Balsa Sa Niugan

I am discovering that there is a lot of magic outside of the metropolis I grew up in called Metro Manila.  About an hour away( on a relatively traffic free Sunday) from Greenhills where I live, in the often fluvial (read that to mean flooded) town of Malabon, I chanced upon an odd gem of an eatery.

Called Balsa sa Niugan, or Raft in the Coconut Fields, it was off the main roads, and its expanse could not be imagined from its entrance either.

Paper flowers festooned the two posts of a little footbridge. Cobbled steps meandered into a hodgepodge of pastoral impressions that were interesting on their own, but together created a slightly surreal landscape.

One passed a little pond, on the way to two main dining halls that both looked out to a body of water that seemed to be a lake, but am told was actually a river, once home to rich marine fare, but today was bounded by fences that hid factories behind them. There was little fleet of covered rafts,( hence the first half of the name) on which patrons could spend the better part of a meal floating on the little body of water. There was an unique chandelier made of carved and handburnished wood.  Other touches were more marketing gimmicks.  Two large panels showed photos of celebrities and personalities who had been to the eatery...and glass shelves of mason jar mugs with names of the same celebrities inscribed on them.  However I did not find any coconut trees to explain the second half of the name.

 A painting of a mud crab suggested that seafood must be the specialty of the house. In point of fact, the kitchen boasted of Filipino favorites.  On this day, I opted to have a beer and a plate of Tilapia (or St. Peter's Fish)Sisig. The beer was warm, but the ice was cool though melting quickly; but the tilapia Sisig was very tasty.... A guilt free way to enjoy this foremost of Philippine bar chow dishes or pulutan.

Since the beer was practically room temperature, it made sense to me to follow it up with a steaming bowl of Sinigang na Sugpo(prawns in tamarind broth)...which was even more tasty than the first dish. With an additional order of half a cup of rice, and I was enjoying comfort food amidst a semi-bucolic setting!

I think the very setting took me by surprise, and words fail me now to adequately describe the unique experience finding and dining at Balsa sa Niugan was for me.

All told though, it was a quaint adventure made up of eccentric little details that somehow came together to spell a most unexpected pleasure. Permit me to share the pictures from my trusty little phone with you.