I arrived in Zamboanga City with the
sun’s radiance greeting me in its most elegant form. The city is not known for
food but wandering around and asking your
friends who had been to the city would really help a lot.
Country
Chicken
This is actually a group of different
restaurants in one compound. The central building is La Oliva that specialises
in Italian cuisine. The cook is Mr Ric Manzano, a cousin of the actor
Edu Manzano.We were treated to an appetiser named Salsa Diablo and another one with shrimp. Salsa Diablo is made up
of shredded turkey meat with olive oil. It was served with toasted baguette. It
was so yummy that I never thought of halting myself from eating. I was already
full when the main dish was served. But it did not stop me either from getting
the best out of my taste buds. The crispy
pata was so good and made crispy the way it should be.
There was also the
grilled vanggacious (a Vietnamese
catfish) that delighted me not only because of its unique name but also its
one-of-a-kind taste. I also made a remark that the pinakbet of Zamboanga is the same as that of the Ilocanos – without
squash. The wife of the cook told me that they only ran out of stock of squash.
The closing set – dessert – was composed of apple pie, extra dark chocolate ice
cream and the rare peanut butter ice cream. Take note, home-made ice
cream. Location? The restaurant is in Pasonanca, near the Pasonanca Park. You
can treat yourself here after trekking and finishing the fourteen stations of
The Way of the Cross at the Mt Pulong Bato. You can take any tricycle to take
you there.
Mang Paeng’s Inasal
Chicken panggang (Image credit: Promding Chamimay; Related article: here) is a Malaysian-styled
dish, with the extraordinary combination of sweetness and exciting spiciness. The meat is superb
and the sauce makes everything magical. Every bite to the meat is so
overwhelming that you would stop everything that hinders you from eating. Be
sure not to leave Zamboanga without trying their version of chicken inasal. The clam soup is also very delicious. The restaurant is located at
Brgy Sta Maria.
Others
Owing to the location of the city,
people can always get everything in affordable prices – including the wildly
popular curacha!
This is a crab, a
different kind. It thrives in sand so its body structure is very different from
the usual crab that we know of. I also saw chicken in a black sauce. Their
bananas are super sweet. A friend suggested Alavar and Jimmy’s satti. Another
friend also mentioned ube loaf in front of the Fort Pilar Shrine. I will check
on them the next time I cast my footprints over the land of Zamboanga City. And
as the locals say, “Sabroso!” for foods
with good taste.
