Claire de la Fuente's, Dampa Macapagal

Obviously, our bbf (balikbayan friend) Lou couldn't get enough of our local Dampa, Macapagal, cos she asked again for another round of seafood dinner there when we were at the area 3 days ago. That was after only about 5 days from her first Dampa lunch, to see click here. Don't blame her, she missed our local food and the local ambiance. Third of all, the place didn't exist yet when she was still based here.



So we tried another resto this time _ Claire de la Fuente's ( named after the owner who is a local singer slash business woman). It has alfresco area with stand-up comedians.

Once again Icor showed her wet marketing prowess. But I was not impressed as the first time I saw her doing it !, cos she was just repeating the act ! hahaha! Same everything ! Look at the table, we got exactly the same menu ! :

salmon belly-sinigang sa miso

calamares

salmon steak

prawns tempura

prawns in buttered sauce

Singaporean crabs

green mango salad with shrimp paste (bagoong)

crabs in sweet chili sauce

Our guest bff Lou couldn't careless if the table offered the same for the nth times, she sure did love our seafood. Happiness !

Loves Mangan

I'm sure, I had already mentioned many times here that I love Mangan, click to see other Mangan post here. My 3rd & 7th Sense could do nothing but to be in harmony every time I eat here. My eyes are always pleased with intricate artsy interior of each branch and my pinoy taste bud always get satisfied with every spoonful of each concoction.





I was busy gazing behind lens and didn't bother the menu. When asked, I remember replying nonchalantly : " anything on the menu, I love every number there. ."



Have I mentioned already that this was another day with our NY girl Lou ? We actually didn't go home after the first night out which became 48 hours bonding and stayed with her at the hotel and still together at this point. She wanted all Filipino dishes , which was okey cos we all love our pinoy food.

pinakbet ( mixed veggies in shrimp paste)

tortang talong (eggplant omelet)

a big plate of fried dishes-chicken, chinese rolls, dried fish, quail, porkchops

The fried quail looked like a frog. Saira got curious and had a taste of it. She liked it a lot !



Somewhere on Icor's side of table was the tilapia in coco cream which I paired with the pinakbet and I loved them so made me emptied my plate .

interesting rice bowl

yummy desserts- banana con sago

. . . So guys, what d'ya think?. no answer. . . Do you like the food? . . no answer... Well, silence means yes, isn't it?

love.love.love Mangan!

Dampa. Macapagal

Lately, I don't get to eat at Dampa, Macapagal as I used to when I was working and Friday dinners with office mates usually ended there for the benefit of our ranting stomachs and wallets too. For those few who don't know about the place, it's an eating lot with wet market on the side. You buy your fresh seafood from the market, then bring your raw goodies to your choice of resto and have them cooked per your style. Cooking fee charges per kilo.
Dampa is good for big group. Prices of seafood are reasonable and you get to maximize the number of plates of dishes on the table. For instance, if you buy a kilo of salmon fish, you could ask to cook it half steak and the other half as a soup (sinigang).

icor,lulu,me & raisa

Lulu, a friend who is NY based is in Manila for a short visit. She missed Filipino dishes so much and Icor suggested a lunch in Dampa.


I went with Icor to the market and was amazed how well she managed the wet marketing . Considering that her household is full of maids and this senora, is admittedly zero knowledge in the kitchen department, she was quite a pro in Dampa. That's because she said she frequent the place with her huge clan.

The fresh sea foods ended up in our table with one hue_ orange ! I don't like a table sans a fresh color of green which to me is an implication of healthy vegetable. Anyway, that was just me, the rest of table was happy with the dishes so I was happy too.

shrimps- fried & in sweet-chili sauce

crabs, singaporean and in sweet chili sauce

junjun & cris

salmon, siniang sa miso & steak

salted & peppered squid

The lunch was full of burping moments !