During our trip to Negros Occidental, we went in search of a place to get one of the island’s most famous delicacies – oysters – or “talaba” in the local dialect. People in the town told us of the famous “talabahan” (restaurant that specializes in oysters) located in a small barangay called Ilog, which takes around 30 minutes to get to by private car from Kabankalan town. Since fresh oysters are not available in the mountains where we live, we always make it a point to have some when we go to Negros. This would be the first time RD would taste some.

The place was located beside the sea, but we were surprised at how wonderfully it was built! The structure was very simple yet pleasantly rustic. When we got there, it was still early noon, but as the time wore on, more and more people came. This told us how famous this place was, considering how far it was from the nearest town. RD was particularly intrigued by the owls and love birds that were there.

There were a lot of seafood to choose from. We ordered grilled milk fish, crabs, prawns, and, of course, oysters, all fresh from the sea!

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It was one of the best lunches we’d ever had, especially since we ate with our hands! RD, after much cajoling, tried an oyster, but said he didn’t agree with the taste, and proceeded to gorge on the prawns and fish. The service was even better than that of a first-class restaurant, with waiters coming by every now and then, asking if the food was okay, and if we needed anything else. We even had our own oyster-opener person! 

After we had had our fill, we headed back to our hotel 30-minutes away, vowing to be back next time! 

*Note:
3 days after this, RD succumbed to a bad asthma attack, so we had to bring him to the Riverside Hospital in Bacolod City. The doctor told us, this attack was especially bad because RD had been eating shrimp or prawn for the past 3 days!