The Beachcomber is dead. Long live Obama!
In 1998, in the absence of all the bars and lounges that now stretch along the entire length of White Beach, people can only be found either at The Beachcomber or drinking themselves silly with an endless stream of jam jars and 14 shooters at Cocomangas. Beachcomber, I remember in particular, because back then, we were cheap enough to bring our own beer and position ourselves on the beachfront OUTSIDE Beachcomber. This we did to enjoy cheap beer while listening to the music that was blaring out of Beachcomber--as each of us took turns at the makeshift "rope swings" that hung from the coco trees. I remember back then, after enduring endless streams of "My Heart Goes Shalalalala...Shalala in the mooooorniiiing.....", BFF Marts marched up to the DJ and requested for some other tune. This, she did repeatedly, realizing that the DJ wasn't exactly giving in to her requests. On the nth time she went up to him, she rushed back to us laughing her fool head off.
"Ano nangyari?" we asked her.
Still laughing, she said, "Sabi niya sa akin, 'Eh, miss, hindi naman kayo dito bumibili ng beer eh.'" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Smart. Baduy taste in music, but smart. HAHA! =D
Hubby Sweet and I went back to Boracay this summer to find The Beachcomber gone with Obama Grill now standing in its place. I'm not sure if the name has anything to do with Obama the President, but it's likely. =)
The place is owned by Sandy Javier of Andok's Lechon Manok fame, and let me just say, that in my past two visits, I have found that most restaurants in Boracay charge too much for too little value. Gone are the days when one can go to the Talipapa to buy the day's fresh catch and have one of the stalls cook / grill it for you for P50. These days, most Bora restaurants charge as much as those in Manila (with our bill averaging P400-500 per person), which is OK really, if they bring someting to the table that you wouldn't mind paying P400-500 for. That said, Obama Grill is not exactly talipapa-cheap, but it is one of the few restaurants in Boracay that I wouldn't mind eating in again. =)
I suppose I find charming that it harks back to the old talipapa-system where you choose your fish (although some are admittedly iced), then you ask the server to have it cooked in whatever way that you want.
Hubby Sweet had a sudden craving for Sinigang na Hipon so that's what he got. Despite my shrimp allergy, I couldn't resist taking a few sips of the broth (Claritin, on hand, of course!). The Hubby protested with rightful indignation as he really doubted there was a decent hospital on the island that will be able to revive me if I, all of sudden, found myself unable to breathe. (Yes, I have that kind of allergy. =)) Still, the few sips was enough for me to curse my stupid allergy. I wanted to sip bowls of that soup. Sadly, I couldn't. =( But Hubby Sweet enjoyed it. =)
Forever enamored with mollusks, I decided to order grilled clams. They looked big and plump on the shelf and my mouth started to water just imagining them grilled with butter and smothered with garlic. ^_^
So I ordered what I thought was a ton, but when they came out....well.....I remember thinking, "Ngyarks. Ang konti pala!" Still, I savored every buttery, garlicky bite. ^_^ The bright side is that if the Hubby got to hoard the shrimps because of my allergies, I got to eat the clams all by myself--as Hubby Sweet has this weird thing about ending up in the ER everytime he eats any kind of shell. =D
So he ate Sinigang na Shrimp (which I am not allowed to touch), while I ate Grilled Clams (which he cannot eat). This one, however, we did share. Thing is, it came much later that we had already dug into it by the time I remembered to take the pic. Haha! It was good. The Hubby's sinigang soup was a good complement to it. It was, however, no match for my grilled clams. =)
Darn it! Now I want more grilled clams.....hay! =)
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