Bubba Gump’s shrimps are blockbuster hits

Shrimp. The very mention of the word brings an image in my head of those delicious, juicy critters, peeled, fat and bright pink, squeezing past my lips and straight down my throat. Yummy!

Imagine a restaurant that serves nothing but shrimp… well, almost. That’s Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant.

Themed after the Oscar-winning movie Forrest Gump, this shrimp specialty restaurant offers a break from all those burger and fries and steak joints in the metro. With its new menu items of shrimp, fish and chicken dishes, Bubba Gump now has enough dishes to delight the whole family and barkada.

Bubba Gump opened at its present location in Greenbelt 3 more than two years ago. It has weathered the fickle taste buds of Filipino diners, managing to keep its place in the market, along with a handful of other restaurants in the area. It is – pun intended – a box office hit, just like the Tom Hanks starrer after which inspired it.

Bubba Gump general manager Martin Carrion says shrimp is now a year-round treat. The restaurant gets its supplies from shrimp farms around the country, assuring diners of seafood all year round. Even if shrimps are traditionally expensive from November to March, Bubba Gump still manages to offer them at reasonable prices.

We recently dined with Carrion and Bubba Gump’s Kevin and Eduard Co and Nikki Gonzalez to see what new items the restaurant has to offer. It was, so to speak, quite a catch.

Wouldn’t you go crazy, too, over its Bubba’s After the Storm Bucket of Boat Trash? Tender shrimps, chunks of slipper lobster and mahi-mahi fillets are deep-fried till just right and served with a side of coleslaw and fries. And don’t forget the corn on the cob that goes with it. Even finicky diners will not hesitate to reach out and peel with their bare hands those warm shrimps. If you can only have one special on your visit, this is it.

The appetizers are quite filling, too. There’s the ping pong shrimp (deep-fried lightly breaded spicy shrimps served with a mango-pineapple salsa), shrimp popcorn (deep-fried breaded shrimps served with a choice of ketchup and aioli sauce), and Bubba’s Far Out Dip with shrimp (spinach, roasted red pepper, artichokes and Monterey Jack cheese).

If you’re watching your weight, there are many salads to choose from, too. There’s the classic Caesar salad, served plain or with grilled chicken or Cajun shrimp. There are two other chicken salad options: Chicken Cobb salad (red onions, feta cheese, red bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and calamata olives on a bed of spring greens with chicken slices) and Run Chicken Run (chilled mixed greens tossed with grilled chicken, caramelized nuts, basil, gorgonzola cheese and balsamic vinaigrette).

And if you want pasta, the penne pasta with shrimp and scallops will not disappoint. Each mouthful comes with sweet shrimps and baby scallops sautéed in a sun-dried tomato and vodka cream sauce. A non-shrimp entrée is the Dixie-style baby back ribs, served with coleslaw and fries. Even if it’s not shrimp, Bubba Gump knows its ribs.

And what meal is complete without desserts? Bubba Gump’s classic sweet is its Alabama mud pie. Layers of chocolate and vanilla ice cream with chunks of Snickers are topped with caramel and chocolate syrup and smothered with crunchy peanuts. Too sweet, too rich, you say? It offers two new desserts for those looking for a non-choco chew. There’s the Strawberry Dream (pound cake and vanilla ice cream topped with Jenny’s special sauce and fresh strawberry puree and whipped cream) and Mama’s cinnamon bread pudding topped with special whiskey butter.

The new menu items are created by chef Tony Tiu, a recruit from the original Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant in Maui, Hawaii.

For those who can’t have enough of Bubba Gump, it is offering a number of its signature dishes in lunchtime portions. Available for P299 each are Forrest’s Shrimp Net Catch, baby back ribs, Mama’s Southern fried chicken, Shrimp Shack Pasta and the Alabama mud pie. All entrees come with French fries, mashed potatoes or rice and coleslaw.

Carrion says lunch portions are sized "so that our customers may order their favorites, without the worry of having to find someone to share the full portions with. Now, for P299, our guests can enjoy the Bubba Gump classics during their quick lunch breaks."

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Bubba Gump is at the second floor of Greenbelt 3, Makati City. It is open daily from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. the next day. For inquiries and reservations, call 757-5154, 757-5104 and 757-6650. Visit its website at www.bubbagump.com.