- We often overlook
what's closest to us. If you've lived in Manila
or have visited the country a few times, Quezon is one
of those provinces just like Laguna or Batangas
that you don't often prioritize. Looking further a field
for grander adventures, for a much needed change
of scenery. So we don't make the effort
to put in the research and yet, maybe you should. This historical province
is bordered by a rugged terrain, plains, mountains, valleys,
and swamps, flanked by the Philippine Sea
to the east, rich in biodiversity
and with lots of off the coast beautiful islands to explore. Yet perhaps, the only thing
eclipsing Quezon's beauty is the charm of its people. I've experienced
their kindness and generosity first hand, not only with their food... - You call it Kilay ng Dilaga
because of the shell. - I would never think
this would be edible but it is. But also with their art,
stories, passion, and everything else
in between. - It has a burning sensation. - These are just a few
of our favorite things from our recent trip
to Quezon. For our first stop,
we went to Tiaong and paid a visit
to Quezon's master potter and acclaimed artist
Ugu Bigyan, who found a way
to merge all the things he loves in a single space—
art, food, and meaningful encounters
of people. The municipality of Tiaong
is the gateway into the province, and just past the extremely
popular Villa Escudero you will find Ugu. There are a few up
and coming ceramic artists in the Philippines
and most, if not all of them, will tell you that they once
drew inspiration from this man. He has always been
business-minded. He started off
by selling bricks around Quezon and eventually ventured
into making pots and earthenware. He has immersed himself
in nature which the province provides bountifully
and draws inspiration from his surroundings. - So this is my glazing area. And this is the bisque firing. - The drying takes
how long usually? - It depends on the weather. If it's windy, it's better. - Ah, okay. - If it's sunny, it's not
because of the moist. - Ah. I thought sun
was better. - No, no, no. - Ah, so wind is better? - Yeah.
- Okay. - This is the place
where I glaze. You can see all the swatches. It's by letters. So I can have bright colors
because it's high fire. - Did it ever become
a conscious effort to promote Filipino... Like when you said the food,
the culture, and all that? - Yeah. Because right now,
when we talk about art, Filipinos are looking
for something contemporary, depending on how they live,
you know? It's the lifestyle. - So would you say most people
come here and buy from the boutique
or most people... - Buy and eat. - Yeah. Buy and eat. - Buy and eat. Yeah. - If I were today to make
a custom order for dinnerware,
when would be the earliest you could accept that order for? - June. - June next year? - Yes. (laughs) - Crazy. I only recently got
into pottery 'cause we moved in
to a new house and with that,
we wanted to make very conscious decisions
of every design element we had including
what we had on the table, and I've been in talks
with various potters in the Philippines
to get some dinnerware done. And just the process
behind it in how everyone really puts their identity
into their pieces is amazing, and I think
this is kind of like where it all started
for a lot of people. And the pieces,
the imperfection, all of it is just
absolutely beautiful. It comes together
really nicely, and you can really feel
his personality, his pride that goes into each
and every piece that's made. I would love to kind
of buy a bunch of these but the set's here
quite limited and he did mention
if I did want to order, it would have to be
for June 2024 which is a lot of planning
but just that shows you how much his perseverance,
being able to self-teach you things and kind
of like be extremely passionate, how far that can actually
take you in life and build kind of like
your vision from scratch... from clay, from the earth. You can always trust
a potter that cooks; just like with his earthenware,
Ugu finds a real connection with the food of his province. Using the ingredients
that the area directly around Mt. Banahaw provides,
he cooked us a few dishes that were light and flavorful. Simple things
that make me happy— buko juice
with freshly shredded buko. And I love seeing
fresh Filipino food. A lot of people think
that Filipino food is brown and oily
but when you go to the provinces
and you have access to beautiful produce
like they do here in Quezon, even though we're not even
in deep Quezon yet, you have bountiful harvest
and great ingredients to kind of work with
to which you apply very simple heirloom processes,
techniques, and recipes, and that is always
a recipe for magic. - So this is the shredded buko. You'll light up some coal,
and then you'll slowly burn it to get the smoky taste. This is when
it's already coconut milk. So we'll mix the ingredients. Of course,
there'll be lots of garlic, onion, ground pepper, salt, sugar, cane vinegar. So mix it first,
then this is coconut cream that we burned earlier. So usually what's made
into kulawo is banana heart, eggplant. Well, kulawo is like a kilawin,
because in kilawin, these are the ingredients
except ginger and chili. Actually, this is soaked
for a few minutes for the banana heart
to absorb the coconut milk. - I'm going to start with kind
of like the most popular of all the foods
that come out of Quezon and Laguna, the kulawo,
which is one of my favorite. I love the use of burnt
or toasted coconut dishes. You really need to taste
the smoke; it's so important. You need to taste that char. If you don't, then that flavor
hasn't been enhanced enough and you need that vinegar
to cut through the richness of the coconut milk. This would actually be perfect
with our pork here. A little bit of vinegar. Yum. That's a meal I would have
everyday with no problem. - So this is the pako salad. We'll mix it. So cucumber, carrots, then tomatoes,
then I'll put some parsley, fresh onions,
and we'll put the dressing. A bit of fish sauce,
calamansi, and honey. With ground pepper
and garlic. - This is really one
of the ingredients I wish we'd be able to get easier
in Manila. It's just so hard
'cause it really has to be gotten fresh
at the right stage of life. So clean, so fresh. Delicious. - This is the shrimp curry. Pepper, fish sauce, a bit of calamansi. Let's mix it. Lots of garlic. Ginger. We got some beautiful shrimp. So when you think about curry,
wouldn't necessarily think it's a very Filipino thing
but then, if you've tried Filipino chicken curry,
if you've tried some of our gata
(coconut milk) dishes, it has that flavor profile,
and I think it's really great. And here, that sauce
just really pairs perfectly with the shrimps. If you do come here... So you have to make sure
that you reserve a couple of days in advance;
at least three days. Contact them,
let them know you're coming. There's just some honesty
to the food which I think is so great. And I love the story
about this whole place— a frustrated architect, a frustrated potter
that eventually was able to kind of craft and create
his dreams. And to be able to kind
of create all this and still be here
and thriving 40 years after is a testament. Next up, the capital. This is a tight and busy place, a major throughway
to the province of Bicol and to further explore the coast. I met up with Vladimir Nieto, he is the president of the
Konseho de Herencia of Lucena. They focus on preserving
the last vestiges of history the city has
and help map the cultural heritage
of the area. He grew up here
and wanted to show me a slice of life of the city
and its food. - Lucena is very young
to the other municipalities that we have here. This is very young
because we were established or founded in 1879 only
unlike the other municipalities. So we could say that
this has been the center of trade of commerce and industry
in the province of Quezon. So this is our Chami,
our very famous Chami. "Cha-" from Chinese
is "eat," right? - Correct. - And "-mi" is the noodles. So eat the noodles. So they called it Chami
ever since. - So pork, lots of soy sauce
and cabbage. - This one is Balibag. The regular Chami
is not somewhat saucy like this. - And why is this
so popular here? - Well, a lot of people
are fond of eating noodles and there's a noodle
manufacturing house here in Lucena. So it became very popular here
because of the availability of the noodles. - This is just like
a really sweat sauce. And so, you add this
to the Chami? - If you want. - Okay. - You can add a little
of the vinegar. - I added some vinegar
which is really nice. I mean, flavor-wise,
for people who have never tried Chami,
it really is kind of like a very soy,
sweet forward flavor, but compared to other pancit,
it's a very clean dish where there's not a lot
of vegetables, it's really just the noodles,
a really good sauce, and then the pork, right? So this is the siopao. It's good. It's good. It's tasty.
It's really good. So when would someone
eat Chami here? Breakfast, lunch? - Any time of the day. - Further down
from where we were, Lucena flanks Tayabas Bay; as such, they have
a wealth of seafood in the area and Vladimir
wanted me to try a few things his friends gave him. - This is what we call
Kilay ng Dalaga. You call it Kilay ng Dilaga
because of the shell. - I would never think
this would be edible but it is. - Yeah. - Can I try that? - That's the meat of the shell. It came from Mayao Castillo. It's somewhat like "binistek"
as they call it. - So it has
that innards-like flavor. But I mean,
I'm a huge shell eater. Like in France, it's something
I would look for, like beautiful shells.
That's actually really tasty. And then, this is? - They call it Puto Lagkit. - Kind of looks like kutsinta. - Something like that,
that's why they call it "lagkit." Or Puto Ligat also. - Okay. It's very different
from kutsinta. After a quick bowl of Chami,
we hit the streets to see what else
we could chance upon. - Sir Erwan! - Hey! How are you? Ah, so this is the... - Purio's Ice Cream. Dirty ice cream. - Cool. I love dirty ice cream. I think it's
the best thing ever. I'll get mango cheese, please. Just kind of a spot
that you guys would come to when you were kids. Okay. How long has
this been here? - More than 50 years
if I'm not mistaken. - Really? - Yeah.
- Wow. I mean, it is good.
I think mango and cheese is probably one of those
best combinations out there. There's something
about dirty ice cream that always tastes
so nostalgic. - Oh, yum. This is the... - You know this? Pilipit. - Pilipit. - But this one is made from... - Squash. - Squash. - Really? Okay. Can I have one? - The original. - Wow. - Squash with coconut milk
and sangkaka. - How many years
have you been selling this? - 30 years. I started it
in 1976. - That's why it's so good. Good job! Thank you! - Hi! - Hello! - Is this it? - Suman Infanta. - Suman Infanta,
like other suman, is made from glutinous rice
and is wrapped in buri palm leaves. However, what makes it unique
is its size and the way they pack it. These are quite smaller
than your usual longer suman and they weren't as sweet. - So this is not the one
you tasted earlier? - No. But this tastes like
the suman I grew up eating. - It's near. - But that rendered
coconut milk, coconut sugar flavor... Yeah. To me, this tastes
like my childhood which makes me happy. Yeah. I haven't had this suman
like this in a while. Not too far away,
we found a little snack that Vladimir grew up eating. - This is the bibingka. - Puto maya. - Ah, this is the puto maya. - It's one of my favorites. - Would you like a half? - Yeah, okay. - Or else I'm going
to have no more space, man. (laughs) - I could tell.
- Yeah. What I love about this though, it's not sweet. It's really just that bukayo
that's sweet, everything else around it
is very savory. Like the cassava
is very savory, the coconut is very savory. It's quite nice. I'm a huge tinapa lover. This salted slowly simmered fish
that are smoked for hours are addicting. Every province has
their own specialty and the flavors
can vary greatly depending on the fish species
and the woods that are being used. We were able to find
a tinapa maker who was such a character
and was so happy to just show us around. - Are you American? - No, Filipino. - Ah, Filipino. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Are you a pogi (handsome)? - I'm half. (laughs) You have some Filipinos
that are handsome, right? You're handsome, too. That's what we're using
for tinapa. - What type of fish is that? - Tamban. - Tamban. - Before, there used
to be a lot of fish here that they used. But now, where do
you get your fish? - Bulan. - From Bulan, Sorsogon? - Yes. - Ah, really? All the way from Sorsogon? - Because of the demand. - Because of the demand. - Yeah. They need to buy
somewhere else. - But you can also get Tamban
from Quezon coast, I'm guessing, right? - Yeah. Just not in the same quantities? - Not enough. - So walking in here,
what you would expect is kind of like
a very fishy smell, but you don't. It just shows you
how fresh the catch actually is. What you do get is kind
of like this really warm hug from all the smoke
that's happening and it just looks absolutely
beautiful and cinematic, and the flavor, the smell
of the burning wood, and all this, this whole thing
becomes like this beautiful smoke house
for the product. The Department of Trade
and Industry set up the One Town,
One Product (OTOP) program back in the early 2000s. The program is said
to enable localities and communities to determine,
develop, support, and promoted products
or services that are rooted in its local culture,
community resource, creativity, connection,
and competitive advantage. As their own pride of place,
these were offerings where they can be the best at
or best renowned for. Whether or not
it has stimulated the economy, we don't really know yet,
but the idea of highlighting, preserving, and pushing
one particular product in one municipality
is a great step towards geographical indication
and protection for our products. In Lucena, tinapa secured
its spot as the city's OTOP. Unbeknown to many,
various businesses here have been producing boxes
of this well-loved smoked fish recipe, tinapa,
for decades. In Barangay Market View,
neighboring tinapa stores all producing
their own versions of the product,
blanket the streets in a sweet aroma
of smoke on most mornings. One of those stores
is owned by the Ferrer family, one of the pioneering makers
of Lucena's prized tinapa. - I'm Resti Ferrer,
married with eight children. I live in Market View,
Lucena City. My parents are
in the business of smoking fish, and they were really struggling
because they didn't have any help back then. It's just my mother
and father working together. I felt sorry for them,
so what I did is I helped them in making smoked fish
when I was still a teenager. My father is well-known
at the fishport. So, I was always brought
along to also get known there. The place we started
with was small, like a hut. This building belongs
to my father, I just inherited it. We moved here
just to continue this. After a while, my spouse
and I became independent. - I'm Elizabeth Godoy Ferrer,
68 years old. I sell smoked fish
while my spouse drives a tricycle. After his tricycle shift,
he helps with the boiling. It was just the two
of us working back then. Sometimes,
when he's not avaialble, I'm the one who boils
and makes the tinapa. It's just the two of us
doing everything manually. We have 8 children
which are too many. Even if it's hard,
you need to persevere. The smoked fish here
is like homemade. It's really smoked until cooked. - First, you'll take it
to the boiling area where there's water and salt. You'll boil water in a cauldron. Once the water boils,
the fish you soaked will be placed in a tray. Then, you'll place it
on the boiling water. Once it boils again,
you'll remove it because it might get overcooked. You'll line them up one by one. When it turns reddish,
you'll take it out, let it cool, and then you can now sell it. - We're just refining
our smoked fish. People in various towns like it. The recognition of your tinapa
depends on the process; that's what they're looking for. Even if many people
are selling smoked fish, if they know the name,
that's what they'll buy. In management,
you need another person. Also in salting,
because if you put too much salt,
it becomes too salty, and if it's too little,
it's not right either. What I do there is estimate. I don't have a measurement,
I just estimate the salt. That's what I learned
from my parents in salting. It's a good way
to earn money here, but it's a difficult job. I taught them
how to make tinapa. That's why my daughter Leah
followed my footsteps because she knows
the process, learned it quickly,
and earns well. - Of course,
when I was still single, I wasn't interested. But when I started joining
my mother on trips I earned some money,
I then became interested in starting a business here. And my parents guided me,
so it was easy. I didn't start from scratch. I already had materials,
capital, and regular customers to cater to. - Sometimes when
we're getting fish, the top looks good,
so you take it, but then the bottom
turns out to be bad, that's where we incur losses. But I still continued.
Just keep going, keep fighting,
that's how the job goes. We still persevered. - Selling tinapa
has been a great help to us. It's what sustained our family.
In raising our children, it became easier
because of the tinapa. That's why we can't abandon it,
even if our children tell us not to make tinapa anymore,
we still continue it. You just need to be patient,
and you need to love your livelihood. Even if it's hard,
as long as you're happy, that's okay. - The decades-old
tinapa making tradition of the Ferrer family
holds narratives of hard work
and an undying dedication to the craft. Through Restituto,
Elizabeth, and Leah, the story and the pursuit
to preserve the tradition of our favorite
Lucena's smoked fish will live on. Lucena is a busy city
but once you get out of the immediate area,
the traffic subsides and you can truly appreciate
the views that each of these towns have. We headed towards Tayabas
which is known for various
historical landmarks, old Spanish colonial churches,
bridges, and lots of delicious food. - You good? - It seems like you've
come a long way, bro. - Manuel Quezon once described
this place as the richest and the most joyful place
in this province. To be honest,
asides from the techno music, it's a pretty cool town. Tayabas is really quaint,
where as Lucena was kind of like really busy
and lots of happening and very chaotic. This almost has kind
of like a small mountain town feel to it and makes sense,
like if you look around you, you are at the foothills
of a lot of different mountains and it just feels really cool. It's nice and breezy
and there's a great kind of community affair here. When we asked people
about Quezon online, we were told that
there are a few things that people associate
with the area and three dishes
kept coming up— embutido and hardinera. The biggest difference
between both of these dishes is the pork. For the hardinera,
it's cooked and diced instead of ground
so it's a more dense version and it's cooked
in a llanera. And the final dish,
the beautiful yema cake. So let's start
with the embutido first. I'm guessing
this is banana ketchup. Flavor-wise, I like this. It's kind of like almost
a pâté in texture. This is really kind
of like something that you could spread
on some sandwich or some bread. This is the baby
that I came here for. So context, I actually made
this three days ago in the studio,
so it's very fresh in my mind in terms
of what mine tasted like. So the hardinera does carry
a bit more egg than your meatloaf would. Personally, don't take it
against me, I'm not a fan
of like red hotdogs. But when mixed like this
with some raisin, which I'm 100%
team raisin every day, it actually works. We have their yema cake. So I'm actually really excited
about this 'cause we will get a tour
eventually no how this is made in bulk. This is kind of like
what made it so famous. Look at that. That's buttery
and that's sweet, decadent. We have the Rodillas cheesecake. I'm not a huge fan
of like spongey tea cakes, things like dry cake,
I like like really soft and like buttery,
lots of like ganache sauce. But it's good. If I had to choose though,
I'd go back to the yema cake. This is more my vibe. I think Anne would devour this
as well. So Rodillas and the yema cake
is kind of like one of those emblematic brands
that when you come to Quezon, it's like a very Filipino thing
to bring the most popular pasalubong from that area,
this is one of those. - Firstly, this icing,
this is the yema base, we beat it
for a certain consistency to make it smooth
before we put it on the cake. Then after that,
we cool down the cake. We put filling
in the middle of the cake. - In the middle, right? - Yeah, yeah. In the middle. Ube, caramel, and yema. - And the most popular one,
I'm guessing, is the yema with the cheese?
- Yes. Because this is really
the original. - Would you know
how many cakes you guys do every day more or less? - Around 700-800
depending on the day. But usually, it peaks
when it's Christmas, New Year, or if there's an occasion. - Are your customers
from Quezon or from all over? - At first, only people
from Quezon, mostly from Tayabas. Afterwards, it spread
through the neighboring towns like Laguna, Batangas,
and then it even spread to other resellers in Manila. All the cakes of Rodillas
are made here and come from here. In 2014, we started constructing
this factory because the volume of orders
became too much to handle. - I mean, I had it yesterday,
it was delicious so I can understand
why it's so popular. Well, thank you
for allowing me to have a look. I always find it interesting
making quality food in bulk. - And we don't really use
any preservatives so it's baked freshly everyday. - Okay. So I had this yesterday
at Rodillas Restaurant. What makes this so special
is kind of like that texture. It kind of reminds you
of like a brazo de mercedes in terms of the texture,
so lots of egg whites to really get that texture right,
but to get it right where it doesn't deflate
I think is very skillful. And that glaze or that icing
of the yema really makes it come together. And the secret cheese
makes it so delicious. I'm going to try the ube now. Beautiful color. This tastes like hint of ube
which is nice. And finally, the caramel. You get a texture
that in my idea, the texture is so much
more palatable here. It's light, it's airy,
it's fluffy, making it so easy to kind of consume it
in really large quantities. And seeing how it's
so professionally done, it's so efficiently done,
kind of basically just gives you a glimpse as to why
these are so good and why they are so loved
in Quezon. We are in Tayabas, Quezon. We've been in Quezon Province
for a few days now just covering and documenting
all the lovely dishes and ingredients
that they have here and just unearthing
all these stories. This is day two
of our food trip and I'm starting to develop
a nice, little hunger. We're actually going
towards a bakery where I heard they make
these really special little breads that are still quite unknown
in the Philippines but really popular
in these areas. - What we're really known
for are our pandesal and bonete. - From the first bite,
you can already taste the deliciousness,
savoring every bit of it. - The history of baking
in the Philippines is quite unreliable. The easiest version tells
the tales of the Spanish colonizers bringing their breads,
wheat, and know-how with them. In other, way before mentions
China and their mooncakes. And finally, the Malays
possibly influenced by the Dutch with their rice and corn baked
or steamed goods. Today, the neighborhood bakery,
as most Filipinos grew up knowing it, is changing. We have been looking
far and wide for traditional businesses
that still value the patience that is required
with making sure that by 6:00 a.m.,
your displays are stacked and the smell of baked goods
fills the air. Folding, resting, proofing,
and filling diligently in the production line
waiting for their turn with the pugon,
a rarity nowadays. An oven, wood-fired,
dusted with crumbs, crusted memories,
a vehicle for decades of flavor. Yes, some modernization
here and there, mixers and the likes
to make the baker's lives a little easier,
but still mostly a manual process,
one that is hard to replace. In her book "Palayok,"
Doreen Fernandez writes: Pan de sal
“is our basic tinapay, our 'bread of salt,'
whether putok or pang-araw-araw
(the daily bread). It is the bread of our history,
at the core of our culture, at the heart of our tastes." For the uninitiated,
it's a strange scene. Our breads are unique
with remnants of influences but fully ours. It doesn't keep long
or well in our humid weather so people line up early
and make sure that by 5:00 p.m., all that is left are crumbs
on the kitchen table. From the famous ensaymada
to the controversially named "pan de regla,"
a personal favorite, the pan de coco,
and the regional bonete. I heard that you have
the most delicious bonete in the entire Philippines.
According to... - That is the bestseller here. - Thank you! Thank you! Okay. So bonete,
actually not as famous as your pandesal,
but pan de bonete or pan bonete,
depending on where you are in the Philippines,
basically means "bread hat" or bonnet. You can find this in Chile
and Mexico. So obviously,
was probably imported with the galleon trade. In Quezon, Laguna,
Batangas, I think everyone kind of claims it
as they being the originals to make it. Personally, I actually do prefer it
over pandesal because you get
this really beautiful crisp bottom and you get
that really fluffy texture at the top and it kind
of does look like a hat. It is also a bit more rich
and bit more buttery. So when it comes to bread
in the morning... I mean, Filipino breads
in general are usually slightly sweeter. This is probably like one
of my favorites. I’m Pablito Casiño.
I own this bakery although I have already
passed it down to my four children. This is yeast. It causes the bread
to rise, to expand. This bakery has its roots
in my parents. They told me that my father
began baking in 1944. My father owned all the recipes,
and the first bread items he sold were pandesal
and bonete. Initially, he was the baker
while my mother ran the store with our help,
even though we were still young. Since I was 10 years old,
I have been observing the daily operations here. I used to help my father
the bread for baking. Even during high school,
I continued to help him bake, allowing me to learn
and master all the recipes and baking techniques. Initially, it was solely
a family-run business. However, as demand grew,
we found it challenging to run it on our own,
leading us to hire additional bakery staff. - We open the bakery at 4:30
in the morning. At first, my parents wanted me
to prioritize my studies. I pursued Mechanical Engineering, and worked in a plant
for some time. However, managing the bakery
from a distance proved challenging, and we didn’t want
to see it close, so I came home. Recognizing the demand
for our breads, we can’t just let it disappear. It will be a waste. Upon my return,
they taught me everything I needed to know
about running the bakery. Like pandesal,
bonete is also enjoyed in the mornings,
but it has a sweeter taste than the former. We use molders
to form the bonete. Bonete is also shaped
like a church bell. That’s another distinction
between bonete and pandesal. It’s ready! Bonete doesn’t require
any filling or spread, as it’s already packed
with flavor on its own, often enjoyed simply
with coffee or hot chocolate. Our pandesal is baked
in a ‘pugon’ or woodfire oven. Many customers prefer it
over those baked in conventional ovens,
claiming it has a superior taste when baked in a ‘pugon.’ We continue to follow the recipes
that my father started. We try to get a feel
of our customers’ preferences. If they already love
the taste of our breads, we don’t see any reason
to change them. That’s why we stick
to the same recipes my father used. The bakery operates
on two shifts: one at night, and another in the morning. At night, we bake bonete, pandesal, and monay. In the morning,
we bake loaves, monay, kalihim (pan de regla), pan de coco, spanish bread, and other cookies like romano,
broas, pan de pasas, otap. I believe Tayabas Bakery
has come a long way. When I started working here,
we had less than ten people. Now we have around thirty. In the beginning,
we only had this branch on Lucban-Tayabas Road,
but now we also have one in Brgy. Wakas
and another in Brgy. Dapdap. - I've also been an inspector. Or a cashier,
something like that. Whatever role I have,
that's it, nothing more. They already know
what they're supposed to do. How much is this? You need to love
what you do for a living. You have to take care
of your customers and understand what they need. And when it comes
to the people you work with, it’s important to get along
with them and treat them well. I take pride in carrying
on the legacy of my parents. This bakery has been
a reliable source of income for our family, enabling me
to send my children to school. I don’t want
my parents’ legacy to end, so I passed on this business
to my four children. They are now
3rd-generation owners of Tayabas Bakery. From being
a single-proprietorship, the Tayabas Bakery
has now become a corporation. I’m glad that our bakery continues
to thrive to this day. It has been a significant support
for our family since it was established
by my grandparents. They were able to send my dad
and his siblings to school, and then our dad did
the same for us. Now, I will be providing my kids
with a good education through this business as well. My dream for Tayabas Bakery,
and I hope my children share this dream too,
is for it to remain a staple in Tayabas. We are grateful
for the opportunity to serve the locals
by providing them with their daily bread,
and I hope this tradition carries on for generations
to come. - Actually, I grew up eating this. I just haven't had it
in a long time. - This one is
an old school style of puto. Usually when we say puto,
we'll use leaveners like baking soda,
baking powder, but this one they actually
use old rice and they have to age it
for 16 hours for it to ferment. - I taste the fermentation. - It's so nice. - It has that slight sourness. - It's so hard
to find that now. - And that allows it to rise. - And look at the volume
of the rice. And it's super fluffy. - It's good seeing you here.
What are you doing here? - I don't know. I actually went here
for vacation. - Ah, sorry. Okay. I'm sorry.
I didn't want to impose on your vacation. - I'll see you next week. - I'll see you next week
in the office. Yeah. Thank you! Tayabas is a quaint little town
that never fell on my radar. Not overly developed
or chaotic. I guess because Quezon
is so close, you tend to look outwards
and far away first when it comes
to travel destinations that you often miss out
on what's most accessible. It was fairly cool,
the streets weren't packed, making it enjoyable to just walk
from store to store and try some
of the local goods. Hi! - Hi! You're Erwan? - Yes. Hi! - Oh, hello! - Thank you! So when we come
to these towns or provinces, we usually have kind
of like a set itinerary or places where we'll go,
but one of the reasons why, in general,
whether I'm in the Philippines or in different countries,
I enjoy kind of walking the streets is you also get to see
what's kind of being sold in the streets,
from both carinderia shops to bakeries. So even kind of like
little street stalls and rice cake vendors
and stuff, these are the things
that kind of make this place colorful. One of the things
that I really, really enjoy is coming to a carinderia
where the food is still really hot, just came out of the kitchen. It is 8:00 a.m.
and everything really looks really fresh and vibrant
which is beautiful. We were looking
for this little piece of heaven here. This is called
the Donya Aurora Egg or the presidential egg
named after the first president
of the Philippines Manuel Quezon. So let's give this a try. So I think it's minced meat. - Named after
Manuel Quezon's wife. - Ah. Really? - Donya Aurora. - That's good. It reminds me
of like deviled eggs, if you were to put
an embutido on top of a boiled egg. So it's kind of like a hardinera,
instead there's like a miniature canapé,
amuse-bouche version. Ting! This kare-kare looks beautiful. I love that your vegetables
are still really snappy. Beautifully cooked. Got a nice chunky piece
of okra in there. Aubergine. Everything you want it to be— tasty, it's fresh, both heavy and light-handed. Tayabas is giving, man. While we were in town,
we also got a taste of the spirit of Quezon,
their famed Lambanog which is taking the world
by storm apparently. Recently, it was named
second best spirit in the world according to the online food
and travel guide TasteAtlas. While the recognition
is long overdue, nobody will object
to the attention that it's bringing
to this uniquely Filipino liquor. So we have lipote. - Lipote. Blueberry. - Blueberry. This one? - Bignay. - Bignay. And coffee.
- Coffee. - And all of these
are lambanog based? - Yes. With a twist in flavor. This is the original 90-proof. This is where I started. And now,
we've changed it. They said the alcohol
was too strong. We lowered it down
to only 80-proof. That's our bestseller
that our retailers get every day. The line is this long today. - This one? Really? - It's like that everyday. - You just fill it up? - Outside, they're the ones
distributing to the local people. - So this is the original
that's 80-proof? - It's 90-proof. - 90-proof. This is for breakfast? - It can mixed with coffee. Sweet. - It's sweet and smooth. And you can taste
the coconut. There's a bit
of the coconut taste. - It has a burning sensation. This is the one that's infused
with a twist in flavor but it's still lambanog based. - Then, the lipote
is a native fruit, right? - A local berry here. - So lipote,
just like bignays, is one of those,
I think it's an endemic or native fruits
that are definitely not used enough. - They're just seasonal;
every summer. Just like a red wine. - Okay. But this still has lambanog? - It's still lambanog based. - Oh, wow. Okay. So this one's more interesting. The lambanog isn't as strong.
It's diluted, obviously with the lipote. Is it lipote juice? - It's just syrup. - Ah, okay. It has kind of like
a red wine, vinegary flavor in taste. - It has some sourness to it. This is the bignay. - Bignay has
a very distinct flavor in the nose. - It's good for the body. - The bignay is much drier
compared to the lipote. The lipote is sweeter, right? - Try the coffee. - We should have started
with the coffee. - It depends. - It's not like the... - This is super light. Good morning! Good morning! How are you? It's said that the Spanish pushed
coconut production through an edict in 1642
which forced locals under severe penalties
to plant 200 coconut trees. Charcoal coconut shells
were used for the caulking of the Spanish galleons
while coconut husks were used for making fibers
for their rigs. In 1578, two Franciscan
missionaries from Spain founded the town of Tayabas
in order to spread Christianity. The story goes that Alandy,
a Spanish soldier, settled there and established
the town's first distillery which was eventually passed down
and is now the still standing Mallari Distillery. Hi! I'm Erwan. - Lucas. - Nice to meet you.
How are you? - I'm doing fine. - This is the distillery? - Yes. Lucas gave me a glimpse
of the step-by-step process of distilling lambanog
but of course, I can't leave without trying it
straight from the source. - Is this safe
to drink already? Can I try that or no? - Drink up! - Thank you! Pakinabagay ko. (chuckles) Pakinabagay po. I'm sorry. My Tagalog
still needs practice. - You'll get used to it. I don't understand much
of what you're saying in English. - It's delicious. Just a bit more sweetness. But it's already super smooth. - It doesn't matter...
just as long as it doesn't linger
in the glass. Oh, that's wrong. - Just on the breast
or on the glass? (laughs) - It's okay to spend time
on the breast, just not on the glass. - Okay. (laughs) Done. In 2021, we actually started
figuring out how to shoot provincial series
and provincial stories while not being able
to leave Metro Manila. And we just so happen
to find a shooter and producer that was available
in Quezon and we found the story of Kayle Budin, and it was one
of the best kind of "Budins" or what we call cassava cakes
here in Tayabas. And so, we just happen
to be here and then we called,
and we found out that the OG maker,
Nanay Cora, is actually going
to be there today. So we're going to go
to finally be able to try the Budin,
but also just say hello to Quezon. Okay. And action! I'm going to wear this
all the time. Nanay Cora was among
the first to sell this dessert in Kayle Budin
back in the '70s. And she later passed on
her recipe to her son, Ronnie. It has become such
a popular pasalubong among tourists that locals
have unofficially named a street after it. - I'm Reynaldo Reyes. Our Budin business
was passed on to me by my mother
when she got older and couldn't handle it anymore. - Corazon Reyes,
81 years old. I started making Budin
in March 1972. My Nanay Cora has always
made a living from cooking. At that time, she was
also selling her food in a school canteen. One day, I got cassava
from an abandoned lot where it used to be grown and brought that to our town. - He said, "Mom,
make this into Budin." "Sure, grate them." Then I made a recipe for it. - When she started that
and she sold that in the canteen,
the students like it. Then the teachers also got
to try it and they liked it too. - Budin has been sold
in Quezon public markets for as long as Nanay Cora
can remember. But back then,
she said it was just made with cassava, coconut milk,
and sugar. In 1972, Nanay Cora came up
with her original recipe and added ingredients
such as milk, butter, cheese, and eggs. It was also the first time
that a round Budin was actually made
in Emilio Jacinto Street. - Some people make
their Budin too sweet, so most people think of it
as a dessert. But with our recipe,
it can be enjoyed as a dessert
and a snack if it's just the right sweetness. In making Budin,
first, you peel the cassava, wash it, then grind it. Then you add
the other ingredients. A little sugar, then milk. You will then put them
in the kiln. - Come, buy! The seller's handsome. (laughs) - Right now, there are 21 stalls
that sell Budin here. Back then, tourists
would usually look for our place
where we sell Budin but they wouldn't know
the street name, so they would just say "Take us to the Budin stalls." From then on,
the tricycle drivers would just say "Kalye Budin"
until it became more popular than the actual name
of the street. - It was really difficult
in the beginning but because of Budin,
I was able to send my four children to school. And Ronnie, he was able
to do the same for his kids. - Maicah, my daughter,
she would probably take over the Budin business
after me when the time comes,
I will just be supporting her but I'll be there still. - Hi! Hi! I'm Erwan. Nice to meet you! - I'm Cora. - Yes. I remember;
we made the video. - Since 1972. Why didn't you invite Anne? - She's working. She's at Showtime. How long are you making
the Budin? How many years already? - 50 years. 51 years. - Amazing.
So you're the original. Okay. I'm excited to try it. So how many pieces
per day do you sell? - Around 280 pieces. - 280 pieces a day? Wow. Delicious. Thank you! Hopefully, next time
we'll come back. Thank you! Thank you very much! So this is the tamales. So we've had tamales
in lots of different provinces in the Philippines. This one is the one
from Quezon, and I heard that
it's a little different. So this is salted egg. So the one in Cavite
and Pampanga have a very beautiful kind
of like peanut atsuete sauce. This one's more of the chicken
or the pork flavor. It's mixed in and ground in
with the rice paste. There's a slight
greenish hue to it. So the salted egg
really carries the flavor. So a very different tamales
than what we've had in the past but still just as delicious. Thank you! Since I clearly love eating,
we took a 10-minute drive into the mountains
to have a bite of a famous Quezon specialty
called Pinais. This is also found
in other regions but they all had
their slight differences. Thank you! Thank you! So this is our specially
ordered Pinais. If you guys are interested
in learning more about this dish,
we actually covered the whole process
of this family making it; from it being foraged
in the mountains which was pretty funky
and kind of like really interesting. So I knew, since we're
in the area, I had to try it for myself. It's a dish that's really popular
over here. We've actually had
a variation of it in Laguna before,
but it was much finer than what this is. Wow. So you can really taste
the coconut that's in there, chopped in with the shrimp. Then compared
to the one we had in Laguna which was like really tiny shrimp,
almost krill-like, this one has a whole kind
of shrimp in it as well which makes it super pretty
and visual. It's delicious. There's space here. Please have a seat here. - Is it delicious? - Yes. It's so flavorful.
Thank you! What is this leaf? - That green leaf
is a camamba leaf. - Camamba. - You can also eat it. You can also eat the camamba
when you eat Pinais, but there are others
who don't eat it. - It's so delicious.
Thank you! - Quezon is among
the top producers of coconut in the Philippines, so it's only natural
that the fruit of life figures prominently
in their cuisine. One of the heirloom dishes
that uses coconut extensively in the province is Pinais
which is prepared by combining grated coconut
and seafood caught from the river. But what gives the delicacy
its distinct flavor are the camamba leaves
which grow abundantly in coconut plantations. In Barangay Dapdap,
Tayabas, Quezon, one family stands
as the only remaining makers of Pinais in their town. When his parents started to age,
Leogin Salvan stepped in to make sure the tradition
lives on. - I learned from my parents,
of course, and they said to excel or continue it
without reducing— to add instead
of reducing ingredients so that a delicious Pinais
can be cooked. Pinais is a mixture
of various ingredients such as gumaan,
sugar, salt, apta, camamba, garlic, and salt. The first thing you'll taste
when you first try Pinais is the delicious
and sweet coconut flavor. We're here at the Bai River.
It's actually within the boundary of Lucban and Tayabas. This is where we'll get apta. Here at Bai River,
no one really said to get apta here or come here. I tried it before
because we used to swim here when we were kids,
and there were a lot of apta here. Besides, aside from it just
being like a toy to me before, it also became a livelihood
for our family, so I thought, why not. We could use large shrimp
for our Pinais, ones caught from the sea,
but for me, when apta is used, our Pinais turns a reddish color
unlike the shrimp from the sea. Here are the camamba leaves. These come from the mountain,
and I just brought them. Like this, the plant
of the camamba leaves has thrived. That's why I planted it here
because, in the mountains, it's almost gone. In time, we might not see it
in the mountains anymore because it could be cleared
by farmers, and also, with the changing weather,
the camamba leaves might disappear. - Combined
with foraged ingredients, a treasured heirloom recipe
from their ancestors and simmered
with a delicate work of their hands,
the Salvan family cooks up a dish that keeps
both locals and tourists coming back for more. - As I've said, we're all involved
in making Pinais. Like with the grating,
someone grates for us. I'm the one who mixes
the ingredients, dad is the one who cuts,
and mom is the one who molds or packs. That's how we all come together
to make delicious Pinais and to provide it properly
to the customers as a way of thanking them
and also to proudly say that we're the only ones
making Pinais here in Barangay Dapdap. - To make Pinais,
Leogin's mother runs the banana leaves
over low fire. These will be used to wrap
the Pinais later on. She then proceeds to mix
the apta that Leogin caught from the river with steamed rice. Add some sugar, salt,
chopped camamba leaves, and minced garlic. She mixes them by hand,
making sure every component is incorporated. Once done, she wraps
the mixture in the leaves then slow cooks it
for about an hour. - We'll wait for about an hour
for the Pinais to be cooked. Pinais is indeed
very valuable and important. Without it, we wouldn't have
a livelihood. It's very important to serve it. Like that one time
when I was interviewed by tourism students
who said they wanted Pinais to be included
in the cultural heritage of the town of Tayabas. Of course, I was proud
and my heart swelled. Whenever people
from other towns come or when there are visitors
to our local government of Tayabas,
they serve it to their guests. I will preserve this
especially within our family because it comes
from my beloved ancestors who, of course, started this,
and it should just be continued. Not just me but also the town
of Tayabas, of course, we help each other. One of my dreams for Pinais
is to have a Pinais place here in Barangay Dapdap
where customers can really visit. Then, I'll think
of alternative ingredients so that even if apta
and camamba disappear here in Barangay Dapdap,
we can still continue to pass on Pinais
to the next generation, especially within
the Salvan family. - 30 minutes away,
Lucban is another heritage town that you should visit. While its name spurs thoughts
of longganisa, the Pahiyas Festival,
and pancit, the town has a beautiful
church complex and some well preserved blocks
of canals and bridges that make it
a worthwhile visit. Surprise! So we're in Lucban.
Obviously, we're going to do the most touristy thing
we can do which is try
the Lucban longganisa, what they're known for. If you're in Tayabas,
if you're Lucena, you can find Lucban longganisa
over there as well. We had some last night
for dinner, we just didn't shoot it. What I appreciate about them,
they're nice and skinny. They're not too pungent. This is sukang tuba
(coconut vinegar). So like a creamy looking vinegar. This is actually really good. Pops of fat in there. Not too much cartilage. But really kind of soft. The texture of the longganisa
inside also is really great. And you can kind
of eat these as snacks. Like you know,
longganisa, the really, really big one, you can't eat too many of them. This one I feel like
you can eat it as snacks quite easily
'cause you can eat it just with your hands like this. And it's not as extremely garlicky
as other longganisas. It has a good amount
of pepper and garlic, like I don't feel like
this is the longganisa that I'll burp uncomfortably
in a few hours. But that skin is so airy,
puffy, crispy, and that interior
Is so well-cooked. This is actually
really surprising. I walked in here
because it was kind of like the only place
we could find that actually sells
the cooked version, or actually cooks it for you. Most of them will just
sell them to you to go bring it to your house, but this actually tastes
really good. For such a small town,
we were surprised by how many food options
were here. And when asking around,
a few people pointed us towards Pepet. Hi! - Hi! - Are you still open? - Yes. - Perfect. This looks like such a treat. This is one of those stops
that we didn't plan on doing at all. We just did some very
last minute research while we were here. And we saw that Pepet
had some really interesting looking food,
and now we're here, I can kind of see it. It's a modern kind of take
on some Lucban and some Quezon classics
which looks delicious. And one thing in the menu
for me that really stood out, because I've been looking
to try this dish everywhere, is the ubod sa tahure
(fermented tofu) which looks absolutely glorious. So I'm going to start with that,
'cause that's something I've actually
never tried before. Oh, look at that. Buttery soft ubod. Wow. So if I'm correct, the tahure
is a fermented tofu sauce on top of like this really
kind of beautifully soft ubod. That's almost like curry like. Has a beautiful smooth,
not grainy, texture. The ginger really comes out. The annatto, the peanuts, chunks of native tomatoes
in there bring a little bit of acidity. But it's such a wonderful use
of ubod. I love that. Next, we have
the crispy Kinulob. Crispy. I'm not 100% sure
but I'm guessing this is beef ofal, so it's like all the innards. Really fatty. I love the addition, though,
of crispy greens. You can tell that the people
who are cooking and who've developed the recipes
kind of really thought about the dishes
and the textures that they will add
to the dishes. Next, we have the Bumbay. These are wrapped beef innards. Wrapped in
this beautiful leaf here and served
with a gorgeous broth with mushrooms. Yum. That's actually really delicate. Broth is nice and clean. Oyster mushrooms
add like nice little light touch to it. But the insides here
with chickpeas which is super surprising. Delicious. Finally, the lumpia
with the sauce. Beautifully done. Wrapped fresh per order
which makes a huge difference. Doesn't stay soggy. All the vegetables
stay nice and crunchy. Obviously one
of my favorites. Always. Fresh pako. Salted egg, pako,
probably still one of the best things
you could eat in the country. I just love that how pako
is so abundant here, you can go driving
on the streets and a lot of the times
you'll see pako and suso vendors. 'Cause I still have space,
I'm going to have a little bit of dessert. I like the idea
of how this is presented. So this is basically suman
and mango together. So you got the mango,
you got kind of like that coconut sauce. I love that you have toasted bits
of caramelized suman in there which is very smart. Gives you texture. It's a dish that really
comes together really nicely. All in all,
such beautiful food. Definitely a lot of finesse, a lot of thought, a lot of time spent
in making sure that these dishes
are really good. So if you do come to Lucban,
yeah, you can do all the standard stuff
that you probably find online, you can try all the popular foods
like we did, but coming here where you see
a different perspective on food, is just really,
for me, exciting to see that there are people
with this talent, ready to kind of put
their food forward and just kind of like
make Filipino food in a way that is enjoyable
for everyone and for a way
for heirloom dishes kind of get passed on
from generation to generation. So we've been going around
trying to look for pancit habhab which Lucban is extremely
famous for, except all of them seem
to be closed today. No pancit for me. Finally, after one hour,
it's open. We're ready to go. And Chester
is ruining everything again. Damn it, Chester. Just like that? Ah, okay. Ready? - Ma'am, just two? Just a moment, please. - That's the sexiest thing
I've ever done in my life. I feel so hot right now. The flavor is really clean,
very simple. Just really nice noodles. Bouncy. Nice texture. Cooked in a very,
very flavorful kind of broth. Bear in terms of toppings
and mix and everything. But I can see the allure. It's a very quick dish, a very quick snack,
something to get you full quite fast. And I can see why
it's a big thing here in Lucban. I've learned so much
in a very few hours and days in Quezon. When we go to provinces,
it's really just the beginning. We're scratching the surface
and we're starting our research. We, you know, taste
a little bit of everything and eventually,
when we find kind of more stories as we go
'cause that's how kind of the Philippines is, right,
it's like a big onion, you have to keep peeling it
layer per layer until you find out more
and more and more, and eventually you get
to the core of it which is just people here
love their food and are very proud of it,
and it's always just a good time in the Philippines
for sure. So whether it's
"Love the Philippines" or "It's more fun
in the Philippines," I'm for the Philippines. After trying out some
of the best eats in Quezon, we were hungry for more
so we ventured deeper into the province. Eventually, we found ourselves
at the foothills of Mount Banahaw
where we discovered a farming community living simply
and in harmony with nature. (rooster crows) - I'll just pick off some lagikway
and some taro leaves. - Wash the vegetables. Dad, let's request
from the neighbor. - Go take some
from our neighbors. - How is it doing? Does it have ginger already? - It already has.
It's complete. Tuyo smells pleasant. Add a little bit of salt
to add flavor. It's time to cook it. - I'll get you some rice.
Make sure to finish it. - I've just eaten. (laughs) Some soup. I don't want to eat
too much rice. I'm on a diet. - That's your lunch already. - Most likely. - In the same community,
Ben Francia, or Bamboo as the locals
call him, a permaculturist
and 4th-generation farm owner, maximizes the potential
of his inherited land while respecting
the natural flow of nature. - This is the kamamba leaves. The traditional dish 'Pinais'
is popular here in Quezon because of the abundance
of kamamba. This is our native 'Pako'
or edible fern. This fern always want
to be wet and cold. So what we did is
we just created an environment
that's conducive for its growth. During the pandemic,
agriculture was one of those industries
that is in full operational capacity which means that I can travel
back and forth, so I started this farm. You might ask
why it's named 'Habilin,' because my family
literally gave this (habilin) to me for me to take care of it
and to revive it. But aside from that,
me being somebody who practices permaculture,
I believe that you need to take care of anything
that's passed down to you. - The plot of land
where Habilin Farm now stands did not always thrive. While his great grandparents
tended to it, his grandparents only used it
for growing coconuts. When the family moved
to Manila, the farm became underutilized. Since Bamboo was based
in Manila, nothing else happened with it
until the pandemic hit. During this time,
he discovered indigenous produce flourishing in the land
despite not being cultivated. It was then that he decided
to take care of the farm. - This is what we call
'Ampalayang Ligaw' or 'Ampalayang Gubat.' These are turmeric leaves. Tanglad or lemongrass. The biodiversity here
in Banahaw is very rich which means that
the source of food is also very rich. What Banahaw is giving us
is an environment that's conducive for farming. Daily food is not a problem
for the people of Tayabas. There's plenty to eat here
that you don't need to buy; you can just pick it
around the area. We'll just chop it off here. - To develop the potential
of his farm while honoring the sanctity of Mount Banahaw,
Bamboo learned about permaculture
and took a 6-month program at the University of Oregon. - Labong or bamboo shoots. Permaculture,
from the farming perspective, is a method of planting
and caring for crops where we utilize patterns
found in nature. So we observe
the different natural patterns and use that as our strategies
in farming, because that's how nature
intended it to be. We don't just create farms, we don't just produce food, permaculture creates
sustainable ecosystems. - Now, as a permaculturist,
Bamboo work sustainably with the natural ecosystem
at Habilin. - Taro leaves. When you don't have any food,
you can just cut a leaf and cook it right away,
but it should be thoroughly cooked
because these types of plants have toxins. We have a colony
of stingless bees, locally known as "lukot." What's great about them
is that aside from being stingless, besides the honey I harvest
from these colonies, they help me maintain
or preserve biodiversity here on the farm and increase my yield
because they're the ones pollinating the crops
that we grow. As Bamboo cultivated the farm,
he realized that he had been sitting on a gold mine
all along with his discovery of indigenous flora,
some of which were endemic produce
that most people nowadays do not recognize anymore. - This is what we call
'sapsapon.' So this is indigenous,
or native vegetables. When I found out
that this was edible, I introduced it to locals. They didn't believe me
when I told them it's edible. So to prove it,
I ate it in front of them. (laughs) It's like a bland raw mango
that's not sour. Tibig. It's our local variety of a fig. It's called 'Tibig'
'cause it holds water, so it means that
if there's tibig in a certain location,
the quality of the water source in that area is good. This is what we locally call
'balinghoy.' In Tagalog, it's more
commonly known as 'kamoteng kahoy'
or cassava. We didn't plant
this cassava anymore. After the first season
we harvested it, we just left the stems,
and they grew back on their own. This is the roselle. So this is not that known,
even with the locals here because this is really
not naturally growing here. I'm the one who planted it here,
it's not wild. Its calyx is sour. It's like a very lightly
sour kamias. This is another indigenous
or native vegetable, called 'lagikway.' It's what we call
a perennial crop. So when you say 'perennial,'
you only plant it once, and for so many years,
as long as the tree is alive, you'll have an unlimited supply
of greens. Before, farming wasn't like
the commercial farming we have right now,
where the purpose is volume. Because, of course,
my purpose is to feed families, friends, visitors. How can I feed them
if all I have are tomatoes or okra planted? And it doesn't make sense
to be a farmer, say that you're feeding
the country, but after you harvest
your crops, you sell everything,
then you go to the grocery store to buy your food. That's why I make sure
that before I sell anything, I have food to bring
and serve to my family. That's the true essence
of being a farmer. - After handpicking some
of the available produce on his farm, Bamboo sets
to prepare a hearty meal using them as ingredients. Like Oyo earlier,
Bamboo sets out to prepare his version
of Pinais and lagikway soup. - So first, let's prepare
the bamboo shoots. The dish we'll be making
is Pinais. Actually, this is a traditional dish
in Southern Luzon, especially here in Quezon. Typically, seafood
is cooked in Pinais. So the seafood is mixed
with 'alangan' or coconut meat. Here in Tayabas,
when we say 'alangan,' it's the in-between stage
of a young and mature coconut. The coconut meat is mixed
with fish and then wrapped in kamamba leaves. The kamamba leaves
add additional flavor and aroma before being wrapped
in banana leaves. There are different varieties
in how to do it, but what we'll do is steam it
using coconut juice with a little bit
of coconut milk. The second one
is our pako (fern). So for the pako,
instead of serving it traditionally as a salad,
we'll make okoy (fritters). Lastly, we'll make use
of the lagikway. We'll make lagikway soup. This is inspired by 'bulanglang'
or stewed vegetables. Traditionally, here in Tayabas,
this soup is used to treat a hangover, because people in Tayabas
likes to drink since there's many coconut. So if there's many coconut,
there's also many coconut wine. So this is utilized
as a hangover soup. But for us, we'll use it
as an appetizer. - At the end of the day,
Bamboo sits with Mr. Oyo and another local
for a 'tagayan,' a communal tradition
where people take turns drinking lambanog (coconut wine)
from a single shot glass. This practice fosters closeness,
much like Mount Banahaw connecting the community
in Quezon. - For me, Quezon Province
and Tayabas, in particular, is home to me. Even if I wasn't born here,
I feel like here is where I really belong. - From land to sea,
Quezon Province is brimming with treasures that the locals
were eager to share with us. This is how we met JanJan
and his friends and family who rely on the bounties
of the Tayabas Bay for food and livelihood
amongst other things. (rooster crows) - Did you start cooking
the fish already? Is this seasoned already? Oh, the gas was off. Let's eat! The soup is running low. (cat meows) - Are my shoes there? How many
did you catch already? Whoo! It feels like there's ice. Why don't you grab the rope
to get a bit closer? - We're already here
at the sea. What is this, a bait? (laughs) - May I see it? So that's what it looks like. - Did you already get one? - Yeah. They're just small though. - We got a lot here. (baby giggles) I'm going to catch you! - You clean those. I'll handle the squid ink. - How about their beaks,
did you remove them? - No need. That's good already. - They're still there. I'll add three chili peppers
to say 'I love you'. (chuckles) - Three to say 'I love you',
but you ignored me anyway. - Just cook there. Make sure you
cook it well, okay? - It's really different,
you're not like before anymore. You've changed. You love the sea more than me now. (chuckles) - The high tide is coming
in fast, huh? - Let's start cooking. Bring me the sugar
and soy sauce. - For kinilaw. - That looks good enough. This is a delicious snack. This jellyfish just
looks like gelatin. We need to remove
the tentacles. - This is cooked already. We can now eat. It's delicious. I'll wash it first. - We'll eat here at the cottage. When eating jellyfish... Can you touch it? (laughs) - Ouch! (laughs) I prefer how I cooked it now
because it's a bit tough. Just like... Move it here. Come on. Let's eat. - Let's eat. - Buddy. Jojo. - Let's use our hands. - We'll eat with our hands
for now, all right? - I'll taste my cooking too. - Come get some food here.
- Excuse me! - My dear, come here.
She said excuse. - Oh, sorry! - Here's some squid. Oh, you just want squid? Okay. - Oh no! - No one's hungry. - There's no problem
in terms of food here. - The only thing lacking
on this island is rice. When it comes to dishes,
there's no problem. There are plenty of shells here. - Just stroll along the shore
and you'll easily get some food. What's that? It jumped. - For example,
if we want squid now, we'll go squid-fishing. If we want fish,
we'll set up a net. When we want shells,
we'll gather them around. If we want crabs,
we'll go crabbing at night. - This is the kinilaw
using jelly fish, known here as 'salabay'
or 'dikya'. It's very dangerous
for those swimming at the beach. But here in our place,
we make kinilaw out of it. We use it for dishes,
sometimes as appetizers. When gathering salabay,
we just grab it. Just be careful not to touch
its tentacles because those are poisonous. - This one, called 'talakugan'
in Pagbilao, Quezon or 'kibet' in Tagalog,
is our specialty. We make sisig and ginataan
with papaya out of it. Talakugan is easy to gather. You just need a knife,
then you'll simply pry it off the rocks. As for cooking,
it's a bit tedious to cook because you need to cook it
for almost 2 hours before it softens. And this one, of course,
is squid. We catch them along the coast.
Sometimes we use nets, and at night we go spearfishing
and can catch squid too. The sea here in Pagbilao, Quezon
is really abundant. Like this, in our area,
there's no illegal fishing, so it's very rich here. What we just need here
is just hard work and care for the sea. - It's indeed nice to have
a viand and rice, just not having viand
without rice. (laughs) - We scoured the streets
of Quezon, trekked through the foothills
on Mount Banahaw and even dove into its waters,
yet, in reality, we barely scratched
the surface. Just like its iconic lambanog,
the spirit of Quezon will always be captivating,
yet elusive, smooth, strong, invigorating,
and warming. And yes, we will be back
and keep chasing that spirit.
