One thing that I really love about living in the Philippines is the great selection and freshness of seafood! It doesn’t hurt that it is also very cheap compared to what I was used to from the USA.
Just about any kind of seafood that you enjoy can be found here! Whether it is crabs, shrimp, fish of almost any kind or whatever else you enjoy, it is generally found in the markets in the Philippines.
One thing that I have found, though, is that the fish here is called by different names than we used back in the states! If you don’t know exactly what the fish looks like, you may not know it when you see it in the market, because the name is probably different than you are used to!
In the USA, one type of fish that is easy to find is Grouper, or Rock Fish. Here it is called Lapu Lapu. It’s still the same fish, but it just has a different name! By the way, Feyma uses Lapu Lapu to make an excellent British Style Fish ‘n Chips dinner. A while back we invited John Grant (an English friend) over to the house to try the Fish ‘n Chips, and he reported that it was just like “back home.” I could tell that he enjoyed it, as he ate quite a bit that night!
I really enjoy crab. In the States, you can only catch male crab, any female crabs that you catch must be released, in order to allow them to multiply. Here, there are no such laws, and the female crabs are the tastier of the sexes. Personally, though, I like the law about not catching the females.
There are only a few kinds of fish that we enjoy eating which we have not found here. I guess our two favorites that we can’t get are Halibut and Salmon. Salmon can be found here from time to time, but not always.
Recently, I found an online guide to fish in the markets here in the Philippines. If you are interested, have a look!
Anyway, if you enjoy seafood like I do, the Philippines is an ideal place for you!
What a strange thing for me to say..I am surrounded by many Islands here and a great selection of Fish and I hardly eat any. My taste buds enjoy Fish but my stomach 9 out of 10 says NO THANK YOU.
I watch everyone lick their lips and i just have to go and order a steak instead.
Now that's an interesting list, but still doesn't answer my long standing question of "what is Moro-moro?" I like moro-moro becuase it is one of the less bony fishes. I also eat fried danggit if it's fresh from the Cebu market. I tell you what Bob, I've got the job in Alaska, its a definate now. One of the perks is I get to come home with a huge chest freezer full of packaged salmon fillets. I might be encouraged to sell you some for a very decent price if you want.
Hi Louis – Congrats on the job! That is good news. I'm just sad that you'll have to spend significant time away from home. Yeah, if you find a way to buy salmon there and get it shipped back frozen, I would likely be one of your customers! Salmon can be found sometimes here, but lately I haven't seen any. Good luck on the job. Any idea when you will be going?
Hi Louis – Oops, I forgot to respond about the Moro-Moro. Actually, that is a fish that I haven't heard of. We occasionally have a fish called "Maya Maya" that is the closest that I've ever heard of. ❓
Hi Bob – we also LOVE any kind of seafood. of course we need a steak from time to time, but fish, crabs, lobster what ever. Name it, we will like it. By the way: Moro-moro is a very cheap and common fish, which can be find even in Davao Bay. If you buy in the market, you might be surprised about the very moderate price. "Maya-maya" is a fish, which loves to stay in coral reefs. Mutti knows how to prepair a german receipt with this fish. We just had it yesterday for lunch. Mmmmhhh!!! 😆
Bob – I'm leaving by March 23rd when my visa expires and I won't be back until September. Part of that time will be spent in Maryland tieing up yet more loose ends of my former life there. The Alaska Season runs from may to early september. The frozen salmon is actually given to us for free as a bonus for working at the plant. Yes I'm sad I have to leave the PI for 6 months… I feel like an OFW… and expecially I am sad at being away from Venice so long, but it's an opportunity not to be missed. Besisdes the money I can make (maybe $20,000 for 4 months work) what an adventure to go to an Alaskan Wilderness Frontier Town. No roads in or out of town, you get there by puddle jumper airplane. Yes I'm taking the Nikon and will be taking lots of pictures.
At least our general store is opening before I leave so I can get Venice set up. She'll be plenty busy while I am gone.
Hi John – You seemed to enjoy that fish 'n chips meal at our house last week! 😆
Hi Klaus – I have not tried moro moro before. I do love maya maya though, and especially lapu lapu (hey, why do all the fish have "double" names?).
Hi Louis – Well, I wish you nothing but the best on your work and your trip!
Bob aside from fresh tropical fruits, fresh sea foods are another thing I miss most about the Philippines. So whenever I'm in Manila for my annual vacation, I eat only fresh sea foods and tropical fruits. Hardly any meat at all. Man I miss also Philippine mangoes and fresh young coconut meat and juice straight from the shell or prepared as buko salad.. 🙁
Hi Bob, many terms in the Philippine dialect are "double", sari-sari store in example. 😆
Hi Bob,
I agree with you. As a Filipino I am having difficulties translating our local seafood terms to English!
By the way, have you been to Dagupan? The milkfish – or bangus – there is unlike any other.
Cheers!
Hi Eric – Oh yes, the fruits! It doesn't get any better!
Hi Klaus – Yep, almost everything is doubled here!
Hi Migs – I am not a big fan of bangus – too many bones! I have not been to Dagupan before!
Bob – go for boneless bangus. good stuff.
Hi Macky – Yeah, I have had boneless bangus a few times, and that is OK, but still not my favorite. I really prefer ocean fish to freshwater. 😀
i love sea foods. cooked the inihaw way. i missed manila mango, that kind and lansones… ayayyay…..
I had Mackerel once. I could right away identify the taste. They had a different name for the fish in cebuano. Can't remember what. Any idea. It's 1 of the few fish I like to eat beside tuna.
Would filipino's like traditional English fish and chips do you think Bob? When i was in Kidapawan(on the way to climbing mount Apo 2006) i saw ponys carrying big! potatoes but when im Davao in the groceries in the Malls i only see very small potatoes. Where do you get the big ones!?
I hasten to add fish used here in England for fish and chips is "Cod " from the North Sea (fleshy white flakey fish)which im 100% sure you can't get there in the Phil, i wonder how close a substitute lapu-lapu is? maybe malasugi is a closer bet? Did Feyma use beer batter?
Hi TV – I hear you, my friend! I love almost any foods cooked inihaw!
Hi Graham – Lapu Lapu makes an excellent substitute for Cod. My English friend who ate here last week could not tell the difference between the Lapu Lapu fish n chips compared to what he was used to back home. I like milisugui, but I don't think it would make a good fish n chips. I could be wrong on that, though.
Would Filipinos like Fish n Chips? Well, when we cook it here in our house our nieces and others in the house eat it up! They love it.
From time to time you can find the big potatoes in the market in Davao, but it is a little rare. Usually you must settle for the small ones.
hi everyone i too miss the salmon and halibut we have in alaska . i have lived and worked there seven yrs ….. hey louis im going back to fairbanks in may to work , where in alaska are going to work? like you i will do the summer tour season and then back to davao to my wife , i just recently got married on jan 12th
graham, kindly post how to make beer batter. thanks
Hi ken norman – Wow, Davao is going to have a full contingent of OAW's now between you and Louis (that's Overseas American Workers!) 😆
Hi TV – Feyma makes two different types of batter. She used to do Beer Batter, but now she uses another recipe from a British chef (Gordon Ramsey), which I think has milk in it. She says that she will post up the recipes for those as a new blog entry soon.
HI everybody.Phil here ….I have seen big spuds at the market in gingoog city ..and we ate a lot of different fish but my wife wouldn't let me eat any catfish ..she say it has no taste …freshwater fish is no good to eat she say ..and I said OK… we ate a fish called a DIWIT about 6 feet long or 2 meters long and about 5 inches thick '12-14 cm thick ..it was very good we cut it up in chuncks and fried it ..All the seafood was never cleaned ,we just cooked it as is and ate , it was good
Hi Phil – The catfish here is called "Hito" it's an African Catfish. It is quite good.
Now if i can talk my wife into cooking it …..or even buying it ….
Hi phil – Wow, your wife doesn't like to include fish in the diet? For most Filipinos, it would seem that fish is almost as popular as rice! And… that is popular! 😆
Bob i have eaten a lot of dried fish when i am there but not catfish ..lots of fresh fish too with rice ..
Oh i am posting a pic of me and a fish check it out …phil
Hi phil – personally, I don't care for the dried fish (bulad) – the smell is just too bad for me!
I'll check your picture!
Hungry hungry, and I love “Lato” seaweed for beer snack