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.
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.
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.
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