Hunting the last frontier
One of the great benefits we, the riding public, got out of the proliferation of budget airlines is the availability of direct flights linking major Philippine southern cities with each other. Say, if one were in Cebu or Iloilo, it used to be one would have to fly to Manila to catch a flight to Puerto Princesa or perhaps Davao City.
And that’s exactly how my darleng Mary Ann and I planned the second leg of our “field research” for the revised edition of our book Linamnam. Having literally eaten our way around Cebu for three days, we flew directly to Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, to continue further our hunt for local good eats, having missed this “last frontier” in the book’s first edition. And, just like before, we scoured the city through leads from friends, bloggers, and people we met along the way.
Upon the recommendation of my niece, Jean McTavish-Mandap, who runs a travel agency in our hometown of Angeles City, we booked at the Aziza Paradise Hotel in Puerto Princesa. Checking out its website, it had all the trappings of a five-star hotel, especially with a large crystal blue swimming pool, a requisite amenity for my daily swimming routine, “paying it forward” for all the indulgences I am about to commit, I call it. Jumping ahead of my story, Aziza not only didn’t disappoint, it also exceeded our expectations.
It is common perception, or should I say, resignation, that there’s a dearth of five-star hotels that serves good Filipino food. More so, finding a Filipino restaurant inside an upscale establishment is like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. Aziza Paradise Hotel’s in-house restaurant Demeter Diner is an exception to the rule, quite a pleasant surprise in this foreign-oriented industry. It is named after the Greek goddess of harvest, yet is unapologetically focused on Filipino cuisine, as interpreted by its chef Eugene Fernandez, who is originally from Davao City. His take on local comfort food is not just good, it is excellent. Demeter Diner can stand on its own as a restaurant destination, and could give the popular joints in downtown Puerto Princesa a run for their money, with reasonable prices to boot.
The Pinoy’s perennial favorite lechon kawali (fried pork belly) comes on a bed of stir-fried kangkong, a meal in itself. The Black Tempura shrimps have a light and jet-black batter (from squid ink) and comes with a sweet/sour chili dip, while the Bicolano’s laing made of taro leaves simmered in coconut milk is as traditional and good as it can get.
But what really bowled us over is the crispy isaw or chicken intestines, an utterly plebeian barbecue item (meaning baduy and cheap, and never served in restaurants, aka IUD, a euphemism for the way the strands of intestine are skewered on the bamboo sticks). Chef Fernandez’s risqué interpretation has the whole intestine deep-fried, lightly dusted with flour, coming out like a tangled nest, yet so delicately flavored and crisp, worthy as an offering to the Greek gods. Though it came with a spicy vinegar dip, which is the Pinoy norm when serving chicharon, the chili dip that came with the black tempura was a better foil for the fried dish.
La Terrasse
Ask my darleng what her favorite restaurant was during our entire Puerto Princesa visit and she will say without a doubt, La Terrasse. She simply fell in love with its wide-open space, minimal decor and white canvas seats on big comfy rattan chairs, though I say it actually had the look of a somewhat unfinished place. Its tables are placed far from each other giving it a luxurious feel, buffered with bamboo trees from the main street — the perfect resort setting for a holiday feel. The staff is formal and dressed in the white-and-black bistro look. The toilets are big and clean. “With a place like this, who cares about the food? You just want to order coffee and raise your legs and grab your book,” she declared.
But to me, it is still the food that will decide if a place is worth a page in the book. Perusing the menu, I found it to be very interesting indeed as it had a well-thought-out lineup of local and foreign dishes. Starting with the ceviche, our kinilaw is given a refreshing take, four different kinds served in raw vegetable cups, each lightly washed in a spicy tangy blend of sour mango, lemon and herbs. The crispy duck rolls have organic duck shreds crisp-fried in its own fat, rolled into mandarin crepes with hoisin sauce, cucumber and spring onion a la Peking duck.
A bestseller is their Adobo Overload, which had rice fried in adobo sauce, topped with adobo pork cubes, native chicken wings, garlic chips and shallots. The runaway winner in our book, though, is the Tuscan pork roulade, roasted pork belly (aka Italian porchetta or Filipino boneless lechon) that seems to be the current craze nationally. La Terrasse’s owner and “chef” Dichay Roxas has been doing it for the past 25 years, starting when she lived on Boayan island off San Vicente, Palawan, serving it to her guests at the maison d’hote (guest house) she, her French husband and daughter opened. And for the dessert, oh, the missus was just enamored of the French nougat Dichay makes herself out of Palawan honey, cashew nuts and native eggs. It is soft, creamy and chewy, so unlike the hard Spanish turron Alicante.
