When we are saying Zamboanga City is colourful, we’re not simply referring to the color-blocked sail of the vinta or the rosy glow of Santa Cruz Grande Island’s Pink Beach. The vividness of Asia’s Latin City goes past what the eyes can see. Its intricate historical past as a settlement and kaleidoscopic mixture of cultures are greatest skilled by way of one other elementary sense — the sense of style.
Ever heard of curacha?
If it sounds acquainted, it’s most likely as a result of it reminds you of La Cucaracha, a Mexican people music a couple of cockroach that additionally grew to become fairly widespread within the Philippines. Curacha (in Chavacano) and cucaracha (in Spanish) imply the identical — cockroach. And it’s no shock on condition that Chavacano, Zamboanga’s dominant language, is a Spanish-based Creole.
But earlier than you lose your urge for food, know that we’re not going to ask you to go full Fear Factor in Zamboanga. Instead, we’re inviting you to have a style of probably the most mouth-watering crustaceans that the area has to supply — spanner crabs!
Curacha obtained its title due to its spiky, bushy look that kinda resembles you-know-what. But if you happen to look carefully, it kinda seems just like the love youngster of a large crab and an extended lobster. And as a result of it packs extra meat and extra taste than the crabs we’re used to, they’re wanted. Thankfully, they thrive within the waters surrounding the area.
For many, the very best place to have a style of curacha is Alavar Seafood Restaurant, which serves curacha cooked in and doused with its well-known specialty sauce, which is produced from coconut milk, aligue (crab roe paste) and numerous spices. This tremendous wealthy sauce mixed with the seafood umami bombs which might be curacha, you’ll by no means style different crab dishes the identical means once more.
But be warned: It’s not low cost. You can order curacha by the kilo (minimal 1 kg). The final time we dined right here, a kilo of it in alavar sauce prices P1500 to P1700, relying on the scale of the crabs.
The sauce alone is unforgettable. It’s so widespread that vacationers drop by Alavar on the way in which to the airport to take residence frozen packs of it.
Alavar Seafood Restaurant
Address: 173 Don Alfaro Street, Zamboanga City
Operating Hours: Daily, 10:00 am – 10:00 pm
Specialty: Curacha in Alavar Sauce
But if you happen to’d slightly take residence freshly caught curacha, head over to Aderes Flea Market in Guiwan. You should purchase raw curacha at a lower cost right here, together with lobsters and different seafood.
How acquainted are you with Moro dishes? A little bit bit? Not fairly? Not in any respect?
If you reside in Metro Manila or close by areas, you most likely haven’t tried it. (Or in my case earlier than my Zamboanga journey, not even heard of it.) We’re used to dishes from Luzon and Visayas. Many of us are much more acquainted with international fare. So when in Zamboanga, have a style of Moro delicacies!
More than a 3rd of Zamboanga City’s inhabitants observe Islam. The Moros, Filipino Muslims, have developed a meals tradition that’s fascinatingly completely different from different areas. While garlic, onions and ginger stay frequent substances, the Moros prefer to additionally use spices like galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime and turmeric, that are extra regular in our maritime Southeast Asian neighbors.
You’ll additionally discover that the Tausugs love utilizing coconut milk and — get this — burnt or charred coconut, which provides a lot of its dishes its black look. It does look just a little bit intimidating at first look, however belief me, it’s tremendous scrumptious. It doesn’t style burnt in any respect, but it surely offers depth and complexity to its style that’s fairly arduous to explain. You’ve gotta style it your self.
In Zamboanga City, probably the most handy place for vacationers to pattern Moro dishes is Bay Tal Mal. It’s as a result of they serve latal (P959), which is a platter of varied Tausug dishes together with the next:
- Tiyulah itum (tiyula itum or tiulah itum, actually “black soup”), beef in black broth made with burnt coconut and spices.
- Beef kulma, beef cubes stewed in a curry sauce.
- Piyassak, beef liver cubes cooked with pounded spices, charred coconut and coconut milk
- Chicken piyanggang, hen marinated in burnt coconut and numerous spices after which grilled.
- Chicken kaliya, hen stewed in coconut milk with lemongrass, turmeric, ginger and different spices.
- Beef adobo
- Fried fish
- Fried shrimp or squid
- Kiyaliya kapaya, papaya; or cucumber sambal (the sambal is so fab delish!)
Although not on the menu, I believe one of many dishes on our platter was utak-utak (fried fish cake).
You can take pleasure in this platter of delicacies with rice. But we often add a plate of mee goreng (P259), which is served with arduous boiled egg. We simply love mie goreng so we order it each time we spot it on the menu. (LOL.) But they’ve much more gadgets on its menu.
When I attempted it for the primary time, Bay Tal Mal was nonetheless positioned alongside Mayor Jaldon Street. But it has since moved to the 4th degree of SM Mindpro.
Bay Tal Mal Restaurant
Address: 4th ground, SM Mindpro, La Purisima Street, Zamboanga City
Operating Hours: Monday-Thursday, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm; Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm; Saturday-Sunday, 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Specialty: Latal (platter of Tausug dishes)
Another restaurant that serves this Tausug tray of goodness is Dennis Coffee Garden, located close to the airport. Here, they name it dulang (P1100), but it surely’s mainly the identical. But whereas Bay Tal Mal’s platter has 10 completely different dishes, Dennis’s has six.
Speaking of Dennis Coffee Garden…
Dennis Coffee Garden‘s roots can be traced back all the way to 1962 Jolo, Sulu, where a small cafe called Omar’s Place was established. Sixty years later, the title has modified and a number of branches have sprouted together with this one in Zamboanga City.
We already talked about the dulang or latal that they serve right here. But it’s extra well-known for one thing else — you guessed it — COFFEE! Dennis Coffee Garden takes satisfaction of their genuine espresso known as the kahawa sug, which might be served sizzling or iced. It’s extra on the sturdy finish of the spectrum, so if you happen to favor daring espresso, this could possibly be for you! The iced model, nonetheless, is served with milk.
Aside from Sulu espresso, it’s also widespread for his or her bangbang sug or native Tausug pastries. We labored up an urge for food earlier that day so we determined to order all the gadgets on their snack menu! Besides, we actually wished to strive all of them! Each merchandise prices P95 now. The final time we visited (2022), it was solely P65.
- Jualan saing, deep-fried bananas with sweetened coconut dip (consider it as a deconstructed banana que)
- Jualan panggih, deep-fried candy potatoes with sweetened coconut dip (type of a deconstructed camote que)
- Daral, crepe with candy filling manufactured from coconut (filling tastes like bukayo)
- Panggih-panggih, deep-fried flour rings
- Wadjit, glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk (unavailable throughout our go to)
- Pitis, glutinous rice flour truffles with coconut filling, wrapped in banana leaves
- Patulakan, pounded rice with milk and grated coconut, wrapped in banana leaves
- Biyaki, grated candy corn truffles, wrapped in corn husks then steamed
We additionally ordered pastil, which has similarities to empanada with togue filling and served with a candy and spicy sauce. (We additionally tried pastil in Tawi-tawi but it surely had bihon noodles as filling.)
Out of all of this, we loved jualan saing, daral, biyaki and panggih-panggih probably the most!
Dennis Coffee Garden
Branches: San Jose Road (Baliwasan), KCC Mall Zamboanga City, Yubengco (Tetuan), and Southern Heights (La Paz)
Specialty: Kahawa sug (Sulu espresso) and Bangbang sug (Tausug pastries)
As we explored Zamboanga City, we couldn’t assist however discover that loads of institutions serve so-called satti. We even noticed plenty of regular-looking homes with indicators that learn, “We serve satti”. It obtained us extremely curious! Satti appears like satay (hen satay, beef satay), so I had my concepts on what it could possibly be. But many satti signages had illustrations of bowls, not sticks of meat, which confused us at first.
Well, effectively, it turned out that satti is certainly much like satay (grilled skewered meat). But on this a part of the world, it’s often served half-dipped in a bowl of red-orange spicy sauce with cubes of molded rice. And to my shock, that is really a breakfast favourite! Nothing beats a spicy kick to start out the day!
When we requested the locals (largely tricycle drivers) for the very best satti place within the metropolis, all fingers pointed at Jimmy’s Satti Food Haus. Unfortunately, attributable to time constraints, we did not pay a go to. Too unhealthy!
(That mentioned, we had been in a position to strive satti at Dennis Coffee Garden! I’m a sucker for something grilled and spicy, so it was love at first chew for me. I nonetheless want I obtained to strive Jimmy’s although. But I assume this provides me a cause to return to Zamboanga!)
Jimmy’s Satti Food Haus
Address: Pilar Street, Zamboanga City
Operating hours: 3:30 am – 5:30 pm
Specialty: Satti
If you’re craving pork, you could be stunned to know that one space in Zamboanga has mastered the artwork of creating lechon! Yes, entire pig roasted to perfection! Here in Tetuan, lechon is offered at kiosks stationed alongside the street. And there are many them right here!
I used to be fairly shocked to find out about it at first as a result of town has a major Muslim inhabitants. Before setting foot right here for the primary time, I initially (mistakenly) assumed that pork — a staple protein in Pinoy kitchens elsewhere — could be notably absent in most components of town as a result of it’s forbidden in Islam. But there it was, a road lined with pork lechon stalls promoting kilo after kilo of suckling pig.
When we requested locals for suggestions, one institution that was constantly talked about was Prince Tasty Lechon. They have a number of stalls all through town, however we selected the one in Tetuan, only a quick stroll from Alavar.
Like others beside it, Prince is a small stall with a suckling pig on show as a workers member chops away. You can ask for a bit of the crispy pores and skin to have a style. A kilo prices P550 (as of January 2025, it’s now P600). You may also order half a kilo, which is at P350. You can have it as a complete slab or have it chopped.
Tetuan lechon is commonly in comparison with Cebu’s extra well-known model. Once you style it, it’s not obscure why. It’s simply so flavorful! The pores and skin is tremendous crispy however not arduous; it breaks with the gentlest of bites. The meat is moist, juicy and tender. The mixture of calamansi, garlic, onions, pepper, bay leaf and different herbs seeps so deep into the meat. We weren’t given any sauce. Not positive if it truly is eaten with out it or the workers simply forgot. But regardless, there’s no want for it.
If a kilo or half a kilo remains to be an excessive amount of for you, you may order a combol meal from Prince Foodcourt, positioned on Estrada Street, only a quick stroll from their stall alongside Don Alfaro Street. For P150, the set contains 200 grams of lechon, two cups of rice, a small bowl of soup, and a drink.
Prince Tasty Lechon Fastfood
Address: Estrada Street, Tetuan, Zamboanga City
Open: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
So far, we’ve already coated largely major programs and heavy proteins. How about we transfer on to dessert?
Here in Zamboanga City, no different dessert has reached the legendary standing of the knickerbocker. The what?
Knickerbocker! Think of it because the fruitier, more healthy stepsister of the halo-halo. This loopy colourful concoction is a mixture of jellies and recent fruits like watermelon, apple, pineapply and mango, drizzled with condensed milk and topped with strawberry ice cream. It’s vivid, candy, and creamy, excellent for laundry down no matter lunch or dinner you had.
These days, you may take pleasure in a cup from distributors at Paseo del Mar, however if you happen to’re after the unique, head over to Hacienda de Palmeras Hotel and Restaurant, broadly considered the institution that invented this tropical dessert. The restaurant is about in a backyard in a quiet nook of town, however nonetheless simply accessible by jeepney or tricycle.
Hacienda de Palmeras Hotel and Restaurant
Address: Pasonanca Road, Sta. Maria, Zamboanga City
Operating Hours: Wednesday-Friday, 10:00 am – 10:00 pm; Saturday-Tuesday, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Specialty: Seafood and Knickerbocker
Of course! Any TPT journey isn’t full with out pillaging the parks and again alleys for some good old school road meals! These on a regular basis accessible munchies inform so much in regards to the place, its folks, and its tradition. You can discover road meals wherever, particularly in busy areas like the general public market and across the metropolis corridor.
Usual Pinoy faves like kikiam, fish balls and banana que can be found, however you’ll additionally discover one thing distinctive to the area. My favourite is chikalang. No, not chika lang. Chikalang! It’s a glutinous rice cake rolled in brown sugar. It’s similar to pilipit or karioka, solely larger, denser, heavier and really very purple.
It’s often among the many many gadgets on peddlers’ bilao. We had it at Paseo del Mar!
R.T. Lim Boulevard additionally hosts plenty of road meals distributors. Some of the road meals decisions are satay or “ihaw-ihaw”, pastil, and lokot-lokot. You’ll additionally discover balut and penoy as quickly because the solar begins to set.
On our final go to, we seen locals promoting one thing in styrofoam containers. Curious, we approached one and requested what was inside. To our (pleasant) shock, it was mie goreng! It’s served with fried egg on prime and a calamansi on the facet, and drizzled with sizzling sauce. At that point, we snagged it for less than P35!
Coincidentally, we had been simply speaking about craving noodles simply moments earlier than so we didn’t even give it some thought! We additionally had a pleasant dialog with Kuya Jul, the vendor, as we stuffed our face with noodles.
It is fully doable to strive all of the eating places and meals spots talked about above by yourself. In your itinerary, you may insert a lunch or dinner cease, whichever is closest to the world you’re exploring that day. (We’ll publish a pattern itinerary, so you’ll want to test again quickly.)
But if you need a extra insightful expertise, it’s possible you’ll be a part of a Food and Culture Tour, provided by iTravel Tourist Lane, led by Errold Bayona.
It was really Errold who launched to us these wonderful foodie locations years in the past. So once I just lately returned to Zamboanga, I already knew the place to go to eat.
You might contact them by way of any of the next:
We paid for all the meals featured on this submit.
We have tried three completely different resorts in Zamboanga and all of them had been first rate and nice:
If you’ve gotten an even bigger price range, you might also take a look at these different properties within the space:
2025 2 1 – Updated data together with opening hours and costs
2022 6 5 – First uploaded
Words by: Yosh Dimen
Photos by: Yosh Dimen & Vins Carlos