Oh. My. Ube—Lolo and Lola have dedicated a whole week to the yummiest of yams

Posted on 9 March, 2023

That’s right, in ube-believeable news, Watson’s Lolo and Lola has decided to dedicate a whole week to ube-filled desserts and all we can say is…gimme.

Because (as any Canberra foodie history buff knows), it’s their ube cake that put this Filipino bakery and restaurant on the map.

Starting off in a shipping container at Westside Acton Park in 2015, owners and chefs Kim and Jay Prieto made their move to their now iconic Watson Shops venue in 2017. And with a reputation that sees loyal customers from Canberra and beyond making special trips just to eat their cuisine (with some devotees driving down from Sydney for the day), the purple ube cake quickly became synonymous with their traditional Filipino food served with a twist.

But we digress—onto the breaking ube news.

Running until Sunday 12 March, Lolo and Lola have created a ube-r yummy (and very limited edition) menu, serving ube cakes, pies, breads, and more.

Ube Ensaymader.

And for those who haven’t tried the tuber that’s native to the Philippines, according to Kim the eye-catching purple yam is denser and nuttier than its cousin, the sweet potato, and has been a staple in Filipino cuisine for hundreds of years.

“We use it in so many desserts such as Ube Halaya (ube jam), Suman sa Ube (steamed ube rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves), Ube Pastillas (soft, carabao milk-based candies with ube), Ube-Macapuno Cake (ube and young coconut chiffon cake), Ube Sorbetes (ube ice cream), and so much more!” she says.

Ube Cheese Bread.

Making traditional and contemporary ube desserts including Putong Ube (steamed ube rice cakes), Ube Bibingka (ube and glutinous rice cakes with salted duck egg baked over charcoal), and Ube-Langka Leche Flan Cake (jackfruit flan and ube sponge cake), the inspiration behind Lolo and Lola’s Ube Week is to share some Filipino culture and cuisine with the local community (as well as an excuse to bake some yummy food).

“Ube’s popularity has grown over the years and has sadly gotten lost in the cultural chaos of social media. Yes, its bright and vivid colour might be Instagram-worthy, but for us Filipinos, Ube is not a hype. It’s part of our culture. It’s part of our heritage. It’s part of our story. It is synonymous with celebrations and sweet memories of home,” says Kim.

“So even if it disappears from the limelight, ube will still be strongly running through every Filipino’s veins. And a week-long celebration to showcase this tuber is honestly not enough!”

Putong Ube.

Want to try it for yourself? Here’s the full dessert line-up:

• Ube-Macapuno Pie
• Ube Cheesecake
• Ube-Langka Leche Flan Cake
• Ube Biko
• Ube Espasol
• Bibingkang Ube
• Putong Ube
• Ube Ensaymader
• Ube Cheese Bread

Running for a limited time only, this is a tasty education in ube you (and your stomach) won’t soon forget—so grab an Uber (…get it?) and get going before they sell out.

Images supplied.