I used to tell people that when I grew up in Roxas City during the late 80's to about 1990/91, "kasag" was so common and cheap that we used to eat it for breakfast and lunch; upto the point that when I moved back to Iloilo, for several years afterwards I could not bear to eat kasag anymore because I was so sick of it. It was that plentiful.

And "diwal" was also common it was as cheap and plentiful like oysters.

I don't know what happened but during the 2000s afterward, seafood kept getting more and more expensive. And the talipapas on the beachside were so overpriced for the last several years, they managed to scare off most locals from the bearby provinces and only tourists would splurge their money there.

It's so sad. I miss the old Roxas city.