Robbie's Seafood Restaurant @ Dampa Seaside

Robbie's came highly recommended from my ex-co-worker who is originally from the Philippines.  I really appreciated her recommendation as this place was so much fun and the food was so delicious!!!  And big thank you for her husband and mother-in-law came took me there despite of the infamous Manila's Friday traffic.

I have been to similar seafood markets in the past but this is nothing like this one.  (A similar one would be Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market '鷺梁津水產市場" in Seoul, Korea.)  The noise, the excitement, the price, is unparalleled!  To me, it was worth all the trouble to come out here.  (We were stuck in traffic for more than 2 hours!!!)  The were seafood I can't even name and all of which was cheap, fresh and delicious!  If you even come to Manila, I highly recommend this place to you!!!  I am certainly coming back myself!!!

We ended up buying from them as they did the least yelling :D

Look at all these seafood!!!  Some of which I don't even know the name or how to cook them!!!  (even if I wanted to...)  By the way, if you are unfamiliar to the Philippines' "dampa", you picked the restaurant you want to dine at and you can either go shop for your own food or ask the lady boys to go for you.  But shopping is half of the fun going to a dampa so I wouldn't miss it!

Lobsters

More lobsters

#extra large shrimp

Large shrimp

Medium shrimp (still large if you compared to the ones in Hong Kong)

Looks like mantis shrimp but I am not sure

no clue what these were

Claws from dead crabs?

Oooo... the shellfish!

sea grapes!!!
I thought they only grow in Okinawa!!!

plump juicy oysters~~~

in contract, the vegetables section were a little boring... LOL

Chestnuts were so cheap in the Philippines too!!!

Exotic seating...
I don't want to feed the mosquitoes so I passed :P

There were plenty of restaurants in the strip but my friend said this is the best :)

After buying everything you want, you sit back, relax, and wait for your food to show up.  You don't even need to carry anything.  The restaurant will do that for you.  You pay for the seafood to the store owners at the market and you pay the restaurant for a cooking fee.  They have a variety of methods to offer - from steaming, grilling, deep fried, stir fry, you name it, they probably can do it.

a busy kitchen

Each bag will state how the customers want their seafood prepared

You can watch your food getting grilled... but they won't allow me inside the kitchen :(

The fish looks so good too... maybe next time!

OMG!  a monterous lobster!

It's the size of my arm!!!

After a while (the restaurant is busy), our food starts to show up.  Everything was so delicious!!!  Freshness was the key.  The cooking methods are actually very simple.

Seaweed salad
The grape seaweed is very salty but delicious at the same time.
It's not the same when you added too much salt to a dish.
You actually taste the ocean in them.

Mango with shrimp paste

The mango used in this dish is slightly on the rare side so it is sour.
It has a very interesting flavor since it's both sour and salty.
It's my first time eating mango this way.

(I liked the shrimp paste on my rice more... or mix it inside my steamed pork patty!)

Spicy Chilli Crab

The sauce is spicy but at the same time sweet.
It appears that the Philippines enjoy sweet sauce.
The crab has been deep fried before the sauce is coated so it gives a crunch when you bite into it.
Crabs are always an effort to eat but it never bothered me
It's finger licking good.

Grilled Oysters

If I don't have to worry about calories and cholesterol,
I can easily finish a plate myself.
As much as I love raw oysters, these were some that I wouldn't mess with.
They taste just as good grilled and each bite is packed with flavor.

These oysters are on the brinier side.

My co-worker's favorite dish

I can easily see why.
The breading was just enough to adhere to the shrimp.
The shrimp weren't overcooked so it's still juicy and tender
These are dangerous!

Grilled pork

I am a seafood person
so I would stick to ordering the seafood

There was so much food!

My friends said they like to have the restaurant cook more because the
cooking fee is the same.  So it's more economical to take the leftovers home.

Remember to come here early to beat the evening traffic!  The place is near SM Mall of Asia so if you got there early, you can kill time shopping!

Robbie's Seafood Restaurant @ Dampa Seaside
Seaside Drive, SM Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay
Tel: +6329864584
Hours: 10:00 am to 0:00 am