Destination Quezon: Kamayan sa Palaisdaan

If you happen to be in the area of Quezon Province, Philippines this restaurant is a "must" to visit and dine.

"Kamayan" is a Filipino term that would mean "eating by hands" and "Palaisdaan" means fishpond. The restaurant's unique ambiance is what it boasts of. Here you will be able to experience dining in huts floating on a pond. The restaurant is situated in Tayabas, Quezon where they always have a cool climate. Lush vegetation surround the place that makes it very relaxing for the busy mind.

The restaurant only serves Filipino dish but for sure you will be more than satisfied with the fresh fish that they will serve may it be inihaw (grilled) or ginataan (cooked in coconut milk). Our order whenever we dine there would consist of "inihaw na spareribs" (grilled spareribs) as this is very famous to the kids, inihaw or ginataan na pla-pla (fish) and ginataan na suso (snails) with pako (fiddlehead ferns).


One advise though, if you're planning to visit the place on weekends or peak days such as local holidays, be ready to wait for long serving time. This happened to us several times already. I also strongly suggest to call them for table reservation and advance food order during peak season.

Kamayan sa Palaisdaan
Brgy. Dapdap Tayabas, Quezon, Philippines
Tel. No.: (042) 793-3654
email: info@kamayansapalaisdaan.com.ph
www.kamayansapalaisdaan.com.ph

Destination Quezon

I've been raised in the hustle and bustle of the city in Manila. It is only during vacation trips that we get to see scenic places of the rural side and feel the freshness of the air. But when I got married I also adopted a second hometown... Quezon.

My first few trips to Lucena were exciting and fun since the place was all new to me. But as we frequent the place, I had to explore new destinations in Lucena or the nearby towns to make our stay in Quezon more enjoyable. My next few blogs will most probably be about places in Quezon that we've visited. I hope you also get to go there and enjoy the places.

San Miguel By the Bay

This is one of the favorite places that my children love to go to. It's like an improved version of Baywalk in Roxas Boulevard before and is more family-centered. Large spaces bounded by steel fences and several playgrounds in different spots makes it child-friendly. My children can run around, play and just have fun...


But, of course, the place won't be as much fun if there were no food places around. There are quite a number of restaurants now offering a wide variety of cuisine. There is the famous "Seaside Palutuan" where you get to buy fresh seafood from the market and have them cooked and served the way you like it. You will also find here the American bar and restaurant "Hooters" and several other bars such as Padi's Point and Pier One. Many other restaurants are mushrooming in the area and the last I noticed was of course a "Starbucks" soon to open.

Best thing in the area are the clean and well-maintained restrooms. Security personnel are also very visible everywhere which makes you feel safe and secure. There is also now a tram that services people who want to avoid the long walk of the whole San Miguel by the Bay strip.

Passing Down Our Heritage

Many people nowadays, specially the younger generation, miss the real meaning of the Rizal Park also known as Luneta Park. They now think of it as a place where only "lovers" stroll around for a date, the younger ones would say it's "baduy"(pinoy slang for low-class; uncouth; unfashionable; having mass appeal; similar to jologs) to go there, or worst, a place for pimping prostitutes. This is very sad as this place is an important part of our cultural heritage.

Last Sunday we decided to bring the kids to Luneta instead of going to the mall. I have not been to the place for the longest time and I was so happy to see that the landscaping of the place is still well-maintained. Flowering plants surrounded the park. Security guards roam the place to make sure that the place is safe from common street crimes. The park was clean and rubbish-free though we did not get to see if there's a clean restroom in the area. There is a light and sound show of the martyrdom of Rizal and the Chinese Garden which you can visit for a minimal fee (no idea how the places were since we did not go inside). My husband and I took turns explaining to the children who Jose Rizal was and why he became the Philippine National Hero. What made me really so happy was seeing other families doing the same thing as we were, touring the place and informing the young ones the real meaning of this historical landmark. Wow, our visit was just like a school field trip, bringing memories of those educational trips when you get to see Luneta Park year after year as it was always included in the field trip itinerary during our grade school years.

The idea of bringing my kids to Luneta came to mind like two weeks ago. We were driving by Taft Ave. on our way to a friend's house in Fort Bonifacio after hearing Mass in Quiapo Church. The kids and I were looking at the places that we pass by and I eagerly gave them a brief introduction of the places which were new to them. We passed by the Philippine Post Office with its majestic fountain, Manila City Hall which is very remarkable with its big clock then the Luneta Park. I told them that the Luneta Park is where Jose Rizal was shot and asked them if they knew who Jose Rizal was. "Oo, mommy, siya ang may-ari ng school namin." ("Of course, he is the owner of our school"), a quick and excited answer given by my son which made me and my husband laugh so hard. But after the laughter came the concern (very typical of a mom...hehe). How can my son, who's in 1st grade in a school named after our national hero, don't know who Jose Rizal is??? So I told my husband we should take time to bring the children to places where they will learn and appreciate more about our country's culture and history. This way we can pass down our cultural heritage to the younger generation.

Thanks to pinoyslang.com for the definition of "baduy". :-)

A Cyberspace Newbie Again --- Aaarrghhh! So much to read and learn!

Well, I've been online for almost the whole day now reading materials that will help me improve my site. Ooohhh, it is very tiring. There is just so much to learn, new terms I encountered, terms of service and policies to read and understand, and many more stuff that are totally new to me.

My famous line whenever someone comes up to me in the office asking how I learned to use the computer is "Well, by constantly using it". Computers and technology is something that you'll have a hard time catching up. Using a computer is a skill, if you don't use it then you'll lose it. It's just like driving a car or riding a bike. Since I was like 12 years old we already had a computer at home. Maybe I could say that though we're not rich we were lucky to have a computer at such an early stage of the computer industry in the Philippines which was around the very late 80's or early 90's. Of course, it was only MS-DOS, WordStar, Lotus, and the likes then. Then came MS Office, the internet, IRC, search engines such as altavista, e-mail, and so many new stuff. I have been in this technology thing for more than half of my life BUT today... I feel like a newbie again.

I think I lost touch when I started my own family. Ever since then, I mainly used the computer for work which is using MS Office and e-mail. I only used the internet for searching phone numbers for food deliveries, drug stores, and establishments that would satisfy our day to day needs. I did not have time to explore these new things like blogging, creating and maintaining a website, updating profiles, changing layouts and settings, etc. It's very difficult to get time when you're a wife and a working mom of 2 kids.

So this is really it... a start to my blogging experience. Wish me luck in learning again. I'm a NEWBIE --- again!

This Is It!!! I HOPE!!!

I've been wondering for quite some time if I really can do this... start a blog and really update it. I wrote my first ever blog in my friendster account but then, of course very "ME", ended up updating it like twice a year with a total of 5 blogs in 2 years.

So now here I am, writing a blog again and hoping that I will be able to maintain and update it this time. So to my friends and everyone who will come across my page I hope you enjoy viewing my page and get something good out of whatever I write in here.