Fish Feeding in Isdaan Floating Tarlac
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July 5, 2017 Isdaan Floating Restaurant: Rod Ongpauco's Foodie Wonderland
Filipinos love eating out with the family. We also love to go to theme parks and beautiful places where we can take lots of pictures and enjoy fun activities with the entire group. Most of the time, we will have to choose between the two because the local theme parks don't exactly have the best food offerings while there's nothing else to do when we visit the best local restaurants aside from eating. But one man had the vision and the passion to combine these two family activities in one magical location. It's time to bring out the plates because The Hungry Kat has just arrived at Isdaan Floating Restaurant!
Isdaan Floating Restaurant is the brainchild of Mr. Rod Ongapauco whose family owns the classic and popular Barrio Fiesta groups of restaurants. His food-loving family has always been a big influence in his very colorful life, which even includes a bit of acting and show business. When he was only 15 years old, he invented the original "Crispy Pata" which has become an iconic Filipino dish served in almost all restaurants nationwide. But his biggest dream became a reality in 2005 when he opened the first Isdaan Floating Restaurant and Theme Park in Gerona, Tarlac. Twelve years onwards, Isdaan now boasts of two other locations in Calauan, Laguna and newly-opened and biggest branch yet at Talavera, Nueva Ecija.
Vacationers heading north or traveling back to Manila have always made it a point to stop by Isdaan Floating Restaurant for a merry and jolly afternoon. I have seen and heard a lot about Isdaan before on television and magazines but this will be my first time to personally see this foodie wonderland. A trip to Isdaan Tarlac usually just takes around two hours using the SCTEX if you are coming from Quezon City.
The fun starts right at the spacious parking lot of Isdaan Tarlac with giant statues and quirky characters giving guests a warm welcome. The area is equipped with CCTV cameras for added security.
The dream of Rod Ongpauco is to build a restaurant that will be the first of its kind and very different from the rest. With Isdaan Floating Restaurant, he has brought together several of his restaurant concepts like Barrio Fiesta, The Singing Cooks & Waiter, Atbp., Bakahan at Manukan, and juxtaposed it inside an unbelievable floating theme park with colorful statues of all sizes and shapes. I have never seen anything like it!
There are several dining areas to choose from when you visit Isdaan Floating Restaurant. As its name suggests, guests can dine right beside the waters with fish and koi swimming all around. It's such a surreal experience as you would think you are dining in Bali or Malaysia instead of being in Tarlac.
Isdaan is a place to have fun and you will notice all sorts of characters and mascots everywhere. Rod Ongpauco does not seem to run out of ideas and imagination because every single corner is filled with gigantic statues, animals, buddhas, and fountains. You might even spot the Obamas somewhere. Visitors are encouraged to take lots and lots of photos because that is all part of the fun.
They also have daily variety shows that feature dancers, magicians, acrobats, and many more. Guests can also participate in a couple of exciting activities like the San Kilo Bridge where you can win a free kilo of fish if you succesfully finish the obstacle course. You can also walk inside the pond itself and feed all the fish. More of those activities on my next article (Isdaan Talavera: A Bigger and More Colorful Branch in Nueva Ecija).
But the most popular activity at Isdaan Floating Restaurant is their infamous Tacsiyapo Wall where you can let out all your anger and misery by throwing plates, mugs, and even televisions on to the wall. Small plates cost P25 per piece and mugs cost P20. As for the television, hopefully you are not THAT angry. Aim for the exact caption that fits you, shout "Tacsiyapo!" at the top of your lungs, then throw your plates at the wall! I assure you, it really helps relieve those pent up emotions. Can you guess which caption I aimed for?
Kids will not run out of things to do as well in this floating Disneyland because there are several areas they will also enjoy. Children can go biking, riding, play on the see-saw, or just hang out with Mickey and his friends.
After touring the Isdaan theme park, it was finally time for us to eat! Each guest is treated like a celebrity and we were given these adorable leis when we entered one of the main dining areas.
Hosting us that afternoon in Tarlac was Ms. Love Ongpauco-Fallorina, one of the daugthers of Rod Ongpauco who was gracious enough to accompany our group. The KTG (Kain Tulog Gang) founder, Spanky Enriquez, also made sure that everyone enjoyed a grand feast at Isdaan Floating Restaurant.
It was a warm and sunny afternoon so I ordered their refreshing Buko Shake to quench my thirst.
One of Rod Ongpauco's restaurants is The Singing Cooks & Waiters, Atbp. This is the only restaurant where the waiters, janitors, and cooks can belt out popular OPM tunes as well as international hit songs. Here at Isdaan, expect the same spectacular performances as you dine inside your bahay kubo.
And it was definitely a feast to remember as we were all invited for a big Boodle Fight! This is a traditional Filipino way of communally eating piles of rice and viands on top banana leaves using just your bare hands. All of Isdaan's specialties were laid out on the table and it was every man for himself. Don't worry, there was more than enough food to share so we did not really have to fight. Boodle Fight Sets starts at P2,762 for four persons up to P12,856 for 15 persons.
Our Boodle Feast came with Bulalo Soup, Daing na Bangus, Mixed Adobo, Lumpiang Bukid, Lechon Manok Tinupig, Pritong Lapu Lapu, Spicy Crabs and more.
But the highlight of our feast was the Patang Tinupig (P690), a unique variation of the well-loved Crispy Pata that you can only find here. Instead of the usual deep-fried crispy pata, this pork knuckle is simmered in creamy coconut milk then wrapped in banana leaves before being grilled. The result is a soft and tender skin with very flavorful pork meat inside.
Few people actually know that it was Rod Ongpauco himself who invented the Crispy Pata all the way back in 1960. He shared with us the story of how he used to invite his friends over to eat for free at his Mama Chit's Barrio Fiesta, much to the dismay of his mother. To appease her, he found a way of getting leftover pork feet and deep-fried them for his friends. Everyone loved his creation, including Mama Chit, which he later on expanded to include the entire pork knuckle. The rest, as they say is history.
While every restaurant in the Philippines now probably offers their own version of crispy pata, it's great to know that you can find Rod Ongpauco's version of theOriginal Crispy Pata (P740) here at Isdaan, Barrio Fiesta, or at Pamana Restaurant. We also found out that Rod Ongpauco is really a man of many talents, aside from being a generous host. He is also a music composer, with his most popular hit being " Tulak ng Bibig, Kabig ng Dibdib " by Cinderella in the 70′s and later on revived by Lilet in the 80′s. He is also credited for promoting "Mabuhay" as our national greeting and changing the "Welcome" rotunda to "Mabuhay" rotunda including other town markers and landmarks.
Our festive lunch at Isdaan Floating Restaurant was so enjoyable that it stretched all the way until late afternoon. We capped it off with their Talagang Special Bibingka (P192) and cups of Buko Pandan (P141) and Fruit Salad (P152) for a sweet ending.
We had a very entertaining and informative Isdaan Roadtrip to Tarlac and I would like to thank Ms. Love Ongpauco-Fallorina for taking care of us and making sure we experienced the full Isdaan Floating Restaurant experience. We also got to visit their newest and most exciting branch yet, Isdaan Talavera in Nueva Ecija,
Isdaan Floating Restaurant
219 MacArthur Highway, Gerona, Tarlac
(0943) 629-0086
www.facebook.com/isdaanrestaurant
howardwitildrosen.blogspot.com
Source: https://thehungrykat.com/post/162612264222/isdaanfloatingrestaurant
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