Markets with a Restaurant Inside - Filipino - Island Pacific Seafood Market

Island Pacific Seafood Market - Filipino Market and PhilHouse Restaurant

Island Pacific Seafood Market

Island Pacific Seafood Market is located in a strip center at the corner of First and Bullard (6048 N 1st Avenue) in northeast Fresno. It is part of a chain of Filipino markets located throughout California.  http://islandpacificmarket.com/stores/listing/fresno. "PhilHouse" is a sit-down restaurant inside.

PhilHouse located inside Island Pacific Seafood Market

On weekends, right inside the front door are tables filled with "to go" skewers - veggie, fish, squid, lobster, and shrimp, with the choice of three sauces (sweet, peppery, vinegar). The "to go" tables also had rice balls dipped in syrup, veggie rolls, and pork rolls. You select the items you want, and right then and there they fry the skewers and rolls. 

"To Go" tables at the store entrance

On the left side of the store entrance is the bakery.

Bakery Case

There is a full selection of fresh and frozen seafood, meat, produce,  Filipino, and other Asian groceries.

Root Vegetables

Banana Brittle

Rice

Sweet Fruit Jelly

Coconut Products

Flavored Spam

Frozen Shellfish

Mochi Ice Cream

Fresh Meat

Sweet Filipino Spaghetti Sauce

At the large fish counter, you can choose a whole fresh fish and take it to the counter to be cut or cooked, again right then and there. It will still be warm when you reach home.

Fresh Fish on Ice

Fish Counter Instructions

The Restaurant--"PhilHouse"--is in the front of the store on the left side. There are meats grilling and steam tables full of warm dishes and stews.

Steam Table

Fried Pork Skins, Fried Fish, and Roast Chicken

Grilled Chicken and Pork

Roast Pork

We ordered "Inihaw na Pampano" (grilled pampano), "Inihaw na Liempo" (grilled pork belly), mung beans with shrimp, and chop suey vegetables.

The Pampano  was stuffed with herbs, tomatoes, and onions. The skin peels right off the meat, and the meat peels right off bones.  Pampano is a dry and bland fish, so stuffing it with juicy tomatoes onions and herbs is a good way to prepare it.

Shrimp and mung beans - The shrimp have heads so be prepared to pull them off like they do in Louisiana. This dish is soupy, so spoon it over the rice which will absorb the liquid and flavor of mung beans.

Steamed chop suey veggies - This dish had a mild sauce, tender-crisp and warm green beans, celery, carrots, red peppers, broccoli, cauliflower,  and a hard-boiled quail egg. 

Grilled pork belly - This meat is crisp with bone-in. The belly is a little salty, like bacon without the pink cure. Munching pork bellow is like eating crispy roast pork. 

Grilled and Stuffed Pampano

Grilled Pork Belly

Mung Beans with Shrimp

Chop Suey

Our meal, good for two people, came to $25.03.

"PhilHouse" has a very large selection of grilled meats, stews, and seafood stews. Grilled mixed plates (fish or meat) are $25, and party trays run from $130 - $730. Combo meals come with rice and veggies. You can eat in or take out.

"To Go" skewers from the front of the store: Shrimp, Lobster, Squid, Vegetable, and Fish.

The PhilHouse does not have dessert, so we bought date nut cake from the bakery. It was labeled "Food for the Gods." The date nut cakes (6 modest pieces) is $4.50, and the weekend skewers (small, about 3-4 balls each) are $1.00 each.