d' Talipapa: d Boracay Dampa

Living in a tropical country sure has a lot of advantages. The juiciest fruits and the freshest catch are always available every day of the week. With the popularity of dampas -- public markets with restaurants alongside to cook your freshly-brought produce and catch -- nowadays, it is definitely no wonder that Boracay would come out with their own version.

Named d’ talipapa, conviniently located near the Station 2 beachfront, one can buy their meat and produce in the wet market; and then have them cooked in one of the eateries located within the vicinity.

But first a stroll through the wet market, where one finds a vast array of fish, poultry, meat, fruits and vegetables. This being Boracay though, don’t you think seafood would be the most appropriate fare?  =)

At the end of our browsing and haggling, we brought these tasty morsels for lunch: 1 and a half kilos of shrimps for Php250, 2 kilos of talaba (oysters) for Php60, and talakitok (a type of fish) for Php100 for half a kilo. Mom and tita, being such lanzones aficionados, of course bought a kilo for Php80 for dessert.

Handy tip #1: Do not be afraid to haggle! Most of the time, you’ll find the vendors more than willing to offer their wares for a good, low price.

And so with our haul, we went in search of a good restaurant which could cook our seafood to perfection. With such a late hour though (we arrived around 12nn already), we found ourselves in a small bind, as a lot of the eateries had already full reservations.

Handy tip #2: Make sure you arrive early; or at least have your hotel call in beforehand and make reservations on your behalf.

And so it was that we were quite lucky enough and got a table at Blue Jade Café.

I have to warn you, though, Blue Jade Café is a little more expensive than that of which I’m used to in dampas here in the Metro (go figure!), but their food is good enough.

We had our talakitok cooked to Sinigang na isda (Php130), which was really tasty.  The soup was of the right sour consistency.

Our shrimps we had cooked in a garlic butter sauce (Php130). I have to admit, I’ve had better ones in the dampas here in Manila.

And the talaba, we had simply steamed (Php65). Our family has always believed that in cooking mussels, less is actually more.

Plus, of course, cups of rice to complete the meal.

Truly an enjoyable lunch!  =)