Where to eat in Puerto Princesa

There are lots of cafes and restaurants  for every kind of budget in Puerto Princesa. While they do have kiosks at the  NCCC mall, I recommend you try something you won't find in Manila. Here are my recommendations for breakfast, lunch, dinner and merienda,too!

Breakfast: Neva's Place

Our hosts at Audissie recommended this place to us and it was a delight to find this cafe hidden inside a garden. I love the native ambiance and paintings and sculptures by local artists scattered around.

Food is delicious and affordable. The Longsilog costs only P70 and I appreciate the use of fresh veggies as a side dish instaed of plain achara. The yummy pizza is just around P120.

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Lunch: 
Haim's Chicken Inato

An outdoor resto that distinguishes itself from your usual Chicken Inasal places by its creative use of indigenous materials. Each table is found under a native hut which has pictures of tourist spots to see in Palawan.

They have an abundance of seafood here that's why they use lapu-lapu for their sinigang! Their specialty  the chicken inato is delectable and only  P75. Most everything in Palawan is very affordable.

I was amused by their restrooms which incorporated a lot of discarded wood and tree stumps in their design. Check out the gnarly frame of their mirror!

They also have a pension house, Balay Inato, but they looked like your ordinary rooms, no artsy, indigenous design.

The only problem some guests may have is that most restos in Palawan do not have air conditioning.

Jo's Chicken Inato

Another outdoor chicken inasal resto which has huge servings at very affordable prices. Some folks might not like the taste of their chicken, though. It's basted with coconut oil which gives it an unusual flavor. Order the special halo-halo to cap the meal!

 

Heavenly Desserts

The only place we dined in that had airconditioning, Heavenly Desserts was quite new when we tried it out and it showed. It's like a Starbucks dipped in pink and purple and food was more pricey than usual. While the pasta and the desserts were indeed heavenly, the menu is limited and the rice meals we ordered were disappointing. The barbecue sauce totally overwhelmed the flavor of the shrimp and the macaroni side dish was totally unnecessary. Fresh veggies would have been better. 

I do hope they've fixed their ventilation problem by now as the smoke from the the kitchen reached their restroom when we ate there.

Lucky for us, we got a whopping 20% discount as one of their first customers! I wish them good luck and hope they use honest feedback from their customers to improve their resto. I sincerely wish them well. 

 

Dinner: Ka Lui
Ka Lui is the premiere destination restaurant of Puerto Princesa and even the whole of Palawan, according to the Lonely Planet books. The whole place is a feast for the senses, from the artworks that surround you to the colorful garnish that decorate your plate. 

The place is always fully booked so you must have your hotel or pension house reserve a table for you as soon as you can. 

While the food servings are small, they are reasonably priced. I never thought I'd eat raw tuna sashimi (P150) but it looked so good I just had to try it.

We ordered the Ka Lui special which may vary from day to day. Note that while it is served family style, it is only good for 2 and only 2 cups of rice are included. A fellow blogger has a detailed description of their experience here

This is one of their rice meals for P185

This was my favorite meal of the night, stingray in coconut cream (P150)! Absolutely unforgettable!




Surprise! We got free dessert at the end of our meal! I don't know if they do this for everybody but it sure was a welcome treat that made it more memorable.

Note that they cook the food as you order so it may take a while so you might want to explore the place and take lots of photos or check out their scarves and banig bags for sale.

Check out Ka Lui's website to see their entire menu and pricelist!

Twinx was also fascinated by their restrooms and took pictures of the whole place!
Kinabuch 

This was my family top pick for value and taste. It always looks full but we didn't have a hard time to find a table even without reservations. The ambiance is like Gerry's Grill transported to Palawan. Food is for sharing and the staff quick and efficient. As I said before, if you want to impress, dine at Ka Lui, but if you want to pig out, go to Kinabuch!

Seafood chowder

Gising-gising, seafood and kangkong  in spicy chili and coco cream. Hot!!!

Baby back ribs. This was the last dish to be consumed. I thought it was bland.

 Best dish, crab in butter and garlic. We had a hard time finding crab. Locals say they don't catch crab when there's a moon out , because they get thin crabs, which is the opposite of what my Mom knew.
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Merienda:
Kamarikutan Cafe 

This is the best place to go to for a quick bite because it's just a few minutes away from the airport. Have a sandwich(from P50) or their brewed coffee(P35). My top pick would be the pasta dishes which is good for 2 (P120)

I love the ethnic inspired design! Note the sugar and milk containers for the coffee above.

Many thanks to blogger Renee Rose for the wealth of info she shared in her blog which became our guide book to Puerto Princesa.