Travels: Zamboanga City Haisan Seafood Market and Restaurant

Zamboanga being on a coastal area, can boast an abundance of fresh seafood. One particular crustacean is the curacha, a cross between a crab and spiny lobster, found in deep sea waters of Zamboanga. It's seasonal. Thus, it wasn't available during our stay. This blog entry isn't about curacha anyway. :)

For dinner, M took me to Haisan, a seafood restaurant. Similar to Manila’s Dampa but in a more classy restaurant setting. You can choose raw ingredients for your meal and have it cooked on the spot.

There were fresh fish, shrimps, clams, crabs, sea cucumber, etc.

Fresh abalone from the tank

This time, we didn’t have the crabs. Instead, we had the abalone! And they were still swimming inside the tank. M got two pieces, to be cooked with vegetables ala chopsuey. It was my first time to eat fresh abalone. I only got to try the canned ones.

We had clam soup, shrimps cooked adobo style and abalone with vegetables.

clam soup


abalone and sea cucumber cooked with veggies, chopsuey style


shrimps adobo style, M's favorite way of eating shrimps



my plate.... that's a piece of abalone meat.

we also had the durian shake, which is sooooo good - thick and very filling, just like eating the fruit, only in liquid form.

all washed down with yummy durian shake

One of the owners was M’s client/friend. We were given coffee jelly for dessert, compliments of the house. definitely one of the best seafood restaurant I have tried. The food was good and worth the price.... just a bit under Php 1,500.00 for two people.... not bad considering the price of abalone. This place is a must go to when you are in Zamboanga. :)

Hai San Seafood Market and Restaurant
60 San Jose Road, Zamboanga City
Tel. (63) 991-5506, 991-1062