Fredz Sutukil

When you’re in or anywhere near Lapulapu City, you have to try sutukil. Sutukil is a conglomeration of three local words and each word stands for one way of cooking fish: Su is for sugba or “grilled”, tu is for tuwa/tula or “prepared into a soup” and kil is for kilaw or “turned into a raw fish salad”.

On one instance that we passed by the Mactan Shrine, we chose to eat lunch at Fredz’ Sutukil Restaurant.

Sutukil restaurants let you choose whatever you want cooked from stalls of fresh fish, prawns, crabs, seaweeds, shells, clams, lobsters and other types of seafood and you decide how you want them cooked.

The seafoods are as fresh as seafood can be and the crabs and lobsters on display are still alive as you pick which ones you want cooked. Sutukil eateries get their daily supply of fresh seafood from fishermen in nearby islands (e.g. Santa Rosa Island, etc.).

Here are some of the stuff we ordered:

Swaki or Tihi-tihi (Sea urchin meat eaten soon after they are plucked from the clean and hospitable sea waters.) It has this fresh taste of the sea but it also has this unusual sweet taste. For an added feel, it is recommended that you pair this with rice.

Grilled Lapulapu (Grouper). The Grouper or Lapu-lapu is one of the most economically important cultured marine fish species in the Philippines. The grouper has light yellowish, to greenish to brown body with unequal spots scattered on the head, body, and fins. But you could almost not recognize the fish below but don’t fret because the fish isn’t burned. It just has a thick layer of skin so it is normal for the fish to turn black when grilled. You’ll have to scrape away the skin before you could eat the fish.

Saang (Spider Shells)

Baked Scallops
Side comment: I don’t recommend this dish. It seems like they used cheap, poor-quality butter. It tasted as if I was eating grease (the one used as lubricant)

Grilled Pork Belly (The kids hate seafoods so we ordered for them one of their favorite dishes)
Side comment: Not recommended. Our househelp’s grilled pork belly tastes better.

The view:

Low tide. I’m letting the photos speak for themselves.

Overall: There’s nothing special with the food plus they’re priced at touristy rates (a.k.a expensive). If you want to experience the Sutukil way of eating, then feel free to go to these Sutukil restaurants. But if you came because you wanted to be satisfied with the food for all its worth, it would be better if you go somewhere else.

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