The Red Crab Alimango House opens in El Nido

Crab is probably the only seafood I have a love-hate relationship with. I love eating its fresh and slightly sweet meat, not to mention that divine crab fat. But getting all those could be a pain. And more often than not, I avoid ordering crab if it's not de-shelled as I've developed a bit of trauma from being hurt while cracking open those long legs. Then again, seeing ginormous ones could be too hard to resist especially when its a restaurant's specialty. 

Hello, The Red Crab Alimango House. 

If you've been to The Red Crab Alimango House in Manila, you'd know that this establishment takes "crab" seriously as it is one of the best places to satisfy your hunger for this delectable crustacean. 

This 2019 is big year for The Red Crab Alimango House as it found a new home at the premier Lio Estate, El Nido last June serving some Palawan-exclusive dishes you have to try when you're around the area. 

And if you fancy those crab dishes mixed with thin noodles in Chinese restaurants, then you are up for a treat!

Crab Bee Hon (PHP299/100g) comes with one whole fatty crab served with creamy bee hon noodles cooked with greens and ginger. Though I'd consider this as one of the messiest dishes to eat, feasting on the fresh crab meat and crab fat would make all the hard work worthwhile. You might also want to grab a plate or two of rice to complement this dish.

Seafood buckets of shrimp (PHP595), Palawan mussels (PHP395) or an assortment of seafood (PHP695) are also available if you want to get your hands into even more delicious mess. I'd recommend the assorted bucket as you get the best of both. Just choose among salted egg, butter garlic, chili cajun and crab roe adobo or your bucket's sauce. 

Surf and Turf platters are excellent for those who want the flavors of land and sea or just those who can't seem to get to decide on just one. Each platter comes with a side of rice, mashed potatoes or veggies. We got to try Chicken and Bangus Inasal (PHP495). This filling plate of chicken inasal topped with salted egg salsa and boneless daing na bangus is great for sharing! Though I've had better inasal, this platter's fish is delicious! Seasoned well and generously topped with garlic bits, it was an instant favorite. 

But my ultimate love during my visit was this picturesque bowl of Pulpo Pasta (PHP325). It was pure happiness in every mouthful. Al dente pasta swimming in perfectly balanced creamy sauce and topped with tender and beautifully charred octopus... this is one of the best pulpo dishes I've had to date! 

We also had Watermelon and Dalandan shakes (PHP128) to go with our festive meal. 

Every single Palawan-exclusive dish was scrumptious. It sucks that these are not available in The Red Crab Manila branches but I do hope that they reconsider. I'll be dreaming of Pulpo Pasta for now. Or maybe a few sleepless nights will convince me to book the next flight to El Nido. 

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