I haven’t explored all the islands of the Philippines yet. I been wishing to visit Palawan for the longest time. I have a friend blogger who travelled months back to the lovely island of Coron Palawan and she would be sharing with us a guide to restaurants and food there. I am excited! Are you?
Vet Leow is a Singaporean girl who loves traveling and this was her first trip to the Philippines and Coron Palawan was simple breathtaking and awe-inspiring! She also share about her other passions in life – good food and healthy living – in her blog at misschocoholic.com, so do connect with her as she would like to get to know you!
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Coron Palawan is truly a paradise for beach goers, adventure seekers and family getaways with its beautiful islands and rich marine life. You can read about my article Travel Guide & Tips: Things to do in Coron Palawan to know more about the island hopping tours we took during the trip.
Even though you won’t be able to find gourmet food in Coron, the town offers a good mix of both local and western cuisines. We were also surprised that the food was not exactly very cheap, considering that Coron was a rustic and less commercialised place than El Nido.
As this was our maiden trip to Philippines and we hardly ate Filipino food in Singapore, we were delighted to find similarities to Chinese cuisine in some of the Filipino food we tried. I could not stop raving about the milk shakes in Coron which was so fresh and delicious!
Sinugba Sa Balay Restaurant
Being the number one restaurant rated in TripAdvisor, we had high expectations for the food but in the end we felt that this was the worst restaurant we had visited in Coron. The décor was simple and rustic but still pleasant. The food took a long time to be served even though we were the only customers when we arrived at the restaurant.
You need to go to the front to order from a big chalkboard menu.
Spicy Chicken Adobo, P360. This dish is so similar in taste and presentation to a Chinese dish – Claypot Sesame Oil Chicken.
Steamed Malaguno Fillet, P490. Looking at the photo, you could guess that the fish was dry (no gravy), tasteless and forgettable. This dish is also quite expensive!
Bak Choy, P140. I was shocked to see that the vegetables was very little and again very dry with only a hint of soya sauce.
The Flan De Leche, P150, must be the worst dessert I have ever tasted in my life or at least Sinugba Sa Balay‘s version of it. The sweetness was too overwhelming and overbearing! We only took half and couldn’t bear to finish it (sorry no photo here as we couldn’t wait to leave this place) but Winnie’s Restaurant version of Flan De Leche was so much more delicious and palatable and best of all, its complimentary!
Overall, we felt that this place was overhyped and too expensive and would definitely recommend Winnie’s Restaurant and Lobster King instead.
Sinugba Sa Balay Restaurant
San Agustin St. Coron, 5316 Coron, Palawan
Winnie’s Restaurant
This restaurant serve good European dishes, heavenly milk shakes at an affordable price and is owned by a Swiss national.
The Curry Crab (P310) and Crab Fried Rice (P140) were very tasty and appetizing with good chunks of crab meat in them. These two dishes are highly recommended!
The Stir Fried Vegetables (P140) here was so much better and tastier than those from Sinugba Sa Balay Restaurant!
The Avocado Milk Shake (P80) was so delicious and thick that I went for a second glass. I couldn’t resist the temptation!
They even serve us complimentary Flan De Leche to complete the meal. It was such a nice gesture! We did finish the Flan De Leche this time round.
Overall, we love Winnie’s restaurant and would recommend this place to anyone who is planning to visit Coron.
Winnie’s Restuarant
Barangay 4, Poblacion, Coron, Palawan, Philippines
Lobster King
The lobsters we had here for dinner were indeed very good and value for money compared to those back home that we decided to return to Lobster King for lunch the next day! While we enjoyed the lobsters, the oysters, on the other hand, were distasteful and make me feel queasy in the stomach and we suspected that they were not fresh.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
We thought we would be getting fresh oysters like the one shown in the photo above but what we got was this (below) from Lobster King!
A plate of unpleasant oysters (P360).
We were allowed to choose our lobsters from the aquarium and the friendly staff even posed with a lobster for me.
Lobster (P1100).
Chicken Sisig (P200)
Pakbet (P220)
Buko (Coconut) Shake, P600 each
The shakes in Coron were really heavenly and I had to order 2 glasses just for myself each time.
We were harassed by ferocious flies throughout the meal. When we came at night for dinner, they had lighted an insect repellent coil below every table and that seems to keep the flies at bay. However, when we returned for lunch the next day, they refused to light it for us and the flies really irritated us so much that we couldn’t enjoy the meal in peace.
It is recommended to visit Lobster King in the evening for drool worthy and affordable lobsters as a plate of lobsters like this in Singapore would have cost us at least $100!
Lobster King
Barangay 5 Coron, Palawan
Kawayanan Grill Station
On our last night in Coron, we decided to do something we had not done before as we really needed a respite from the flies attacking our food! So, we decided to order a take-away to enjoy our meal in air-conditioned comfort in our hotel room.
The Kawayanan Grill Station has a nice ambience and is rather spacious. We ordered the Lechon Manok (P220), Chopsuey (P250) and Lechon Kawali (P275) but found the dishes to be of average standard. We did not take any photographs of the food as they do not look appealing being packed in boxes.
Kawayanan Grill Station
Calle San Pedro, Barangay 2, Coron, Palawan, Busuanga Rd
As Coron Town has one straight main road, it is quite easy to look for these restaurants and the tricycles owners are also very familiar with their town. Just remember to have the exact amount for them (P30 per person) as they won’t give you back the change if they do not have it!
I hope that this article will help you plan for your next trip to Coron Palawan!
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Thank you, Miss Chocoholic! I am so honoured for you to guest in my blog. I can’t wait to travel to Palawan and try the dishes you recommended.
For more of Miss Chocoholic’s food adventures, visit her blog: www.misschocoholic.com or check out her amazing photos in instagram: /vetleow/.
All photos by Vet Leow, unless otherwise specified
