Late Lunch at Balaw-Balaw Restaurant

During our first wedding anniversary, my husband and I decided to visit the Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs in Rizal province, a 1-hour drive from Manila City depending on the traffic. We haven’t been to the Petroglyphs before and we thought we would end up getting lost. It has been ages since the last time I visited a friend who hails from Angono town. Along the way, I started seeing familiar sceneries and spots, and I knew we were on the right track.

After Cainta town, we passed by Taytay town. Familiar landmarks would be SM Taytay along Manila East Road, and then passing Club Manila East, and Puregold a few meters ahead. As soon as one enter Angono town, visitors would approach a fork with a park in the middle. At the small park stands some sort of an information office, a few works of art statues and some ‘higantes’, as Angono is popular for its Higastes festival, where ‘barangays’ showcase their paper-mache giants. The road on the right would lead you to the town proper if you want to know more about the town by visiting their municipal hall, museum and some art galleries. But if you plan to proceed directly to the Petroglyphs, continue your way along Manila East Road on the left of the fork.

It was past lunch time when we arrived there so we decided to have a late lunch first at Balaw-Balaw Restaurant. I’ve read about this place online and saw some good reviews about the place and their food. From the fork, Balaw-Balaw Restaurant is just a few meters away. After we passed by a small bridge, we turned left at Don Justo Street, just across the Tapales Memorial Chapel. Upon turning left, we saw Balaw-Balaw is immediately on our right.

Balaw-Balaw Restaurant also houses an art gallery where one could check out painting, sculptures, among others made by locals. There are also some pieces of art for sale. We checked out the works of art while waiting for our orders.

The word ‘balaw-balaw’ is an appetizer or sauce made from small shrimps mixed with the herb known as ‘angkak’. So, in order to try the taste of ‘balaw-balaw’, we decided to order Balaw-Balaw Rice, Adobo with Balaw-Balaw and Eggplant, and Sinigang na Hipon. Talk about a fusion of food with different taste: sweet, salty and sour!

Balaw-Balaw Rice

Adobo with Balaw-Balaw and Eggplant

Sinigang na Hipon

The Balaw-Balaw Rice was a good choice. It was nothing like I’ve tasted before, very exquisite and highly recommendable. The Sinigang na Hipon was also perfect. Its sourness is what everybody is looking for in any sinigang dish. The Adobo with Balaw-Balaw and Eggplant was also great. The taste for me was a mixture of sweet, salty and sour.

The prices of the food in Balaw-Balaw Restaurant are reasonable, and their servings are big enough for 4 people. In fact, my husband and I left the place with bulging stomachs after eating a good-for- 4-meal once again. Talk about gluttony!

The only downside in Balaw-Balaw Restaurant was that the waiter left two bottles of mineral water on our table. Although we ordered mango juice, we drank the water thinking it was free of charge. Turned out we have to pay for it. Wahaha! What a good way to entice people to buy their mineral water. Other than that, we had a perfect experience in Balaw-Balaw.

Balaw-Balaw Restaurant is truly a must place to visit once you are in Angono town. One will not just enjoy good food and service but wonderful works of art as well.