Casual Dining at Okada's Catch by the Bay

by - Monday, August 12, 2019




Zomato invited us for a foodie meet up at Okada's newest Chinese restaurant ~ Catch by the Bay. Basing solely on its name, I prepared myself for an evening of expensive but fresh seafood with a majestic view of the bay. 






Or so I thought. Catch by the Bay offers seafood items like crabs, lobsters, and shrimps, while also giving you the freedom to choose how you want it done. I had the assumption that this is the core of their menu, but it turns out that they have more dishes from the Chinese cuisine than the seafood they offer. 

For appetizers we were given some peppered cashews and spiced pickles. I was quite hesitant to have the pickles, but I was very much happy with its sour taste with a bit of a kick.

Baked Barbeque Pork Buns P258
Catch by the Bay has to do better if they want to compete against the cheaper baked BBQ pork buns offered by other restaurants. Their stuffing tasted good, but it was enclosed in a bun that was too thick, starchy, and bland that sort of cancelled out the goodness from the pork bbq. 

Mushroom and Vegetable Fried Rice P328
We opted to order the cheapest plate of rice just so we can have some grains to go with our mains, thus the mushroom and vegetable fried rice. To be honest, it wasn't too bad, but it didn't have much of an impact either. I don't think it would have made much of a difference had we ordered plain rice instead. 

Braised Garoupa Fillet with Garlic and Ginger P1,788
I'm not an expert on the different kinds of fishes, but I certainly didn't understand why the braised garoupa fillet is priced the way it is. The dish had fish fillet and pork in it, but there was nothing spectacular about the entire main's taste nor the fish itself. Plus, it was too salty. I do hope our experience was just an isolated case, because if it's not, then this is such a waste of money.

Steamed Shrimp Dumpling with Bamboo Shoots P388
Their hakaw was so appetizing to eat as it is wrapped in a black and gold wrapper. It's something I've seen before, but still something that excites me. What's great about it was that it had that huge shrimp stuffing inside. The bad side of it was that the stuffing was a bit dry and hard, while the wrapper was too thick. You'll sort of get the impression that the whole thing wasn't properly cooked, except that it probably was. 

Salt and Pepper Suahe P708Add caption
The salt and pepper suahe was okay. The taste of the salt and pepper was incorporated  well both inside and outside the shrimp, but it still needs improvement.

Barbeque Pork with Honey P408
Lastly, we were surprised with the generous serving size of the barbeque pork with honey but in terms of flavor, it was lacking. Making it more tender can also help making this dish way better.  

The pricing of the food in this restaurant is more affordable than what I expected given its location, but I still consider it expensive in terms of quality and overall value for money. Good thing their friendly service sort of made up for it, otherwise we'll be storming out of the restaurant feeling robbed and extremely dissatisfied. 

I find myself reluctant to give negative reviews for my experiences, but I also value delivering honest reviews, so I do hope that this post helps a NEWLY OPENED restaurant adjust and improve while they are still testing the waters. 

My Scores:
Pricing - 2/5
Service - 4/5
Ambiance - 4/5
Taste - 2/5



Hungry for more,



Address: Okada Manila, New Seaside Drive, Entertainment City, Parañaque City
Operating Hours: 11am to 12mn Daily
Contact: (02) 888-0777
Budget: from P500 per person
Parking: Pay Parking 

(Date of Visit: July 31, 2019)

Catch by the Bay - Okada Manila Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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