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Top 9 Best Favorite Pasalubong Items in the Country 2017

Make sure you have baggage allowance for these popular Pinoy pasalubong.

By: Patricia Marie Prado | August 27, 2017

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Filipinos love pasalubong (take-home gifts). While foreigners think it’s just a show of good gesture, it’s a tradition that strengthens the bond with loved ones for Filipinos.

Our readers voted on their favorite pasalubong and the results are in! Read on to know what to bring home from your next trip.

9. Longganisa, suka pinakurat, and printed T-shirts

Longganisa and suka pinakurat: goodies from Vigan (Images: Vigan City PH, Victory Mini Mart)

Longganisa (Filipino-style sausages) and suka pinakurat (spiced coconut vinegar) are popular pasalubong items from Vigan. Vigan longganisa is small, plump, and has a strong garlic flavor. Dip it in suka pinakurat, or vinegar with chili, garlic, onion, and other ingredients.

Printed T-shirts, a no-fail pasalubong (Image: Qian & Ezra’s Pasalubong Center and Canteen)

Printed T-shirts are a no-brainer pasalubong. You’ll always find a stall selling T-shirts in various colors, designs, and sizes printed with the name of the province or something it’s famous for.

8. Biscocho, pili nuts, and pili tart

Biscocho, the perfect partner for coffee (Images: Original Biscocho Haus)

Biscocho is baked bread with sugar and butter or garlic. It’s a great snack that’s easily available in pasalubong centers. Although originally from Iloilo, it’s also now a popular pasalubong from Bacolod.

Pili nuts and tarts from Bicol (Images: Othelo Orpiada Padre, Recipe Ala Jineenai)

Bicol is famous for pili nuts and tarts. Pili nuts take a lot of effort to produce, as farmers need to crack each pili fruit by hand. One can also enjoy pili in the form of tarts for snacks or dessert.

7. Piaya, snow balls, and tupig

Piaya is flat yet full of flavor. (Image: Bacolodnon Koya)

Piaya is a sweet unleavened flatbread filled with muscovado (unrefined sugar). This flaky, crunchy pastry pairs well with coffee. Other variations include ube (purple yam) or chocolate piaya.

Snowballs are delightful cookies from Baguio. (Images: GP North Trading, @ladykeds)

Snow balls from Baguio is slowly becoming a favorite pasalubong. These round cookies with a cashew center are dusted with confectioners’ sugar on the outside, hence the snow ball look.

Tupig from Pangasinan is a grilled sweet treat. (Images: @sdpin0y, @wgkangajohn)

Tupig from Pangasinan is made of glutinous rice, coconut juice, coconut meat, and sugar. The charred bits give tupig a stronger flavor compared to ordinary rice cakes.

6. Peanut Kisses, walis, and oatmeal cookies

Peanut Kisses are a famous sweet treat from Bohol. (Image: Jenny Cuñado)

Boholanos have been munching on Peanut Kisses for over 40 years. These light, airy snacks are made from peanuts, egg whites, and sugar. These affordable treats can be bought anywhere in Bohol.

Moms love walis tambo for cleaning the house. (Image: Drew Arales)

Walis tambo from Baguio is made from the flowers of tiger grass. Filipino moms prefer them as pasalubong since they’re cheap and long-lasting.

Also worth mentioning are oatmeal cookies from Lety’s Buko Pie in Laguna.

5. Banana chips, ube jam, and pork chicharon

Voter’s comment: “The best ube jam ever!!!! <3”- Karen Libao

Mindoro’s banana chips are healthier than junk food. (Images: Bahay Pasalubong ni Enteng, Banana Thins PH)

Banana chips are deep-fried, thinly sliced bananas coated with sugar. They are very cheap and can be easily purchased anywhere in Mindoro.

Ube jam from Good Shepherd helps students through school. (Image: Baguio Jams)

Another favorite pasalubong from Baguio is Good Shepherd ube jam, which is handcrafted by nuns. The proceeds of the sales go to students whose education the nuns sponsor.

Chicharon from Bulacan is not for the health-conscious. (Images: Bahay Pasalubong ni Enteng, Mary Rose Fernando Ramos)

The Bulacan version of chicharon is known for its thick meat and crispy skin. Daboy Chicharon, a well-known chicharon maker in Bulacan, uses back fat for their product.

4. Chichacorn

Chichacorn, a pasalubong made by accident (Images: Kris Maeish, Lem Bolivar)

Chichacorn is a snack made from glutinous corn. Housewife Rosalina Abrojena and her sister-in-law Tomasa originally sold boiled glutinous corn but had plenty of leftovers. They decided to deep fry it and chichacorn was born. Today, Rosalina’s chichacorn is sold under the brand Nana Rosa’s Chichacorn.

3. Strawberries

Voter’s comment:

“Freshest and sweetest strawberries from the City of Pines :)” - Renalyn Quiambao

You can pick your own strawberries in Baguio. (Images: Sino Pinas Eats, @ clayton_tu)

Taking the third spot are strawberries from Baguio. The cold climate in Baguio is conducive to raising these sweet, red fruits. The Strawberry Farm in La Trinidad, Benguet has become a tourist spot, where you can pick strawberries direct from the farm. Prices here are higher compared to the market due to quality control. Strawberries are very delicate, and once they get bruised, they are already considered a waste, hence the hefty price.

2. Dried mangoes

Cebu has become synonymous with dried mangoes. (Images: La Dinette Snacks, Jenny Ildiko)

At the second spot is dried mangoes from Cebu. In the early 1970’s, Vicente and Rosario Siao of Vermedes, Inc. wanted to give mangoes to loved ones abroad. They experimented with preserving the sweet fruits until they created the first dried mangoes. Today, dried mangoes are a popular pasalubong from Cebu and has become a thriving industry.

1. Buko pie and peanut butter

Buko pie from Laguna is best served hot. (Images: Leo Gonzales, Don Lejano)

One of the products that claimed the top spot is buko (coconut) pie from Laguna. It was born after the Pahud sisters substituted buko for an apple pie recipe they wanted to recreate. Today, their pies are sold at Orient Buko Pie Bakeshop , one of the notable buko pie makers in Laguna.

Nanay Pacings’s peanut butter is all natural. (Images: @_iamjoanmarie_, Bryan Vergara)

Also at number one is Nanay Pacing homemade peanut butter from Baler, Aurora. Pacing “Nanay Pacing” Tolentino created this much buzzed about product. It is made of roasted peanuts, salt, and sugar and has no oil or preservatives.

Which pasalubong will you buy next? Tell us in the comments section below!

Results are based on the Top 10 Best Favorite Pasalubong Items in the Country 2017 Poll posted at the home page of yoorekka.com from August 14 to August 20, 2017.

About Patricia Marie Prado

Patricia came from the field of business and accounting but is now pursuing her dreams of being a writer. She is a self-confessed introvert and is passionate about reading, travelling, writing, movies, coffee and God. When she's not writing, she loves discovering new coffee shops/cafe and doing TV-series marathons.

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Disclaimer: All articles in the Consumers Magazine of Yoorekka are for general information and entertainment purposes only. Although careful research has been made in writing them, Yoorekka does not make any warranty about the completeness and accuracy of all information presented in our articles. Our content is not intended to be used in place of legal, medical, or any professional advice.