dough balls. Often in a 4-ball clump, this is a "relative" of another sweet fried goodie, lubid lubid . Serafina is often referred to as goat's poo as it resembles one.