Alavar Seafood Restaurant of Zamboanga: Everyone Went Gaga Over the Curacha

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The spanner crab or more popularly known in Zamboanga city as the Curacha is like a gigantic brilliant-red orange cockroach with pincers and fringed with hair at its sides. The name curacha is so close to the chavacano word cucuracha which literally means cockroach, thus the name.

It may be a weird looking monster-like crustacean but many are longing to dine on these Indo-Australian crabs once they are cooked, minimally either steamed or boiled, because it is best experienced in its natural exotic flavor, so as to preserve its original taste.

You should add sauce toppings made with a combination of gata (coconut milk), ginger, chili and other aromatics to enhance the flavor. But the well-loved special sauce from the Alavar Seafood Restaurant seems to be the most highly recommended in the city.

Contrary to what others are saying, these sea creatures can also be found in other waters aside from just Zamboanga. It just so happens that Zamboanga was the one that made it popular as the iconic must-try native delicacy when you go visit Asia's Latin City.

Palmeras Restaurant of Zamboanga: Doing the Knickerbocker All the Way

Wazzup Pilipinas!

You'll know everyone liked it when we can't stop talking about it. The ultimate proof is when everyone votes to order it on the last day before going back to Manila. This delectable dessert from Palmeras Restaurant of Zamboanga was simply a blockbuster hit for all of us that we persuaded our host to treat us out again with the yummy treat while we ate at another restaurant.

The Knickerbocker from Palmeras Restaurant is not really that complicated to make because its simply similar to our native halo-halo but instead of beans, sweet potatoes, and other traditional halo-halo ingredients with ice, they used an assortment of fruits instead, plus a few jellos then generously trickled with cream and topped off with a scoop of strawberry ice cream.

There was melon, banana, ripe mango, watermelon,.... and one of our companions even said he tasted avocado somewhere in the mix.

The Palmeras Restaurant serves a lot of delightful dishes but it was their dessert that became the talk of the afternoon, and until the next grueling days when we felt hot under the scorching heat. "How I wish I was eating a knickerbocker right now" I would say to myself. Maybe because it had an extraordinary name unlike any other but what is a name if it didn't taste great as well.

In fairness to the other dishes from the restaurant, I will also share them with you as they also brought out a huge appetite from our group.

Jan Manual Plays "Beki" Role in Tanikala: My Sister, My Lover

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Kapuso actor-comedian Jan Manual may have not won when he joined the teenage reality show Starstruck, but as many would say, there's always a next time and a host of other opportunities. This served true for Jan after landing the lead role in an episode of CBN Asia's Holy Week Special Tanikala: My Sister, My Lover.

Exciting things are about to happen in the coming months for CBN Asia especially with Holy Week is just a few weeks away. On Maundy Thursday until Black Saturday, CBN Asia brings back its telemovie Tanikala, where a great line up of stories on pain, tears, hope and moving on, and of how God worked in the lives of the four people featured will be shown.

On Maundy Thursday at 5:30 p.m. on GMA 7, Jan Manual and Sheena Halili star in My Sister, My Lover, where Jan plays the role of gay Art Duyan.