A Restaurant Review: Kainan sa Tabing Lawa

“A restaurant is a fantasy – a kind of living
fantasyin which diners are the most important
members of the cast.” – Warner LeRoy

Our first road trip to Tanay, Rizal was around eight years ago. It was my birthday and I wanted it to be really simple – just eat out with my family. We could have just chosen our all-time favorite Max’s Restaurant to enjoy their crispy fried chicken, but since we wanted some sort of twist and adventure instead, we decided to try our family friends’ recommendation to have lunch at this restaurant in Tanay.

I guess it’s true that long rides are meant to prepare us for a much-awaited destination. It took us around two hours to get to the place. Along the Lakeshore Drive in Barangay San Isidro in the town of Tanay, right beside the Ynares multi-purpose hall that is always busy with basketball tournaments, is the restaurant previously recommended to us. Actually, if it were not for the diner sign we would not have guessed that it was the place already. I found myself astonished while staring at a rustic cottage with a sign hanging from a giant vintage window that says “Kainan sa Tabing Lawa”. Whoah, an eatery by the lake, I told myself.

At first glance, I asked myself these questions: Is this the place we traveled for hours? Is this the restaurant scene we expected after a long drive? Nevertheless, we still entered the restaurant – a native restaurant so to speak – and continued to eat our lunch there.

When we entered, I immediately learned a lesson: Don’t judge a restaurant only by its exterior.

Astonishing Ingenuity

Indeed, it is a pretty nice native restaurant. What more should I expect? The wooden floor and the grass ceiling speak its creativity. The bamboo shades on the wide vintage windows, plus the wooden plates lined with banana leaves at the tables, are big time eye catchers. Diners are supplied with spoons and forks but I think, in places like this, it is best to eat with the hands – KAMAYAN STYLE! These features, in turn, effectively and exceptionally set a glimpse of Tanay’s local and rich culture!

While peeping through the vintage windows, one can see the scene of the calm Laguna de Bay and its modern causeway. One will surely fall in love with the Kainan’s impressive ambiance because of its peacefulness and serenity.

Scrumptious Cookery

Since Tanay has a rich culinary heritage derived from the various influences from the past (from a rich, spicy Hispanic taste to a simpler exotic Asian heritage), its culinary repertoire is evident in the various meal specialties offered in Kainan sa Tabing Lawa.

However, this place is more known for its seafood express, particularly sinigang na kanduli and fried butterflied dalag dipped in the preferred mixture of soy sauce, calamansi juice and crushed chilis that you, yourself, can easily prepare. Kainan is also recognized by its freshwater fish caught from the nearby Laguna de Bay and cooked on the same day! What’s more interesting is that the price is not that expensive since they prepare the cuisines homestyle with absolutely no frills and tricks (by request, they can show you the actual preparation of the food in their tidy kitchen! :P).

Besides their freshwater fish packages, they also offer economical native dishes like pininyahang manok, inihaw na litson, pork asado, the everlasting pansit and many more.

The food was really good! My family and I enjoyed our meals since we’re after for the food that are not served on an everyday basis, and those that aren’t found at most urbane restaurants near us. Although I was just an eight year old kid during that time, I already knew how to distinguish good from bad dishes. Thank God, that trip provided us a yummy one!

The simple yet exquisite dining pleasure we had since our first trip at Kainan sa Tabing Lawa is the reason why my family chose to celebrate a number of occasions there since then (The most recent was just last week! :D). We have actually celebrated there a lot of birthdays, anniversaries, despedidas and thanksgivings because the place, matched with its superb cuisines, are definitely worth it.

Looking back, our first visit was really a great trip. When we left the place, I learned a lesson again: Most good experiences are really, really unexpected.

Believe me. 