If you’re traveling from/to Tagaytay City, Laguna, Batangas or somewhere in San Pablo City, the usual food gifts or pasalubong for family and friends would be buko pie, cassava cake and other delicacies. One brand probably known by more people, and definitely with more outlets along the way, is Colette’s. Nothing here should detract from the fact that we all have different preferences when it comes to taste or flavor.

This piece, however, is about El Mare, with its distinct red packaging (but indistinct outlets). We’ve heard El Mare is based in San Pablo City, where it has an outlet right along the national highway. It’s at the southbound side (that’s going to Quezon province or Bicol). The only other outlet we know is in Tagaytay City. If you take the Sta. Rosa route, the outlet is found right before reaching the Tagaytay ridge (turning left brings you to the Picnic Grove and turning right brings you to Tagaytay City proper).

This means that if we crave for buko pie or cassava cake, the usual items that we purchase, we have to drive all the way to San Pablo City or Tagaytay City. Inconvenient, true, but in our opinion, this is precisely one of the defining characteristics of a delicacy or pasalubong. It cannot be bought anywhere and the trip is an integral part of the experience. When you see the El Mare box, for instance, you’ll immediately ask who went to San Pablo or Tagaytay.

Something uncommon is desired more intensely and enjoyed more immensely. Bring an El Mare buko pie or cassava cake to our house and it won’t stay lonely in some corner or inside the ref. It won’t last the day, as the flavor must be conserved — by consuming it as soon as possible. That’s the reason why we usually buy an extra box of buko pie and request that it be sliced (yes, they do slice it upon request) so we can enjoy it in the long drive home.

Now, even if a product is available only at the ends of the earth, it wouldn’t be desirable if it doesn’t taste good. We wouldn’t drive all the way to San Pablo City or Tagaytay City for an El Mare buko pie if it’s not worth it. If we used to drive to Pampanga for the singular purpose of enjoying Razon’s halo-halo, we’re more than willing to visit San Pablo City or Tagaytay City solely for El Mare’s cassava cake and buko pie. How about traveling all the way to Nueva Vizcaya, a friend asked, for the best buko pie? Wooh, bold statement. A quick look through the blogosphere reveals that Nueva Vizcaya’s G&B Buko Pie is the best, according to Ruy (A Taste of Married Life) and Rrrara. We’ll soon find out. At this moment, however, the best commercially-produced we’ve tried is El Mare.

The long slabs, if I may use that term, of young coconut meat in El Mare’s buko pie are beautifully folded and generously stuffed under the crispy crust. Other brands may have more cornstarch/flour ingredients than the buko in their recipes, but definitely not El Mare. It puts “true” in “buko pie”. The filling, on the other hand, is not too sweet and doesn’t overpower the flavor of the buko. It is, after all, a buko pie.

For me, opening the box of El Mare buko pie and cassava cake is like partaking in some ritual. It’s rare that we get to enjoy the delicious products due to the distance, which is perfectly alright. In fact, making the El Mare products available in every corner would be a sacrilege. We hope it stays that way. (That, again, is our opinion. Feel free to express your opinion through the comment section below).