Unfortunately, not every person has the luxury of going to all of these places. Luckily, Crustasia Asian Seafood Market celebrates the love for Asian dining with its own rendition of famous dishes from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.
When you enter Crustasia, you will immediately understand why so many people visit this place. The low hanging lights that resemble Chinese lanterns create a bright celebratory mood that prepares you for the feast ahead.
There’s a wooden structure that looks like a food tent where people can have hearty conversations. In the middle of the restaurant is a glorious pink elephant mural that will remind you of Thailand— giving you a sense of adventure.
The cashier area is also dressed like a wooden food stall. It is similar to how it would appear in Taiwanese or Singaporean night markets, but with a Filipino touch (yero / galvanized rooftop). The wooden tent-like structure is also decorated with the flags of the Asian countries that inspired the menu of the restaurant.
Generally speaking, Crustasia has a lot of delicious and exciting dishes that you can try but I’ve narrowed down some of my favorites.
Lemongrass Shrimp Bomb (Php315)
To prepare yourself for the banquet ahead, you can try their Lemongrass Shrimp Bomb as an appetizer. It’s freshly steamed lemon grass shrimp dumplings with a honey plum ginger glaze.
Pad Thai (Php368) paired with Thai Milk Tea (Php95)
When I travel to Bangkok, I always order a plate full of Pad Thai because I’ve never tasted noodles with such a wonderful mix of flavors. Pad Thai is a stir fried rice noodle dish with shrimp, egg, vegetables, peanuts and chili tamarind lime sauce. I was very happy that Crustasia’s Pad Thai isn’t far from the ones I’ve tasted back in Thailand.
When you eat Pad Thai, I would probably say that it’s pretty sinful not to accompany it with some Thai Milk Tea. Crustasia’s Thai Milk Tea tastes authentic! It’s not too sweet and has a hint of a caffeinated taste. I also like its milky and creamy consistency.
Gado Gado Salad (Php245)
The Gado Gado Salad is an interesting traditional dish from Indonesia. It’s a mixed vegetable salad topped with grilled chicken sate and tossed with green beans, fried tofu, prawn crackers and sambal peanut sauce. Crustasia’s salad has a delicious celebration of flavors from the peanut sauce: creamy, sweet, sour and a bit spicy.
Mixed Seafood Laksa (Php425)
The Mixed Seafood Laksa from Crustasia is my favorite. I would mark this as one of the must-try dishes because the food is so aromatic and packed with flavor. The noodles are gloriously bathed in a yellow chili laksa broth that is so rich that the prawns, mussels and clams also absorb it. It tastes absolutely perfect.
Thai Bbq Squid (Php165 per 100g)
Crustasia has yummy Thai Bbq Squid that you can eat as a side dish. The grilled squid is marinated in tamarind chili lime and glazed with pickled cucumbers. It’s perfect to munch on in-between courses!
Overall, I would highly recommend Crustasia, especially if you want a cultural food trip with your friends or family. Not to mention, the restaurant is extremely IG-worthy with all its cute corners.
Don’t waste any more time. Try it for yourself!
Crustasia Asian Food Market
2/F Newport Mall, Resorts World Manila
0945 463 9248
https://www.facebook.com/crustasiaph/
