Famous Products in Bicol Region that You Should Buy

Bicol Region is one of the best places to visit in the Philippines. It is known for a lot of things. Beautiful beaches, awesome food, gorgeous people, beautiful and delicious bicol products and delicacies. And though these are good to be souvenirs, you can now buy most of them online. Now you can taste and feel Bicol just by buying these items —all made by local artisans working with their own unique designs and techniques centuries-old traditions passed down through generations. 

Key Takeaways

You can read in this blog that Bicol has a lot to offer. From foods, to drinks, to unique items, you can find something that would make unique gifts or perfect souvenirs for your loved ones. In a nutshell, here is the list of the Bicol Products that you should buy when you visit the region.

• Pili Nut Candies
• Custard Pili Pie
• Pure Cocoa Local Chocolates
• Mazapan or Molded Sweet Potato Candy
• Cassava Chips
• Mushroom Chips
• Stingless Honey
• Coconut Jam
• Bicol’s Best Products
• Tablea Chocolate
• Chili Chocolate
• Sili Beer
• Bicol Wines
• Abaca Products
• Clay Products

Read more below to learn what kinds of products are on this list and where you can buy them.

Bicol Food and Drinks Products

The region is home to some of the best food in the country—and it’s worth visiting just for the food and beverages! We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite Bicol products that you should buy when you visit Bicol.

Pili Nut Candies

The pili tree is indigenous to the Bicol region which makes pili nut products a flagship commodity of Bicol. It has a variety of delicacies and snacks that are grown in the Philippines, particularly in the region of Bicol. Its taste has the flavor of pumpkin seed when raw, and takes on an entirely different identity when roasted, the reason why pili nut has a distinct flavor compared to other nuts.

The pili nut is a small, oval-shaped nut with black skin, white flesh, and a brown hard shell that can be cracked open to reveal the sweet, white nut inside. It is so tasty and delicious that it can easily be eaten raw or roasted. It is also used in a variety of recipes that include sweet treats like tarts, cookies, cakes, candies, and even drinks and desserts like ice cream!

If you’ll be in Bicol and you’ve never had pili nuts before, you can purchase them from Silbina Homemade Native Delicacies.

Aside from the image above, they also sell other native and Pili products:

• Special Salted Pili Nuts
  Cooked with garlic and a small amount of salt
• Special Crispy Pili Nuts
  Cooked with a small amount of sugar
• Special Coated Pili Nuts
  Glazed-coated pili nuts
• Special Pili Santan
  Made of Sangkaka or Muscovado sugar and coconut milk, topped with pili nuts
• Special Atsara
  Pickeled Papaya with carrots, bell pepper, pineapple, and raisins as the main ingredients.

You can purchase them through their physical store: Ani Store at Zone 2 Tapayas Balatan Cam. Sur (Near Tapayas High School)

Or get them online: Shopee, Facebook, Store

Custard Pili Pie

This dessert is a product made of a unique flavor of Pili nuts. From the word ‘custard’, you thought that it melts in your mouth? Nope… Because it has surprising bits of pili nuts inside and out!

Aside from the visible tidbits, the inventor of this product decided to blend the pili nuts also together with the crust and the custard.

Is your mouth starting to get watery? Then you should contact Dyn Delights’ now to inquire about this product!

They also offer other baked goods such as:

• Chicken Empanada
  A tasty baked pastry with chicken, potato, and carrots filling. -My favorite too!
• Egg Tarts
  A custard tart with special and cheesy variations.
• Buko Pie
  A Filipino-baked custard pie with young coconut flesh as the filling. They have Special and Ube variations.
• Egg Pie
  A Filipino pie with an egg custard filling made with flour, sugar, milk, butter, and eggs.

If you are planning to go to Tabaco, Dyn Delights’ is located in Zone 4, San Roque, Tabaco City.

You can message them to order at: Dyn Delights  Page

Pure Cocoa Local Chocolates 

If you think premium chocolates can only be found in Belgium, you gotta try Bicol’s pure cocoa local chocolate!

The region’s premium-quality chocolate is made from high-quality cacao beans, processed and packed under strict government supervision at Mayon Gold’s cacao farm located at Camalig Albay.

Mayon Gold chocolates are known for rich flavor and premium quality, making it perfect for a blend of sweet and bitter tastes because of their own method of processing their chocolates in their factory where the pods are opened, beans are fermented, dried, roasted and processed through to the cacao nib stage. They even have a separate chocolate laboratory for the final delicate processing and retail packaging.

It is natural as nature intended and for sweetened varieties, Mayon Gold adds organic coconut sugar that has HALF the glucose content of cane sugar. This delivers a particularly good health benefit which is eXcellent for the health-conscious, diabetics, and high-blood sufferers.

Here are the list of Mayon Gold Products:

I bet just like me, you are amazed too and got curious about this unique chocolate.

If you want to know more or you want to purchase to bring home for your loved ones, you can get hold of them through the following contact details:

Mazapan or Molded Sweet Potato Candy

Mazapan is a native camote (sweet potato) candy. It is locally known as “taldis” and is often served during holidays and festivities, but can be enjoyed year-round. Its ingredients are all-natural and safe—no preservatives required. Just sweet potato, sugar, and sometimes can be added with whole or ground pili nuts molded square or rectangular. It is made by boiling the fleshy part of sweet potato and letting it dry out in the sun. Isn’t it amazing how Bicolanos craft their own desserts? You should try this as soon as you visit Bicolandia.

Cassava Chips

Thinking of going home to your relatives or friends with some native chips from Bicol? You might think that you’ve seen it all, but you haven’t. In fact, we’re about to introduce you to a new kind of chip that’ll blow your mind. So what are these chips made from? You guessed it right. These chips are made from cassava!

I’ve been thinking about two kinds of cassava chips and the difference between them – the regular cassava chips and the extraordinary cassava chips.

Regular cassava chips are made from sliced cassava flesh while extraordinary cassava chips are made from cassava’s inner white peel. The latter is thinner than the former chip and tastes differently. But they both taste amazing and can be a good alternative to potato chips.

These chips are delicious snack food that can be enjoyed in many different ways. You can have it sprinkled with your favorite seasoning or dip it in vinegar with spices. You can also use them as garnishes for salads, soups, and stews.

We suggest you try this amazing new snack at home or while traveling. You can buy the ready-to-eat chips or the one that will require frying. You won’t be able to stop eating once you’ve tasted them!

Mushroom Chips

Mushroom chips are a delicious and healthy alternative to potato chips and chicharon (fried pork rinds – Filipino-favorite munchy). Mushroom chips can be as simple as seasoned mushrooms and some seasoning, or you can add in other ingredients like onion, garlic, or cheese to make it more interesting. It is also served as an appetizer or snack with beer or wine during parties. You can find them packed in supermarkets and pasalubong centers but the freshest ones are found in native mushroom cultivating houses. Oyster mushroom chips are the best that I’ve personally tasted so far.

Stingless Honey

Stingless honeybees are the bees of Bicol. They are native to the Philippines and can be found in farmlands and forests of the Bicol Region. These kinds of bees are smaller than the regular honeybee and its wings do not have stings like those of other bees. These characteristics make it easier for farmers to manage their colonies without causing damage to themselves or their crops.

The honey that came from stingless honeybees also tastes different from the regular sweet honey. It also tastes sweet but you will taste a little bit of sourness yet it still tastes great and is healthy.

Coconut Jam

This delicious sweet treat is made in a traditional way, which uses only natural ingredients – coconut milk and muscovado sugar. Loved by all, coconut jam can be eaten as a snack or used in cooking. The locals of the Bicol region call it “santan”.

Coconut Jam is the best thing to happen to desserts. It is an excellent spread for bread, toast, or pancakes. It also makes a delicious addition to your morning cereal. It’s even great on top of ice cream or can be munched from the spoon!

Coconut Jam has a thick consistency like honey when it’s still warm from the stovetop. The best thing about coconut jam is that it doesn’t have to be refrigerated for long. In fact, it can be stored at room temperature for up to three weeks by just storing it in an airtight container. A perfect pasalubong item for your loved ones!

Bicol’s Best Products

This is for those who love Bicolano Food but are far away from Bicol. Bicol’s Best is where you can get Bicolano dishes in a bottle. They have bottled Bicol Express Pork, Bicol Express Tinapa, Bicol Express Lechon Kawali, Laing Regular & Spicy, Very Special Pinangat Regular & Spicy, and Bicol Chili Paste!

Tablea Chocolate

Tablea is Bicol’s native chocolate made from cacao beans. It is one of Albay’s delicacies that only uses cacao beans from the region. They’re made by sun-drying, roasting, grinding, and molding nibs of fermented 100% pure cacao beans. Unlike the commercial chocolates we’ve been buying from the market, Tablea has a rough texture and is bitter because it does not contain milk. These native cocoa chocolates are made by the locals of Bicol with their own hands full of compassion.

Chili Chocolate

Chocolate is a great way to bring out the sweet side of your taste buds. But what about the other side? The spicy side? Here’s another hot munchie or dessert for chili lovers!

We know chocolate is a classic gift, but we think it’s time for a change. Instead of just giving a bar of regular chocolate, why not give something that will make your recipient feel like they’re getting a little bit of Bicol in their life?

This Chili Chocolate Bar is just like regular chocolate, but with a little extra kick from Bicol’s native chili called “siling labuyo”. Bicol is so excited to be able to share this amazing new product with you. If you haven’t tried it yet, we highly recommend it!

Sili Beer

For the Bikol natives, Sili Beer is like a gift from their folk heroes.

Since the Bicol region is known for spicy foods, it’s not surprising that it also has a version of spicy beverages. Ever heard of the Sili Beer? Ibalon Craft Brew, a brewpub along the foodie strip of Magsaysay Avenue in Naga City, sells bottles of their Handiong Sili Beer infused with native siling labuyo. This native drink has been enjoyed by many Bicolanos and Non-Bicolanos for quite a while now. They love the experience of enjoying something new and different compared to the usual commercial beers served in most bars and restaurants in Bicol.

Brewed with local ingredients, this beer variant pays tribute to the Bicol folk heroes and characters with craft beer brewed with local ingredients.

Sili Beer is a great way to relax after a stressful day at work or school. It’s great for social gatherings or just hanging out with friends and family. A must-try for people who are looking for something exotic for their palettes.

Bicol Wines

If you’re a fan of tropical fruit wines, you’ll love Bicol Native Wines! And if you’ve ever been to the Bicol, you know how much fun it is to sip on a fruity, tropical beverage. And now you can have that experience without having to pay for an arm and a leg for your next bottle of wine.

Aside from the famous Yulaik wine in Naga, Bicol also has its own tropical fruit wines. We’ve got a huge selection of different types of Bicol native wine, including passion fruit wine, jackfruit wine, sweet sorghum wine, sugarcane wine, rice wine, honey wine, guava wine, pineapple wine, cherry wine, blueberry wine, strawberry wine, rambutan wine, and tamarind wine. Some of the locally made wines are basi or sugarcane wine, laksoy or nipa wine, tapuy or rice wine, and tuba or more often known as lambanog, the coconut wine of Bicol that is presently described as a distilled spirit comparable to vodka.

The pineapple wine of Yulaik brand is the most famous flavor tropical wine of Bicol from its pineapple-filled province, Camarines Norte. The pineapple wine is made from Formosa pineapple, the sweetest pineapple variety in the Philippines.

According to Region 5 Department of Science and Technology’s analysis, pineapple wine, which has 10.2 percent alcohol content, complements red berry wine, which has 6.3 percent alcohol content.

Guyabano wine is the most recent entry into the Bicol fruit wine market. In addition to the fruit’s abundance of vitamins and minerals, which can help one avoid a variety of illnesses, the Bicolanos have turned this fruit into wine, which is growing more and more well-liked among both locals and tourists.

If you’re interested in trying out some Bicol native wines, look for bottles that have been stored in cool conditions and avoid drinking any bottles that have been stored in hot conditions for longer than 24 hours—this will cause your wine to become oxidized and become less flavorful over time. Some people prefer to drink their native wines chilled, while others enjoy them at room temperature or even warm though. How do you like yours?

Other Bicol food products that you can buy and bring home as a Bicol ‘pasalubong’ products to your loved ones:

• Bicol Spicy Vinegar
• Camote Butter Cookie
• Camote Cake Sticks
• Chili Garlic Oil
• Turmeric powder
• Kuyog or Pickled Fish Bicol Version
• Linanggang

Bicol Handicrafts Products

Bicol Handicrafts Products are not just sold locally, but also exported to other countries. The products are handmade by local artists and craftsmen who can be found across the Bicol region. Some of these Bicol products are the ff:

Abaca Products

Abaca is one of the species of native banana which is harvested because of its fiber. Using abaca fiber, Bicolanos can produce high-quality products like lampshades, chairs, accessories, furniture, baskets, bags, and other Bicol native products. Prices vary depending on the product size and use. Above are the abaca products in Bicol that you can buy in pasalubong centers.

Clay Products

Tiwi Albay’s one main attraction is the art of clay products. The province is known for pottery, and has become the most popular pottery destination in Bicol.

Pottery-making is an ancient art that has been passed down through generations. It takes a lot of skill and patience to create these beautiful objects. Kudos to the locals of Tiwi Albay who embraced the tradition of making and using pots up to this day.

These Tiwi pot products are available in the local markets but it is more fulfilling if you will see how these beautiful creations are made. Try visiting Tiwi Albay and you’ll see a lot of displays around the town.

Bicol Products Categorized by Provinces

Actually, you’ll find tons of traditional Bicol products in Bicol terminals. You can also find them in public markets and in every tourist spots Bicol has. All you have to do is to decide which products to buy so that you will have something to treasure or something to give your loved ones when you go home. You can even buy some online so that even if you’re not in Bicol, you will still get to taste and feel the region through its products. I hope this list helps.

Let us know if you have other Bicol product recommendations in our comment section.

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