With everything done for the day in Lucena with a sidetrip to Silangang Nayon in Pgbilao, Tutubi didn't eat again at Panciteria Granja for chami nor at nearby Buddy's for their Pancit Lucban. He had another pasalubong and local delicacy in mind to search in Lucena City.

As a child, he used to eat tikoy in Paete as well as those made in nearby towns of Laguna and Quezon. Zabala's tikoy was one of his favorites due to it's no-cooking required tikoy recipe, unlike Chinese tikoy during Chinese New Year that require dipping in egg batter and deep-fried, Zabala's Tikoy can be eaten out of the packaging.

the sign in front of Zabala's with their address and contact numbers

Zabala's tikoy recipe is tasty and not too sweet, with slightly yellow color and sticky so you sometimes need an oil-dipped knife to cut it. All ingredients, mostly glutinous rice, mixed in a bowl and then steamed on trays stacked on one another. Too bad, all tikoy for the day were already cooked and Tutubi wasn't able to take pictures of tikoy being made for "documentation purposes."

Although business is brisk during the Christmas season for decades, the business has seen the best of days due to competition and changing people's habits.

half-tray of tikoy about an inch thick. these are sliced to the desired sizes then wrapped in colored plastic wrappers similar to those used for sweet yema.

Origin and history of Tikoy:

A chinese friend of Tutubi mentioned to him once that tikoy came from the Chinese word for sweet cake but Filipinos misheard the Chinese name and now calls the sweet pudding tikoy.

Tutubi was able to find Zabala's tikoy in Lucena through the help of his sister who used to live there as guest of the transient house, also at Zabala's tikoy factory.

Tip: looking for cheap accommodations in Lucena? Zabala's, besides having catering services and tikoy, also have rooms rented out to transients for just P150.00/night/person (that's about $3.30/day)

Zabala's Tikoy Especial
Zabala St., Marktown Subdivision
Red V, Lucena City
Tel. No.: +63.42.710.2402

How to get to Zabala's Tikoy Lucena City, Quezon:

Zabala's is inside Mark Town Subdivision and just a few meters from the highway where SM City Lucena is located. From SM Lucena, drive towards Lucena city center, look for a huge store with Quality Ceramics sign about 500 meters from SM and turn there. Zabala's Tikoy Especial is about 100 meters from the corner. If you're commuting, a tricycle ride from SM will do.

Labels: Calabarzon, Delicacies, Lucena City, Pasalubong, Quezon, Southern Tagalog

People say you've never been to a place if you've never seen the sights, imbibed the culture and ate the food of the place you visited. With this in mind on a recent visit to Lucena City, a highly-urbanized city in Quezon Province about 120 kilometers south of Manila, was highlighted by a sampling of the city's signature dish: the chami, the local version of pancit, the ubiquitous Filipino comfort food.

Armed with tips from fellow frugal food trippers, Tutubi hied off to Lucena City and searched for Granja Panciteria, Restaurant and Fastfood at the corner of Granja St and Leon Guinto, a corner away from Buddy's Lucena branch, and hastily ordered the famous dish wherein a festival, held every merry month of May to celebrate the thriving industry spawned by the dish, called Pasayahan sa Lucena.

sign of Granja Panciteria with telephone number displayed

chami, a single order for just P35, a small price to pay for a satisfying, filling meal with sinful chicharon

If nearby Lucban town is famous for the pancit habhab, sometimes called pancit Lucban, lomi in Batangas, then chami is it for Lucena.

Chami is made from locally made noodles cooked the usual pancit ways added with condiments and spices. Granja's version comes with chicharon toppings, a single serving, cost of P35, is too much for Tutubi who had just finished a hearty lunch.


How to get to Lucena City, Quezon:

Commute: Buses to Lucena City are available at Lucena Lines, N dela Rosa and Jac Liner with terminals on EDSA Cubao, Quezon City or Taft Avenue near corner Gil Puyat (LRT) in Pasay City. Travel time is about 3.5 hours to 5hrs depending on traffic.

Driving directions to Lucena City

From Makati, head towards SLEX and take Batangas exit (second to the last one of SLEX). Along the way you'll see Shell Turbina, Angel's Nest Drive-inn Hotel, Carmelray, Rose and Grace. Turn left tt the junction in Sto. Tomas and pass by Laguna town of Alaminos, the city of seven lakes in San Pablo then Quezon province starting with Tiaong (to the left after the boundary arch is the entrance of Villa Escudero, now called Hacienda Escudero), Candelaria, Sariaya. You will see another junction where you turn right (straight ahead leads to Tayabas) then finally Lucena City. Lucena is about 120 kms from Manila.

There are alternate routes via StarToll and Lipa and the route via Rizal and Laguna via the Manila East Road.

Labels: Calabarzon, Filipino Food, Lucena City, Quezon, Quezon Restaurants, Southern Tagalog