'Mountains' of seafood, with antihistamines on the side, mark Capiz’s eat-all-you can fest Surambaw

CAPIZ, Philippines — A gym typically teems with sweaty bodies engaged in physical activities, but for one night this year, Capiz’s gym was filled with bodies waiting to be filled with the freshest catch of oysters, crabs, lobsters and sticks of Puyoy, the province’s street food delicacy, which is actually a type of eel sourced from brackish water. 

Surambaw is a mainstay of the yearly Capiztahan, the province-wide festival that celebrates the founding of Capiz. It is a seafood fest held for a night or two during the festival. 

This year, Capiznons and their lucky invited guests were treated to seafood spread last April 5 for the annual eat-all-you-can seafood extravaganza in time for the celebration of the National Filipino Food Month, celebrated every April. 

Guests who trooped to the Capiz Gymnasium were dared to take their fill of seafood neatly displayed in the center of the gym. 

The atmosphere is like a fiesta, but with the spread featuring crustaceans and any fresh seafood that Capiz, known as the Seafood Capital of the Philippines, has to offer. Guests are handed woven plates with banana leaf on top and a pair of disposable gloves, which is convenient and hygienic for those wanting to eat with their hands. 

Capiz Provincial Tourism and Cultural Officer Al Tesoro told Philstar.com that Surambaw is actually a traditional fishing gear that is typically used by locals, especially those who fish at the Capiz's Palina River. 

Surambaw was already held as a food festival featuring participants from different municipalities of Capiz since 2008, but it was not until 2017 that the idea of an eat-all-you-can seafood presented like “mountains” of food was introduced. 

Tesoro said for the annual seafood festival, organizers reserve hundreds of kilos of seafood in an affair that can accommodate a maximum of 600 people. 

Organizers secure the seafood for the evening, with tickets sold out every edition. There are also noticeable signages that read “antihistamines” on site for any untoward incidence of allergic reaction to seafood. 

“This is the brand of Capiztahan, a mainstay of Capiztahan,” Tesoro said. — Video by Kathleen A. Llemit, editing by Geraldine Santos

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