How KINABUCH's BAR AND GRILL Ruined Other Crispy Patas For Us

If you find yourself in Palawan, particularly in Puerto Princesa, be sure to check out Kinabuch’s Bar and Grill. 

From the get go, the locals have been raving, yes, RAVING about how good the food is in that place.

We were holed up in a resort a little bit further from the city proper, compounded by bad roads that heading out wasn’t something we were looking forward to. 

 

"bummed out about the cancelled flight, yet looking forward to dinner" look

Having our flight canceled at the last minute because of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), we were a bit bummed out (not understanding how bad the storm was at that time). The resort’s driver had errands to run so we had ourselves dropped off at Kinabuch, just because it was the first restaurant we could think of.

When we got there, the place was 90% full, which was saying a lot, given the dismal weather and the fact that the place was not just a hole in the wall.

Upon seeing our van arrive, a wait staff and a security guard rushed to us with ready umbrellas, seating us in less than 3 minutes soon after, with our menus and an electric fan pointing towards our group (how’s that for fast service huh?).

Looking through the extensive menu,  (CLICK HERE TO VIEW MENU) we decided we wanted something with soup (coz of the weather), something local or exotic and a lot of meat (hey, if we were going to be stranded by the storm, we might as well be well fed). Here’s what we got:

I must say, after having their crispy pata, no crispy pata to this date can ever meet up to Kinabuch’s standards. The skin was thin and uber crispy, the meat, tender and oh so moist. I swear, Phil, myself and the 3 kids were in pork nirvana :-) 

The fried tamilok (which we had tried earlier in the trip) tasted like fried oysters. Lightly battered then breaded; crunchy on the outside, yet nice and soft on the inside, you’d forget you were eating woodworm.

going through half, that's when we realized we forgot to take food  pics

Lastly, the bulalo. Perfectly seasoned beef broth, not greasy, filled with huge tender beef pieces and slightly firm marrow, waiting for you to suck it out whole without falling apart, best describes our eating experience at Kinabuch’s.  

While eating we noticed that the turnover was also high. After one group leaves, another one takes its place. Clearly our tour guides did not disappoint with this recommendation. The dessert was A ok too. 
 

Much too soon, the meal ended and our driver was set to pick us up in a few. Yet, somehow, our thoughts lingered on the meal that was. The kids and us grownups could not stop wishing for a Kinabuch's here in Baguio, and it’s been a couple of months since we got back. Try it. It’s really a great place to sit back and inhale (it seemed that way when all the food disappeared) your meal :)

Check out their Facebook page at this link for more information: PLEASE CLICK HERE

From TMW, may all your wanderings be better than ours!

Rub a Dub Dub, Marina de Bay Grub

As promised, here's a look at the menu of Marina de Bay:

 

For Single Servings:

 *The classic Camaligan Chicken's a great version of roast chicken

Set Meals:

 

Ala Carte:

 

What We Tried + Comments:

crispy buttered crabs - rich and buttery and crispy as the name suggests

ginataang alimango - crabs in coconut milk, not spicy but quite tasty. had this several times while at Marina Bay

Grilled squid - my sons loooooved this

lechon kawali - mediocre. small portioned

bulalo steak - disappointing. meat was tough. More veggies (that aren't even found in bulalo) than meat

Adobong pusit and baboy - a combination of the most liked adobo (cooked in vinegar) varieties. It wasn't bad. It just failed to impress.

Sinigang na baboy - cant go wrong with this Pinoy staple

 * We also tried their crispy pata (horrible) and  carbonara (super creamy and loaded with bacon)

From The Mediocre Wanderer, may all your wanderings be better than ours.

An Afternoon in the Heart of Puerto Princesa

with our tour guide Divine. The structure behind us is the former senator Ramon Mitra's ranch home

Heading down near the Western Visayas area, some aren't still aware that Palawan is still a part of the Philippine's main island, Luzon. And why wouldn't they think it's not? After all, one of Palawan's many nicknames is the "Philippines' Last Frontier".

ZERO issues with the travel agency we hooked up with

Traveling with three of the four kids at home, plotting a DIY tour was out of the question, but staying within the budget was still a must do. We got ourselves some professional help in exploring the "Last Frontier". Hooking up with the fab agency that is Maple Travels Palawan, (click here to go to their website) we signed up for a Puerto Princesa city tour, a Honda Bay Island hopping excursion and an Underground River tour.

Say you have only 4 hours to kill and you wanted to see a good deal of the city proper, here's a good itinerary to follow:

breathtaking!

1. Mitra's Ranch
What's there: Situated at the top of a hill in Santa Monica, Puerto Princesa, you get a fabulous 180 view of the Sulu Sea, including a glimpse of distant Honda Bay.

at 500 php/person, this zipline was so worth it

A 4 station zip line awaits the adventurous, as well as a giant trampoline and a pony ride. The kids had a field day riding the 360 meter long zipline, where the last station allowed them to zip line upside down.

climbing the last tower was an adventure in itself according to the kids

2. Binuatan Creations
What's there: Remember the factory filled with looms in Angelina Jolie's Wanted? Picture that, but instead of automated machines, you have one filled with manually operated ones.

Instead of assassins surrounding the place, you have out of school youth making a living and lastly, instead of the names of their next victim found in a code within the fabric, you find various colorful patterns that are meant to showcase their talent and make their craft, eye catching.

 

There's also a souvenir shop nearby that sells cold drinks and handicrafts made with the woven fabric and other knick-knacks.

3. Baker's Hill
What's there: a whimsical compound that houses a store of their famous baked goodies, a couple of foodie places (restaurant, food kiosk and snack house), a playground for kids of all ages, peacocks and life sized statues.

We stopped here for our afternoon snacks. Our tour guide provided us with hopia made in Baker's Hill. My sons looooved their ube hopia! Try the tamilok too (woodworm that live in mangrove). It really does taste like oysters :D

a 

4. Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center
What's there: a snack house that serves Filipino dishes and exotic ones made with croc meat (we had crocodile sisig), a croc museum and animals endemic to Palawan, which includes crocodiles.

5. Pasalubong Centre
What's there: The ultimate shopping place for local products. Souvenir shorts, hats, shirts etc. all sold at wholesale prices. Cashew nuts are also good buys as they cost half the price in regular supermarkets. South Sea pearls and other trinkets abound in this place.

what's also great about the Pasalubong Center is that it's airconditioned :) Here's MAX cooling his feet

Suffice it to say, Puerto Princesa has got their tourism thing down to a science. There's a little bit of something for everybody. People are friendly, knowledgeable of their own city, prices are quite cheap compared to other tourist destinations and they have a lot, like A LOT of places that serve good eats!

FYI, the locals make it a point to emphasize that their city as no fault lines, crime is barely there and that they do not get hit by major typhoons. They actually went all out to say that they are one of the safest destinations in the country.

Looking forward to coming back here, but the next time will purely be for foodie reasons :D What say you family? ;-)

From TMW, may all your wandering be better than ours!!