Late last month, my family went on a road trip to Manaoag, Pangasinan. En route, we stopped by this place called Isdaan in Tarlac. Heading north, this is on the left side of the road. Hard to miss because of the huge statues at the entrance.
The restaurant sits on a huge property and it was designed to that it looks like it floats above water.
The food
It was not even 7am when we got there. Lucky for us, they serve breakfast starting 6am. Their breakfast menu consists of the usual Pinoy fare – fried rice and egg with a viand of your choice. They have common ones like tapa, longanisa, tocino and adobo, and not-so-common ones like tawilis. I decided to play it safe and ordered longanisa. Wrong move! The moment I tasted the tawilis, I regretted getting longsilog. The tawilis was fried to crispy perfection and went really well with the sinangag and sunny side up egg. Damn longanisa. The next time I’m there, I’m getting 2 orders!
The breakfast sets are price above average — it costs about P130 each, drinks not included. Like the breakfast sets, Isdaan has a huge selection of drinks: coffee, tea, different kinds of fruit shakes and fruit juices. Some juices can also be served hot or cold (like calamansi).
The place
Definitely a love-love-love moment. This place is awesome! There are so many things to see and do at Isdaan. Native huts of different sizes serve as dining areas. These are built over fish ponds so you feel as if you are floating on water as you eat, and also affords a view of the fish swimming around as you enjoy your meal. You may even feed the fish if you want.
They have these huge clay statues at the entrance, and smaller ones scattered inside. Near the back, there are large statues of Buddha — somehow, I felt I was in Thailand or Cambodia when I got to this area ^_^
Aside from these, they also have various quirky “installation art” all over the place, like an Iron Man statue, an Erap statue and a bicycle with water faucets (all fully functional)!
Aside from eating, you also get to do various activities at Isdaan. The most popular one is probably the tacsiyapo — you throw plates against a wall to release your anger and stress.
You also get a kilo of fish for free if you successfully complete any of the following challenges:
1. Unggoy unggoyan – successfully cross in front of huge spitting and urinating monkeys without getting wet
2. Sing a song – any song will do ^_^
3. Cross the San Kilo bridge – This bridge is about 5-6 inches wide and about 20 metres long, and floats over fish ponds. No way am I going to do that 😛
I definitely recommend Isdaan for its food and ambiance. I will be sure to come back when I  have the chance…and I am getting tawilis silog for sure!! 😀
Photo credits: Pictures without www.lahijadelsol.com on them are courtesy of my cousin, Cocoy Beltran ^_^
