unraveling the mystique of Isdaan

As the leadership course I was in wound down to a close last week, the participants, the resource people, and the organizers went to Isdaan Restaurant in Calauan, Laguna to celebrate.

Since its construction stages, I have been curious about this restaurant because the giant sculptures kept on changing. At the earliest stages, I thought I was seeing a statue of a gorilla. A few weeks later, I'd realized that I must have made a mistake because I was looking at a Buddha statue. Then later on, that statue seemed to have magically transformed into a Hindu mermaid princess!

The restaurant is certainly a crowd drawer. From what I'm hearing, people need to make reservations to make sure that they have a table on the day that they're visiting. It's nothing to wonder at though: there are so many things to see in Isdaan aside from eating. It isn't just a convenient stop over from the monotony of the road. It is also a destination in itself.

To prove this point, there is a stress-relieving activity in the restaurant -- if one's willing to pay. For Php 20, one can throw plates at a wall to release all that pent up anger. If feeling a bit more exasperated, there's also a tv screen that can be tossed, for a higher fee, of course.

Honestly though, the sound of smashing plates is not very comforting for me. I always cringe; it's a good thing that my group was seated away from this attraction. The sounds of the crashing plates were replaced by the occasional Filipiniana-clad trios who offered a few songs and by the drumbeats of the Ati-Atihan dance troop.

Also, we were seated closer to the souvenir shops. With the many items to choose from, it's quite obvious that this restaurant is designed as a major tourist attraction. Up for sale: beaded slippers, printed shirts, live plants, woven shoes... the list goes on.

With all these attractions, it's easy to forget about the food. In my case, I wasn't really blown away with the taste. Perhaps I was underwhelmed because we got steamed vegetables, grilled meat, fried fish -- food that could cater to almost any dietary restriction -- that were not really as tasty as I imagined food in such a restaurant would be. However, I did like the vegetarian noodles and the leche flan a lot.

All in all, my first visit to Isdaan was a pleasant experience... well, more than pleasant, I guess. It was a string of whoa! moments for me because of the sights and the sounds. If I hadn't been to the Tarlac branch, I would've said that I couldn't imagine something like this being in the Philippines.

I'll eat there again someday. I shall return.