A Tamilok Experience at Palawan's Kinabuchs Grill & Bar

They say your Palawan experience wouldn't be complete if you didn't visit one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River. Well, Lafanggero says, your Palawan experience wouldn't be complete if you didn't have the world-famous exotic dish from this place, the Tamilok!

And do you know where to get the freshest and really hair-raising, but surprisingly good-tasting Tamilok? Only here in Kinabuchs Grill and Bar!

Last month, when I, and four of my superfriends, visited the world famous city of Puerto Princesa in Palawan, one of the many dishes that is on our list to taste is this exotic dish called Tamilok or mangrove worms.

Famous from its eewy, slimy look, this and some other dished that are available here in Puerto Princess have been the target of our curious taste buds. Thank goodness, our friend from Palawan who welcomed us here recommended Kinabuchs as the best place to try this exotic dish!

So, warning, if you do not have a strong stomach, might as well leave this page or fill your keyboards with slimy puke of yours. Hahaha!

Kinabuchs is located along the stretch of Rizal Avenue in Puerto Princesa City, along with the other famous restaurants in this part of the country. This place, according to my friend, is the real deal when it comes to exotic dishes like Tamilok and Crocodile, hence she brought us here to satisfy our so-called craving.

We arrived at Puerto Princesa an hour before 7, and since we are all starving, right after we checked-in at our hotel, we asked our service vehicle to take us to Kinabuchs for our dinner. Kinabuchs is open from morning til night, but as you may see, the ambiance looks lovelier at night, so I can say that we really hit the right spot for our first meal here in Palawan.

With Kinabuchs' spacious parking lot and really rural appeal, no wonder a lot of locals and visitors take time to checkout this place to taste Palawan's local delicacies.

They even have a wide LCD screen outside for those who wanna dine under the bright moon of Palawan - something I find really lovely. :-)

Anyways, greeted with a smile by one of their staff despite of the running and skipping and running to attend the other customers, we were then guided to one of the tables, which is under the starry night of Palawan.

Basing from the menu that she gave to us, I can say that the prices are fairly normal. So without further ado, we gave out our orders and after some 10 to 15 minutes, each of them came one by one.

And it started with this homey seafood soup that calm our nerves and grumbling stomach.

Sinigang na Hipon - Php230.00

To be honest, this is not the best Sinigang na Hipon that I've had, but I'm somehow thankful that we had it that night. It was perfect for that cold weather, something I didn't expect from this island. 

The rest of our orders came and our first-ever Palawan feast began.

Chopsuey - Php130.00

This chopsuey is good. With oyster sauce as the base of the sauce, and with a price like that, I'd say that it is  a good choice for us.

Another oyster sauce base dish that we had that night was this mixed seafood. Though, I was kinda disappointed by the size of the "seafood" that were in here, I'd still say that the taste was fairly good. There's a bite of freshness on every bit of those "seafood."

Mixed Seafood with Oyster Sauce - Php300.00

As for the Bicol Express, it was surprisingly good. I barely eat Bicolano dishes since I'm not biggie on spicy foods, but this one is really tasty. So I guess saying good is enough for this one. :-)

Bicol Express

And for the highlight of our dining experience here, here are the two dishes that completed our Palawan food trip, the crocodile and tamilok dish.

Croc Adobado- Php340.00

Kilawing Tamilok - Php135.00

I love, love, love that crocodile meat! I really didn't expect it to be that tasty and good, so it's a surprise to me! And I think I was the one who ate most of it because I just can't get enough of it. IT'S REALLY DELICIOUS!

As for that Kilawing Tamilok, eewy as it may seem, the taste was likely an oyster. I just had two tamiloks that night and I'd say that it is really an aphrodisiac! Hahaha! I'm willing to try it again, but on the same way they prepared it, cooked in vinegar. And probably with a beer, so I can have a lot of it. It's just so slimy but good!

Me and my friend, Atty. Ence

Thank you, Kinabuchs for that memorable dinner!
I'll surely comeback here if ever I'm in Puerto Princesa. :-)

Happy eating!