Angono Rizal : Art and Food

Nemiranda's House

Angono Rizal is home to a number of artists, great food, and festivities. It also was a home to me when I was a kid. It was just on the recent years that I have appreciated my hometown. I would talk about my recent trip here to the famous, talk of the town art gallery and restaurant, Balaw Balaw.

Balaw Balaw Facade

Balaw Balaw is known as a specialty restaurant and an art gallery as well. The place is rustic, cozy, air-cooled and very antique. Many forms of art decorate the whole place. Colorful masks made from paper mache, large  sculptures of various religious personalities and different concepts and styles of paintings creates an artistic atmosphere where you may say that Filipino artists especially in Angono are undeniably talented.

Sculpture in Balaw Balaw

Sculpture in Balaw Balaw

Balaw Balaw Menu

Not to forget that Balaw Balaw is a specialty restaurant not just an art place or simply a work of art. Balaw Balaw is known for its exotic Filipino dishes. There are food made from frog legs, bayawak (monitor lizard), and snake. If you're not into these kinds of dishes, normal Filipino foods are also being served. Food are served w/ true Filipino ambiance, on banana leaves, and palayoks (clay pots). My recommendations are sinampalukang manok (chicken in a tamarind soup), Halabos (buttered shrimps), and bicol express (pork with extracts of coconut milk spiced with red and green hot pepper). Taste surpasses and justifies the price, normal dishes costs at an average of Php250.

Ensaladang Mangga & Halabos

Nemiranda's Gallery & Restaurant

Right around the corner, another famous art gallery / house now converted to a restaurant owned by Nemiranda greets us with the higantes (giants) on their front gate. These higantes are used during the higante festival on the 3rd week of November. I admire how Nemiranda designed his house/place thru his art. Walls and posts screams his artistic sculptures. He has his own gallery which displays his craft in painting. The entrance is converted to a restaurant called the Atelier Cafe. Food served are also somewhat exotic. Price and ambiance are no different with Balaw Balaw. It's a just a matter of choice on where to eat in these "artistic" restaurants.

Higante

Atelier Cafe

Atelier Cafe's K Shop

Nemiranda exhibit

Inside Nemiranda exhibit

"Small" Higantes

I bet that there are a dozen or more places to see aside from these art galleries in Angono. The well known Thunderbird resort is also found in the area. The place itself is very rural. Weather is humid but the winds are fresh and the whole atmosphere is very laid back. This place will always be a part of me. The place known as "Arts capital of the Philippines".