8 Things We Love About Pahiyas
Pahiyas in Lucban, Quezon is celebrated in honor of St. Isidro Labrador every May 15. The date is fixed and this year, it fell on a Thursday. Saint Isidro is the Catholic patron saint of the farmers so it is not only celebrated in Lucban but all around the Laguna area during Harvest season. Coincidentally, Pahiyas celebration is within the rainy season.
1. Lucban Longganisa — Ever since Tina Decal introduced us to lucban longganisa, we look forward to buying them every time we go to Lucban. It is made of natural ingredients (no preservatives) and lots of oregano. It is salty and not the sweet kind that we are used to. Dip it in vinegar and I bet you’ll momentarily forget your diet. If you want to make your own, just inform me, I have the recipe to share with you.
2. Creative Harvest Displays – The families invest time and money to put up a good display that would look good during the day and at night. It is a photographer’s haven (except when it rains heavily like last week).
3. Tour of Lucban via Procession Route – Every year, the Pahiyas committee would determine the procession route which starts and ends at the Church. All the houses in the procession route are encouraged to decorate their houses and join in the decor contest. This route changes every year to give a chance for every family in Lucban to decorate their houses.
If you arrive early in the morning, you can join the procession at around 7am. Also, you can walk along this path on your own which serves as a mini-tour of Lucban town. If you arrive in the afternoon, you can follow the parade that goes along that route. In the evening, most of the houses will be lighted up for the night contest.
4. Noknok’s Paintings by Erick Dator. Noknok is a name derived from the work Anok which means scarecrow. It is a stuff character known in portraying the life and people of Lucban, Quezon. Noknok is also the artist name of Erick Dator. He is known for his bright and vibrant paintings of the rustic scenes of Lucban and Pahiyas festival on board cut-outs in shape of kiping or rice wafers.
He is based in New York but every year, he showcases his paintings during the Pahiyas festival. If you buy his painting, you can get a free bayong with paintings of different fruits and vegetables.
Erick Dator
90 Fidel Rada St., Lucban, Quezon 4328 Philippines
Tel. # +6342 911-1940
80 Horton Drive, Huntington Stn., New York 11746, USA
Tel. # +631 424 2797
Email: erickdator@yahoo.com
5. Jollibee Characters in Lucban. This house was a particular hit for Aidan and you should see his face waiving at Hetti Spaghetti. Every year, the Pahiyas festival gets commercialize with advertisement banners all around the town. But the Jollibee Pahiyas house was done in good taste — I liked it.
6. Meet and Greet the people of Lucban — Thanks to Eric Nabos and family for hosting us in Lucban and we will definitely come back each year with Rache and syoti Josh 🙂
7. Pancit Habhab – For P10, you can enjoy this very popular pancit in Lucban. The best way to eat this is to shove the pancit directly into your mouth while warm without using any utensils.
8. Perfect time for a family portrait inside the Pahiyas houses. It was raining heavily during the Pahiyas so we were not able to get a family picture. At least, I got a lot of portraits of Aidan in Pahiyas.
Kiping softens and curls up when wet. Would you like to know how to make kiping? Let me know.
Text and Photos by Anton Diaz. Copyright 2008.
wow! the pancit habhab is already P10, it used to be P5 only and they use a banaba leaf.
i like the lucban longganisa and habhab too!!
Since my dad is from Quezon, I grew up on longganisang lucban and pancit habhab. The best! The next time you’re in the area, I suggest that you swing by Tayabas, Quezon and eat at Kamayan sa Palaisdaan for some grilled dishes and other pinoy delicacies. We always have the fried tilapia , grilled spare ribs, sisig and laing. Quite cheap and very, very good!
AIDAN is super cute with the genki umbrellllaa!!!!! 🙂 Mr. anton and Ms. Rache thanks for the flyer that you gave haidee… hahaha shes loving her umbrellaaa…
err…I think it’s Hetti Spaghettie =D
aww… Aidan is so Cute in the pic with the Genki Umbrella!!! 🙂
You know, I actually don’t remember it raining during any of the years I went to Lucban for the fiesta. The rains came unusually early this year, sayang. We used to go every year when I was young, but I haven’t been there in a long time because it often falls on a weekday. I’m happy to see that the tradition continues. However, I am very disappointed that some houses have sponsored displays! No matter how well it’s done, I still hope it doesn’t become a trend. I know many people complain that the Pahiyas fiesta has become so commercialized and extremely crowded, but I’ve always just been glad that the town gets the revenue and the traditions don’t fade away. But once I start seeing houses with branding, I think that’ll be the beginning of the end. I sincerely hope the townspeople realize this and prevent it from happening.
Did you get to try the Lucban food I told you about? In the past, during the fiesta, you could go into any house and they would serve you food. I’m glad a family hosted you, so that you could experience Lucban hospitality. Did you find the acharang ubod supplier? 🙂
aww… Aidan is so Cute in the pic with the Genki Umbrella!!! 🙂
I’m from Quezon also but on the town of Sariaya. We also have that festivities for San Isidro but we call it as Agawan Festival.
I’m from Lucena City, Quezon. Sad to say, i’ve never been to Pahiyas Festival…I know it’s quite wierd of me but I’m not a fan of longganisang lucban.hehe But pancit habhab is the best! You should also try Chami/Chami sa Toyo of Lucena.and yeah you should try eating out in Palaisdaan! it’s been a while since i browsed thru your blog and i noticed you just post links for the picture. too bad i can’t view the pictures =( flickr is banned here in the UAE.huhuhu
hi, we visited lucban a week ago, and this was a week after the pahiyas. where did you buy the logganisa you brought home? i suggest the next time you visit lucban, buy from eker and ely located at the back of lucban church. it’s way more flavorful than what you can eat at buddy’s, although buddy’s longganisa is not bad at all, masarap din sya. and their (buddy’s) pancit habhab tastes great. kasi we asked around and the locals told us buddy’s cook this very well ‘hindi mapaminta’. and true enough we had a blast eating there. btw, the meal was more enjoyable because we ate the hahab w/ bonete (bread). try it next time, you’ll surely apreciate the pancit more.
thanks for featuring my pahiyas painting and bayongs of noknok
i was born in lucena but grew up in manila, i got married in the historical minor basilica of tayabas 7 years ago back then pancit habhab costs P 5 sago P 2 2pc bananaque P2 isawP1..you can have heavy merienda for P10
we buy our longanisa in eker and ely and house of longanisa…otherwise sa villamater broas factory na lang in sariaya and lucena
never got the chance to go to pahiyas bec i dread the traffic…you notice how the streets are really narrow and one-way…we got stuck there for several hours when we went there in time for holy week procession ..i imiagine pahiyas traffic would be lot worse
Hi Anton,
It makes me feel great whenever you mention the experience you had with me in your Kulinarya Quezon tour about three years ago. I spent overnite in Tayabas, Quezon last May 15-16 to guide and host some filipino travel agents from the United states. Had i known you were there, you could have joined our Tagayan Ritual that I know you really want to experience. Do try to give me a call when you have a free day so I can immerse you in a TAGAYAN RITUAL.
All of you should come to lucban,Quezon next time ‘coz every year paganda na paganda ang mga events..,lalong nagiging grand ang celebration
“shove the pancit directly into your mouth while warm without using any utensils”
ha ha, right. pero yung iba mas poised naman.
what is it they’re using now to hold the pancit? it used to be banana leaves (not banaba) and a fold of newspaper below to buffer the heat from your palm. and after eating, you fold the newspaper some more to be used as, yes napkin. well anyway, when i was younger, i used to do that.
ohhhh i love your aidan, he’s so cute!!!
hi mr. anton, can you share your lucban longganisa and kiping recipe with me? we love lucban longganisa but we usually get them from abcede’s. i’ll try to make the longganisa so we can have it any time of the year. thanks in advance.
i like this blog, people will see this blog definitely will like this.
Hi Anton, I know this is an old post about Pahiyas but I was looking for a recipe for lucban longganisa and kiping. Do you mind sharing it with me too?
hey you forgot to include puto bumbong and siopao
i got a review about it in my blog
http://www.buonzz.com/2012/12/best-foods-in-lucban-quezon-philippines.html
check it out guys