Puerto Princesa

Come early and watch the whole city's kitchens get stocked — blue marlin and yellowfin tuna landing fresh, tiger prawns still twitching, and danggit hanging in fragrant bundles. Haggle a little; this is where Puerto Princesa actually eats.

Run by a Vietnamese-Filipino family who learned their banh mi from a refugee baker, this is where Palawan's chao long tastes like home, not a novelty — and the homemade 'French bread' is worth the detour on its own. A short walk from the old airport, closed Mondays.

Ask a local which chao long is THE chao long and they'll send you here. The tiny eatery was started by Ms. Lanh, a Vietnamese woman from the refugee camp; when she resettled in the US in 2004 she taught the new owners her secret recipe, and the bowl has tasted the same ever since.

Out at KM 13, this is the eating heart of the village built for Vietnamese boat people who chose to stay — once nearly a ghost town, now revived with an onsite bakery firing fresh baguettes and live music on the weekends. The spring rolls and chao long come with a side of Palawan's refugee history.

Named for the swiftlet whose nests make the soup, this Rizal Avenue mainstay built its name on the bilao feast — a woven platter heaped with grilled chicken, fish, squid, rice, corn soup, and fruit, made for a table to share. Locals have been booking the little curtained huts here for years.

The open-air grill that grew from a small joint into a city landmark on the strength of locals at happy hour. It's the place that turned tamilok and crocodile sisig into the city's signature dares — sit down, order a beer, and let someone talk you into the worm.

Long before third-wave anything reached Palawan, regulars called Itoy's 'Puerto Princesa's Starbucks' — a no-frills Rizal Avenue staple where people have parked themselves over strong brewed coffee and pastries for decades.

Old photographs of Puerto Princesa line the walls and vintage films flicker in the background while the kitchen turns out the kind of Filipino comfort food — kare-kare, classic ulam — that tastes like a tita's Sunday. A small, affordable love letter to the old town, going since 2015.

Iconic shoes-off native seafood house in a hand-built wooden home of Palaweño art.

Homegrown bakeshop-and-garden park — the city's pasalubong stop.

Palaweño roastery turning Palawan-grown beans into single-estate roasts.

A forest-immersed farm-to-table restaurant near the Subterranean River that was named Best Sustainable Rural Tourism Product of the Philippines (Gastronomy) at the ASEAN Sustainable Tourism Awards announced at the 2024 ASEAN Tourism Forum.

An independent Puerto Princesa roastery-cafe hand-crafting single-origin coffee from Asian, African and Central American beans, and a favorite of the city's creatives and remote workers.

A minimalist, community-minded specialty cafe near Palawan State University that sources beans direct from Palawan farmers, trains young local baristas and doubles as an art-and-music space with a donate-or-borrow mini-library.