Roxas City | Philippines: A Seafood Affair

Roxas is the capital city of Capiz, a province located in the region of Western Visayas. The city is famous for its rich myth and folklore focusing on tales of the "Aswang" as well as there celebration of the "Aswang Festival." Currently these myths and folklore have been receiving less attention and the city is now famous as being the "Seafood Capital of the Philippines" because of its abundant marine life and fishing trade. Aside from fishes and shellfish Roxas is also a paradise with a number of it's tourists attractions and landscapes.

Another fast fact is that Roxas is also the home of former President Manuel Roxas and his politician son Mar Roxas.

You can travel to Roxas by plane. However, there are not that many accommodation choices in the city but I would recommend Hotel Veronica and San Antonio Resort.

Unfortunately, our travel to Roxas city was work-related so our time was limited to check the sites and landmarks. Luckily, one of our colleagues have been working in the area for quite sometime that he acted as a tour guide during our free time.

Being the coffee mongers that my colleagues are they had their mandatory shot at Jacque's Coffee and Chills. It is just near San Antonio Resort and is a quaint and cozy place by the beach. They serve a variety of desserts and coffee. You can sit outside to enjoy the view and the sea breeze or stroll along Baybay Beach.

Just beside the cafe is Harry's Seafood Palutuan, where you can enjoy Roxas' array of seafood selection and grilled protein. But if you are up for good food and a scenery to boot, you can visit Palina Greenbelt Ecopark, which is about 5 kilometers away from Roxas City proper. Here you can enjoy some oysters, "exotic" food that you may or may not want to try and hot cup of tea with stevia while cruising through Palina River. Our gracious host, talked non-stop about the importance of mangroves and some other interesting science stuff that goes along with it. It was a satisfying trip both of the stomach and the mind.

If you have the free time, you can also visit their local market to buy dried seafood products - tuyo, danggit and alamang are just a few things that you can buy there.

Roxas at night is not as busy as Manila, but you can enjoy great food and fantastic view of the city at Cafe Teraza. It is located on top of a hill a few minutes away from the city center and is pretty much accessible from the bus or van terminal. Again, you should not miss their seafood choices (a must-try is the city's famous diwal or angel wings clam). After all you are in the seafood capital of the Philippines.