San Fernando, La Union is one of the most progressive urbanized city in North Luzon.  Hence, you can find modern restaurants all over the place.


Krabous is one of the low-key restaurants.  It is even located at the second floor of a building.  Thus, no visible store front.


 
It's quite impressive that we even found this place. 

Despite being far from the beach side, the decorations made us feel it was just nearby...


The place was really designed to entice our appetites for seafood and also to offer the convenience eat them with our hands as there was a washing area.

Food 

We availed of the Unlimited Crab & Shrimp buffet for 599 php.  To our surprise, it offered more than that. 


Aside from various types of crab and shrimp dishes, there are also other seafood.  For soup there was Sinigang na Salmon.


As you can see, the dishes are bountiful even though it was not packed with customers.


Since we're not crab experts, we couldn't identify which crab specie this is. 

But, it was so thin and you could hardly get some tasty crab meat. 


Perhaps, if we didn't see these bigger Mud Crab separately sold by the weight, we'd be content with what we had. 


Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
If you're looking to filling your hunger with seafood then you can try Krabous Seafood Restaurant.  But, if you're palette is more inclined to flavorful pleasures, there are a lot choices within the same price point. 

Our food stop at Natalna Grille is brought about by the extensive research and planning of my very dependable work senior. 



We all love surprises so no one really bothered to check the place out beforehand.  So we had no clue on what was waiting for us beyond this small gate. 

 
Outside the sun was harsh.  Stepping inside into its spacious and well-decorated dining area gave us instant comfort.  





The table wares were already set up upon our arrival.


The beach was not as scenic as those you can expect from a beach resorts.  But, we could still enjoy the fresh sea breeze and hear the enchanting waves.

If you listen closely to the sound of the waves, you'll discover that the pattern of the waves of every beach is different and unique.  That alone offers a unique experience each time.

Food

Appetizers

♥ Calamares (150 php)

There's no gathering where the Calamares with spicy vinegar dip isn't welcomed. Hence, it was the perfect choice for our starter.

Soup

♥ Sinigang Bangus Belly (225 php)

Grilled Seafoods

♥ Tuna Belly (195 php)

When by the sea, its only natural to order fish so we ordered Tuna Belly.  The Tuna Belly is so tender and tasty.  Wishing this was bigger in portion! 


Grilled Pork

Pulpog (170 php)

Since we came all the way from Manila to La Union, we were eager to order its local dishes like the Pulpog.   The Pulpog is pork belly grilled over charcoal so it carried a smoky and bitterish flavor. 

♥ Dinakdakan (170 php)

Dinakdakan is an exotic dish of the Ilocos Region which uses boiled then charcoal grilled parts of a pig's face or "mascara" and liver .   This one is authentic version which makes use of the pigs brain that gives off a distinct sour taste that blends well with the calamansi dressing.


Grilled Beef

Lengua with Brown Sauce (225 php)

The Lengua with Brown Sauce is lengua with not-so-creamy gravy.  As you can see, the gravy appears in jelly like chunks.

Vegetables

Pinakbet (195 php)

The Pinakbet is tomato-based with a hint of shrimp paste.  The vegetables used were all fresh and cooked with crunchiness.


Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
We're glad to discover and share that Natalna Grille offers a very relaxing beach front dining experience by serving homey local dishes. 

Since it is a beach resort and spa, it had a wide parking area. 



We were approached by the staff who led us to our table.  We passed by a cafe bar which served hot drinks.  


They have another bar for coffee and liquor.  


Finally, we reached our table with a perfect view of the beach.  After they took our orders, we didn't mind gazing into the sea watching surfers have some fun.


Big Kahuna Bar and Restaurant had a route towards the beach passing by their open kitchen.

Food

Tapas Menu/Appetizers

♥ Calamari (275 php)

For starters, we got the Calamari.  It was a Calamari deep-fried in golden brown crispy batter and drizzled with parmesan and slices of red bell pepper.  It was served their spicy aioli dip.  We, Tsinoy Foodies, loved this dish very much.  We couldn't stop munching on these until the platter was wiped clean.  

Sandwiches

Kahuna Clubhouse (275 php)

The Kahuna Clubhouse is their version of the famous clubhouse sandwich.  It is a double-decker sandwich with bacon and grilled chicken breast marinated in herb and spices with fresh green lettuce, mayonnaise  tomatoes in between whole wheat toasts.  It was also served which french fries which fellow Tsinoy Foodie Kurt devoured on.

Everyday Combo Meals

Combo 3 (good for 4-6 person) (1,200 php)

We decided to try their Combo 3 which was good for sharing.  Combo 3 has an eggplant salad, grilled bangus, grilled squid, pork barbecue, tuna ceviche, chicken inasal and rice served on a native bamboo platter.  I would not recommend ordering this.  Everything was just so-so.  The pork barbecue and the chicken inasal was a bit overcooked and dried.  Quite frankly, we preferred my local uncle's household home-cooking compared to this. 

Entrees

♥ Blue Marlin (In Season) (350 php)

The grilled Blue Marlin fillet is served with your choice of mashed potato, rice or french fries and buttered vegetables.  We opted for mashed potato.  The Blue Marlin is tender and succulent.  Compared to our last grill dish this was a way better.  

Fresh Buko Juice (75 php)

We all had the Fresh Buko Juice which is on our opinion, the best refresher from the sizzling hot weather.  

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Big Kahuna Bar and Restaurant offers a nice ambiance with a beautiful beach view.  But, I find the hefty price not worth spending for the food quality.  We were so glad that we didn't pay for the food otherwise this would have been a regrettable expense that will tremendously affect our humble backpackers budget.  On the other hand, if you prefer to dine and relax without minding the price, this is a good choice.  This is my aunt's favorite restaurant in La Union.

Indoor Waiting Area

Outdoor Waiting Area

The out waiting area is not as extravagant but I love the simple homey feel.  



They had a store for souvenirs by the annex just before the kitchen.


Just beside our table, we saw this framed collage of clippings where Halo Halo de Iloko was featured.   We've heard it has been featured in a lot of TV shows too and many celebrities have visited there.  Of course, that got me even more excited.

Food

Halo-Halo

♥ Buko Halo-Halo (170 php)

I ordered the Buko Halo-Halo which is the a halo-halo composed of Ube Ice Cream, Ube San Gabriel, Yema Pandan, Milk, Pastilla de Leche, ube, macapuno, cereal, langka, kaong and shaved ice.  What makes their halo-halo special is that the ingredients are all the best from the Ilocos region.  It also came with a glass of buko juice.  Not only did it look cute with a mini umbrella and a leaf decoration, it was delicious too.  

Panciteria

♥ Palabokano (150 php)

Kurt ordered the Palabokano which is their home-made palabok with home-made longganisa bits, leeks, egg, chicharon and vegetables.  We both agreed that this was a great innovation.  It made the ordinary version of the palabok more savory.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Halo Halo de Iloko serves an awesome halo-halo and other dishes that will surely satisfy you.  But, the most important part when dining at Halo Halo de Iloko is the ambiance.  Stay and be enthralled at its magical atmosphere.  Their pricing is very affordable too.  We will surely visit here again when in the area.