OAP: "Quezon Culinary Series 10: Ugu Bigyan's Secret Pottery Garden"

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Friday, September 09, 2005

Quezon Culinary Series 10: Ugu Bigyan's Secret Pottery Garden

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Great Food, Great Shopping, Great Ambiance, Great Culinary Demo!

This one is off the charts! Ok, I might be exaggerating here but all of us in the tour really raves about this place and some does not even want me to blog about this. I think I haven't seen alot of news about this place and one of the secret hidden treasures in Manila, indeed :) Ugu's pottery garden makes Sonya's Garden an ordinary salad and pasta place. The only catch here is that this place is in Tiaong, Quezon which is about 2 hours outside manila, just past Villa Escudero in San Pablo, Laguna. This is the last and final stop of Tina's culinary tour.

What makes this place special is that all the architecture and the entire place was built by the owner, Ugu himself. They are a family of artists so some of the family members created native products and jewelry sold in a small nice shop. They are of course expensive but they are nice :) Ugu is well known for his pottery and his products are being used by hotels, etc. There is a pottery gallery where we can buy his works. Although I would suggest that you buy during special sale sessions. There are three sale sessions: first, is the pahiyas sale on May 15 (this would be too crowded); second, on his even birthdays August 14 discounted depending on his age (42% this year); and lastly during the first Sunday of October (Oct. 2 this year).

The food is mind blowingly good even just for merienda. We ate suman with moscovado sugar, sweet ginataan, and fresh buko juice. Although Tina said the sago gulaman would have been the best but was not available. Also, you get to use Ugu's own pottery plates and glasses set on a weave (banig). Even the cracker's served was really great and its origin remains to be a secret.

The tour culminates with a culinary demo of "Kulawo" which is banana heart. Now, this is a banana heart that tastes like inihaw na baboy but with a texture of tuna. We can't believe it either that banana heart can taste this good. At least for this, we know what the secret is which is in cooking the coconut shreds with carcoal as shown in the above left photo. You gotta witness it and taste it to believe it. This demo would exceed your expectations. BTW, I have the recipe for those interested, just email me at anton@diaz.ph.

Ok, now maybe I raised your expectation already but that was not my intent. My intent is really to share with you that Philippines is sooo beautiful that you just need to explore it. BTW, if you plan to go here, there are no signs along the national highway because Ugu wants it to be a secret. I made a mental note of landmarks along the national highway in Tiaong which is the Ebreo Castillo Agri Poulty Supply, Lusaca highschool, and old Petron Station.

Here is the contact number:
Ugu Bigyan
Telefax: (042) 545-9144
Mla. #: 250-8416

The secret is out :) Enjoy!!