Kinabuch Grill & Bar - a popular restaurant at the city center.

After exploring the town center - stopping by the cathedral, the city baywalk and Plaza Cuartel -  we went to NCCC, as I previously mentioned was the biggest mall in the city center or department store (Robinsons Place is a bit off the center) to pick up some grocery stuff.  I wanted to go to McDonalds and grab a bite to eat but my nephew suggested that we take our dinner at Kinabuch.  He highly recommended the place, he said the food is good and reasonably priced.  I'm a sucker for those "reasonably priced".  So we took a tricycle and headed to there.

Location is along one of the main thoroughfare of the city – Rizal Avenue – along a couple of KTV bars on the other side of the road.  We sat at the outdoor dining area although they do have indoor dining for those who don’t want to be bothered by the sometimes noisy vehicles passing along the main road and the usual throng of mosquitoes.  There are several wicker chairs and wooden tables for the outdoor dining roofed with huts made of grass straws, nice lamps, some star-shaped hanging on long bamboos and trees.  There are big blue-coloured mosquito lamps sitting at some corners, nonetheless, the peskies knows how to get pass it. 

The place is popular among tourists and travelers with the presence of several foreign diners, and drinkers sitting at the nice bar area with billiard, and flat panel TV.  There’s a large open cum parking area with a giant projector screen where they’re showing sports channels - basketball  that is - it’s kind of the unofficial (or official) sports of the country, until probably Manny Pacqiao popularized boxing, then he lost, so we're back to basketball.

I'm expecting though that on some days football and rugby are on the screen (or not), after all, expats, foreign residents and tourists frequent the place.  It’s like those Irish pubs in Chiangmai where we used to hang out in the evening after a full days tiring Thai massage lessons (yes my friends, I took a 2-week massage course in Thailand) and the same ones also in Bali, Indonesia.

Now for the taste buds and your appetite.  Kinabuch is famous for its “Tamilok”, this I wouldn’t dare explain, I would never venture ordering it, not that it’s inedible, they say it tastes like clams or any other seafood but the aesthetic of the thing isn’t really appealing to me.  Google the word or check Wikipedia for futher details.  But who knows , one day I might be trying it.  But for now, I went for the safest bet – a basketful of fried chicken and French fries.  Crunchy from the outside, tender-a-bit from the inside, the serving is big that I felt like it’s good for 2 people, well, I’m not a big-eater anyway.  The fries taste really good, crispy and tasty.  Although, and a big although, I was not really totally happy with the fried chicken, yummy-looking from the outside but inside it has a lot of dark part of meat, imagine a chicken meat battered with a tenderizer so hard that it got bruised near the bones.  My nephew ordered a grilled chicken leg with rice and his wife chopped fried pork.  I wouldn’t give an average verdict as yet as it was my first time dining at Kinabuch, perhaps on my second round, I’ll try some seafood, then I’ll give an update.

Kinabuch serves a variety of local cuisine – chicken, pork, beef, and all kind of seafood – cooked in different ways, mostly the local way.

For me, ambiance is better outdoor as it’s very countryside but with the presence of electronic stuff like the huge screen television and the imported drinks on the bar area.  Sports fans loved those.

The staff sporting black shirt uniforms are polite and courteous.  There are tables with the “reserved” signs sitting on top so it can get full probably on some nights, best to call for reservation if you don’t want to wait to be seated on days they’re busy.

Kinabuch Bar & Grill is located at 369 Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines.  Call to reserve at - International +6348 4345194 Local 048-4345194.