One of the things I greatly enjoy when being out of town is the opportunity to taste local food. I'm a self-proclaimed foodie and traveling presents a great opportunity to go on a food trip. There's so many restaurants to explore in the city of Puerto Princesa (bet you've read/heard of Kalui) and though I've never been to all of them, my tummy is still happy to be satisfied with the following:
1. Pastries from Baker's Hill
Before Baker's Hill become known to be home to statues of Disney characters, it is first and foremost a place for yummy baked goods (hence the name). When I went there, I didn't have high expectations for their pastries as I thought people are just exaggerating about their products. Their store is located near the entrance gate (you can ask the guard and some trike drivers near the place). You'll know that they really have good products because of the long queue inside their bakeshop.
It offers a variety of baked items like brownies, crinkles, loaves of sweet bread, and their to-die-for hopia (and I am not exaggerating). I bought a total of 4 boxes of hopia: 3 boxes of ube flavored and 1 box of their hopia haba-haba. Would you believe that I consumed 2 boxes of hopia ube and almost half the box of the hopia haba-haba? That's how good their hopia is. They're also reasonably priced (cheap even for some). A box of their hopia (8 pieces I think) costs P45.
Baker's Hill
Sta. Monica Heights, Puerto Princesa City
How to get there:
Unfortunately, public utility jeepneys can't take you there so you have to hire a trike to take you to Baker's Hill. You can negotiate for the price though (I paid the driver P300 but that's for the entire city tour).
2. Chaolong + Spanish Bread from Bona's
If you find yourself craving for something warm and spicy then you might want to head to Bona's. They specialize on a Vietnamese noodle soup called chaolong and Spanish bread. There's a variety of options that you can choose from. I had buto-buto beef soup (P80) and garlic Spanish bread (P20) that night for dinner.
Tip: Be careful when eating their chaolong especially this buto-buto beef as you'll end up with orangey splashes on your clothes (just what happened to me - poor white shorts).
Bona's Chaolong
Manalo St., Puerto Princesa City
How to get there:
Pretty easy. You can ride any trike and tell the driver to bring you to Bona's. Almost all drivers know where it is. Fare is P8 if you're just within the city proper.
3. Seafood meals from Kinabuch Bar and Grill
I intend to dine in Kinabuch not for their seafood meals but for the tamilok. Unfortunately, tamilok isn't available for 2 straight days. Thus, I ended up ordering a rice meal from them (sizzling Tanigue for P150 and garlic rice for P30). This restaurant isn't one of those that I'd highly recommend for budget travelers though it's good to indulge once in a while. The food is really good and that's how I realized why their food is priced that way. :)
Aside from being a restaurant, Kinabuch is also some sort of a bar. If you're with friends and feel like chilling out for the night, you can stay in the place and enjoy some bottles of beer.
Kinabuch Bar and Grill
Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa City
No comments