lesministudio

Pick Up

We are about to spend ~8 hours traveling to and from Quezon (the province, not the city). I will realize that I do love road trips, but that I also need to exercise more patience to make sure I don't get thrown out into the woods for asking "Are we there yet?" a million times.

See that small sign on the side mirror? It lights up sometimes. Like if another car gets too close. Maybe. I don't know anything about cars. I know car scents.
See that small sign on the side mirror? It lights up sometimes. Like if another car gets too close. Maybe. I don't know anything about cars. I know car scents.

Meet-up's at 8AM, McDonald's or Launchpad. We have everything we need - breakfast to go, bottled water. But no vape for Ariel and no SLR for me. That's ok. We're off to Quezon to eat at Palaisdaan. Yes, this is a road trip to eat lunch.

We used to argue where Quezon's located. I don't know why JV and I keep saying it's North. We drove through SLEX so that settled everything 🤣
We used to argue where Quezon's located. I don't know why JV and I keep saying it's North. We drove through SLEX so that settled everything 🤣
I still don't understand why the places look like they're in a loop. I've seen that "welcome to <bayan>" sign a few blocks ago and here it is again. Just where are we right now?
I still don't understand why the places look like they're in a loop. I've seen that "welcome to <bayan>" sign a few blocks ago and here it is again. Just where are we right now?

Palaisdaan

“Kumain ako sa Palaisdaan, dalawang beses.” Tara sa 9? Tara! Meron din yan sa Cavite eh. Tara, Lucena!

True story. Cavite's nearer than Quezon, but still 🤣 So there are three branches of "Palaisdaan" but we are going to the original branch.

Lots of big koi and other fish. I think there's another place where they actually fish for the fish we eat.
Lots of big koi and other fish. I think there's another place where they actually fish for the fish we eat.
This is my second time in Quezon. The first time I also saw huge bromeliads. Mama used to grow them in pots so they don't grow this big 🪴
This is my second time in Quezon. The first time I also saw huge bromeliads. Mama used to grow them in pots so they don't grow this big 🪴
Children feeding the fish
Children feeding the fish
You eat inside huts floating on the pond. There's a band visiting each hut. It was just a few days after my birthday so I got a happy birthday song 🥳🎂
You eat inside huts floating on the pond. There's a band visiting each hut. It was just a few days after my birthday so I got a happy birthday song 🥳🎂
Pilipit. It's a sticky and sweet local delicacy. It's like carioca to me, fattening and highly addictive. I was confused when I got the pilipit, and it did not look like the ones I normally would have in Manila. I was used to pilipit referring to the twisted donut. This is just like biko meaning different food in different places.
Pilipit. It's a sticky and sweet local delicacy. It's like carioca to me, fattening and highly addictive. I was confused when I got the pilipit, and it did not look like the ones I normally would have in Manila. I was used to pilipit referring to the twisted donut. This is just like biko meaning different food in different places.
Snails. Duke and JV ate all the snails minus 1.
Snails. Duke and JV ate all the snails minus 1.

Time to order. Sorry, there's not a lot of food pictures that I can use. It's past lunchtime and we are very hungry.

  • Ginataang suso. My first time to try this. It's difficult to eat this properly! You have to know which parts to remove because they're "dirty". Like deveining shrimps but the snail's smaller and it takes a lot of practice.
  • Sinugno. My favorite out of all our orders. Ginataang sunog na tilapia ahaha
  • Sinigang na hipon
  • Spareribs
  • Inihaw na pusit
  • Fresh buko, buko shake (I don't know what "baak" means but it's just like biyak, no?)
  • Coke (for Ken's nutrition 🤣)
  • Milk tea
  • Iced tea (reminds me of Aristrocrat's)

Some friends are allergic to seafood but can you stop them? Do they want to be stopped? HAHA Sulit, even for the pickiest eater. 👌

Kamay Ni Hesus

It's a 300-step climb. 🤞 On each level, there's a depiction of the Stations of the Cross. The 50-foot tall statue is that of the Risen Christ. 🙏

I saw the Kamay ni Hesus before, but I only got up to the church because there were so many tourists back then. It was the Pahiyas festival.
I saw the Kamay ni Hesus before, but I only got up to the church because there were so many tourists back then. It was the Pahiyas festival.
A painting at the bottom part of the statue
A painting at the bottom part of the statue
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross
We did not go inside the church, but we lit some candles and prayed for a while.
We did not go inside the church, but we lit some candles and prayed for a while.

Coffee shop and ride home

Yey. The ride home's 3 or 4 hours? It's a long drive for me, but not as long as Duke's diverse playlist. It's like a dump of everything. Even the bluetooth's getting tired already and is failing. But he's our driver, navigator and DJ. We are all just passenger princesses, so no complaints here. I mean, the forests actually exist, and we don't want anyone getting thrown out there. 🌴🌲🌳😣

There's this festival going on. People are on the side of the streets where construction machines are parked. It's like they are camping there. Why?? It's so confusing.

Buying pakô, an edible fern
Buying pakô, an edible fern
This is the first time that the driver I am with did not get lost. Ok, maybe just a bit. The coffee shop's not the coffee shop he had in mind. "Basta may ilaw yun sa labas" HAving lights outside the shop is not really a very good marker, but I also do not have the right to judge.
This is the first time that the driver I am with did not get lost. Ok, maybe just a bit. The coffee shop's not the coffee shop he had in mind. "Basta may ilaw yun sa labas" HAving lights outside the shop is not really a very good marker, but I also do not have the right to judge.

It's 8PM already. There are no more trees in the middle of the road. We are officially back in Mandaluyong. We are all still friends and we are all safe at home. Success 👌