Dampa Seaside Paluto Restaurants - Manila, Philippines

If fresh seafood is what your craving for, well look no further, Seafood Paluto Restaurants (DAMPA), is the place to go to.

Seafood Paluto Restaurants is along Macapagal Ave., just between SM Mall of Asia and CCP complex. 

Just a bit of a background. Dampa is a Filipino word which means a “hut”. More of a nipa hut, to be exact. But if we use dampa when we're talking about fresh seafood, it means a row of restaurants that cook fresh seafood according to the wishes of the guests.

When you go to one of these "Dampa" places, make sure you bring someone who knows how to buy seafood well. I myself would not have a clue, I'm just lucky that my husbands family knows how to do it really well. They even know the difference between a male/female and an in between crab, totally amazing.

Anyway, everytime we go to the Philippines, we always find time to go to the dampa or as I call it "seaside".

When going to "market" to choose the seafood or meat you'd like to eat, you can pick any kind and quantity you want. Pay at each of the stalls then proceed to a restaurant of your choice. Our family always goes the same restaurant "Hong Kong Master Chef", for us this is the best one. 

When you enter the restaurant with the seafood you just bought, they will weight each kind and either ask you how you'd like them to cook it or you can ask them to suggest what they think. You could also ask them to cook a portion of the "prawns" you bought in a different way, example with 2 kilos you can ask them to cook tempura using 1 kilo and sinigang sa hipon with the other kilo. Paluto ranges from 100-200 Pesos per kilo, depending on the type of seafood and type of cooking you wish to cook.

Here are some of the dishes we've had so far:

Here are the most common dishes usually ordered:
Sinigang sa Miso as always.
Buttered crab in chili sauce.
Steamed shrimps or in chili sauce too.
Oyster baked with cheese.
Sizzling squid or in adobo style.
Fish (tilapia or lapu-lapu) in sweet and sour sauce.
Calamares

I'm pretty sure that you're all drooling just looking at the yummy seafood in this blog. I would encourage you guys to try going to "Dampa" Seaside Paluto Restaurants the next time you visit the Philippines, I can guarantee that no matter how picky you are with your food you'll find yourself wanting to go back for more. Enjoy!

Pictures courtesy of RMV Photography