When in El Nido: The Red Crab Alimango House

After days of swimming, snorkeling and climbing in Apulit and Miniloc, R and I were looking forward to finally relax at Lio, El Nido. Just thinking about lounging on its long shore and enjoying the area's chill vibe made us excited. But another thing made us giddy to spend a few days in this newly developed area... and that was to feast on good seafood.

Hello, The Red Crab Alimango House.

The Red Crab Alimango House opened in Lio Estate just last April and it's one of the best places to dine in the area.

Cheap Bites: Above Sea Level

Above Sea Level has been one of the most successful concepts that started in food parks. It started in January 2017 and grew to over a hundred branches and franchises nationwide. And last April, it found a new home at Pobstacion. Its fragrant dishes made it hard for us to ignore its famous battered butterfly squid. 

Hello, Above Sea Level.

Consistent with its vision to be identified as the first seafood fast food brand in the country, our crunchy treats were served within 10 minutes.

The Red Crab Alimango House opens in El Nido

Crab is probably the only seafood I have a love-hate relationship with. I love eating its fresh and slightly sweet meat, not to mention that divine crab fat. But getting all those could be a pain. And more often than not, I avoid ordering crab if it's not de-shelled as I've developed a bit of trauma from being hurt while cracking open those long legs. Then again, seeing ginormous ones could be too hard to resist especially when its a restaurant's specialty. 

Hello, The Red Crab Alimango House. 

If you've been to The Red Crab Alimango House in Manila, you'd know that this establishment takes "crab" seriously as it is one of the best places to satisfy your hunger for this delectable crustacean. 

First Bite: Holy Crab!

Part of our Aguirre itinerary is E’s sister’s seafood restaurant. I haven’t been to this place before and it didn’t really make a lot of noise as well hence being out of the looloo radar. But I’m sure glad we stopped by.

Hello, Holy Crab!

The not so new seafood restaurant has the same concept as Boiling Crab in the US and Shrimp Bucket here in Manila. I heard though that Holy Crab was the first one to bring such concept here in Manila. It’s just that the other player was a bit more aggressive in expanding. 

The smell of shelled fish was the first thing I noticed as soon as I stepped inside the restaurant. It reminded me of dampa. It wasn’t funky; but it wasn’t exactly pleasant as well. 

Since we just came from Bamba Bistro, I was a bit hesitant to order a dish for myself so I decided to just share with E and K. 

We ordered Mussels in Garliky-Lime and Salted Eggs Sauce (PHP330), Grilled Tuna Belly (PHP260), and a pitcher of Raspberry Cooler (PHP175). 

Service was fast and first served was our drink which was refreshing but dilluted. 

Mussels were served next and it was a pretty generous serving. One order was definitely good for sharing. 

First Bite: Johnny Kahuku's Hawaiian Shrimp House

I first spotted Johnny Kahuku's Hawaiian Shrimp House in the South but never had the chance to visit as I had dinner plans elsewhere. But food gods want me to drop by this place and soon, I found myself in front of this colourful establishment’s North branch one Saturday afternoon. 

Hello, Johnny Kahuku's Hawaiian Shrimp House! 

It was like being transported to Hawaii as soon as you step foot inside the restaurant designed as a shrimp shack. The colorful wall decor, warm lights and wooden furniture are so inviting and cozy making it a nice place for family lunches or dinners or a nice catch up meal with friends. 

Johnny Kahuku is known for its seafood fare so we went with Tuna Ahi Poke (PHP365), Island Pride (PHP595, 6 pcs of shrimp | PHP645, 9 pcs of shrimp), Fiesta Paella (PHP899) and Tropical Chill (PHP285). 

First served was the tuna ahi poke bowl which was chilled ahi tuna drizzled with ginger shoyu sauce on top of rice. You may opt for brown rice for no additional cost. 

The tuna cubes were undeniably fresh. I loved the subtle sweet taste from the dressing which went so well with the Japanese rice. 

Second Bite: Adaäm and Yves

Organic? Blargh! Most restaurants that use that word come up with hella expensive dishes. And when this trend was still in its earlier stages, most establishments have no clue how to make it more palatable. I recall trying some out and I felt robbed for eating grass that costs like steak. A couple years later, they finally got the idea that healthy does not exactly have to be yucky. And one restaurant that captured my heart and tummy is… Adaäm and Yves.

Hello, Adaäm and Yves.

It has been a few months since I last visited this dark yet charming place. The industrial interiors truly give this place a chill ambiance while its accent lights add elegance.

R and I were the early birds that night. The place just opened when we got in and the servers were still busy putting all the cutleries and condiments in place.

It was quite warm inside the restaurant as they just turned on the AC. The perk though of being early is the undivided attention of the staff.

Since R wasn’t very hungry, we decided to share Cabo Quesadillas (PHP340) and A Day is Ibiza (PHP495). We also ordered a glass of Coco Rocha (PHP175) for a sweet treat.

Service was quick as our dishes arrived in less than 20 minutes.

The serving of Cabo Quesadillas is quite generous and good for sharing. The toasted tortilla, which reminded me of crunchy pancake, was topped with free-range chicken sausage bits, cheese and sour cream.

I loved the play of textures and flavors. The crunchy base, soft and slightly salty chicken sausage bits, and creamy and tangy sauces all made this dish divine. I also loved the delightful sunny-side up egg that I had the pleasure to poke for its yellow yolk to ooze.

I was a bit disappointed with the serving size of the paella. It was quite small and it was even more expensive than the quesadillas. But it had two pieces of prawns,mussels and clams so... fine. 

I liked the texture of the Valencian-style organic red rice. It was slightly firmer than the usual grains I eat on regular days. It went well with the seafood toppings and it was even better with lemon juice drizzled on it to balance the paella's saltiness. It was also pretty heavy despite its small serving size.

Hong Kong Food Stop: Sushi One

It’s been a while since I last visited Hong Kong. I remember that I had a hard time there as I was not an adventurous foodie then. I was stuck with Yoshinoya and McDonald’s. But things change. I am now game to eat anything as long as it will most likely not make me sick and Hong Kong evolved into a foodie paradise.

R and I were not exactly famished yet when we arrived in Hong Kong but since we wanted to maximize our trip, we walked around Nathan Road (Tsim Sha Tsui) and entered small alleys near it. That was when we saw this Japanese restaurant with a sushi conveyor belt. And as a sucker for these sushi conveyor belt or sushi-go-round, we went in.

Konnichiwa, Sushi One!

I was thrilled to dine at Sushi One. And I waited for some sushi to be placed on the belt for me to take some photos and videos. Sadly, the place wasn’t packed so there were not as many sushi on the belt. (The foodie in me holding a camera cried a puddle.)

To order, we had to accomplish several checklists depending on what we fancy. We went with Seared Salmon (HK$17), Seared Fatty Salmon with Sauce (HK$19), Shrimp Tempura (HK$29), Grilled New Zealand Mussels with Mayo and Cheese (HK$36), and Dancing Spider Roll (HK$36).

First served were the two kinds of salmon sushi.

The seared salmon was your usual salmon sushi. What was notable here was the fresh salmon cut. It was the type that melts in your mouth. Delightful!

I preferred the seared salmon with sauce though as it had more flavor to it. It was slightly sweet. This was sooo good that there were fireworks in my mouth to celebrate such taste.

The shrimp tempura was nothing special but it helped fill the tummy. I would have preferred to order more salmon instead of this one though.

R loved the grilled mussels. It went really well with mayo and cheese. The mussels, just like salmon, were undeniably fresh. And for the price, it wasn’t bad at all. 

The silky smooth texture of the mussels with its faint sweet taste with the slight tanginess of the cheese and richness of the mayo was a killer combo.

Love at First Bite: Matutina’s Seafood Restaurant

R told me about this great seafood restaurant called Matutina on our way to Baguio. But since we were still full on our way (as we stopped over an icky McDonald’s) and we were too sleepy on our way home, we missed having a meal there. But a few weeks back, we stayed at a place which was near a few branches when we went to Clark for C’s big day. We didn’t exactly plan to drop by but R’s dad craved for it and so…

Hello, Matutina’s Seafood Restaurant!

It was a simple no frills seafood restaurant that has a bit of Padi’s Point minus alcohol feel to it. (Or let’s change it to Gerry’s Grill as an easier reference.)

Uncle H already ordered for us and we had Bangus na Inihaw (PHP130), Tanigue Kilawin (PHP180), and Sizzling Bangus Sisig (PHP180).

While waiting for our fish, we munched on some coconut candies wrapped like pastillas which were yummy! I failed to take photos as I was already hungry then.

For the price, the grilled milk fish was huge. It was grilled well as it was still juicy when it was served to us. I enjoyed it with soy sauce with calamansi.

Look at that belly!!!

Pie Day: Lombardi’s

I love celebrating all those random “special” days. One of which is Pi/Pie/White Day. Celebrated every 14^th of March (3.14), I make sure that I do something on that day. And I did this year. But one thing I failed to do was to eat pizza. Since I must have pizza that weekend, I went to… Lombardi’s.

Hello, Lombardi’s!

I recall the last time I visited was around October of last year with a few college friends and we had pizza too! Lombardi’s pizzas never disappoint. This time, I wanted to try something different so we chose Vegetariana (PHP320). I also got a Crèma di Funghi (PHP190), Spaghetti Ai Frutti Di Mare (PHP440) and Pannacota Del Piemonte (PHP160).

The cream of mushroom was indeed creamy. I loved the slightly thick texture and the bits of mushroom for extra bite.

The Spaghetti Ai Frutti Di Mare, as before, had the delightful light taste. I also loved the different textures of the seafood—clams, prawns, mussels and squid.

Revisiting Tender Bob's

I just love celebrating my birthday. But what makes me love celebrating birthday more is when I get to share it with people I cherish. Thus, this year, I decided to message one of my closest friends (we’ve been friends for 19 years and hoping for it to reach 60!) and invited her to dinner with my mom and sister.

I actually wanted to eat at Cyma but since I was with my sister, I had to give way and we decided to have dinner at a restaurant a few steps away from the Greek restaurant I simply adore. Hello again, Tender Bob’s!

The homey American restaurant’s server quickly guided us to our seats and handed the menus. I was still full from the ribs I ate for lunch while A was not very hungry and I (her boyfriend) is on a strict diet. We then decided to order food for sharing instead.

We then decided to try the Meat Platter (PHP990). We also ordered Mussel Pasta (PHP388) and my sister’s all-time favorite, Chicken Tenders Original Recipe (PHP220).

 

The chicken tenders arrived first and the fries never fail to tempt me and eat a lot of it. I just love fries made from REAL potatoes. I also love the honey mustard sauce. For more of the chicken tenders, click here.