Saang

by Bingo Gonzalez


It’s a little hard to find. You’d have to go up to the hills, around half a kilometer from the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, and turn left on a dirt road leading to the Holy Family Retreat House.
But when the craving for fresh sea food cooked to perfection gnaws at your being, there just isn’t anywhere to go but to Saang.
Fresh crabs, fish, clams, shrimps, squid and seaweed are hauled in everyday from Bantayan Island, where it seems the ocean bounty is at its best. Even the common “calamare” or squid rings dipped in batter and deep fried, takes on an extraordinary flair, a mixture of tastes and textures absolutely divine. The sweet –salty meld that only comes from fresh seafood combines with the crispiness of the batter giving a full bite. The chef certainly knows his squid, none of that rubbery chewing gum texture.

Saang is one of the rare places where the Bantayan delicacy called “labtingaw” is available. This is fresh fish, softly sun-dried with only sea water providing the salt. It is a delicate process where the natural juices of the fish are preserved, retaining the softness of the flesh, with the delecate saltiness of the sea.
On can choose from live alimango, or fresh water crabs or deep-sea crabs. You can have these simply steamed or cooked in a spicy sauce of garlic, ginger and tomatoes.
The restaurant is named after the big ocean clams locally known as saang. Here you can get clams and mussels cooked in several delicious ways. The baked scallops are especially good and the clam in oyster and pepper sauce is heavenly.
Cebu has a way of making a fish soup called “tinuwa.” It’s a no-nonsense soup which largely depends on the freshness of the fish for its flavor. While Tagalogs put “sampalok” or tamarind fruit to provide the tang, it is mostly tomatoes, spring onions, ginger and lemongrass that spice up the “tinuwa.” The simplicity of this soup is what emphasizes that distinctive fresh fish flavor. It is clean and light to the tastebuds.
For the meat eaters, there is a good choice of Filipino specialties like adobo, which is pork meat gently cooked to tender perfection in soy and vinegar or crispy pata, which is ham boiled, air-dried then deep=fried for crispy skin and tender meat.
Saang not only provides the most delicious seafood dishes in town, it also offers a fantastic view of the city. Nestled at a hillside, the twinkling city lights and the gentle breezes that waft in and out of the terrace-like setting whets the appetite and relaxes the spirit.