Oh for the love of seafood!
There's something about dinning on seafood that no matter the catch nor the ambiance, it exudes a sort of elegance about it, though one knows that digging into crabshells is not the most elegant thing to witness.
Last week, Le Hubby and I decided to bring my mother in law to Seafood in a Bucket for Iftar. Located in Karama, it is easier to find when describing it as 2 to 3 buildings beside the Karama Metro Station, directly opposite the Co-operative Society on Mankhool road. It is situated on the ground floor of a building in which numerous small restaurants are abundant, most of which represent the many ethnic cuisines brought to Dubai by its ever growing expat communities.
It wasn't our first time but it was for my mother in law. Honestly, food wise, I did not find anything SPECTACULAR, granted that I myself wasn't too keen on anything seafood except fish. I did, however, find the whole hype about it utterly seductive. I first heard the restaurant from a Fiilipino Blog, or should I say a blog run by a Filipino (which conveniently, I totally forgot who). I was impressed by the rave reviews and the fact that these visitors from Abu Dhabi made the journey all the way to Dubai just for a taste, as well as their frustration at the long queue that greeted them at the door even thought it was barely 12 noon.
I myself found it a very 'funky' place to eat at, in terms of Filipino taste. It was like an upgraded version of a street food culture. The menu was only one page long and not even back to back. The items were a few staples, mostly if not all are fried; 2 to 3 kinds of Fish, Clams, Mussels, Shrimps, Sand Lobster, Lobster and Chicken Wings. There was a selection of 3 kinds of sauces to douse your mains in; Sweet Chilli, Pepper and Garlic Butter. I recommend the Pepper Sauce with its impressive balance of nutty spice and sickly sweet. I used to order the Sweet Chilli before but found that its gets cloyingly too sweet for my taste after a few bites. All this comes in plastic inserted buckets that are super handy for take outs. The rice comes in a plastic bag (so very much Filipino-sidewalk-eatery like) and is unlimited, or as Pinoys say "bottomless". A server with a huge thermos-like jug walks around the joint offering diners more sticky Asian rice. Their drinks are unlimited as well and comes in huge glass jars, and as one will find out, will seem too much for 2 people to share without ordering a second serving! Unfortunately, I do not remember all their drinks except for the Watermelon that we always opt for and an Iced-Tea looking drink I saw on the table across ours. Strangely, I've never seen anyone order any type of softdrink. The seating arrangement is a whole different story. I abhor it. They come in the form of tables fit for 4 with matching benches meant to seat 2. They feel very flimsy and I shudder to think how these seats will fare with their much more heavier clientele. Maybe they assumed that they will only be catering to the Filipino crowd and as we know, we Asians almost always come in tiny packages! The restaurant's interiors are not too in your face but definitely meant to be in sync with the cooler crowd, covering its walls in graffiti. I have not made up my mind about the floor to ceiling glass windows that allow passersby to look into the restaurant and accidently glimpse upon a butt crack of an unsuspecting diner whose back is against the glass.
Oh, I forgot to mention you get to eat with your hands, wear plastic gloves and a bib!
One more thing I believe has made Seafood in a Bucket wildly popular is the price tag. Just imagine this, my husband and his friend are lively eaters. Their fastfood runs consist of 2 Big Macs, 1 Big Tasty and 2 Cheeseburgers to share between them; all upsize meals. When they ate at Seafood in a Bucket, their total bill was Dhs. 80!
What: Seafood in a Bucket – (Filipino?) Seafood Restaurant
Where: Beside Karama Metro Station
Why: Because its good. And its cheap. And its not pretentious.
