June 15, 2020

Very Intimate Wedding Dinner at Tahanan Bistro - Antipolo

I love weddings, from the huge and grand to the intimate and simple, I think I’ve seen it all!  Although I enjoy grand weddings due the extravagance of it, there are so many flaws that I always notice with huge weddings. For one, I observe that people always get tired of how long the hours is, which makes them bored and more often than not, people slowly leave after food was served. Then by the end of the event, almost three fourths of the guests are gone.




A small and intimate wedding lets you spend the entirety of your reception soaking in and appreciating the company of everyone. A small and intimate wedding not only makes it a relaxed and fun celebration for you, but also for your guests. A short and sweet guest list offers you quality time with your guests to celebrate your marriage, surrounded by people you love and who love you.

Depending on how intimate you want your wedding to be, you can actually save money. You can save thousands by having an intimate wedding, which means you won’t have to go over your budget. You can go all out and plan a vacation with the immediate family members to start a good bond between families and closest friends. Or you can just have a great lunch or dinner to a nice restaurant. The type of restaurant will still be depending on your choice, you can go casual or formal, and it’s all up to you.




As for my sister and my brother-in-law, they chose to have an intimate super low-key wedding dinner at a by-reservations-only restaurant, before their actual civil wedding at city hall. Their chosen wedding dinner venue was Tahanan Bistro in Antipolo City. It was around earlier this year, and the weather was still cool so the place being in the hills of Antipolo and an open-air restaurant, was just a perfect venue. 

Tahanan Bistro is a casual fine dining, family-run restaurant overlooking an expansive garden, forestry, and a view of Laguna de Bay. The dining area is set with floor to ceiling sliding doors, bringing the outdoors closer to its clienteles. The whoile restaurant can accommodate 45 people at a time and hold a booking only policy.




The restaurant has no signage and is situated inside a village in Antipolo. You can put it on Waze to locate it. It has a wooden door with a steel sun outside with a bay-bay-in symbols, and you will have to pull a wooden lever that serves as the doorbell. When you enter, you will pass by a hallway with ponds on both sides filled with Koi fishes. Since the floors are made of hardwood, you will be asked to remove your footwear and go bare feet, just how it is in most traditional Filipino homes. My sister and brother-in-law reserved the balcony which is a private area with a long table over-looking the garden. 




Tahanan Bistro combines elements of different culinary cuisines to offer innovations of traditional dishes. The food hinges from the produce and flavors found from various regions of the Philippine Islands. They say that they do not represent Filipino cuisine but are inspired by it. Their menu changes three times a year and they offer lunch and dinner. My sister and brother-in-law paid more or less PHP 1400 for each guest for a 5-course sit-down dinner. When all guests are present, the waiting staff will ask you which set you want, and they will cook it. 

As of now, they have three sets on their menu: Halcon, Mayon and Iraya. All sets differ when it comes to appetizer, main dish and dessert and all sets have the same salad and palate cleanser. So let me show you what's the dishes for each set:

As of now, they have three sets on their menu: Halcon, Mayon and Iraya. All sets differ when it comes to appetizer, main dish and dessert and all sets have the same salad and palate cleanser. 


HALCON

Kamote – Appetizer. This is baked sweet potato with chickpeas, Lucban longganisa pieces, mint salsa verde and  house-made ricotta cheese.



Pininyahang Manok – Main dish. Tahanan Bistro’s version of a contemporary Filipino dish which is smoked pan-seared chicken thighs, grilled pineapple, coconut milk, Hasselback potatoes, carrot puree and  capsicum. 



Ube – Dessert. Made of purple yam and white chocolate lava cake with cheese-flavored ice cream and  Edam cheese crisp. 




IRAYA

Gising - Gising – Appetizer. A unique take on the Ilocano dish which contains prawns and winged bean dumplings, leeks, coconut cream, herb oil, chili oil and house-made crispy pork floss. 



Bistek Tagalog – Main dish. This has braised beef shank, adlai, onion puree, charred white onions, parsley oil and fried Enoki mushrooms.



Fruit Salad – Dessert. This a healthy slightly sweet dessert made of chia pudding, seasonal fruits, champagne sabayon and cashew biscuit.




MAYON

Rellenong Pusit – Appetizer. A unique take to the usual rellenong pusit which is aligue-battered calamari, Moringa aioli, pesto, arugula and white wine vinaigrette.



Binagoongan Tagalog – Main dish. This is a traditional Filipino dish with some Mediterranean flavors that includes crispy pork belly, tomato and shrimp paste puree, Greek yoghurt, Baba Ghanoush and house-made crispy flat bread. 



Bibingka – Dessert. Instead of the usual rice cake, this one is made of French toast corn bread with  Barquillos, muscovado and fish sauce caramel topped with carabao's milk vanilla ice cream. 




Like I said a while back, all sets sets differ except for the salad and palate cleanser: 

Danggit Salad – quinoa, cherry tomatoes, mixed greens, roasted zucchini drizzled with lime vinaigrette.



Prutas – seasonal seasonal fresh fruit popsicles as a palate cleanser. During our visit, it was a citrus popsicle. 



As for the drinks, we tried the Lemongrass Iced Tea, Lychee Iced Tea, House Blend Sago and Apple Peppermint Iced Tea.



I’m usually not a fan of fine dining because most times, I feel like I’m not getting the value for my money because the serving of most fine dining dishes are measly. But over the years, I’ve tried a couple of fine dining restos and I’m slowly appreciating them. Maybe I just lucked out that I was able to visit really good ones and I leave the place, satisfied and full. A 5-course meal is actually heavy in the stomach; just what I experienced at Tahanan Bistro. Maybe another factor is that I tried the other two sets side from what I ordered. 




I almost wasn’t able to complete mine and had my brother finish off my main dish and dessert. The appetizers were not just there to rev up your desire to eat, it was already filling. I loved each and every dish that I tried. My set was the Mayon; although the Binagoongan was really good with touches of Mediterranean flavor in it, it was the least of my favorite. The pork and the fat were really juicy and tender, but the cut for me was a little bit large and the fat content of the pork was too thick for my liking. If you have a big appetite you will like this. I think I was only able to finish 2-3 slices. My favorites would be Ube, Gising-Gising, Bistek Tagalog, Rellenong Pusit and the Danggit Salad. I wish you could personalize your set but that was not the case. Good thing this is a casual fine dining so it's not embarrassing to ask to taste other people's food, plus they are my family so yeah not at all awkward.




Tahanan Bistro is in itself a destination. The woods used for this the place is made of 100 percent reclaimed wood. The bistro also houses within it a portion of a celebrated artist's art gallery. Where you can find a plethora of art forms, inside the restaurant, the art gallery and also in the garden area. Remember when I said earlier that once all of the guest of the party has arrived, the staff will ask you for your choice of set and that’s the only time they will cook the food. So in between or while waiting, you can check out the art gallery or the garden. 



TAHANAN BISTRO 
22 Loresville Drive Lores Farm Subdivision
Barangay San Roque, Antipolo, Rizal
Contact Nos: 0925 880 1487
Email: inquiry@tahananbistro.com


For more information, complete menu and restaurant reviews, check out their Zomato profile: 
Tahanan Bistro Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato



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22 comments:

  1. What a way to celebrate your special day to a place that is so homie. Very patriotic din yung mga names ng dish variants nila. Also, you look very beautiful and happy on your photographs.

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  2. This is a good destination in Antipolo. I love the homey ambiance, the lumber details and of course, the garden. I am interested to try their Pininyahang manok.

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  3. This is a lovely place to host parties. I love it's homey appeal and i have weakness with koi!

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  4. Firstly, you have a beautiful family! Oh I haven't been to intimate weddings yet, sadly. The weddings here in the Cordillera region are extravagant, especially those who are very traditional. There are many rituals and they should invite the whole brgy. almost like the whole town. LOL.

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  5. This looks like a great place for celebrations like weddings! Those Filipino food look delicious! And it’s great that there are artworks for viewing while waiting for the food.

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  6. Most weddings nowadays are sooo expensive and extravagant. Normally it's minimum 100 guests. But I also prefer a small and intimate wedding in the future (who knows?). I love the ambiance of this restaurant, it's very nature-ish. and I like the modern Filipino cuisine they have there. Congrats to the newlyweds!

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  7. I've heard about this place from a friend who lives close by the area. Unfortunately, this is quite inaccessible to my place. Looking at the photos you shared, I somehow had experienced this place. I hope to be able to see this place for myself.

    Btw, this is well-written and the photos were brilliantly captured :) Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Congratulations to the new couple. They look good ah. I also love the place and the food. It sounds really authentic and feels just righr for a small and intimate gathering. I think that would be the norm now after quarantine. This is a def a great idea.

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  9. Wedding planners and wedding hosts should really be creative to keep the guest engaging and keeping them until the end of the program. Those food makes me crave, and looking at the pictures of Tahanan Bistro I can say that the place is very relaxing and perfect not just for events but also for just a simple family dinner ❤️

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  10. I once attended an intimate wedding dinner and since then, parang ganong wedding na yung gusto kong attenan kasi I like that there are few people lang which makes it easy for me to socialize. LOL! This place is really cozy and super lakas maka romantic. And that 5-course meal, omg!

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  11. I like how every detail of the place was given a highlight, and ofcourse the food they serve. This place is perfect reception, to those who has just celebrated their pandemic wedding I guess.

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  12. Oh I love their intimate wedding setup. I used to dream of an extravagant wedding but practically speaking, it is not feasible. Now I prefer intimate weddings where people are not bored and are all connecting to the couple. Plus, the venue offers a unique vibe and set of meals. Love this article!

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  13. Best wishes sa sister mo! Ang ganda nung place at yung mga pics mo ng food nakakatakam! Sana one of these days ma-try namin diyan sa Tahanan Bistro.

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  14. I agree, the difference between a huge and lowkey wedding. Nice blog😊

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  15. Wow! This place is amazing! 😍 From the overall place to the foods, everything is perfect! 😍

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  16. i agree with the long wait during the wedding, its fine if they have prepared some food and activities that guests can enjoy. but if there is none, thats a no. the place is super beautiful, i think my sister wants to get married at this church in antipolo ill refer this to here if in case.

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  17. very homey ng facade. when you go here pala, you have to be allotting a few hours for relaxation talaga because you need to wait for the food. very good concept kasi diners/visitors are meant to socialize given the waiting time and the availability of the gallery to roam around in. plus the scenic Laguna de Bay that diners could just talk about while waiting.

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  18. Delicious foods, i remember when their is a wedding in our baranggay in province, everbody's invited.

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  19. I got quite hungry while reading this post haha thanks for sharing this! I might go here with my boyfriend after the pandemic!:)

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  20. Hi Jen, I love how detailed your blog post is about Tahanan Bistro --- from the food, the ambiance, the overall vibe of the place. Also, I can't agree more that intimate celebrations such as this will give you more space to appreciate the other details and enjoy the company of the people more. Grand weddings are often tiring :D Experienced that so many times.

    What matters is that at the end of the day, the celebration is about the union of two people in marriage no matter how simple it is.

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  21. That's a really interesting take on Gising gising. Ngayon lang ako nakakita nang ganyang version. Pero mukhang classy at masarap ang preparation -- and I honestly love the idea of a very intimate wedding. If I can only go back, I'd do so and uninvite 90% of our guests, hahaha

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  22. Oh! I've heard about this place before and I didn't know na sa Antipolo pala sya :) Masarap daw talaga ang food nila and very homey and ambiance.

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