I had no idea that these creatures even existed until we stumbled across a restaurant by the name of Alona Hidden Dream, about five minutes walk from Alona Beach (Panglao Island). As a foodie, a mere glimpse of these oddly-shaped animals from 10m away sparked off something in my brain: I had to go investigate. Upon closer inspection, they looked like a slightly alien-esque cross between a crab and a lobster. The lady promoting trying to entice people into the restaurant explained to me that these critters go by the name of ‘Curacha’, only found in the south of the Philippines.
Over the next two days, we ate around 50% of the restaurant’s stock of these arthropods, 6 to be precise. The majority of their flesh resides within their massive head, or rather their main thorax, to be precise. So compared to say Sri Lankan crabs, they are much easier to devour due to the easy accessibility of their juicy flesh.
The flavour is much more similar to that of a Sri Lankan crab than a lobster, but the meat has a bit more bite which is why these creatures are often marketed as a lobster-crab hybrid, or a crabster as some might call it. Depending on how many you buy, one large Curacha could set you back 1000 – 1500 Piso, so not cheap, but with their sweet, juicy flesh, and excellent meat to weight ratio, and the fact that you might not find these guys outside the Phillipines, these are a must try.
Best steamed and served plain (or with garlic butter sauce separately to dip) so their sweet flesh is un-adulterated. We demolished many crabsters and crabs on our final, highly satisfying night on Alona beach:
Price: 1000 – 1500 PHP per Curacha, depending on how many you eat and your negotiating skills
Address: Alona hidden Dream Restaurant, Tawala, Panglao (walk along main path perpendicular to Alona Beach for about 5-8mins)
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