We were on a banca from Culion to Coron early one morning, and when we arrived in Coron, we were a group of eight hungry men. We hit the market and were unable to buy any fish, but thankfully managed to find a couple of kilos of alimango from a “dealer” (who normally stocks up for shipment to Manila) and a kilo of medium sized prawns. We headed to our hotel The Village Lodge, and thankfully, Henry, our favorite cook, was on duty and agreed to cook us up a hearty brunch at 1030 in the morning. This is the meal he prepared. Up top, two large steaming tureens or bowls of prawn sinigang, the prawns so fresh they were sweet and delicious paired with the sour broth and generous portions of vegetables. This was a great way to start the meal.
Henry also sent out a competently executed chicken and pork adobo, swimming in fat, and heady with soy sauce, garlic and bay leaves. Imagine the number of servings of rice we had on order by now…
Two medium sized platters of sotanghon guisdao with pork and vegetables also made an appearance.
Then simply steamed alimango, many of them filled with crabfat.
The other half kilo of prawns were split open and served chili prawn style.
At the market, I was concerned about the lean pickings, so I bought some mangoes and tomatoes, not quite sure what to do with that. We decided to chop it all up and make a ripe mango and tomato salsa with ginger, onions and red chilies. It was delicious, and paired well with the crab and prawns. The guys that were with us had ferried us around for two days in their banca, and this was just a small way to say thanks… let’s just say they were fed up. :)
Total cost of this lunch? About PHP2,200 (including the stuff we bought). Divided by 8 (though 10 could have easily been fed), that was just PHP275 per person or $6.25. Pretty good deal, huh? :)
22 Responses
the crab is mouth watering, and the shrimp really looks so fresh. thanks for the photos!
Wow, ang sarap! Nothing beats simply cooked dishes with fresh ingredients!
Everything looks divine! *drools*
I still have a “manibalang” mango at home…I’ll chop it up with tomatoes, ginger, onions and a bit of chili. Did you have anything salty with it, like bagoong?
Ang saarappp….drool :)
Yuuummmmm.
Being newly wed then, one of the many honeymoon trips we had led me and my wife to a beautiful resort built on top of an atoll in Coron called Kubo sa Dagat. It was small, by resort standards, but the location was fantastic,it was in the middle of the sea and were bounded by islands which were only about a kilometer away from us. Dolphins and other ‘friendly’ creatures were visible at any time of the day (some of them at night!) frolicking in the not-so deep part of the bay but the best part of our stay there was the food! Yup, my memories are encypted via my tastebuds, and 1 simple dish stands out: Adobong alimango in olive oil! I could still taste the sweetness of the freshly-caught alimango in that heavenly adobo sauce with matching atcharang kamias and fresh sea urchin siding…haaay this post just brought me back to 1998, thanks MM
rocky, yes, I forgot to add into the post, add some good patis if you have it, otherwise some salt and lime will work too… cilantro or coriander would be nice too.
Wow! Karasa MM! i love to eat fresh prawns and crabs.. Thanks for posting these beautiful photos..
Grabe, sarap!!!! MM, what about your diet?????
Is this part of your diet MM? I want it too heehee
Ripe Mango salsa…why not?? Looks appetizing. Though initially, I thought it was a chutney…
kalami MM!
mouth watering… green with envy..
this was “before the diet” meal…looks delicious!!
haaay…
Yay Henry!
OMG!! Nakaka gutom! My lunch break is like in 25 minutes and I’m having leftover :( stir fried mixed veggies with shrimps. sucks! I want that!
I am drooling for the crabs and prawns!
Marketman, iimbitahin ko na ang sarili kong kumain d’yan sa inyo ;)))
Ang sarap naman!!!
“they were fed up”
he he
mouth watering, it reminds me of my lola’s sinigang