Gear up for a boodle fight
THEIR slogan says it all. Seafood Bonding Extreme– meals couldn’t be more enjoyable than having boodle fights at Blackbeard’s Seafood Island North Shore Grill at the second floor of Abreeza Ayala Mall Davao.
Well just in case we’re not clear on what boodle fight is, it is the traditional military-style of eating rice and assorted viands which are prepared on banana leaves. The boodle fight is practiced as a symbol of unity and camaraderie.
Me and Sir Seth were warmly greeted by the waiters dressed in Hawaiian attire. We were later escorted to our table just beside the restaurant’s kitchen and from there we knew that it would be another pig-out lunch as we could already smell the grilling of meat and the sautéing of different herbs and spices.
Restaurant manager Vergilio Casas and the director for operations Erich Joseph Alba joined us in our table were we had a chance to ask a few questions about the place.
Sir Alba said Blackbeard’s Seafood Island North Shore Grill is originally from Manila but the Davao branch opened last May 12, 2011. The restaurant simply offers among the best boodle fights in the metro. They also cater to the different tastes of their guests as they have 17 different boodle fight meals to choose from.
Sir Alba said their best- seller is the Tali Beach Boodle. It’s called tali since basically the grilled chicken inasal, pork barbecue, tilapia, squid, shrimps and seaweeds are tied on a barbecue stick while the rice crab and tahong are prepared on banana leaves. The presentation itself was already captivating that is why most people are enticed to order it.
Alba also said they have specialized boodles that cater to the taste of the locals and so they came up with the Mt. Apo and the Davao Gulf boodles. The name itself already gives you the idea that ingredients of these boodles are basically the usual locally sourced meat and vegetables.
The other boodles, meanwhile, are the Halal-certified Sultan Dulang, the Arabianish Luau, the Pampangeño Kanyaman, Dagupan, Fiesta Bicolandia, Dapitan’s Pride, Magellan’s Landing, Boracay’s Feast, Palawan Shores, Panlasang Pinoy, Chang’s China Chow, and the All Crab.
Sir Casas, meanwhile, told us that apart from the boodle fight meals, they also serve different meat dishes, fresh fishes, oysters and shell- fishes, crabs, salads, soups, sizzling delights, assorted barbecue, pancit, desserts and other authentic Filipino cuisines enough to please our palates and more importantly, fill up our tummies.
With a wide variety of dishes, we really had a hard time choosing what to eat. But since Sir Alba didn’t dine with us plus the Lenten Season is coming, we instead had their promo boodle which is the Lenten Boodle.
The ingredients of this boodle fight are perfect for those who religiously follow the no meat diet and only one meal during Lent. It has chicken inasal, grilled tuna belly, grilled squid, shrimp rice, oysters and the Ulo ng Maya Maya sa Buko which perhaps was one of the tastiest soups I’ve had.
While digging into the humungous boodle fight, Sir Casas asked us if we wanted other dishes. But judging by the quantity of the boodle, we had to settle with the boodle alone.
The boodle fight turned out to be a real fight. But this time it was between our stomach and the boodle itself and the boodle was on the winning end as we were not able to finish the entire boodle. As much as I wanted to dig in more on the flavorful viands in the boodle and maybe have some dessert, I just couldn’t as I was so full.
The ambience of the restaurant was relaxing especially with the reggae music being played and the cozy seats and tables. It was definitely a shore-side environment in a mall.
Overall, I am looking forward to dining at the Blackbeard’s Seafood Island North Shore Grill again but this time either with my friends or my family.