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10 Best Baguio Pasalubong and Souvenir Items to Bring Back Home
Please your family and peers with these pasalubongs from Baguio, the City of Pines
By: Liezl Formilleza-Dunuan | September 01, 2023
Anyone who’s ever gone to Baguio knows this is the gold standard for strawberry jams.
Images: @chelfondevilla (L); Good Shepherd Facebook page (R)
When you tell a friend or a family member that you are going to Baguio, how often do they ask you to “bring home some Baguio pasalubong like strawberries”? Admit it: you hear it quite often. The famous Baguio souvenir fruit has long been associated with Baguio City because of its proximity to Benguet province, where the berries are grown. Strawberries, however, are a seasonal fruit that is abundant and cheap from November to March. Outside this season, it may be difficult and pricey to get these pasalubong items from Baguio.
Good thing that there are other Baguio pasalubong that you can buy. So, when you visit the City of Pines at different times of the year, you can check out these other Baguio souvenir items.
1. Ube Jam
Good Shepherd’s best-selling ube jam.
Image: Good Shepherd Facebook page
Because of the abundance of purple yam in the Cordilleras, the Good Shepherd sisters turned them into this delectable dessert, a perfect Baguio pasalubong to bring home. Since starting a business, the Good Shepherd Convent on Gibraltar Road near Mines View Park has made a heavenly ube (purple yam) jam through the Mountain Maid Livelihood and Training Centersiness. The product has been a bestseller ever since.
Another good thing about buying Baguio pasalubong from these centers is that you can contribute to their scholarship program for young Cordilleran women. The ube jam has a definite shelf life, so transport the Baguio souvenir food properly and consume it immediately.
2. Strawberry Jam
If you can’t have them fresh, get them preserved instead.
The best Baguio pasalubong next to fresh strawberries is strawberry jam or preserve. Get the strawberry jam pasalubong souvenir from Baguio if you prefer your strawberries cooked, mashed, and concocted into this wonderfully sweet, pulpy goodness. However, if you want your strawberries whole, buy the strawberry preserve. A note though: since preserves have whole strawberries, they are generally pricier than the Baguio souvenir bottled jams.
There are different types and brands of jams and preserves, but the most popular brand of jam is Good Shepherd Convent. You can get this Baguio pasalubong at the convent and public market, where some stalls are available.
3. Sundot Kulangot
Sundot kulangot brings out the child in everyone.
Image: @chelfondevilla
Don’t get turned off by this Baguio pasalubong just hearing its name. Sundot Kulangot is a dessert made from coconut milk, glutinous rice, and brown sugar. The name of this Baguio souvenir dessert comes from the way you would eat the dessert; since the kalamay, or the sticky sweet dessert made from glutinous rice and coconut milk, is placed inside small wooden orbs, the only way to eat them would be to use your finger or a small spoon.
The name itself is intriguing, but so is its packaging—imagine seeing this delicacy in Baguio’s public markets, and see if you could stop yourself from buying a pair or more Baguio pasalubong items to bring home.
4. Lengua de Gato and Other Cookie Treats
Baguio is also famous for its Lengua de Gato, or butter cookies.
Image: @melanniecious
Lengua de Gato, a Baguio pasalubong, literally means “cat’s tongue” in Spanish, and since these cookies are shaped like a cat’s tongue, they are named so. This Baguio souvenir food is simple yet delicious butter cookies that are always available and abundant at Baguio’s public markets. Some brands are more famous than others, but the important part is that you choose the jars with the least crushed cookies in them. The pasalubong souvenir from Baguio, Lengua de Gato, as good as they taste, are very brittle unless you prefer them smaller.
If you prefer Baguio pasalubong cookies that give you a fuller bite, try the chocolate crinkles or, better yet, some Alfajor cookies, which are lemon butter cookies with caramel filling. Crinkles Jar Baguio souvenirs are widely available in the public market, but only Good Shepherd makes Alfajors.
5. Peanut and Cashew Brittle
Nutty and caramelly goodness of peanut brittle packed in
Image: Wheng Tayag
When it comes to Baguio pasalubong, nothing beats the classic Peanut Brittle! If you can, get them from the Good Shepherd brand or Baguio Paradise, as they know how to make a good jar of this sweet, glassy goodness. Romana’s has a version that uses whole peanuts instead of crushed nuts. Get the cashew brittle to bring this Baguio pasalubong home for a different take on the classic dessert.
6. Choco Flakes
Crunch and chocolatey goodness you will surely love.
Image: Mika'san Sweetshop (Official) Facebook page
One of the first companies to make and sell Chocolate-covered Cornflakes Baguio souvenir food in Baguio is Mika’san. To this day, it is still the brand preferred by many. They have a milk chocolate version and a white chocolate version of choco flakes; both are equally good and decadent. Suppose you don’t want to line up in Mikasan’s shop to buy a pasalubong souvenir from Baguio with the rest of the crowd craving it. Their choco flakes are available at Baguio’s pasalubong centers and public markets.
7. Honey
Honey is a healthy alternative to sugar.
Natural honey is difficult to identify, but if you know where to buy them in Baguio, you are in for a real treat. Avoid purchasing honey from the random ambulant Baguio pasalubong and souvenir vendors that roam the markets. Otherwise, you might take home honey packed with additives that don’t help with the taste. To be safe for Baguio souvenir food, buy from reputable stores such as the Mountain Grown Cooperative Store at Porta Vaga Skyzone, Cathedral level.
8. Fruit Wines
Perhaps you’d like to bring home a more “spirited” pasalubong.
If you buy Baguio pasalubong for someone who’s had their fill of Baguio’s sweet delicacies, maybe fruit wines are a good alternative. In Baguio, you can purchase strawberry wine and Bignay wine. Stalls at the public market sell local wines to bring as Baguio souvenirs. At the same time, specialty shops such as Booze Wines carry exotic wines made from rambutan, guava, guyabano, and coffee!
9. Fresh Vegetables
Nothing beats the prices of fresh greens at the public market.
Image: Dondon’s Fruits and Vegetables Supplier Facebook page
Here is another option for Baguio pasalubong items for those who do not have a sweet tooth: fresh vegetable pasalubong from Baguio. Aside from the usual chopsuey ingredients—cauliflower, carrots, baby corn, sweet peas—you can also bring home different kinds of lettuces for salads, cucumbers, and fresh herbs such as basil, rosemary, and parsley. Buying salad vegetables as a Baguio souvenir are best bought from organic producers such as the La Trinidad Organic Producers (LATOP) in the public market or the Mountain Grown Cooperative.
10. Handcrafted Accessories
Keychains sell for as low as 5 pieces for PhP100.
If your trip back home doesn’t advise bringing along perishable Baguio pasalubong, maybe something solid and memorable will serve as your Baguio souvenir instead, like Baguio’s handcrafted products, perhaps? The public market is a treasure trove of Baguio pasalubong items such as keychains made of wood, coin purses made of Cordillera weaves, and Baguio souvenir t-shirts. There is also the walis tambo (broom) and the back scratcher for practical folks.
There is so much to choose from in Baguio, and the only limit to the Baguio pasalubong items you can bring is how heavy baggage you can carry and how much money you’d want to spend.
Visit Yoorekka's Magazine to see more of Baguio’s souvenir pasalubong choices!
This article was initially published in Yoorekka on January 21, 2019.
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About Liezl Formilleza-Dunuan
Liezl is a freelance writer based in Baguio. With a background in Journalism, her love for the written word goes beyond news and feature writing, as she writes for several online lifestyle publications. Local culture, food, and travel are her favorite themes.
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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
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information presented in our articles. Our content is not intended
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