Comments on: Iya’s Jumbo Pastillas (de Leche and Ube)

By: Trina

Trina — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 06:33:07 +0000

Wow no offense meant, but if the size of Iya’s pastillas were pretty standard when a lot of you guys were young, I can’t help but wonder when that was :p I have loved pastillas de leche since I was a kid, and I have never encountered any that came close to the size of these ones!

By: wits and nuts

wits and nuts — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 08:50:25 +0000

Try the pastillas produced from UP Los Banos. Made from carabao milk.

By: Candygirl

Candygirl — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 06:10:17 +0000

Ooh ooh, I love pastillas when it’s dry, crisp on the outside and then moist inside. Yum! They’re available in Market Market? Too bad, I was just there yesterday.

By: munchkin mommy

munchkin mommy — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 20:39:44 +0000

hi MM! i can eat a whole box of pastillas! it ranks high in my list of comfort food. :D my late date had a co-worker who lives in bulacan. the co-worker often gifted my dad with the real deal…pastillas made from carabao’s milk. and who can ever forget the pastillas wrapped in colorful japanese paper with intricate cut-out designs?! that’s hard to come by now. one really has to go all the way to bulacan.

don’t you think it’s very disappointing to get a pastillas which is only half the size of the wrapper it came in? you can’ ever tell what size you’re gonna get. hahaha! and i agree, P250 is a tad expensive for a box of 24. :D

By: Maria Clara

Maria Clara — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:00:48 +0000

Yes, pastillas are good especially with a hint of dayap in greasy wrapping – thatâ€™s their trademark. If you happen to come across at the market pastillas from Magalang, Pampanga they are the best please grab one. They only make them the traditional way with a hint of dayap the milk ones no ube and come in a plain brown cardboard box with a rubber-stamped logo. You are better off buying pastillas from a good source rather than making them yourself. Lots of sweat and grease elbow involved three times more work than your famous and award winning budbud kabog. The milk used whether from carabao, cow or canned source does not last long even kept refrigerated – the smooth texture turns grainy and rind begins to develop even sugar coated not to mention mold growth. Yes, you are right they were the standard cuts before. I think due to inflation and the downturn of the buying power of our money pastillas makers cut them into smaller pieces for illusionary effect – more value for your money!

By: mariapia

mariapia — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:06:15 +0000

I love these! I was asked to speak about the Philippines at my son’s preschool. Part of the activity was to present the kids – majority of whom were not Filipinos – to Filipino food. I brought these, along with rosquillos (a homage to my son’s Cebuano heritage, that). The kids went absolutely crazy for both. I suspect the teachers were slightly horrified, though. I was leaving them with a bunch of preschoolers on a sugar high!

By: Katrina

Katrina — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:15:25 +0000

My family and I love these! My mom brings them as pasalubong to the US, and relatives there freeze them and ration them out one at a time.

Re: the “jumbo” descriptor, I totally agree that this was the regular size when I was young. In fact, when I first saw and tasted Iya’s pastillas from Nena, my first thought was, “It’s the pastillas from my childhood!” But I think it’s perfectly all right to label them that, in the context of today’s tiny pastillas. They’re pricey, yes, but I’d rather pay more and get the real thing than the dry, tasteless specimens more commonly available.

Did you try the toasted flavor, MM? It’s similar to dulce gatas, but smoother. When I bought those for my family, it was wiped out (the ube was the least favored, though not snubbed, either). Again, that’s a variety of pastillas that’s a taste from my childhood.

By: myra_p

myra_p — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:48:01 +0000

Chad, i think you’ve hit on an excellent idea. You can Pimp-My-Snack several faves that always seem to be too small for a good mouthful. I wish someone would make yema balls the size of jawbreakers. Imagine pastillas the size of turon. Pili tarts as big as a pecan pie. Lengua de Gato like Madeleines…

By: Blaise

Blaise — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:29:10 +0000

Oh.. right, I saw that fruit stall already.. always wondered what supposed to be inside those cow-laden boxes.. Would this also be a good pasalubong for relatives in the US? Doesn’t it perish easily?

By: zel

zel — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:24:03 +0000

My mom once brought home pastillas from batangas years ago and it was the best! Instead of granulated sugar, they used confectionare’s sugar. It was creamy and not that sweet. Until now, I don’t know who made it and my mom can’t seem to remember the name of the store either. So sad. Now, if I see pastillas made from granulated sugar, I don’t bother because I keep thinking of those pastillas from batangas!