This is a super late post, but believe me when I say that I am excited to share my experience about this place.
Let me start with a confession: I am not a fan of seafood restaurants. For me, seafood is all about freshness, so as long as the produce is fresh, there is not much one has to do to make it delicious. My family is pretty good at preparing seafood so I don't really see the point in going out and spending on something that my mom or tita could easily whip up. Also, eating seafood is messy, and the smell, it sticks, and almost all seafood restaurants aren't that pretty or cozy, so I'd really rather have seafood at the comfort of my home. Exceptions are when I'm in a big group and they all want to go. But yea, when someone asks me where to eat out I would never suggest a seafood restaurant. The experience of eating seafood is just better for me at home.
So when I got invited to this food event at a place named "The Boiling Seafood," I was pretty meh. :|
I am happy to report that this particular restaurant made me make an exception about my "meh" attitude towards seafood restaurants. :D
For me, The Boiling Seafood restaurant levels-up the seafood eating experience. It is a place where one goes to eat one's heart out. It is not a place for health (read: sumakit ang batok ko.). It is a place of comfort and taste. And yes, the place is not shabby at all. Located at Alabang Town Center, it's a good place to bring the family maybe after watching a movie or shopping. It's also a great place to to have drinks (yes, they serve 'em) and laughs with friends.
The restaurant's sign from outside.
Menu gives quick peek of what The Boiling Seafood has to offer.
The Boiling Seafood's clean, modern interior.
They also provide high chairs for kids.
Drinks.
Other drinks.
The basic concept of The Boiling Seafood is this: (1) Choose a seafood; (2) Choose a sauce; and (3) Choose a side. They offer shrimp, crabs, clams and lobster (seasonal). According to the owner, Mr. Paul Genito, they ship their seafood fresh everyday from Cebu. As for the sauces, they have sweet chili garlic, cajun, crab fat, coconut curry, and butter garlic. The spiciness can be adjusted from tame, to wild, to wild (wild, please! :D). Sumptuous seafood would be enough for some people, but for those with some extra appetite, you may also add sides, and can choose from onion rings, french fries, corn on the cob, and baked potato.
Aside from this basic menu, the restaurant also offers a lot more comfort food. :) However, they don't offer dessert.
Basic menu.
More options.
Drinks menu.
I like that they posted their menu up on the wall, but they also have menu handouts with pictures.
Menu handout 1.
Menu handout 2.
We now go to the food, which started with appetizers. The first thing they served to us was buffalo wings. I was a bit curious as to why, because hello, it's a seafood restaurant and they give me buffalo wings. Hehe. They said it was a best seller. Being a buffalo wings fan, my expectations were high. The Boiling Seafood did not disappoint :)
Buffalo wing with bleu cheese sauce.
It took all my willpower to take just one, because I was saving my appetite. That was a pretty tasty wing! Moist and juicy on the inside, crunchy coating, smothered in barbecue sauce. It could have been a bit more spicy, because I am a spicy freak, but I guess for normal people the heat of it was just fine. The sauce gave a little extra for my tastebuds to enjoy. Considering that this was a chicken dish in a seafood restaurant, I was impressed and then my meh feeling started to disappear.
Calamares.
I did my very best to also just take one of these, but I failed. :D I'm not even sorry. This is the kind of claamares that I'd eat like chips. The squid was nicely cooked: tender, juicy, and not at all rubbery. Seasoned to make the taste come out. Breaded with just the right amount to give it that crisp. Not oily at all, It's good with or without the dip. It has the kind of saltiness that just makes you get another and another and another... :D
Garlic rice.
While the seafood was being prepared, we were asked to choose between steamed rice and garlic rice. I chose the garlic rice, and was pleased to see that these people do not scrimp on their garlic.
Red Iced Tea.
We were also asked what kind of drink we wanted. I opted for the iced tea. Good as any other.
We were presented an apron and some seafood eating implements ( a mini fork and that thing you use to crack shells). The idea of it amused me. Seafood eating doesn't need to be as messy as it is here. While I was putting on my apron, and looked at my implements, I felt like I was getting ready for battle. :))
Apron, spoon, and fork.
Seafood eating implements.
(But before I go into battle, lemme take a selfie.)
With photobomber Mr. Paul Genito.
The first batch of seafood was served. GAME ON.
I first tried the shrimp.
Shrimp with crab fat.
I liked their shrimp. It had that sweet, fresh taste that I look for in shrimp. They were cooked nicely, leaving the shrimp juicy and tender but with a bite.
I wasn't a big fan of the crab fat sauce on the shrimp, though. It's too much cholesterol and richness for me.
Garlic Butter Shrimp
The garlic butter was much better for me, it let me enjoy the fresh, sweet, shrimpy taste I loved :). Again, this place does not scrimp on garlic. Me likey.
We proceed with the clams.
Tahong with Cajun Sauce.
The absolute winner for me was their cajun sauce. They put it on tahong, and I loved it. My issue with tahong is that sometimes I can still taste the lansa. No problem with that here. And that cajun sauce. Mmmmmm. Just thinking about it makes me salivate. Perfect balance of sweet and spicy, plus a little something something more, which tastes like onions, garlic, and some other stuff I can't identify. It's a flavor experience. You must try it. <3 It goes great with the garlic rice.
Mr. Genito said they can make this much spicier. I would love to try this dish with a lot more heat next time, and maybe have it with beer.
Halaan with coconut curry sauce.
A close runner-up is their coconut curry sauce. I've had curry with beef and chicken, but never seafood. I was surprised how good it worked, really. And the curry was good. Creamy and rich in spices. I can actually just take the sauce and put it on rice and be happy. That's how good it is. :)
Last but not the least, we go on to the crabs.
Fact: crabs are a hassle to eat. Good news: The Boiling Seafood will gladly pull out rhe crab meat for you, if you like. That's what they did with the Garlic Overload Crab they served.
Garlic Overload Crab.
It was indeed a garlic overload, as the crab was generously sprinkled with tasty garlic flakes.
Crab with sweet chili garlic.
I liked the crab with sweet chili garlic better. The Boiling Seafood has nailed sweet and spicy to perfection. This was a more basic version of the cajun sauce.
Just look at all that crab fat.
Oh, I forgot to mention that they gave us buckets where we could put our sefood shells.
This was my bucket. #sorrynotsorry
We were all so full already, but Mr. Genito was determined to fatten us up. He served us with a whole slab of ribs @_@
Ribs with potatoes.
I could barely eat at this point, but I still appreciated the ribs. Smokey and tender and complimented by a bed of nicely seasoned potatoes. It made me curious and want to try their other non-seafood dishes.
Goody bags!
The fattening did not end yet. We were sent home with yummy seafood pasta.
Shelley with her goody bag.
Team Aldous with Mr. Paul Genito
Needless to say, I had a great time. My bias against seafood restaurants is now gone. I will definitely go back here. Maybe with family or friends.
Thanks for inviting me, Aldous, and thank you Mr. Genito for having us!
The Boiling Seafood Restaurant is located at the ground floor of Alabang Town Center, along Leisure Lane. It's right across Starbucks. :)
Be happy!
<3 Missy
