Banay Banay Eatery - Lipa

This restaurant in Lipa City is a favorite dining destination for locals and travelers alike, being conveniently located along the main highway. It has also attracted many celebrities as patrons. The menu offers a variety of Chinese and Filipino dishes, and one of the best things about this restaurant is its affordable prices.

There are plenty of options to choose from on the menu, all of which are authentic Filipino Batangas dishes. There is a wide variety of choices available. The prices are reasonable and the servings are generous. The flavors are delicious. For those driving, there is ample parking with CCTV and security guards. The atmosphere is not as fancy as a fine dining restaurant, but it doesn't matter as the focus is on satisfying cravings. Two thumbs up!

I never had it so good at a local eatery: Kaldereta, Calamares, Bulalo, Barbecue. There was what looks like grilled tilapia which I didn’t get because it was on the other side of the table. I had line of sight too for some kind of shrimp dish which I refused because the shrimp was small and I had to work a bit to get into the meat. There are times when the best meal is one which I can just throw in my mouth and chew. The first four that I mentioned were just right, some even delicious. I’m not partial to Calamares; some put too much starch; others time it really bad that it becomes rubbery. I enjoyed this one. Texture is also a common mistake in beef recipes but no mistake in the Kaldereta, Bulalao, and Barbecure I just ate. We had a 72 year old woman with us and she finished off that Bulalo which I did not expect, because I had my eyes on it. Had that thing become a little more on the rubbery side most likely she would have stuck with the fish. Barbecue was heaven. Kaldereta just right. I was with a government monitoring team circling about in the province that day. As one of the newer faces around they gave me the standard assurances: masarap dito (it’s delicious here). Plus they charge at government rates which was the team leader’s funny way of saying it’s affordable. Since I was not only the new face stories about Lando and Lorie’s Banay Banay continued. They started small and now they expanded it, his hands waving towards the back. It’s a big lot with parking space. I don’t know how big the parking space was but it was full and we had to park on the road. We came there lunch time, that place was packing. There was a low point, the team leader said, when Star Toll was constructed. Perhaps what he meant was the loss of road traffic because every road traveler preferred the bigger highway than the inner towns. But the people returned. They had competition but not anymore. There’s no better endorsement for a place to eat than the number of people that do eat in it. I looked around a bit at Google Street View, those people eating Lando and Lorie’s that lunch time with us had to travel. The eatery is not in the middle of town to generate foot traffic. People come here for the good food and you can too.

Things that come to mind… inexpensive, reasonable, fast, clean, local, popular, full, burp If I didn’t know any better, I’d compare this place to the big truck pit stops in the USA. Not the parking size though but the ambiance, people, and food! Definitely no shortage in variety, price is very very reasonable. Favorite dishes: Radish salad Chicharon bituka Pork BBQ Fried vegetable lumpia Grilled Tilapia Calamares Not so good: Dinuguan Remember: Go to the food counter, ask for the viands you like, bring to your table, EAT Ask for the bill and watch closely how they compute (this will amaze you)

I was extremely impressed with the food and service at this restaurant. They serve delicious Tagalog dishes that are both simple and satisfying for hungry travelers. The process of placing orders, receiving the bill, and making payments is straightforward and user-friendly. I particularly loved the bulalo soup and sisig. The food is both tasty and reasonably priced. I would highly recommend this restaurant.