Still Lost In Mandaue: And Happily Found Oyster Bay

Out of the OTOP Store, I strolled along the other establishments in this Bridges Town Square. There is a big Japan surplus store, a DFP (Duty Free Philippines), an antique shop, a travel agency, a café, a branch of the famous ALA boxing gym and before going out to Pan De Manila is the Oyster Bay Seafood Restaurant. An interesting find, one of a kind, wow!

It is a restaurant yes, but just looking at it from the outside, it obviously is one of the more upscale types. It looks like the restaurant of a first class beach resort set in the middle of the metropolis! There are 3 sections (if I may call them that) in this whole place. First is the indoor type – glass walled air-conditioned room where tables are in a tastefully decorated setting like you would see at A1 hotels or resorts. Then there is an open area – where tables with benches are set near a platoon of big aquariums. The live seafood you may want to have are in those aquariums, you just have to point at them and the waiters scoop them out live and straight to the kitchen. The 3rd section (that I like most) are those tables and chairs set like in a beach complete with big umbrellas and real white beach sand! This is nearest the sharks.

Sharks? Yes, baby sharks (if they can be called that). They’re small, just about a meter long (one is more than that and most are less). But interesting that there are those in the middle of the city where you do not need to pay anything to view them. Ah, you do not even need to enter the restaurant area to see them. And there is signage that says shark feeding time is at 7:30PM. I did not catch that, but I sure am going back there to witness that (one of these days) – and of course to also try how the restaurant food tastes. I suspect it must be good. What with all crews in their crisp uniforms and the chef in his equally crisp immaculate white garb conducting some kind of a a meeting/briefing at about 5PM as they opened the place for another business day.

Lastly, I wondered why some of those live creatures in one of the aquariums were like each imprisoned inside a plastic water bottle while kept alive under water. Oh, next time I should also take a picture of those aquariums. But Richard, a waiter, told me those are called “Sea Mantis” and very territorial, that when left together inside an aquarium, they would fight and kill each other! Thus the bottles, as they (Oyster Bay) have to keep everything alive, until ordered for the picking and the cooking!

Interesting! But they don't cook the sharks ha?! Hehe, I checked out their menu and there is no shark. They told me they release the sharks at sea once they are already too big for this restaurant's pond (pool, whatever)!