Floating Malabon resto afloat for more than a decade

text and photos by ROSETTE S. ADEL

University of Santo Tomas Journalism program

MALABON CITY—A FISHING pond here has become the 12-year-old beehive of a floating restaurant here in this flood-prone city. 

Now, 12-year-old Balsa sa Niugan added a relaxing place for coffee lovers out there.

This floating restaurant and fishing garden in M. Aquino Street, the first in the city, just opened its coffee shop. Its capacity is 300-strong.

Balsa sa Niugan was established on July 18, 1998 under the ownership of a family-owned corporation, the Centennial Raft and Allied Services Inc..

Asked about the name ‘Balsa sa Niugan’, Manager Loreta Geronimo said that it was her husband, Santy, who had thought of it. Most of the facilities they have were made of rafts which are literally called ‘Balsa’ meaning floating raft made from bamboos that is why they used the name ‘Balsa sa Niugan’. 

Mr. Geronimo was also the one who conceptualized the design of Balsa sa Niugan—to cover the dining area, extension area, The Balsa area, Kubo area, Pavilion area, fishing area, and the “Kapihan sa Balsa,” which was opened last June 20 (Father’s Day). 

“Each area was gradually added as extensions for our facilities,” Mrs. Geronimo said.

The said areas may be used for events like weddings, baptismal, seminars, reunions, birthday parties and conferences as well as occasional reservations.

“Balsa sa Niugan caters to people from all walks of life, from classes A to C,” says Mrs. Geronimo. 

The restaurant’s menu consists of Filipino dishes, seafoods, sizzlings, Japanese and Chinese foods, and cocktail drinks which are being served daily on their operating hours from noon till midnight. “Kapihan sa Balsa” serves brewed coffee, cakes, and pastries.

Dining afloat in a fishpond with a cool relaxing ambiance of our open-air place makes us distinct, says Mrs. Geronimo.

Having been in the industry for 12 years now, Balsa sa Niugan has established its niche in the food retail industry in Malabon. 

However, like any other business in Malabon, the location itself is a drawback. Mrs. Geronimo said that because Malabon City is a flood-prone area, whenever there is flood or typhoon, they cannot operate. 

Its owners refuse to disclose how much the restaurant earns annually.

As for the community, Barangay Kagawad Rizalito De Guzman said that he sees no problem with the establishment of Balsa sa Niugan.

“Since the establishment is being featured on television and newspapers, our Barangay (Brgy. Niugan) is also being promoted in the process.” Johanne Bautista a resident of Brgy. Flores, Malabon City said that the concept of Balsa sa Niugan being a floating restaurant “is a good one”. She said that because of this people from other places visit Malabon to experience dining in Balsa, therefore it promotes local tourism benefitting the flood-prone city.

“Balsa sa Niugan a good place for sightseeing, although one thing I find negative about it is that there are lots of mosquitoes during night time because the water is stagnant,” says Marion Karenina Sagun, a resident of Brgy. Tinajeros.

But with simple rafts serving as the restaurant’s humble beginnings, the little pond where Balsa sa Niugan started has become a sea of livelihood for the Geronimo family and the city.

Rosette Adel, a third year Journalism student of UST, submitted this story for her Newspaper Practice and Management class.

Author's note: *I am just reposting my article from our Newspaper Practice and Management class. It was also posted in Pinoy Community Newswire 

-September 13, 2010. This was a site organized by our then Asst.Prof. Jeremaiah Opiniano. This article was also published in: The Philippine Business and News Forum

-November 10, 2010. However they already removed it when they updated their website.*

Whatever happened to A.Y. 2010-2011

...and to everything else in between.

I drafted this blog some days ago thinking of what to write because the school year was just full of emotions that I can't put it into words.

Like every school year, there are a lot of stories to tell with this one. Happy ones, sad ones and undefinable ones. Of course, all of those things are what's keeping it worth remembering. To say the least it has been one of the hardest school years so far for I've got to deal with a lot of things aside from school works. There's a lot of pressure going on especially on the latter part where I have to organize the things needed for my internship this summer. Luckily though, I got over all the hardships and passed the subjects not with flying colors but still just right and something to be thankful for. After all the shoots for PhotoJourn, schedule mishaps, shoots for ArtApp Docu, long hours in front of my laptop editing and transcribing videos, interviews here and there, editing of research papers. it's all done and I'm off to face another one this coming June. A big one, for it'll hopefully be my last year in UST. Oh yes, that fast already. We'll be the official Quadricentennial Senior batch by May 31. I don't know what to feel with that but I'm glad I've overcome six semesters already. So whatever happened to Academic Year 2010-2011 will just stay there. And whatever I will feel this coming school year is something that I am looking forward to.

UST @ 400

My school, The Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas, is celebrating its Quadricentennial year this 2011 and I am lucky to have witnessed it and be a part of its history, in a way.


Here's a glimpse of UST @ 400:

(Main Building, December 2010)

(Christmas Lights, December 2010)

(Poy dancers at Lover's lane, Paskuhan 2010)

(Hello, guys! This is me enjoying Paskuhan 2010!)

(The most-awaited, Paskuhan fireworks!)

(Ely Buendia and his band Pupil caps the night with their hits \m/)

"Kaninang umaga nagising ako may bakas ng ngiti sa mukha. Kasama kita sa aking panaginip, sasabihin ko dapat sa'yo pero wala ka na.. wala ka na pala.." -Nasaan ka, Pupil

The countdown to 400 years started December 16, 2009 and the celebration continues til we reach 2011. Paskuhan 2009 and 2010 were part of these celebrations. What I love about Paskuhan 2010 are the bands, Up Dharma Down, Franco, Kamikaze and of course, Pupil. The night ended my December with a bang.

2011

(Athena, Faculty of Arts and Letters represent)

Quadri Program Countdown to 400
January 27, 2011(Thomasians started the night with a solemn prayer)

(The UST field and Granstand's jampacked that night, amazing!)

(Time warp 1611-2011)

(Alumni RJ Jimenez on-stage)

"If we fall in love, maybe we'll sing this song as one." -If we fall in love, RJ Jimenez

(Jugs Jugueta of Itchyworms rocked the night out as he went down the stage)

They sang Beer, Akin ka na lang, Love team, Penge naman ako niyan, the Showtime theme song and etc.

(From L-R Apple Chiu, Sarah Geronimo and Jamie Rivera)

(Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano)

(Royal and Pontifical. Confetti showered as the clock strikes 12!)

I was lucky I got media pass to cover this Quadri Program for my org. I totally enjoyed the night because however tiring it was, my school spirit was relived. It was an overwhelming experience and at the same time I feel like I've seen the history of my school unfold before me. Amazing feeling I have.

Quadri Fiesta
January 28, 2011

Free food! ...dated on the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas. I was too tired the previous night because the Quadri Program ended late and my body's aching from standing too long while covering but I can't miss this once in a lifetime event. So yeah, I still went to school and I was surprised that there are long lines of people waiting for the food. Two thumbs up for the food supplies: Elan's lechong baboy, lechong manok, Max's, bucket of rice and many more. It was a fiesta indeed! It was actually cute seeing students eating at the Quadricentennial park with all their plates and utensils. it's like a one big picnic, only happier because I'm with the Thomasian Community. And yes, should I highlight that everything is FREE?! I guess there's no need.

My Quadri-experience was so far so good and I'm looking forward to more exciting events this year. And I would love to savor each of those because it's gonna be my last year in UST (hopefully) (*fingers crossed*). On top of that, I enjoyed all these because I spent it with people close to me, I'd still love to share the future events with them because they're something that will make it more worthwhile.

First sem A.Y. 2010-2011: Photo-blogged

If I were to describe the First Semester I've had, I'll use a line from Eminem and Rihanna's Love the way you lie, "I can't tell you what it really is, I can only tell you what it feels like..".
Exactly that, because it is hard to describe but in five words it is:
1. Sleep-depriving- Sometimes I don't even sleep. Now, my body clock's reversed. Screwed. I'm always alive during the wee hours of the night. Turned zombie. I.need.to.restart.my.bodyclock. Seriously.
2. Too hectic- deadlines here and there, write. write. write. (even when writer's block happen almost every time that I needed it) Juggled three editorial tasks along with quizzes, projects and exams for I was an EIC for a group in Lit, Assoc Ed for a group in Feat and Features Ed for a group in NPM. Tiring but I got through it easily because of good and helpful colleagues,Thank God!
3 and 4.Fun and memorable- I got to meet awesome people, cover events, do things I've never done before, gained a lot of experience with a rollercoaster of emotions and taught me some tough lessons (good or bad), travel, have photoshoots, sleepover, interviews, learn a lot of things, practice them,and get good grades in the process. and I guess that is why it ended as #5. Fulfilling. The word itself says it all.

I think these aren't enough though, in a span of almost 5 months so much has happened and I guess it'd be more vivid if I put them into photos. Let's include the non-school related stuff as well.

June

June 16, 2010.Wednesday. Taken right after Sir Nestor Cuartero's first Feature Writing Class meeting. After this day, so much has happened. A magazine project etc.

July

July 9, 2010. Watched this for free! I'm a sucker for concerts that I joined a contest on radio. Thanks to U92FM for this opportunity. I was hella lucky to win tickets especially that this is THE USHER. Totally made me OMG!

August

Met two Legendary personalities. National Artist for Literature, F. Sionil Jose at the Annual Journalism Seminar and Manix Abrera, my favorite cartoonist!

September

Mona's 18th and Trojan Women shoot for Achaean Lith magazine. I had fun on both.

October

Had a free Walk this way tour, courtesy of the Mr. Carlos Celdran. I was also able to interview him for Halo-Halo magazine and Metro Bullet News blog. He was the man of the hour then because of the Damaso thing and I was lucky he agreed for an interview.

There are several memories to share but those were just some that encapsulated over the past five months. I know second sem will add more to these. I am looking forward to that.

How Our Classrooms Suddenly Turned Into Newsrooms?

School year 2010-2011 opened exactly a week and a day ago. Upon the opening of this new semester comes greater responsibility (Not that Tobey Maguire responsibility kind of thing but just simple responsibilities like not being late on class, if you get what I mean), bigger changes, and a lot of adjustments to make. There's a lot in store for us on our Third year in UST.

Aside from our building being newly painted and renovated, our schedules and room assignments changed. Even professors and instructors do, plus we now have four major subjects to take. Most of our classes now ends at 9pm, 5-day class everything on the afternoon shift. These courses are more complicated than the previous ones, and note that each class's duration is 3 hours. Very different from the one-hour or one-and-a-half class morning shift classes that we got used to. This must be the price we pay for somehow slacking off on our first two years in College, adjustment's inevitable. This got to be the real thing. I foresee challenges ahead. A lot actually. I observed this on the past first five days I've been spending on different classrooms. Maybe the only thing that didn't change was our block, same familiar faces but better ones I must say.

June 16 happened, and in one snap...

Our classrooms suddenly turned into newsrooms, how?

We instantly became reporters/writers/researchers our Professors or Instructors became our boss and editors. We research for stories then submit our articles on deadline, they check it. That's just about it. Sounds easy? Truth be told, it just sounds like it but the process is not as easy as that. I speak for myself, I don't know with others. Some are born to write anyway.

Meanwhile, about the experience I'm learning a lot. I'm trying to note what I've been learning so far.

On Lit 3, The professor said we should keep up on our acads because the only choice we have is either to sink or swim.

On Feature Writing, The professor stressed out that we should mean whatever we say and whatever we say we'll mean. He also said that everyday is a deadline for writers. These deadlines drives us crazy but when it does, it makes us work harder since it gives us undue pressure.

On News paper practice and management, The professor said deadlines are sacred. Indeed it is.

On Literary Journalism, The professor highlighted some anecdotes about the misfortunes of reporters who got late. Tardiness should be strictly avoided on our field.

These are just some, I also have Spanish, I.T. in the Newsroom, Experimental Psychology, Filipino 2 classes where I've also learned a lot. I note what they say, because I believe everything matters. I've had a lot of lessons in my head over the week, imagine that. It's good that I'm learning. First day was not just mere orientation or the same old introduce-yourself-in-class session, some segway-ed their lessons already. On one class we even had a mock press-conference. Classrooms surely turned into newsrooms. We may encounter several surprises like this along the way, I must prepare. Or at least I should be alert or aware. (I can't find the perfect word. ha.)

So this has been me, reporting to you the happenings on my come back to school, I'd be updating you when something's newsworthy enough, wait for the next deadline.

By the way, I posted some photos of my second assignment below, to interview a Freshman at the Thomasian Walk. I am working on this article now with my oh-so-reliable friend/partner Bianca. Good luck to us! (In case you're wondering what's my first assignment, it is a critique paper on any feature article of my choice, there.)





(Covered the Thomasian Welcome Walk yesterday. Freshmen spirits on high!)

heart-BREAKING DAWN

HEART-BREAKING DAWN

HEART-BREAKING DAWN it is..

After those series of unfortunate events that I've gone through, I'm still thankful I'm still here and back to blogging.(for now) It has actually been exactly 4 months and 2 days since my last entry and I'm sorry to disappoint you that this entry has really nothing to do with TWILIGHT SAGA or whatever it is affiliated with the title, I just feel that it fits my mood right now. Melancholic yet gratified after all.

Why melancholic, unfortunate and why heart-breaking dawn? Do I sound like an 'emo chic' in here? Well, I hope not. haha! It is not something serious though, looking back months
ago I just felt melancholic. I mean, starting College was such a big adjustment and I've had like tons of first time experiences here. Before, after having my phone robbed, commuting was hell. I cannot even go to school without any companion, but as it is I need to learn something from it. I met a lot of people and some turn out to be my friends now, others just acquaintances that may also be a friend someday. I'm glad about what freedom College and AB gave me. It was my first time to go home so late for being stuck on traffic, first time to meet UAAP players, first time to watch Pep Rally, Have PE class with awesome groupmates, Frozen moments and Scary happenings, Be part of a community which share a unique camaraderie as a THOMASIAN. "One for UST" as they say, what a school spirit I yearned just with this semester. Every time I go to school having jeepney ride and entering RM. 215 it was as if my day is just starting, it is so unpredictable but at the end of the tiring day it was always fun to be in that section "1JRN3". As the story goes, the semester gave me perks that helped me during my adjustment period as a froshie but it's not always a happy experience in reality, there are 'unfortunate events', I am a human not exempted from this kind of events, I am not a Dean's Lister for my own fault, I was not able to report on a class day and that gave me my first wonderful grade "3.0". Of course I'm thankful that I passed but I can't take off the thought that I slept 3 am every time I do hardcore reports or projects and I squeezed and gave out every effort I have on my system so that I'll have good grades but things can't always go my way, maybe I deserve what I got or maybe I do not but I know God is there to give justice to what I deserve and to what is really planned for me.

Sure disappointments are heartbreaking and brings me to despair but it could also be a step to moving forward. There are millions or infinite reasons enough to be thankful for and for me to be happy. Every bit of thing takes time and effort, even waking up does. Today is the breaking dawn as the semester has ended. The Chapter 1 is closed and cannot be edited for it has already been published, tomorrow is something to look forward to, it is the "NEW MOON" of my life. Wish me luck for my enrollment and clearance tomorrow, I guess it is hello 2nd sem!

Time of my life.

After "total-none blogging days,weeks and months", finally, I'm back to blogging.

This would be the first for '08. (err.)

So, what would I be blogging about? eh?

This could be about the essence of David Cook's winning song in the recent American idol which was titled "Time of my life". Once again I'm here relating my life to a song. (Now, you probably knew how addicted I am to MUSIC. ;p) So here it goes, March was a blast for me. I mean really I had a lot of 'firsts' that month though it also signals 'bye byes' and happy ending.

March 1. The first concert I ever watched. Not that I haven't seen some international or local acts perform on mall tours and such live but it's still different to be on a dome where crowds are hyped with unexplainable energy. I still won't regret my decision of giving up a day of working on my thesis and exchanging throat and heart throbbing moments while waving my hands way up high with Ne-yo's Because of You concert. Singing out loud sure is way better than squeezing the nerves of my brain for my thesis. (C'mon! put your hands in the air! haha.) I wonder how my batchmates felt cramming that day while I was having the time of my life at the big dome. (Envy me! Kidding =D)

March 29. Commencement day.
It feels so good to graduate as one of my alumna friends said. I totally agree. A million percent more. It's like you were attending the grammy awards in Hollywood and you're one of those nominees for the night. Emotions are stirred from the preparation. grad practices. royal march and till you reap the fruits of your labor, getting your diplomas. (Ahhh...nothing compares to it.) It was a joyous moment for everyone except the fact that we're saying bye bye to our home for 12 years. Our comfort zones. But as for me, it doesn't really matter. Memories would still count the most for it is a history made, never will it change.

This June, as I recall those memories: hellos and bye-byes. I open a new chapter, my College life, which I yet haven't conquered. More so, I'm looking forward to a "new time of my life".

Rants and stuff.

Citizen Army Training (CAT). Swimming Classes. Late Night Sleeps. Livelihood classes. Journalism Class. etc. etc.

Ah..finally, I'm a certified SENIOR.

I don't know what to expect but I know that in the process there would be lots of learning in a hard way, but, this would still count as my treasured memory. 

As they say, High School is the best part of school.

I don't agree but I don't disagree either cause I'm "IN" it right now.

Let's just say I am on the process of discovering it yet.

Sooner or Later, I will find the answers.

I just hope that along the way everything would be fine and I'm definitely looking forward to overcoming everything with pride without quitting and the feeling of despair.

I really do. This is my last year in High School. It should be my best.

Best of luck to my batch mates, Batch '07-'08.=)