WonderWanderland

For my mother-in-law’s birthday, we decided to try Choobi Choobi Seafood Restaurant. It is in the new wing of one of the biggest malls in Iloilo City. It was a Sunday, and we had just finished a church service that ended later than expected. We were all starving and definitely ready for a feast. We originally had a different restaurant in mind, but the seafood-in-a-bag concept immediately caught our attention. We’d been wanting to try something like that for a while, so we ended up choosing Choobi Choobi instead.

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Location: How to Get There

It’s very easy to find Choobi Choobi. Just go to SM City Mall along Diversion Road. Use the entrance door of the newly constructed north wing (it’s the left wing if you are facing the front of the mall). Choobi Choobi is on the lower ground floor.

Choobi Choobi Seafood Restaurant Interior and Service

The Interiors and Ambiance

The restaurant was surprisingly spacious and bright, giving off a cozy, middle-class family vibe that felt very welcoming. I actually liked the simplicity of the setup—the clean white and red color combination on the walls, the neatly arranged tables and chairs made the place look organized without trying too hard.

They also had photos of their dishes displayed on the walls, and right at the entrance was a large, almost life-sized version of their menu. It was hard to miss, and honestly, it worked. Seeing all those dishes laid out like that definitely helped convince us to give the place a try.

The Service

The service was quite satisfactory. The staff member assigned to our table was attentive and handled all our orders well, including the ones we added at the last minute. We waited about 20–25 minutes before the food started arriving. Our patience was worth it—the dishes were hot, fresh, and clearly cooked to order.

Choobi Choobi Seafood Restaurant Food & Flavors

There were nine of us, so it’s just right that we ordered a feast. We ordered the following:

We ordered the Choobi Bay, a generous mix of shrimp and mussels with corn. It was mildly spicy, and we enjoyed every bite. We also got two bags of shrimp—one cooked in butter and garlic, and the other in salted egg. The salted egg version was one of my personal favorites and definitely a must-try if you love seafood and that rich red-egg flavor.

To go with it, we ordered grilled milkfish topped with a special creamy sauce, a stir-fried plate of snow pea sprouts (chai tao miao), stuffed grilled squid, and a healthy serving of chopsuey. The warm broth of their tinolang manok was comforting and very much appreciated.

But the standout for me was the mussels-with-corn-in-a-bag cooked in spicy coconut milk—absolutely delicious. And of course, the star of our feast: the Choobi Pata. The pork trotter was fried to golden perfection—crispy on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside. Almost everyone in our group loved it. It’s definitely one of the restaurant’s must-try dishes.

We enjoyed all these dishes with unlimited rice and two pitchers of iced tea.

Read: Review: Kogi & Vegi Korean Restaurant, Smallville, Iloilo City

Choobi Choobi Seafood Restaurant Value for Money

We paid a little over Php 3,000 for the food, service, and overall ambiance. I really had no complaints about the staff, the pricing, or the service—they were all satisfactory. However, there’s definitely room for improvement when it comes to the food. A few dishes were outstanding and truly delicious, but most of what we ordered fell into the “just okay” category. The plating could also use a bit of enhancement to make the dishes look more appealing.

Overall Rating

Overall, I’m giving Choobi Choobi a fair 3.5 stars. I’m hoping to see improvements and give them a higher score on our next visit.