Mention Roxas City and images of all the seafood you can imagine will flood your thoughts. Whether they are the freshest catch of the day - shrimps still jumping, crabs crawling away and fish of all kinds struggling; or those that have been salted and dried lining up the market - it's all in the Seafood Capital of the Philippines!
I was in Roxas City over the weekend to join CAPIZtahan 2013 Festivities. Now on its third year, this years celebration marks the 112th Foundation Day of the civil government of Capiz and the 65th Death Anniversary of the President Manuel Acuña Roxas. I was particularly involved in the Seafood Culinary Competition as judge together with Mr. Eugene Jamerlan, Chefs Miguel Cordova, Ramlo Villaluna and ?? Barbers.
Held at the People's Park in the Baybay area, there were seven participants, representing various restaurants and resorts from all over Roxas City and nearby towns. They were out to compete for the Best Seafood Dish that reflects the gastronomic bounty the Seafood Capital of the Philippines.
An hour was given for the contestants to prepare their respective dishes. They can prepare any dish using any (additional) ingredient or cooking method provided it would consist of a fish or crustacean and shellfish. As we checked them out, it was indeed a galore of the freshest seafood to which even the Capiceños were excited given the crowd that build around the area.
One of the fastest dishes to be finished and presented was the Seafood Capiz Curry by the team representing Spring Hills Resort in Ivisan, Capiz. It combined curry powder and coconut milk plus a host of other seasoning to make curry sauce for the shrimp, crabs, scallops and squid.
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| Seafood Capiz Curry |
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| Manggad sang Capiz |
An interesting entry was from San Antonio Resort, which was just a stone's throw away. Dubbed as Tinagong Laman ng Dagat sa Ubad, I had a hard time looking for the ubad, which was later found mixed with the sotanghon. The presentation of the dish had the entry almost tinago (hidden) under banana leaves with a portion of the only showing the crabs, prawns, shrimps and kagaykay.
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| Tinagong Laman ng Dagat with Ubad |
But underneath is the base of the dish which is sotanghon mixed with the crustacean's meat with an oyster and tamarind sauce concoction. The savoury-sour mix made the brought the the freshness of the dish and even without the seafood, the sotanghon alone could stand on it's own. It was a bonus that they used my favorite brand of sotanghon - Marca Pato.
Among the most eye catching was Festa Restaurant's entry named Lakot-Lakay nga Kalan-on Dagat. Lakot means ingredient and kalan-on dagat means seafood, I have yet to research on lakay. Clearly it's seafood valenciana or paella as it is a complete meal having a carbo-base with protein on the sides. The malagkit was overcooked that it looked and tasted like hardened arroz caldo.
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| Lakot-Lakay nga Kalan-on Dagat. |
Another soup dish was Grand Gazebo's Sabaw sang Capiz (Capiz Seafood Soup). Made with crabs, clams and prawns in a fish stock seasoned with tanglad, iba (kamias) and garnished with papaya. It could easily pass as a local version of tom yum if it was given a more spicy treatment.
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| Sabaw sang Capiz |
Next was the Capiz Food Mix Special from Daytime Pad Restaurant which can be likened to an unwrapped seafood lumpia. Shrimps, crabs and scallops were sauteed with cabbage, potato, singkamas, chinese pechay and sayote then all placed atop a crisp lumpia wrapper. It was topped with cashew nuts and served with a freshly made lumpia sauce on the side.
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| Capiz Food Mix Special |
Last, but certainly not the least, was a seafood fusion recipe from Anot's galley amed Hiyas ng Capiz. The chef (which I heard worked as a cook aboard a cruise?ship) finished the dish in the nick of time, literally as the emcees were counting off the last few seconds in the clock. Among all the entries this was the most complicated as it underwent many cooking techniques as each ingredient were cooked separately and assembled in an intricate presentation.
The orange sauce consisted of sauteed aligue sauce (prepared beforehand) and the white sauce - capsicum cream.It has steamed and sauteed scallops and mussels, fried prawns, squid and crab claws; and fried fish fillet that resembles a cordon bleu - all de glazed with white wine. It also has mustasa, olives and lemon as garnish.
It was one afternoon full of the wonderful flavors of Capiz - from the freshest seafood finds to the "hustle and bustle" at People's Park as everybody were also in the mood for more food and this time they got to see and learn how to cook or get a few tips and tricks. A very festive atmosphere for an aptly named event at the same time a perfect assembly of food and foodies from many parts of the country converging in the Seafood Capital of the Philippines to celebrate CAPIZtahan 2013!
See more photos of the CAPIZtahan Seafood Cooking Competition on Facebook.