The Buko Halo-halo and "Halal" Pancit Hab-hab at Kamayan sa Palaisdaan in Tayabas, Quezon

A popular restaurant in Quezon is Kamayan sa Palaisdaan sa Tayabas, with sister restaurant in the town of Bay, Laguna, featuring floating restaurant where dining tables rest on bamboo rafts in the middle of a fish pond teeming with fishes.

The floating restaurant, just a few minutes away from Tayabas City proper on the road going to Lucban and Kamay ni Hesus, is a favorite stop-over for people passing by the area not just during the Pahiyas fiesta.

the floating bahay kubo as dining area of the popular Tayabas Restaurant

On his first time to set foot on the restaurant, resort and hotel compound, Tutubi ordered buko halo-halo for dessert after buying pasalubong and Quezon delicacies on Calle Budin plus a bilao of pancit hab-hab for his driver that he forgot to call during lunch but managed to find an eatery nearby.



With praises for Kamayan sa Palaisdaan sa Bay, Laguna, the halo-halo at Kamayan sa Palaisdaan sa Tayabas (Price: P80.00) sadly didn't deserve praise. It was too sugary and wanting in creaminess while the beans were not cooked right. Even the shaved ice of common halo-halo stands at the corner of most small towns can beat it. The malauhog buko, however, saved it from "eternal damnation" or rate it at par with the famous-ye-not-really-good Taleng's halo-halo of Pagsanjan, Laguna.

the buko halo-halo with malauhog buko

The pancit hab-hab, ordered by Tutubi for his driver due to instant recognition on the menu, was later deemed haram (forbidden) by his companion, who confessed that he's a Muslim convert, thus eating anything with pork (Pancit hab-hab is always topped with pork lechon) is not halal (permitted by Islam faith).



Another boo-boo that followed was when Tutubi missed the old brick Malagonlong Bridge due to the usual presence of unreliable and ignorant locals and his laziness to input the coordinates on his Garmin GPS navigator prior to the trip.

A so-so meryenda at Kamayan sa Palaisdaan and not finding a destination due to laziness nearly spoiled his day. Only his positive attitude, somewhat, saved the rest of his day!

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disclaimer: note that the halo-halo does not represent all of Kamayan sa Palaisdaan's menu but don't blame Tutubi if you ordered the halo-halo and didn't like it too.