Tag: paluto

Asia is home to many countries with varied geography, climes and cultures, giving rise to richly diverse cuisines.

At Asian Taste Seafood Restaurant, located at the foodie haven Seascape Village in Pasay City, this diversity is showcased and celebrated.

While the dining area at the ground floor is set up like a typical Chinese restaurant – complete with 10-seater round tables, each with a lazy susan so people can eat family style – the second floor VIP rooms add a stunning view of Manila Bay. Despite Seascape Village being a “paluto” area – where diners can buy their fish and other seafood from the wet market within the complex and have them cooked by the restaurant, Asian Taste added some fine dining elements to their diners’ experience with well-appointed surroundings and accommodating wait staff.

As explained by restaurant manager, Ryan Uy, Asian Taste’s menu spans several Asian cuisines, including Chinese (of course!), Japanese, Thai, Malaysian and more (even Filipino!), giving its diners a literal taste of Asia. To this end, the restaurant employs two chefs from Hong Kong who bring their flair and expertise in cooking up tasty Asian dishes.

Together with fellow foodies from #WeLoveToEatPH and #SaanSaPH, I attended a food crawl organized by Seascape Village, the first stop of which was at this restaurant. Here, we tasted some of its signature dishes which included:

3 Cups Chicken. Also called sanbeiji, this Taiwanese braised poultry dish got its name from the traditional use of 1 cup each of soy sauce, sesame oil and rice wine. Basil, ginger, garlic and spring onions are added to flavor the dish. Legend has it that a sympathetic prison warden prepared this dish (using these limited number of ingredients) for the Chinese poet and patriot Wen Tianxiang prior to his execution ordered by Kublai Khan.

Pompano in Tausi. This mildly-flavored fish is fried instead of steamed, giving its skin a slight crispy texture which contrasts well with the black bean sauce.

Salt and Pepper Liempo. Don’t be fooled by the seemingly simple preparation of this dish: juicy pork belly seasoned with salt and pepper then stir-fried to a golden brown and topped with chilis and garlic make for a flavorful viand.

Mango Lapu. This Singaporean dish is made of lightly-battered and fried lapu-lapu, topped with strips of green and yellow mango that added sweet and tart elements as well as contrasts in texture to the dish.

Golden Beans. Crisp French beans lightly coated with salted egg yolk batter, another culinary influence from Singapore.

Prawn Tempura. Large juicy tiger prawns covered in golden crispy batter. These have an extra layer of bubble-like batter for added crunch.

Asian Taste is clearly the place to be for a taste of Asia – different facets of a cuisine rich in stories and traditions, expressed in every dish.

Many thanks to Ryan and the staff of Asian Taste Seafood Restaurant for the warm welcome and the wonderful meal and to Jen and Louie of Seascape Village for inviting us.

Asian Taste Seafood Restaurant is located at Seascape Village, Atang dela Rama, CCP Complex, Pasay City (near Sofitel and Manila Film Center), open daily from 11am to 12 midnight. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 8520877 or +63 917 8557926.

Disclosure: Together with fellow foodies, I attended a foodie meetup held at this restaurant. Food items mentioned here were served to allow us to sample the fare in exchange for an honest review and were not paid for by the attendees including myself.