Victoria's Secret Kinulob na Itik (Fried Duck)

The Laguna town of Victoria's junction along the national highway is dotted with various stores selling duck eggs, balut, penoy, abnoy, itlog na maalat (salted eggs or sometimes called itlog na pula due to the red color) and the town's specialty-- kinulob na itik.

A favorite of Tutubi's younger brother now living in Malabon, kinulob na itik is a deep-fried duck recipe in Victoria, Laguna, a town with duck raising as main industry that was visited by the contestants of Amazing Race 5 where they chased ducks in their muddy shelters to get the next clues of the popular reality show.

Tutubi eats kinulob na itik not on his own initiative but mostly due to his brother's "addiction" to the Laguna delicacy. While in Victoria, he asked some locals around that led him to some sort of "victoria's secret" on the best kinulob na itik in town: Rollyesmer's Kinulob na Itik, deep inside the town center of Victoria, kilometers away from the main highway, in a hidden location yet sought after by locals and people in the know, bypassing the numerous stalls on the highway, including one that boldly proclaims itself as the "original" kinulob na itik, mimicking the highly successful original buko pie of Los Banos marketing ploy.

The owners of Rollyesmer's Fried Duck, Rogelio Ramirez and Esmeralda, both in their 60's, developed their own kinulob na itik recipe that still lures customers to their humble home, lighted only by a simple, slightly damaged sign outside their home. On talking with Mang Rolly about his secret fried duck recipe, he also narrated that he has relatives in Paete, Laguna that Tutubi's father also knew, unlike Tutubi who's now virtually unknown and knows less people in his hometown. Tutubi also asked around for bibingkang itlog (puro), related to the stinking bibingkang abnoy of Pateros.

The secret of the fried duck recipe? Mang Rolly first removes the duck feathers and internal organs before boiling the duck in water for about three to five hours. Garlic, onions and secret ingredients are then added, until the duck’s own oil starts to appear. Then the duck must be deep fried until it becomes crisp. The secret ingredients, in right amounts during the boiling process, removes the smell and pungent taste that turns off most people to ducks.

the wood-fired stove where the ducks are boiled for hours



The result? Tutubi's new kinulob na itik specialty discovery was also eaten by family members who don't normally eat ducks, in any form. Note that most fried duck dealers serve their product with sauce, but Rolly's fried duck don't need the sauce.

Victoria's Secret kinulob na itik, served without the usual sauce. Price is P140 each. Note the lettuce only added by Tutubi to add color.

It's by their special fried duck recipe that keeps them in business, selling about 30 fried ducks a day, in a hidden location somehwere that's called Victoria's secret...now in the open!

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Rollyesmer's Kinulob na Itik
Barangay San Roque, Victoria, Laguna
Contact Number: +63.915.547.7356
Coordinates: N14 13 28.2 E121 19 30.8

How to get there:

Commuting to Victoria, Laguna is easy. Take a bus to Sta. Cruz (either
HM Transport on EDSA, Cubao, Quezon City or a Green Star bus on Taft Avenue near corner Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia, near LRT and JAM bus terminals) and request the driver to drop you off in Victoria's Poblacion (Landmark: Petron gas station and a Victoria poblacion arch, the bus conductors call Balite (probably a balete tree used to be there) a few kilometers from the giant ducks statues in Masapang. Transfer to a
tricycle and ask to be taken to San Roque specifically at Rolly's Kinulob, locals know the place.

Driving Directions to Victoria, Laguna:

If you have a Garmin GPS navigator, the easiest way to get there is to use Open Street Map with the map of Victoria, Laguna updated by Tutubi that shows the actual location of Rollyesmer's Kinulob na Itik deep inside the town :P If you don't have one, just drive down to the town of "Mighty Ducks," enter the main road to the poblacion, a right turn followed by a left turn going to San Roque (a basketball court at the end) then left when you the San Roque arch then a right to an unknown road. Ask for Rolly's kinulob there and you won't get lost.