The Taste of Quezon Province

Another experience to learn.

Lucban, Quezon, a simple place where culture and traditions are things that every Filipinos must be exerience of. A home from where the famous Pahiyas Festival can be found and their delicious Lucban Longganisa.

It was my first time to visit the province. I was so excited for this trip because I would now be able to taste the authentic dishes the province has. It is also a big important part of my experience since I am a culinary student and that I should be familiar with dishes of my country. This trip also gave me knowledge and ideas on how they prepare and cook their regional dishes.

The first place we visited was the Capistrano Distillery. This place was not at Lucban it is located at Tayabas, Quezon. Capistrano Distillery is owned by Mrs. Isabelita O. Capistrano. Capistrano sells Lambanog products. Lambanog is a wine made from coconut and mostly produced in the province of Quezon. We weren't given a chance to taste the wine but I was able to buy their bestseller lambanog with "Liputi" flavor.

During our tour, we were given a chance to visit the place where they get the juice of the coconut before being processed  into wine.

After we went the distillery we proceed to the Buddy's Commissary. It was quite challenging for us because while we're on our way to the commissary it rained hard. I got worried because I thought we were not be able to go to our next destination. Also that we were running out of time and we're late because of the travel time and the location. There, we had our lunch. They served us their regional and famous dishes such as Lucban longganisa, pancit habhab, hardinera, tanigue steak, pork barbeque, cassava cake and sago't gulaman. The dishes were all good and what I love amongst were the longganisa and hardinera.

In the venue, they showed us how the make the kiping - a bright colored leaf shaped wafer made from rice flour then steamed and use as an decoration for the Pahiyas festival. They also taught us how they make the pilipit, its like a pretzel made with squash (kalabasa) coated with sugar. Another thing I learned was on what are the ingredients they use for making longganisa and they had a demonstration on how to cook pancit habhab and hardinera. The best thing about it is that they let us make and cook our own pancit habhab and hardinera.

The last destination that we visited was where the pancit lucban is being made. There, they showed us the process of making the pancit. I was surprised with the place because it looks like just a simple house but when we went inside there were lots of produced pancit products.

Overall, the tour was an amazing experience. From the tour, I've learned many information, ideas and methods that would really help me on my studies and my future career as a culinary student.