Living in California miles away from home makes you always crave for those home cooked Filipino meals and being a seafood lover that I am, my first stop when visiting Manila is actually “dampa” to satisfy all my seafood craving because trust me, as much as we have quite a few options of Pinoy restaurants back in the States, nothing compares to your roots right? So when Hungry Shrimp finally opened its doors and nowhere else (yet) but our hometown then which is in BF, Las Pinas, I’ve been following reviews until I was finally able to try it when I visited last December! I’ve had quite a few visits to be able to try some variety and as much as I would love to try them all, there’s never enough time because you just get to have a few and save some for the next..and now I can’t wait to visit soon in 2 weeks! 4/4 Quevada siblings finally enjoyed it!
My sister and I being foodie really critiqued the food and from all the raving reviews from friends, family and sites..it didn’t disappoint! It was your one stop restaurant from pasta, seafood, kiddie meals like chicken tenders, veggies siders from my fave Okra with Bagoong to Eggplant, stir fry, grilled orders and of course the Pinoy favorites from sinigang to kare kare to all the seafood you’ll crave for from crabs, mussels, squid and shrimps and cap that off with a bucket of beer or a glass of wine for your chill nights! It is also a great place for celebrations and they always have promotional deals on all occasions! Just recently, they offered solo meals and happy hour for those lunch work hours to be made even better! But if you want to try the bestsellers, definitely go for the platters which gives you variety at affordable price perfect for sharing with family & friends! Some people think they won’t enjoy it because they don’t like seafood but they have a wide variety to cater to all so don’t miss out and see for yourself! Just a tip, come in with empty stomachs for full experience!
Bangus El Perfecto- Living up to its name, it’s the best and the first one we actually finished because it was quite unexpected that the fish would stand out in the meals, I’ve been hearing about it which is quite surprising but I’ve never had Bangus this good! It was the perfect marinade with that pepper and vinegar dip to match and Bangus tends to be dry inside but this one was cooked perfectly still tender and moist. I’m not good with cooking terms, but if it’s close to melting in your mouth, it does! One bite would make you just get one after the other.. especially the belly part was generous! Great quality for this!
Sinigang sa Sampaloc - I’ve had both Pork & Bangus! But nothing beats this favorite with a little fat and they make it in different spice levels which was a bit spicy for those who are not high tolerance so adjust it to mild if you are but like me, I like that kick if spice along with that sour soup! I like eating my meals with soup to match and Sinigang would never fail you!
Holy Calamari - I’ve heard so much raving reviews how Holy this Calamari was definitely a must try and bestseller of HS and to my surprise, I thought initially it was more of the salty side but surprisingly, it has this sweet kick with spice and that magical secret white sauce to match! So good to describe, not your typical calamari! Definitely, a great starter for your appetizer to snack on or partner with that beer & stories on your friday/weekend nights!
Grilled BBQ Pork Ribs - If you’re that ribs person this is for you! Very soft tender glazed ribs, flavorful and has that sweet kick perfect beer reduction taste!
Grilled Pork Steak - This reminds of beef steak but Pork instead, with the right marinade perfect for your rice! It’s soft and tender and a great meal for a meat eater! and those not into/allergic to seafood. It also matches that calamari special white sauce, oh right..that sauces just matches everything!
Shrimps - How can you go wrong with shrimp?! There’s a lot of competition out there but the uniqueness of HS are the flavors they offer perfect for all the palettes whether it be on the sweet side, honey garlic or the chili side, classic butter garlic and even the trend on salted egg..they give a generous portion but one tray is never enough and it will make you use your hands to devour it with all that magic white sauce dripping!
The Java rice was also a plus to match the meals! A little extra flavor than your usual plain rice.
I heard they now offer Bagoong & Aligue rice too which was another must try from the food blogs I’ve read so for the bagoong lover that I am, I have yet to try that and the Bagnet Kare Kare with lots of bagoong!
Jana’s Lemon Iced Tea - Really a great combo to your meals, it’s natural and not so sweet with just the right tanginess it made me order 2 and those are tall glasses! Even that was a surprise! It’s a good pause in between eating!
Silvanas - it’s one of those you’ll crave for but not the usual dessert you’ll find so I’m glad they did! It has the perfect buttery taste and not so sweet perfect to cap off your meal and something light for your heavy tummies after all those great dishes!
I can only say so much for what I’ve tried, and until then..this list would go on but now I have another new favorite nestled in this quiet residential turning into a commercial area perfect for my visits in Manila and for you guys, for days you’re lazy to cook or quickly wanting to have a meal, crave for seafood or Filipino favorites, celebrate occasions or simply unwind, check it out and book your table early as it gets filled up easily.. oh they do offer delivery and accommodate big orders too for holidays too! Until then, I will keep craving and read on reviews! ;)
Overall, same as others said, it’s more than worth the price you pay for, servings were generous but rice will make you have that extra 2-3 servings as every dish was just so good! I ate with just 2 other girls and we had 3 family servings of rice and finished 90% of what we ordered..it was just amazing we left with filled and happy tummies I can still remember up to this date! :) Definitely, another Filipino resto to look out for, definitely worth a visit! I as a foodie usually reads reviews before I try out a place so share your experience too and give this restaurant the thumbs up and share they deserve! My sister’s friend has been requesting it to branch out to the North and I heard malls are already coming to them, I guess I’ll keep watching for this rising “not just your ordinary” seafood neighborhood resto!
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