D’Talipapa Boracay
Tourists asking for a place to buy fresh produce on Boracay Island are likely to get a popular answer: D’Talipapa. This wet market adjoining the upscale D’Mall is the epitome of buyer-seller interaction, where bargaining is a common scenario. Locals and foreigners completing their tropical experience by dining on fresh seafood and meat bustle here, and then leave for the nearby restaurants to have their pickings cooked for them. If you want to have a typical Filipino market experience, head to D’Talipapa, where products are at affordable prices year-round for all tourists.
What is D’Talipapa Boracay?
This wet market is accessible both from the main road of Boracay and Station 2 of White Beach. Located within the D’Mall complex, D’Talipapa occupies about a hectare of land owned by the Elizalde Group of Companies. The best way to get to the wet market is either by asking the locals for directions or riding a tricycle and asking the driver to drop you off at the nearest entrance. D’Talipapa serves almost 300 tenants as well as hundreds of tourists every day.
What does D’Talipapa offer?
Daily delivery of produce from the nearby provinces (Palawan, Surigao, and Iloilo) ensures that Boracay’s D’Talipapa in Station 2 sells fresh seafood, meat, fruits, and vegetables. Where the lines of stalls for wet products end begins the spread of other installations, including ATM machines, souvenir shops, fast-food restaurants, pharmacies, internet shops, and grocery stores. Sharing a big part of the area are the restaurants that cooperate with the D’Talipapa management to have tourists’ pickings cooked for them for a small fee. Because the landlord seeks to provide a fair and open market for all, the prices of produce at the wet stalls are the same. Bargaining is an allowed strategy to save—if not a highly suggested one—since costs can drop to almost half if it is done right.
How Can you Have a Great Seafood Experience on Boracay?
This tropical island is not only famous for the cheap hotels in Boracay, but also for the great food experience. Tourists can buy fish, lobsters, prawns, crabs, and other seafood at the D’Talipapa and have them prepared for them at the nearby restaurants.
Plato D’ Boracay Resto is a popular go-to place, for it is located facing the wet market. Like other restaurants and bars in Boracay that participate in the buy-your-own-and-have-it-cooked agreement, Plato D’ Boracay only charges approximately Php100 for each dish, with condiments and other ingredients included in the fee.
Tourists are advised to eat like the locals in order to taste native Filipino dishes like freshly cooked caldereta, sinigang, and adobo. They can also request cooks to grill, steam, pan-fry, or sizzle their pickings. One tip is to reserve with the restaurant before buying at the wet market in order to have a designated table, just perfect while waiting for the dishes to be served.
