Waking up early on the third day since the departure flight is around 7 am. Left the house earlier than the kid sister who’s still waiting for her school bus.

With the trip coming to a close, it won’t be complete without any souvenirs so here’s what I got:

Moron

Choco Suman!

I was never much of a kakanin enthusiast especially when it comes to coconut although recently my tastes have changed in favor of coconut / gata flavors (excpet niyog!). But, I have always been a fan of chocolates. The combination of the two is in the suman sa Moron – glutinous rice flour suman with swirls of chocolate tablea.

Gooey sticky chocolate shares the consistency of glutinous rice. A bit messy as it sticks to your hand and to the banana leaf wrap, but still fun to eat. There’s no fixed suman-chocolate ratio so there’s a slight difference for every piece you open. Each piece is individually wrapped by banana leaves. Bundles of 12 pieces are sold for retail around 100-120 depending on where you buy it, or if it is in a vacuum sealed packaging. There are also random peanuts for some pieces, sometimes none. Just an allergen warning.

For your last minute pasalubong needs, there is a pasalubong stall inside the airport terminal. I bought the suman sa moron here. There are also stalls across the building but this one was the closest and prices weren’t bad.

Pili Marzapan

Just as when I saw the ‘Marzapan’ label, I grabbed a pack and didn’t check the price. My previous marzapan/marzipan encounter was almond marzipan filling in a chocolate bar. It was a very small amount but I liked the taste. So when I saw whole bars of marzapan, I got a bit excited. 

When I hear about pili nut products, the first place I think about is Bicol. I didn’t know that Leyte/Samar region also share this delicacy. Now that I think about it, these provinces are close to each other.

Bars of ground pili nuts, butter, sugar egg yolk, are packed individually wrapped by a thin paper, then stored and sold in a zip lock pouch. As you munch on a piece, you could taste the mild sweetness and even a hint of the pili after taste. How the sugar/butter melts in your mouth, then the the taste of the pili comes after, is kinda addicting. Bought this from Charito’s down town.

Carabao Pastillas

Sweet sugar and milk combination shaped into thin bars. The choice of carabao milk made this a bit more malinamnam, though still a bit sweet for solo munching. Not like it’s triangular pastillas brethren, there is no gooey center in this product. It’s more solid but now the hard candy type of solid. Good to eat with coffee and bread. Also bought this from Charito’s.

Binagol

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This delicacy housed in a coconut shell, covered by banana leaves, then tied together by a string, is the picture-perfect food souvenir to bring back home. The presentation made me buy this treat even if I’m not much of a taro/cassava fan.

As you eat, make sure to get the two layers of the binagol in every spoonful! Taro cake(?), ground taro which has the consistency of dense pudding, makes up the top layer which isn’t that sweet. Then for the bottom layer, it’s like a mixture of sweetened coconut cream, milk, with hints of taro, that goes well with the first layer.

Also bought from the airport together with suman moron.

While waiting for the flight, ate this chicken pie from the Goldilocks stall. Was supposed to get a bag of munchkins but the line was a bit longer at the Dunkin Donuts stall.