F.I.S.H. (Fiesta Island Seafood Hub)

It was a typical family day for me, we were set out to go to the  Timog-Tomas Morato area for lunch. But on that particular day, I had no  idea which restaurant (that seemed interesting) we haven't tried before.  As I was driving along EDSA (just passed Balintawak) , I remembered  seeing this supposedly seafood restaurant in the Visayas avenue area  when I passed by a few weeks before. Knowing how my dad loves seafood, I  immediately suggested the idea to him and he readily agreed. So off we  went.



Dining area's design is nice and simple, chairs are quite comfy,  lighting is adequate (for flashless photography) and airconditioning is  sufficiently cool. But they also have lots of seats outside if you want  to dine Al Fresco. And I saw several private rooms which the servers  told me comes with Karaoke.


I like the concept in that they separate the dining area from the bar,  cashier counter and all those other stuff so that we can dine in peace.

Food based on what I saw in the menu are predominantly filipino  inpsired, but there are traces of a few international dishes like  sashimi and thai tom yum soups.


KINILAW DAVAO
Tuna, Vinegar, Chili Garlic and Grilled Liempo



Not exactly the best vinegar marinated piece of tuna I have tasted (I  like the one at Circio better) but the taste is still alright given that  we had fresh pieces of tuna that still has that firmness when bitten  into. (I don't like overly soft or mushy fish). The minor issue would be  the liempo ....... it was slightly on the bland side and I was  wondering why some pieces of the pork still have traces of bones and  cartillage.


CRISPY ADOBO SALAD



I do apologize for the lousy picture shot (and this was the safety shot  already) Anyway, this salad had a lot of flavor going on, you got the  sweet-salty flavor of the honey-patis (fish sauce) dressing; the  sweetness of mangoes; the subtle bitterness of the lettuce; the sourness  of the eggplant and tomatoes and the subtle saltiness of the pork adobo  flakes (which you see drizzled on top of the salad) And all of these  flavors really worked together which is why I considered this as my  favorite dish for that particular day.


BAKED OYSTER



We actually had a couple of choices for our toppings, it can be either  cheese, creamy spinach,etc etc ...... I chose the garlic butter, and  when the dish was served to us, I was wondering why they placed cheese  on top of the oysters. The server told me thats also part of the recipe  (gosh, I'm guessing if I order the cheese toppings, I'm going to be  getting the same dish).

In fairness to the oysters, they were fresh and big. But the cheese  completely overwhelmed the taste of the oysters. And sure there were  specks of charred garlic powder on top of the cheese, but you can hardly  taste them too.


BATANGAS BEEF BULALO SOUP
Beef Shanks, Pechay and Filipino Spices



The soup was served piping hot, it had a really good beefy flavor and  for a bulalo soup, it wasn't as oily as I would have expected. I didn't  experience any itch in my lip which means they did not overdo on the MSG  (that is if they used msg in the first place). My minor issue would be  that the beef was unevenly cooked as some parts were still on the tough  side while some were nice and tender.


PANSIT LUGLOG



My dad ordered this and I was glad he did ..... it tasted pretty much  like pansit palabok except they used thicker noodles (somewhat in  between angel hair and spaghetti) and it had lots of small pieces of  shrimps.


INIHAW NA PAMPANO With SZECHUAN CHILI SAUCE



There are other types of sauce that you can choose from but just out of  curiosity, I opted for the Szechuan chili ......... While the fish was  nicely grilled, We didn't really care for the szechuan chili sauce since  we felt it didn't really go well with the fish. In the end, we either  opted for soy sauce or vinegar with chili peppers.


On a personal sidenote: Compared to some other Filipino inspired restos, I had to commend this place because the chef/cook were not that heavy-handed on the salt.

F.I.S.H. address is at 47 Visayas Avenue corner Congressional Avenue....... coming from EDSA, Munoz, just go straight along Congressional Ave heading into the direction of Commonwealth Ave. Pass Mindanao Ave (first major intersection) and pass some familiar establishments like Cherry Fooderama, Gerry's Grill and Starbucks you should come across another major intersection (this is Visayas Ave) At this corner just look into the direction of 1:00 o'clock and you should see the signage ofthe said estalishment.