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> seaSide - macapaGaL buSog triP
Author: aLmich
Since it was planned to watch Hancock at MOA, We [Kiko, Jc and I] took time to visit Seaside first. The place looked so inviting that we lost no time in going there and it was there where we had a fabulous dinner.
Seaside Macapagal takes on the Filipino concept of “dampa” in cleaner and much better surroundings plus the “lansa” of course. It’s composed of individual establishments in one complex where you are supposed to shop for fresh seafood in the wet market then have it weighed and cooked in the adjoining restaurant. You can choose to dine indoors or al fresco, while listening to a musical band. In the evenings, the landscaped gardens can be a romantic setting for your dinner date, if only those families out with their kids weren’t too noisy [ugh!].
In the fresh market, you can have all the seafood your heart desires like lapu-lapu, maya-maya, salmon, tuna, scallops, squid, bivalves and the like. Meat and vegetables are also sold in neighboring stalls.
The three of us settled at Aling Mahsya’s and ordered for grilled squid, baked mussels in garlic and cheese, shrimp tempura and sinigang na maya maya. We were even saying that “Sana kasama natin si Ralf” because our total expenses for buying all the food and having it cooked as well as the drinks amounted to almost P1,600 [less than $30] for three persons and the foods were really hefty. This is definitely cheaper than if we had dined in a hotel. We also enjoyed the restaurant’s staffs because of their gay antics. We called them “beau-coneras” as they seem to join gay pageants the way they act and move.
With the proliferation of “Dampa Style” eateries, I find this to be the best in terms of orderliness and cleanliness. You can call it “bourgeois mentality” but thankfully, this place is out of the easy reach by the common masses in terms of distance and location. I am not even sure if there are jeeps that ply a route passing by this place. Some friends tell me there are. Anyway…
Like in many of those dampa eateries proliferating in the metropolis, you will find just every kind of seafood that you’d like to have. There are even those that you thought are not available in the Philippines or not at all existing as creatures from the sea! Shrimps, prawns of all sizes and colors are aplenty. Yes, I never thought they come in different colors! Some are yellowish, some are black-and-white, some are the normal brownish gray and yet some are pinkish gray! Crabs. Oh crabs! Yes there are the “alimango”, the “alimasag” and other weird-looking crabs. Yet the vendors and the restaurant owners will tell you how delectable those are.
Don’t think though that only seafood can be found here. Many of the stalls are awash with fruits and vegetables to go with your “fresh catch” from the sea! And, while waiting for your food to cook, you can browse through the many other stalls that sell music CDs, movie DVDs, PC games and applications – all of the pirated kind of course.
Parking is ample in this place – then again you’ll have a little bit of time looking for a slot during weekend evenings. Oh, while all of them restaurants have piped in music or TV sets to entertain you, some of them even have live bands playing different genres!
Well, after all, aside from this place being by the shores of Manila Bay, what is the difference to other dampa eateries? As I said earlier, its just a bit cleaner, less crowded. Yes too, and a bit more expensive. But that’s a bit more to pay for taking care of your sanity!
Seaside Macapagal Blvd. [near the Mall of Asia] is highly recommended for those family get-togethers and giving your balikbayan/foreigner friends the fresh seafood market experience. No wonder, the place is always full!
And since I decided to make this blog more informative, from now on I’ll be trying to post here also the contact information of each of the place I visit. I’ll also try to provide the same for my previous posts.
I’m sorry for forgetting to give credits to whom it was due. Highlighted parts were from this site = http://philippinetravelnotes.blogspot.com/2007/06/dampa-macapagal-boulevard.html
Seaside Paluto Restaurants & Market - Macapagal Branch
Macapagal Boulevard
Pasay City
Philippinesinfo@seasideph.com
phone: 5561779
fax: 5561778
cel: 09209625215/09189281270
