I had nine days to spend in Zamboanga City. Aside from visiting tourist spots, I couldn’t wait to have a food trip adventure. I didn’t spend my money by going to different restaurants everyday, but I made sure to taste the specialties of Zamboanga.
Zamboanga City Food Trip
December 2-10, 2012
Foodtrip in Zamboanga
The best way to travel in the city is by tricycle. These trikes don’t have a route so be ready to pay a minimum of 50 Php per ride, depending on the destination.
best to travel by trike
By the way, pardon the lousy pictures. I didn’t take my time taking photos because of wanting to eat the dishes right away (excuses, hehe).
Jimmy’s Satti Spicy Snack
A serving of Satti comes with three sticks of beef or chicken skewers and puso (rice wrapped in coconut leaves) in spicy sauce. I was told that this was supposedly just a snack; but since I didn’t eat breakfast, I had about 2 servings plus additional skewers. Let me mention that the I love the puso because it wasn’t dry.
Instead of heading to Jimmy’s Satti Haus along Pilar Street, Jana and I went to a stall inside the Ateneo de Zamboanga University (AdZU). It was the school’s 100th founding anniversary and conveniently, they had a booth inside the campus where we could eat the famous delicacy.
Jimmy’s Satti
Just like Cebu’s Siomai sa Tisa, Jimmy’s Satti is a famous snack that becomes a meal, perfect for the budget-conscious. I can only imagine how many students have made this as their lunch during class breaks; I know I would if I studied in Zamboanga.
25 Php for a serving of Satti. Don’t forget to pair it with ice-cold Coke; really good to appease the spiciness.
Jimmy’s Satti Haus
Pilar Street, Zamboanga City
Tel No. (062) 993-2254
Curacha Deep-Sea Crab and Alavar Sauce
For main course, Alavar is a well-known staple. They are famous for curacha (deep-sea crabs) and their alavar sauce (mixture of coconut milk and other spices). I’m not a big fan of crabs because I find them hard to eat, but that’s just me. haha. Meals are a bit pricey for a budget-traveller, but it’s better if you bring your friends with you so you can split the bill. Minimum order of Curacha is 850 Php.
Curacha with the famous Alavar sauce
You can also try their bake clams and green mango with bagoong. They have combo meals where you can order a little bit of everything for as low as 250 Php. But if you’re in a large group, I suggest you go directly for the famous Curacha.
Alavar Seafood Restaurant
Don Alfaro Street, Tetuan, Zamboanga City
Tel No. (062) 991-2483 or (062) 991-3146
Cakes at Myrna’s Bake House
This reminds me of Bacolod’s Calea pastry shop where cakes are affordable (around 50 Php per slice). Not sure if there were cheesecakes available as we simply asked for the bestsellers.
Chocolate something and Crema de Fruta were what we ordered.
There’s about four or five branches of Myrna’s bake House in the city. We bought their bestsellers in their branch near Ateneo de Zamboanga University.
Myrna’s Bake House
Buenavista St., Zamboanga City, 7000
Tel No. (062)9919252
Knicker Bocker Delight at Paseo Del Mar
I had this impression that knickerbocker is another type of halo-halo. Although it’s also a dessert, it’s made up of fresh fruits (mango plus watermelon) and gelatin with milk and topped with strawberry ice cream. I’m a big fan of ice cream and looking at the line in their Paseo del Mar branch, it was obvious that this dessert is a big hit among the crowd.
knickerbocker
You can beat the Zamboanga heat and enjoy this famous dessert for only 60 Php per glass.
Aside from these must-try food, don’t forget to buy fruits from different sellers in the area. Zamboanga is located in Mindanao so expect the fruits to be cheap! It was mangosteen season when I was there, but I bought sweet pineapples from Bukidnon instead. Don’t miss out on marang, too! Thinking about how affordable the fruits were makes me want to visit any region in Mindanao again.
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This trip was made possible by Airphil Express. Airphil Express flies from Cebu to Zamboanga every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Airphil Express also flies to Zamboanga from Manila, Davao, Jolo, and Tawi-Tawi.
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Check out my other Zamboanga articles here:
- Zamboanga Trip: Things to Do, Places to Visit
- Zamboanga Trip: Gorgeous Merloquet Falls
- Zamboanga Trip: Picnic at Sta. Cruz Island aka Pink Island
- Zamboanga City Food Trip
- Zamboanga Trip: Pasonanca Tour, Fort Pilar, Paseo del Mar and City Hall
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soloflightEd.com is a travel blog by Edcel Suyo. He enjoys performing headstands and crazy stunts during his trips in the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Now based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and working to earn a living, he takes time to enjoy the city and travel during weekends.
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Why is the meat skewers swimming in so much sauce/dip?
grabe napakamahal ng curacha. kaya ngayon pag nasa hotel buffets ako, pinapansin ko na sila. hehe
@bertN: that's how it's being served, bert. 🙂 I remember I couldn't finish the sauce. hehe. But it's great to have lots of rice with it. Carbo-loading.
@chyng: yes, ang mahal mahal! hahaha. tapos konte lang yung laman kasi crabs. oh well, bawi sa sauce naman. papansinin ko na rin ang mga crabs sa hotel buffets. haha
Curacha, ang panlamong walang pahinga! Hehe joke 😀
Nagutom ako sa crab pati nung nakita ko yung sauce huhu 0_0 Kumain ako kagabi pero baby crabs naman. Ngayon ko lang narealize effort din magbukas ng crab, pero for me it is best eaten kung may kasamang kanin at malamig na malamig na coke 😀 Sana maka-foodtrip na rin ako sa Zamboanga 😀
It's nice na ang ending ay halo-halo 😀
@Micamyx: haha. di ba? really takes time to break those crabs and take the meat out. the meat isn't even that many. haha. Alavar's sauce is really good. I didn't realize how much rice I ate. Pasama ka kay Dong Ho kung babalik sya sa kanila. 🙂
SATTI! Spicy Satti!
I stayed in Zambo for a week with my GF(she's local) she had me try satti and curacha. It was meatiest crab I've eaten. Your blog about the place brought good vibes… just awesome!
@Jj Diaz: love these zamboanga food! thanks for dropping by my site! 🙂