Saturday, September 18, 2010

Discovering Balsa sa Niugan

We've heard about BALSA SA NIUGAN for quite a while now, so we decided to see for ourselves what it was about.

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. 








A collage of their famous customers
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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15 comments:

  1. how can we get there, where from valenzuela.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for your comment.

    If you're commuting, you can take McArthur going to Monumento. At Monumento, go to Samson Road (where Puregold is). Take a jeepney going to Malabon(Bayan). Tell the driver you are going down at TONSUYA. Then take a tricycle at the corner and tell the tricycle driver you are going to BALSA SA NIUGAN. Balsa is on a small street (M. Aquino) on the left just before San Antonio de Padua Parish Church.

    But if you're going by car, pls let me know here or you can email me at mymalabon@gmail.com and I'll give you another route you can take.

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  3. hi good pm .. ask ko lang if kasya ang 60-80 person sa function area nito ? and how much ang food if christmas party ang event ?

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  4. I suggest you call BALSA at 448.1033 so you can also discuss with them what kind of food to be served and they can give you a quote directly.

    Thanks for dropping by.

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  5. good morning,

    planning to have my annual vacation in the philippines this march 2012,I find your place becoming great since i used to hang out there before w/ my circle of friends,also visiting one of my good friend there LERRY who barely know if he is still working in BALSA up to now..,HE was the one who introduced that place to us long time before by the way...

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    Replies
    1. Its good to hear of your coming visit. You can call BALSA (448.1033) when you get here to find out if your friend still works at BALSA.

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  6. HI! good morning, i would like to inquire if you accept wedding event. where the ceremony will be conducted at the place then afterwards, the reception follows. thanks and god bless..

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    Replies
    1. Hi. I'm not from BALSA, I'm just sharing whatever I discover as I go around our hometown. Please call BALSA at the phone number I've provided in the write-up and in my reply previous to this one.

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  7. hello. . .we went to Balsa for mothers day celebration. . actually ambiance is good with acoustic plays, photobooth and fan give aways. . . we waited for an hour for our food to serve only to find out that they were given to the table next to us. . .we were really hungry and to dismay we were not able to comsume all the food we order. . . service as always is not recommendable. . haiiissst

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  8. Perhaps their service suffered because the place had many customers due to Mother's Day...? At least you liked the ambiance. I hope you have a better experience next time.

    Thanks for taking time to comment.

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  9. Hi can you please give me the directions on how to go there at Balsa by car. You can email me the info at joidevera77@hotmail.com. Thanks so much

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    Replies
    1. I have emailed the map going to Balsa to your address.

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  10. hi good eve may feasibility study po kmi sa school from out lady of fatima university .. we want to use ur wonderful place for tourism development planning .. pde ko po ba mahiram ang lay out ng place ninyo ? maraming salamat po gsto lng po namin i bida ang place na ito sa at para i promote

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  11. you can email me for that information thx po ng madami .. im raul gabriel hrm student of our lady of fatima university .. i will consider this one as a bid depth of gratitude pls forgive our request .. kimykim011@yahoo.com.ph thx thx thx more power to your wonderful place

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not from BALSA. Please call them at 448.1033 to obtain a layout of the place. Thanks for dropping by.

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