Located in a small street a little off San Antonio de Padua Parish Church, it is known as a floating restaurant because you can dine on bamboo rafts, or balsa. I wanted to order the sizzling pork sisig which I heard was its most popular dish, but eventually decided on something a little healthier instead -- the tilapia sisig -- to go with pinacbet. Both were delicious and the servings were quite big for me and my husband. Their menu is also quite varied, and with not too many diners by the time we had our late lunch, the overall ambience, as their poster says, was cool and relaxed.
According to Nelia Geronimo, whose family owns the restaurant, BALSA SA NIUGAN was established in July 1998. It was originally a fishpond, which they converted into a restaurant. They first started with only four rafts. They have since added pavilions for bigger groups, and more recently they opened a coffee shop. They usually have more diners in the evening.
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| A collage of their famous customers |
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| The coffee shop was not yet open when we went for lunch. Nelia said it usually opens around 4:00 pm. |
BALSA SA NIUGAN
#3 M. Aquino Street
Barangay Niugan
Malabon City
Tel. No. 448.1033
Hours: 11:00 A.M. to 12:00 midnight (Monday to Sunday)
P.S. I read over the Internet tonight that you could catch your own tilapia and they could cook it for you at BALSA. I didn't know you could do that when we had lunch there today, so I phoned BALSA tonight to confirm. I was told that since 2009 you could no longer catch your own tilapia.
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