BALAI Seafood Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Malay

This restaurant is a gem hidden within an alleyway that is lined on one side with numerous shops and wet markets, and on the other side with a lengthy stretch of buildings. It was providential that we came here; we had just finished eating gelato and resting on the beach when a man approached us and told us about his restaurant. We had just been speaking about how badly we were craving seafood when he came to us. After a long walk, in which we wended around numerous tourists, shops, and salesmen, we arrived at the restaurant.

I was a little apprehensive at first, because the first thing I noticed was that all number of fish, squid, and crustaceans were displayed on ice in front of the squat shack. Then, when we were told that we had to select which of the items on display we wanted cooked, I was taken aback. It is not all that common in America to look at the freshly-killed creature you are about to consume--unless you hunt and fish, of course. We asked for red grouper fish cooked in a sweet and sour sauce, shrimp tempura, calamari ("calamares" in Tagalog), cheesy scallops, and rice. They seated us at a sizable table in a corner, pulling out long benches that had been tucked beneath the table.

Once I tried my first bite of the shrimp tempura, dipped in the delectable dipping sauce that popped with notes of citrus (lemon or calamansi, perhaps), my apprehension dissolved. This place is quality. The grouper fish was soft and not gamey; the shrimp tempura was not the slightest bit oily, and its flavors were accentuated by the dipping sauce; the calamari was tastily breaded and made more enjoyable with the included squid tentacles; the scallops were cooked to perfection and were highly addicting. The only complaint I have is that the cheese used to coat the scallops tasted cheap, and may have been a popular but unappetizing brand known as "Eden." The restaurant may want to consider modifying the cheese sauce slightly. Even so, I found myself eating half the plate by virtue of the scallops' innate tastiness.

If you are seeking fresh, safe, affordable, and extremely yummy seafood in Boracay, this is the place to go. I will likely be making a return here if ever I am in...

We came here based on trip adviser reviews. It's a bit out of the way, though they have hawkers on the beach that will guide you to it, who found us before we asked. The seafood seems catch of the day fresh, you can pick what you want outside and they cook it for you. The deco is quaint and clean ... feels very islandy and filipino.

For the actual food/cook: We were unimpressed. In general, the seafood was overcooked and rubbery. For the price we paid, they should figure out how to hire a decent chef who knows how to cook shellfish. It's quite a skill yes, but for the amount we paid, I expected more.

We did like the butter garlic prawns. They were sweet, which was odd to me for "button garlic" ... but I enjoyed them. They were the least overcooked, but still not as perfect as I've had around here.

The salted crab was ok, but we don't think having to work so much cracking the crabs is worth it, and again the meat was on the rubbery side.

The grilled lapu-lapu was was actually properly done, and some of the better fish i've ever had in the philippines, and had good bit of char for some flavor complexity.

But man, the steamed lobster while absolutely gorgeous looking ... came off very overcooked and we were completely disappointed with it.

We may try this again ... but there's so much seafood around I'm not sure we'll bother. It...

When they pulled me from the beach to their stall the guys were friendly. Which is all part of the game. The negotiations started high as usual and was able to get the price down to 1500/kilo worth of SUGPO shrimp. These are not the regular big prawns. These were the really big ones. A kilo was about 15 pieces. Which I was like that’s a super good deal!!! So I was sold. We ordered a couple other things and some vegetables. The order took awhile. And when it finally came out. The shrimps were not anywhere near the ones I bought. I understand the shrimps do shrink a little depending on how you cook them. But these shrimps were A LOT smaller than the jumbo shrimps they sold me.

I’m not a newbie around the kitchen and in fact I am a restaurant owner so I know those shrimps they served me were different. Not to mention they were over cooked and the shells were stuck to the meat. In most cases shells stuck to the meat is not fresh and a good indicator that you did not get fresh shrimp.

They most likely played that game where they give you something good and when it gets to the kitchen they switch it with a lesser batch that’s not fresh. Very deceptive and cruel practice.

If you eat here which I do not recommend make sure you’re eating what you picked and purchased.

Total bill was around 3500 pesos which was not worth it. ...