IGMAAN Seafood Restaurant at Dampa, Pasay City -Seafood so good!!

                                    

IGMAAN  means " a place to have lunch/dinner " and it comes from the word " IGMA " which simply means lunch in Karay-a -- which is a dialect in Iloilo, a province in the western central part of the Philippines. This restaurant is managed by Noriel Ricaforte and Bobby Dimalata, a new breed of Ilonggo entrepeneurs which gives a new twist to the old " paluto " ( cooking ) way while keeping the rich taste and flavor of the seafood  selected in the nearby " palengke " ( market ).





I thought of IGMAAN SEAFOOD RESTAURANT -- when Iggy mentioned to me that we will be adventurous and eat at the Seafood Wharf better known as  " DAMPA " tonight. I have been to DAMPA last month with my houseguests. It was a despedida dinner hosted by her relatives -- and that was the first time I ever stepped into DAMPA... I remembered my experience that night... all the food that was served that night was just awesome!!! ...  I told myself..." I should go back to IGMAAN one more time and bring my family with me ". Tonight was the night----- IGMAAN here I COME!!!!

IGMAAN SEAFOOD RESTAURANT is located in Seafood Wharf, Pasay City. It is on the creek side of DAMPA. IGMAAN has 2 dining areas... one is an outdoor dining which has a band playing every night and the other one is an air-conditioned dining area. The last time I was there, I sat outside and it was very hot and humid. Since  all the restaurants at the Seafood Wharf  have open air dining it was very noisy... there were karaoke music and band playing all at the same time.. This time we decided to sit inside were it was a lot cooler.

Iggy and Cris treated me out tonight to IGMAAN SEAFOOD RESTAURANT.. Iggy was craving for crabs so... off we went towards the Mall of Asia ( MOA ) to a place called  Seafood Wharf or DAMPA.... I reminded Iggy that we might encounter traffic since there was a PYRO OLYMPIC competition at MOA... true enough as we neared the area... the cars were not moving at all....... the competition had already started...but it did not dampen our hopes on having crabs tonight..  we slowly  inched our way to the Seafood Wharf..... when we got there .....  We could not park inside the complex it was filled with cars so we ended up parking across the street at the HK SUN PLAZA...

As I got out of the car I started to panic.. how would I be able to cross Macapagal Avenue filled with cars???... I had a fractured foot that was only protected by the boot that looked like  " robo-cop " and a wooden cane....Thank God,  Iggy and Cris sandwiched me between them and helped me cross Macapagal Avenue.  While I was crossing the wide avenue with a broken foot and using a cane... It felt like.. it was going to take forever just to get to the other side. At least the motorists stopped when they saw me slowly crossing the street.

Getting to IGMAAN SEAFOOD RESTAURANT was another hurdle for me... because the floor was wet and slippery.......There is no easier way to get to the restaurant ...  you will have to cross the market where you buy the seafood you want them to cook for you... All the restaurants there at DAMPA charge " cooking fee ". The cooking fee is based on the weight of your seafood.

When you walk through the market, you will hear vendors hawking crabs that are BABAE ( female ), LALAKE ( male ) or BAKLA ( gay )... I always perfer eating BAKLA crabs because their fat is tastier than that of the female crabs. Do you know what is the difference between these female and BAKLA crabs?? well, Female crabs have more ALIGUE ( fat ), while BAKLA ( gay crabs ) have more meat just like the male crabs... although the fat inside these crabs is not as much as that of female crabs. It all depends on what you prefer to eat... the fat of the crab or the meat ... BAKLA crabs are more expensive than the female or male crabs...

Here are the fresh catch for the day...

Did all these photos make your mouth water??? I recommend that you go around all the stalls in the market first before making your purchase... some stalls sell their seafoods cheaper.

Here was what we had for dinner:

Iggy bought  a male crab  (  650 php ) and had them cooked....... CHEF'S CRAB SPECIAL.... It was cooked in a special chili sauce ( which was not spicy at all -- I wondered where all the chili went ! ).. It was yummy but messy. Since our crab was very fresh ... the meat was very sweet.

KANGKONG with BUTTER and GARLIC sauce -- ( the Kangkong was 8 PHP and the cooking cost was 110 PHP ..... such irony!!!!! ).. and to think they used margarine instead of butter!!!!

INIHAW na LIEMPO ( 130 PHP )... it was this cheap because we were only 3 people eating.  I liked this one better than the KANGKONG dish.

KINILAW na TANIGUE ( 220 PHP )... that includes the fish and cooking fee. Although this dish is not as photogenic as the other dishes we ordered ...  I think this dish was very good. Most of the kinilaws I have tasted before would either be too sour or the chili was too strong. You should try this dish when you eat here.

Some things that I have learned tonight .......when you want to dine in places like this ---- you should be with a group (  at least 5 people ) in order to have more dishes to share. You should order plain rice in order to enjoy the different flavors of your dishes.

Why don't you try IGMAAN SEAFOOD RESTAURANT today and let me know what dish you liked the best!

Happy eating!



IGMAAN SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

Macapagal Boulevard
Pasay City

tel. nos. ( 02 ) 566 1830
              ( 0928 ) 505 9405

operating hours : 10am to 12 mn