No spoon and fork please

1996, my ex-boyfriend told me that he would love to bring me to Roxas Boulevard Seaside Market. Why? I asked. He said that knowing how I love seafoods I would enjoy it immensely cause it was fresh, as in fresh like in the wet market & then cooked as to how you desired. HMMMM fascinating. Example: you can buy 1 kilo of prawns and have them cook it for you 2 ways, ½ kilo garlic & butter, ½ kilo tempura. WOW ! That is a treat ! Regular restaurants won’t do that for you. 

Years have passed and sad to say he never did get to bring me there HMP. On occasions when the stories arise I would remind him. Now a days he is already called “the husband” (thus the earlier title ex-boyfriend LOL). He said that he saw a smaller & cleaner version of the Seaside Market in Libis.  And true to his word (this time) we went. It was indeed closer, and besides the wet market & restaurant there’s even a “Tiangge” – a Flea Market for toys, clothes & everything else, truly a much better place !

Benz was ecstatic upon seeing the Tiangge, “wow mom toys!” . The setting is, you buy your fresh seafood at the wet market. Then there’s a billboard on how much the cooking process will cost depending on how you want it done, the prices varies from grilled, steamed etc etc & the rate for cooking is also measured by a minimum of ½ kilo. Translation: that the cooking rate is “higher” if it’s 1 kilo & so forth. After paying for the cooking charges, you then proceed to the dining area, you can choose from the open air which is the size of a basketball court, breezy or the air conditioned dining area at no additional cost. We chose open air – it’s close to the Tiangge.

After an hour, our food arrived. It was worth the wait ! Warm, freshly cooked right out of the stove sea food delight ! We were having Steamed Lapu-Lapu, Tempura Shrimps & Steamed Crabs. All dishes were served with their corresponding sauce condiments. It was heavenly ! No spoon & fork please. The steamed Lapu-Lapu was so fresh, it’s drippings alone was pure  pleasure! The Tempura ? A heart’s satisfaction ! Made out of whole prawns, not like the ones you eat at buffets or so-so Japanese restaurants where the

shrimp are seemingly sliced in half, 1 shrimp for 2 tempura ,SO SAD. And the crab, let me tell you about the crab, it’s crab fat all yellow & orange, soft & hard at the same time, mouth watering ! The crab meat firm yet soft to the bite, dip it in some specially spiced vinegar & PERFECTO ! The meal was truly heavenly ! 

Unfortunately thou Benz didn’t like any of it, YES she didn’t eat at all. She just contented herself with the toys she bought at the Tiangge. “Can we pass by drive thru later?” Of course - we told her.

This trip was one of many, but the next time we did went, we passed by the drive thru FIRST J Our eating fiesta cost Php1,500 per visit & it always had us leaving with happy tummys. Yes, happy tummys for all 3 of us.