Provinces in southern Luzon have many great hubs for traveling and adventure, but they have more to offer than just their scenery, as they also cater to delicious traditional delicacies.
These delicacies, perfect for pasalubong or simply for merienda, will undoubtedly give your family a unique taste of town in the region.
1. Timitim
If you have been following Heart Evangelista, you know that she often shares the cultural richness of Sorsogon, including the best delicacies from the province.
The term ‘Timitim’ is derived from the word ‘patikim-tikim.” Hailing from Sorsogon, “Timitim” is a popular dessert made with the province’s special pili nuts, grated cassava, coconut, milk, sugar, and vanilla.
Typically cooked over firewood, Timitim has a sweet and milky taste that sweet-toothed Pinoys can enjoy. If you are in Sorsogon, then “Timitim” is definitely worth bringing home to your family.
2. Espasol
Originating from the province of Laguna, Espasol is a cylinder-shaped rice cake made up of toasted rice flour and sweetened coconut milk.
While this delicacy is easily accessible even in non-southern provinces, Laguna’s Espasol derives from its original recipe—the classic manual toasting of rice flour and grated coconuts.
Laguna’s Espasol can be found in pasalubong stores around the province, and they have many versions of Espasol that food adventurers can try.
3. Cassava Cake
Quezon Province’s cassava cake has definitely been recognized by several food and travel enthusiasts, including Erwan Heussaff. Also referred to as “budin” in Quezon, it is a mix of baked cassava, coconut, sugar, and margarine, usually topped with cheese.
For travelers who need to indulge with cassava cakes, Lucena City has a street dedicated to Quezon’s favorite merienda. Kalye Budin is a street where food adventurers can get original delicacies from the province, including Budin itself.
Aside from this, travelers can also get other pasalubong options, such as apas, uraro, and mazapan.
4. Pili Nuts
A gem from the Bicol region, Pili nuts are the safest snack to bring home, especially for long travels. While Pili nuts are usually used as additional ingredients for several snacks in southern Luzon provinces, they can actually be eaten alone.
Pili nuts are made from a harvested, buttery tree nut that is turned into several forms. It can be salted, candied, or roasted plain. A popular snack for those from the Bicol region, food travelers can easily bring this home.
More so, you can get creative with Pili nuts, as they can be easily added to and combined with other traditional Filipino meriendas.
5. Kalingking
Kalingking is Bicol’s native merienda choice. It is made of yellow sweet potatoes, or kamote in Filipino, flour, baking powder, milk, eggs, salt, sugar, and oil. The potatoes are pan-fried, battered, and sliced into pieces.
Usually served as a Bicolano merienda, Kalingking is a filling snack that goes well with any drink. While this may not be a popular pasalubong among tourists, it is definitely worth a try to bring the native taste of Bicol home.
No doubt, with these merienda foods in southern Luzon, Filipinos are really into making delicious foods. Out of all these delicacies, what’s your favorite?
