Boracay: D'Talipapa Fresh Seafood Market and Paluto Restaurant

Most friends and officemates of Tutubi when asked about Boracay will answer it's expensive there particularly food but when asked where they eat, they'll always answer they eat out at various restaurants on the beachfront, hence the pricey and touristy price tags.

Tutubi will share his recommended "cheap place to eat" in Boracay particularly fresh seafood at a price much less than those in beachfront restaurants a few meters away

D'Talipapa, located near Station 2 and walking distance from White Beach particularly near Boracay Courtyard, Sunset Beach Resort and Culpepper Lodge, is a public market where you can buy souvenirs, vegetables, meat, and other food items at a low price. There's also a service called "paluto" where you can buy your own ingredients, mostly seafood, fish and meat and have them cooked for you for a small fee based on "per kilo" price similar to Manila's Dampa and Seaside buy-your-ingredients-and-we'll-cook-them-for-you paluto system.

Boracay's D'Talipapa public market


Prices of seafood and other items:

Tahong (mussels): P40/kilo
Talaba (oysters): P25/kilo
Sugpo (Lobsters): P750/kilo
Hipon (Prawns): P220/kilo
Alimango (Crabs): P380/kilo

Paluto (cooking charge) at Plato D'Boracay:
P100/kilo

(for comparison US$1=P41 and €1 = P66)

a kilogram of fresh lobsters at P750

talaba (oysters)
prawns with coconut milk and pineapple (tutubi wanted to add kamias but wasn't available at the market and substituted pineapple)

tahong (mussels)

mouthwatering pakwan (watermelon) at P20/kilo where you can have sliced at your restaurant

On Tutubi's last night in Boracay, he met a Bulgarian enjoying life in the island with his Chinese girlfriend (sick due to SCUBA diving lessons) and told him many Europeans, including Bulgarians, come to the Philippines for cheap seafood (Bulgaria doesn't have seafood even if they have access to the Black Sea). It seems only people allergic to seafood won't enjoy Talipapa.

Visiting and living on Boracay Island need not be expensive!

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Tourist Traps and Tips particularly for Foreigners:

Ask a local to ask prices and buy for you. Asking vendors the price will cost you more. If you don't know anyone, linger around a particular vendor until a local inquires about the item you're interested in. That way, you will be quoted the local price and not a tourist's price tag.

How to get to Talipapa, Boracay Island:

From White Beach, you can just walk towards station 2 near La Carmela and/or Boracay Swiss Chalets until you see the signs pointing to D'Talipapa. Enter the narrow alley until you see souvenir shops and market about 50 meters from the beachfront.

D'Talipapa is just a short tricycle ride from Station 1, Diniwid Beach, Bulabog Beach or from any point in the island.

Related Posts:
Boracay Budget Travel Guide
Boracay: One of the World's Best Beaches
Bulabog Beach Kitesurfing/Kiteboarding, Windsurfing/Boardsailing