Monday, May 11, 2009

Silangang Nayon - Weekend Snapshot

I found this restaurant/park/hotel in Backpacking Philippines while searching for a resort in Pagbilao on line. We left Makati a little before 6 am on Friday morning and arrived in Pagbilao, Quezon before 11 am. We originally planned to leave at 4 am to avoid the weekend traffic, but Franzia and April were still snoring at 4:30 am. We also got a little lost when we were in Pagbilao---we turned left instead of turning right. The designated navigator, moi, was floating out of her mind from lack of sleep.

After asking a couple of locals, we found the sign along the highway. It says, Silangan Nayon is 6.5 kilometer from the highway. Maybe because we were hungry and I was very sleepy, it felt like a long and winding 10 kilometers. Apparently, we were the first customers for lunch so we had the place to ourselves for a while.

There was a park for kids complete with seesaw, swings and mini-bikes. There was also an aviary; a couple of huts and a small hotel for overnight guests, and more huts along the slopes for diners. The restaurant is a cluster of huts approximately 10 meters from the shore---yes, it's on the water.
To reach the huts, we needed to cross a creaky bamboo stilt bridge. There was an oncoming typhoon that day so it was cloudy and windy. I could feel the stilt bridge swaying a little.














We placed our order before going down to the bamboo bridge. The kitchen was near the reception area on the "main land". The food was delivered to the huts using this ingenious zip line---a small wooden box that looks like an airplane.

there's our food inside the "plane" and the small hotel at the background

We enjoyed the grilled scallops for appetizer, sinigang na lapu-lapu, grilled squids, ginataang hipon and a bowl of steamed rice. The sea foods were fresh and delicious. Prices were almost the same as Manila's.




We were all ready to take a nap at those long bamboo benches after lunch. The fresh air and the hearty lunch made us all sleepy. But we still had a long way to go before reaching our final destination--- Padre Burgos, the first town in the Bondoc Peninsula.


Silangan Nayon was a unique dining experience, a great place to relax and bond with family and friends, although the beach was not very inviting. And by the way, there were no restrooms in the huts [which is good for the environment]---you need to cross the bridge to get to the restrooms [so don't wait until it's urgent!]. This is a place I'd like to return to when I'm in Pagbilao, Lucena or Tayabas...watch the sunset and maybe stay the night.

Posted for Weekend Snapshot

23 comments:

 gmirage said...

Wow! Ang ganda! at yun flying lunchbox aliw! hihi. I can breath fresh air just looking...

bertN said...

Are those huts over water able to withstand a storm? I don't want to be there to find out LOL.

GingGoy said...

you ordered the same food I ordered...hehe...one of the places i'd like to return to. did you go to the nearby exclusive resort? pagbilao has lots of things to offer. hope to explore them soon

Mariposa said...

Very nice! I want to go there... :)

Unknown said...

hi, bertN! the posts of these huts are made of concrete, so wag lang siguro tsunami o signal no. 3, mukhang di naman agad 'to liliparin.:D

Unknown said...

hello, tutubi! yes, i remember the photo of grilled scallops in your blog.:D

no, we didn't check out the Pueblo por la Playa. excited na kami makarating sa Padre Burgos para matulog. we went to Puting Buhangin in Pagbilao the next day. mukha nga magaganda beaches sa Pagbilao.

eastcoastlife said...

That's a lovely place to take a relaxing holiday. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Sidney said...

What a wonderful place to relax... and the flying lunchbox is funny !
Even if I travel a lot I realize I didn't see much of the Philippines yet.

bernadette said...

ay, Luna! At least you see the fruits of your labors---work hard to live hard, as they say :-D!

The Nomadic Pinoy said...

That is really a unique way of getting lunch! I'm sure they have a way of keeping soups from spilling.

Ebie said...

Luna, I like the idea of the "flying" express delivery lunch box. Very creative. What a beauty and this is not your final destination yet? Parang stopover lang. I wonder what beauty awaits at the end of the rainbow. Keep sharing, I am loving it. Thanks for the wonderful tour.

Karen said...

Nice place! Hanggang ilog lang ako ng Pagbilao.

Marites said...

wow! i love the place! and the flying food plane hihihi! it's a must-see!

My WS is here

escape said...

that i should really say is beautiful. you also took good photos of the place. ill just call you when i decide to go there.

Asian Traveler said...

This is interesting. I love the nipa huts and the long bamboo stilt bridge.

SASSY MOM said...

Lovely resort! And you have cool shots!

Anonymous said...

how nice naman. sana pag uwi ko, makapunta din kami dyan.

anyway, hello from the rugby field and hope you have a great week!

Oman said...

the grilled scallops look yummy. sayang, di namin napuntahan ni dong yan. nag jollibee lang kami in lucena and buco sa pagbilao.

@rieLLe said...

how grand!Kakainggit naman po.. :-)

..xia.. said...

Wow! That was really enjoyable. Sana Kami din magkaron ng ganitong trip. This will entail a lot of money.. hmmmm.. :-)

Arlene said...

YOu are right a great place to bond with your family. The place (dining out in the sea) reminds me of the place called MOAP (Misamis Occidental Aquamarine Park) :)

Great pics, LUna!

Carver said...

I enjoyed all of these shots. Looks like a wonderful place to visit. I love the bamboo bridge.

Francisca said...

Hey, I found it on your blog! Now let's see if I can find it tomorrow in Pagbilao tomorrow! If I do, you'll see my version of it soon, no doubt. Although yours will be hard to match. :-D