DINING: Arpochi, Gensan

General Santos city in Southern Mindanao is about 2.5 – 3 hours scenic drive from Davao city on a relatively well-paved road. The ride is made more pleasurable with the prospect of having a really good meal at the end of the trip.

No trip to Gensan is complete without dining at Arpochi Seafood and Resto.

The restaurant has a specialized menu concentrating on crabs, prawns/shrimp, fish, squid and native chicken and the dishes are all extremely well thought out and executed.

Their bestseller and the most famous perhaps, is their signature mud crab recipe from Cotabato City. These beautiful huge meaty crabs are oozing with coral delicate roe on a bed of butter pepper and generous garlic sauce. The flavorful sauce compliments the delicate meat of the crabs and perfect for drizzling over plain steamed rice.

king sized Crabs php1,200

Their Ilonggo version of Native Chicken Adobo is also a favorite. The chicken is cooked and simmered till the mixture of vinegar and soy sauce with black peppers, garlic, bay leaf and some other closely guarded secret ingredient thickens and dries out. The chicken is thoroughly browned with even a bit of a crisp on the outside but moist, tasty and full of flavor inside. The crunch from the toasted garlic is another textural delight that adds kick to the dish.

Adobo Ilongo php500

Sinigang na isda, (sour fish (Pompano) soup) usually opens up our meal and our palate. The pompano is really fresh with a clean fatty taste balanced with the acidity and the vegetables cooked just right.

Sinigang php450

Not bad reasons to get behind the wheel for a 3-hour road trip noh. Not at all!

CUISINE: Seafood
PRICE: php400-1,200
LOCATION: Ecca Building, National Highway, General Santos City
TEL.NO.: 0920-9455670