The Wily Filipino

Kamayan.

This is a tribute to perhaps my favorite restaurant in the Philippines right now, located at the outskirts of the town of Bay, in the province of Laguna. Bay (pronounced "Ba-ee") was, at some point, perhaps the major commercial town by the lakeshore; Bay, after all, was the town for which the body of water was named. (Early maps already called it the lagoon of Bay -- "Laguna de Bay" (or "Bai"), though by the time Americans arrived, the pronunciation had changed erroneously to the English "Bay," and it remains wrong even now.) Established around 1570 or so (I don't have access to my books from here, so I'm relying on the perhaps-iffy Wikipedia entry), Bay is now a fairly bustling provincial town, eclipsed by the action in Laguna's capital of Santa Cruz, the busy Calamba (home to Jose Rizal), and Los Banos (home to my University of the Philippines campus, hotbed for research scientists and student activists). But the main reason to go is the restaurant.

This is Kamayan sa Palaisdaan (or, literally, Place-Where-You-Eat-With-Your-Hands by the Fishing Grounds), off of the National Highway.

The restaurant consists of over a dozen huts floating in a circle around a pond filled with carp. (There's also a two-story structure that can host weddings and other big functions, plus a swing and slide for the kiddies.) Reservations on weekends are strongly recommended; I've gone there on rainy weekend nights and for Monday lunches, and every hut was filled. (Did I mention that it's cheap? It's generally less than 200 pesos per person, not counting the San Miguel Lites.)

Below are the reasons why I love this place:

Pinakbet (basically, the Ilocano way of cooking vegetables -- bitter gourd (ampalaya), eggplant, okra and other stuff).

Kare-kare (oxtail, beef tripe, peanut butter -- purists, feel free to attack -- and shrimp paste on the side).

Liempo (grilled and sliced pork spareribs).

Shrimp in coconut milk.

Deep-fried catfish.

Sisig: pig cheeks and ears, on a sizzling plate. My fave.

Crispy pata: deep-fried pork knuckle.

Bicol Express: minced pork and evil chili peppers.

Tilapia with coconut milk.

They were still standing.

Food coma!

Posted by the wily filipino at January 3, 2006 01:44 AM