The historic town of Kawit was a popular lunch destination for Manila foodies in the 1970s, when the 25-kilometer trip was pleasantly traffic-free and inexpensive even for motorists driving six-cylinder cars. City folk could not get enough of the fresh seafood offered by two restaurants, both built in the middle of productive and fully operational real fishponds Josephine’s and Seven Sisters. Fishermen tended the fishponds, unlike today’s fish restaurants, which keep fish in glass aquariums, ice boxes, shallow water basins, and freezers. The restaurants’ dishes were simple peasant meals: pinangat, pinaksiw, sinigang, and many kinds of shellfish harvested daily from oyster beds and shellfish bamboo farms nearby. The oysters, clams, mussel, and snails were kept alive in ponds called pabiyayan until ready to cook.

Vanzi, S. (2021, July 8). Have you tried Kawit's exploding fish?: A rare offering that's almost impossible to find. Manila Bulletin, pp. B-10, B-9.