So, you are planning a trip to Coron and El Nido in Palawan or the Philippines, and you are into local tastes?
I heard you - like me, I love food, and Filipino dishes have a wide variety of taste that satisfies your cravings! Luckily, we got our very own Chef Reynald, who is fantastic when preparing the food during our expedition, but once you're back on land and looking to tuck in, you might need some help.
I will give you tips about exotic food in the Philippines during your visit to Coron and El Nido.
To start with, let me give you a little background about the Pinoy food. The food in Palawan, the Philippines is greatly influenced by Spanish ancestors with some Asian cuisine. You’ll notice that Filipino food consists of pork, fish, chicken, vegetables, soups, noodles, and don’t forget the love for fried, barbecued, and savory dishes. Oops, as every Filipino will say “rice is life” so yes, rice is part of our everyday life.
If you’re a Filipino, it’s easy to find some cheap eats or what we call “Carinderia” in Tagalog. Now, if you’re not fond of eating rice every meal, you still can find good restaurants around that serve pizza, pasta, and steaks but they will differ in price or I must say it is a little expensive.
Chicken Adobo
If you come here to El Nido and Coron in Palawan, say hello to the never-ending “Chicken Adobo”. Aside from being a national dish and its simplicity and ease of preparation, it can last for days without spoiling, and even improve in flavor with a day or two of storage.
Pork Adobo
Pork Adobo is also as popular as Chicken Adobo. This is on top of my list, so easy to cook and you can add some chili too!
Lechon
The second one would be “Lechon” (whole roasted pig), yes you heard it right ... It’s popular every festivals/fiesta, holidays, and birthdays because of its crispy skin and tasty meat partnered with a gravy. If you have visited Cebu, they have the best tasting lechon there. Lechon is also known as Suckling Pig around the world.
By the way, if you’re a vegetarian, it’s not that easy to find restaurants except if you’re in Manila. Manila has lots of vegan-friendly restaurants, but Coron has little to offer. You really need a restaurant finder or our savior Google to help you out. In Coron, there are a few vegan-friendly restaurants and please be reminded that ingredients are limited and they are simple dishes.
Check our Filipino vegetarian food guide.
You can also read our how to survive as a vegan in the Philippines blog post.
Palawan Street Food
Oh, street foods! It’s popular here because it’s cheap and on the go! If you just want to chill out, try some Red Horse or San Miguel beer paired with lots of street foods! Only a few people can eat street foods especially if you are a foreigner, but if you’re looking to try some exotic food you should definitely go for it!
Halo-halo
Who will skip the dessert part? Try our Halo-halo, it’s a must try especially during the hot summer days with its shaved ice, milk, and various ingredients. It’s a budget-friendly dessert that costs around 20php to 100php, not bad at all.
Also, a must try dishes are Kare-Kare, Sinigang, Lumpia, and Pansit - and don’t forget to try “Balut” - google it and you’ll see! Also, you may want to try any of these during our Coron to El Nido Expedition and Chef Reynald will do his best! Hope this helps and don’t miss out on trying out new dishes! It’s part of your travel - added to your life experience! :)
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Till next time!
