Today is a beautiful day. We’re out with one of Christel’s batch mates from high school, Sam, to make a trip to the Pinto Art Museum which has beautiful exhibits built into a hill that’s open and has so much nature surrounding the buildings. There’s a lot of local art here which I love seeing when I got somewhere new and the Pinto was a photographic dream. I highly recommend it.

While we were out we decided we needed to go get some food and Christel hasn’t been in the Philippines very much for the last 8 years that she’s been doing school in America so we rely on Sam to take us somewhere cool. Our first pick is booked solid so she takes us somewhere else and it’s like a twist of fate because we were meant to see this restaurant and eat this food.

LOCATION: 22 Loresville Drive, Lores Farm Subdivision, Antipolo, 1870 Lalawigan ng Rizal, Philippines

Tahanan Bistro is beautiful. Tucked into a subdivision surrounded by houses we pull up thinking we have the wrong address. We open doors that lead to the garage wondering if we’re inadvertently breaking into someones house when a car drives by and gestures to us that we have the right place. We walk up to this really amazing wooden door and pull a string that rings a literal bell alerting a waiter that we’re out here.

There’s a porthole similar to a ship that opens out for people to look through but our waiter has been here long enough to just open the front door and welcome us in. As soon as the door opens we’re led into a beautiful garden and expansive koi pond with the largest fish I’ve seen in a setting like this. We walk into a wooden house with sliding doors and incredibly designed wooden tables and furniture.

Once we’ve had time to talk to our waiter he let’s us know that this house is owned and designed by famous Filipino woodworker Benji Reyes. He’s furniture is sold all over the world and is beautifully crafted and handmade. Having one of his pieces is having a piece of art in your home. Having a whole house designed by him is an experience in itself. Our waiter tells us of the years it took for Benji Reyes to source all of the wood he needed for this house before even had carving and designing it. It’s a masterpiece and makes you feel warm and comfortable though it’s all made of hard wood. Everything is so unique in design and we spend the meal discussing our favorite chairs, itching to explore the rest of the place.

We’re lucky today and there are only a few tables that are occupied so our waiter has time to answer our questions and we walk around after we eat to explore all the rooms and check out the local artwork including more benches and books showcasing Reyes’ skill.

Tahanan Bistro is operated by Reyes’ daughter Keesha and her partner Kevin Tuason after their time in Melbourne, Australia. The food is seasonal and changes from time to time to match the products available but this is a very upscale casual fine dining prix fix menu. There are three options to choose from, all at ₱1,350.00 which ends up being about $25 (a steal). Sam and I order a pitcher of the Lychee Iced Tea which is perfect. Their meun’s are after different plants/ and ingredients but the titles are based in Tagalog so I’m happy there are actual descriptions today.

Sam and Christel order the Kanloan set menu while I order the Arayat set menu. They’re both amazing and adventurous in different ways and I almost get the same but some courses throw me off and in the end I’m happy with my decision.

The Kanloan menu comes as Pusit - Squid ink pizza, squid adobo, house-made rigotta, mozzarella, crispy adobo isaw, cherry tomatoes, spinach, and lemon, Ubud - ubud, lettuce, peanuts, roasted garlic, smoked milkfish, and tuille, Pares - braised beef brisket, linguini, poached egg, pangrattato, green onion, and 70% dark chocolate, Prutas - a seasonal fresh fruit popsicle, and Ube - their famous purple yam and white chocolate lava cake, cheese ice cream, and edam crisp. We’ve heard good things about the Ube lava cake and the waiter says the Kanloan is their popular menu because of the dessert. Lucky for me I have Christel and Sam and they give me a taste so I don’t really miss out.

My Arayat menu comes out as Hipon - prawn and pumpkin ravioli, coconut cream, crispy prawn heads, smoked bacon, cured egg yolk, and cashew, Ubud - ubud, lettuce, peanuts, roasted garlic, smoked milkfish, and tuille,

Humba - Pork with pork crackling, polenta, pickled beetroot and jicama, squash flower tempura, arugula, and apple vinaigrette, Prutas - seasonal fruit popsicle, and Saging - dutch pancake, grilled banana, lemon whipped cream, and a pink peppercorn caramel.

This meal was perfect, it’s easily the most beautiful meal I’ve ever had with each plate coming out to look perfect. Because this place is so open and natural the light was incredible during the day and it was just so peaceful to be eating this amazing food while looking at nature and enjoying great company. All the dishes were perfectly portioned and we each finished every last bite of our dishes - I was the only exception being unable to completely finish the pork in the Humba course but we know how I get meat full so it wasn’t a surprised with three large cuts of meat to a plate. I can see why they set the portion that way though because I’m sure most people would be able to eat it all. The whole experience was incredible and if I get the chance to go back to the Philippines, this place is on my list to re-visit. I have a hard time when I’m traveling because I want to see everything so most places get one visit in a lifetime to be able to see more but this is worth the repeat. They menu changes three times a year as well so revisiting would yield a whole new meal but the setting is what makes this place so special.