Isdaan: Fresh fish, bamboo huts and bridges, and the Tacsiyapo Wall

In the town of Gerona, Tarlac is a unique restaurant aptly called Isdaan. Also known for the Tacsiyapo Wall, it boasts of theme park-like statues, a vast fish pond over which nipa huts connected by bamboo bridges serve as the dining areas.

Giant fish statues welcomes visitors and diners

From the entrance visitors are welcomed with giant fish statues, life-sized figures of a security guard and even of former President Joseph Estrada. In fact, the whole place is filled with a curious hodgepodge of various enormous statues—from the Buddhist-inspired monuments, Aztec-looking sculptures, different dinosaurs, monkeys and other sorts of stone giants.

However, what sets Isdaan apart from other dining places is its being a floating restaurant. Below and between the nipa huts is the fish pond where hundreds of brightly-colored carps and other fish swim about. Once settled, diners are given free fish food that can be fed to the fish while waiting for the food to be served. Isdaan also has roaming musikeros in groups of three who sing and even dance for the customers’ entertainment. For a tip, visitors can even request for songs, and the musikeros, dressed in coordinating outfits, would pull the performance off accompanied by a guitarist.

Musikeros sing while you wait
(Photo by Dawn Fabrero)

Isdaan offers a wide array of Filipino cuisine dishes, and the menu is made up of the usual fare of adobo, bulalo, and inihaw dishes among others, to meals with playful-sounding names such as “Pinaputok sa Dahon,” “Inapoy na Hipon,” and “Chicken na Ginataan with the Magic Dahon Flavor.”

Curious about the how the magic dahon tasted, my companions and I ordered the latter, plus lumpiang bukid, rice and a bilao of fried seafood which included, tilapia, hipon, tahong, bangus, tawilis, alimasag, and a dish of finely diced green mango, bagoong, and whole boiled tomatoes at the center of the bilao. The seafood was delectable and fresh, and the uniquely Filipino setting was unmistakable. The chicken with the magic dahon flavor was also surprisingly tasty because of the combination of coconut milk, ginger, and the sweetness coming from the banana leaf.

The floating restaurant concept of Isdaan is both an advantage and a disadvantage. For the most part, the ambiance is unique and the floating huts above the water added more the dining experience. However, because the areas are a little far apart from each other, the service crew members are a little inefficient when it comes to taking orders and responding to the customers’ requests. It was a good thing that there were many things to be preoccupied with while waiting for the extra bottled water or following-up the order for a side dish that wasn’t served.

Hit the wall. The Tacsiyapo Wall.

(Photo by Dawn Fabrero)

To cap the Isdaan experience off, visitors queue up for a chance to use the Tacsiyapo Wall. Coined from the Northern Luzon term for “Shame on you!” the Tacsiyapo Wall is famous for allowing visitors to vent out their anger by hurling mugs and plates (and even vases and wall clocks) to the wall for a price. Inscribed with issues Pinoys are usually frustrated about such as “5/6,” “Mother/Father-in-law,” “Ex-boyfriend/girlfriend,” “Taksil,” “Intrigera/Tsimosa,” “Boss, Managers, Supervisors,” and many others, the predominantly red wall had become battered and cracked over years of cathartic shouts of “Tacsiyapo!” and throws from customers.

Within Isdaan is also a store where visitors can buy pasalubong such as fresh goat milk, carabao pastillas, and quesong puti.

Indeed, visitors can come to Isdaan not just to simply eat authentic Filipino cuisine but enjoy the ambiance and the setting quite unlike what can be usually found in the Metro.