Orient The Original Buko Pie of Los Baños, Laguna

For as long as Tutubi can remember, there's only one buko pie he craves for. He doesn't have a sweet tooth but the thought of buko pie from Los Baños, about an hour away from his hometown makes his mouth water.

the bakeshop located on the national highway always has vehicles parked near the place with people lining up to buy the freshly-baked specialty of the town (drive and shoot photo taken through the glass, Canon Ixus 30)

Orient The Original Buko Pie Bakeshop on the National Highway of Los Baños, Laguna churns out freshly baked buko pie that people passing by the place queue up just to buy them. If he remembers correctly, the brand Orient has only been added to the name to distinguish itself from other "original" buko pies peddled elsewhere, even by ambulant vendors, a "disease" that Tutubi refers to as "The Original Syndrome."
three boxes of the pie bought my Tutubi's brother. Each pie costs P130.00

Orient Original buko pie recipe simply uses tender buko slivers (young coconuts) and not the already mature ones. This is different from G&B buko pie of Tuao North, Nueva Vizcaya where milk and cheese is part of the buko pie recipe.

Tutubi wasn't able to take a buko pie photo whole for as soon as he opened a box, a hand swooped in on the pie to take a slice

Note: The bakeshop doesn't sell Buko pie via ambulant vendors who board buses selling bootlegged "original" buko pies.

Question: Which one would you consider the best buko pie in the Philippines? Tutubi personally thinks it's this buko pie closely followed by G&B buko pie which is too sweet for his taste but good. He has sampled other buco pies like Collete's, Rowena's (Tagaytay), El Mare (San Pablo City) even Babe's Buko Pie in Batangas...

the best buko pie though is a subjective matter and Tutubi won't bother if you have your own preference :P

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Notes:
Other pasalubong and delicacies in Laguna include espasol, puto binan (of Biñan town, do you know Nila's Puto Biñan?), kesong puti (white cheese of Sta. Cruz made from carabao milk coagulated in vinegar, very similar to India's paneer but using lemon juice), minatamis na calamansi (sweetened Philippine lemon) in Pagsanjan, the obnoxious-smelling-yet-delectably-good bibingkang itlog similar yet less rotten-smelling than Pateros' bibingkang abnoy (mostly in Victoria town but peddled as fas as Paete), monay buns of Bay and minani and bibingkang galapong in Paete and Pakil. There are also vendors giving away free taste of their candies in buses, e.g. macapuno, espasol, ube et al, that you can buy at a cheap price of P10 per pack.

Other interesting places/tourist spots and attractions in Los Banos:

University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) with it picturesque campus, Homma-Yamashita Shrine (the execution site of Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita and Gen. Masaharu Homma at the end of World War II), Dampalit Falls, Paciano Rizal Shrine, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and its Rice Museum, the original baths built by Spaniards (where the town got its name), and lastly, Mt. Makiling (Tutubi won't call it mystic mountain for almost all mountains in the Philippines are considered mystic by many people) with forest for trekking including mudflats.

How to get to Los Baños, Laguna:

If you're specifically going to buy at The Original Buko Pie Bakeshop, you need to board a bus to Sta. Cruz that pass by Calamba and Los Baños. HM Transport Bus on EDSA Cubao (Southbound, near Victory Liner) or GreenStar bus on Taft Avenue (northbound) near corner Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue (walking distance from LRT Buendia station) and request the driver to drop you off there just before you reach Olivares Plaza and the place called College (going to the University of the Philippines Los Banos campus). Those buses don't pass by Alabang ilalim, you need to ride an HM Transit bus, usually non-airconditioned, to get there. If you're somewhere in Calamba hot spring resorts, you need to get to the highway to board Sta. Cruz-bound jeepneys to get there then board HM Transport bus going to Cubao or GreenStar Express bus to LRT/Taft after buying at the bakeshop.

Commute from Rizal Province: it's better to board a jeepney going to Siniloan, transfer to a Sta. Cruz-bound jeepney at Siniloan public market, then ransfer again to a Calamba-bound jeepney. Alight in front of the bakeshop about a kilometer from Olivares Plaza mall.

Commute from Quezon Province: board jumbo-jeepneys in Lucena or Lucban going to Sta. Cruz then transfer to a Calamba-bound Jeepney.

Driving directions to Los Banos (follow this route to Los Banos): from Makati head towards SLEX and take Calamba exit (the last one) then pass over the bridge going to Calamba city proper. There is a diversion road that bypasses the traffic-prone Crossing where you pass by the new Calamba City Hall and RSM Lutong Bahay branch to exit in Halang but still you have to pass by Bucal and Barangay Pansol (where the hot spring resorts are located). If you missed the bypass road where many vehicles turn right, just drive straight then turn right at Calamba Crossing. You are now on the National Highway (that doesn't look like one). Continue driving until you see the sign on your left (and a portion of the highway where there are many cars parked). You won't reach Olivares Plaza, should you see the mall, you've passed the place and must turn back.