Let’s say, that you for some reason end up late at the bus terminal in Rio Tuba (southern Palawan). Not many tourists go there in the first place... but anyway on top of that you are hungry, craving for some real food after a long tiresome ride in the bus. Then you will soon discover there will not be so many options for you. But if you extend your search by 5 minutes walking distance from the bus terminal you will likely find the Sizzling Republic Restaurant. Surprisingly enough they are open 24 hours and at Friday and Saturday they have live music... and that’s not all they even have a separate menu just for their cocktails!

The main attractions here at Sizzling Republic were of course their sizzlers. It’s what they claim to do, right? But they also had a varieties of breakfasts and other western and Filipino dishes. The menus below show just a sample of what the Sizzling Republic had to offer.

What is a “Sizzler” you may ask? It’s a common dish here in the Philippines and can be something like a open-roasted, grilled or shallow fried pieces of meat, chicken, fish or vegetables and it usually comes with rice,  served on a metal or stone hot plate, kept on a wooden base.

We tried the squid and shrimp sizzling. I liked that they included a large chili fruit. I had it sliced in small pieces and mixed it to get the right level of spiciness. The taste was really good.  

If you ever come to Rio Tuba I can definitely recommend the Sizzling Republic Restaurant. Generous open hours actually 24 hours daily, really good food, wide variety of dishes, nice staff, Friday and Saturday come with live music... what else can you wish for?   

Linaw’s restaurant,  I’ve been here a couple of times two years ago and thought it was time to catch up again with good food and the amazing view you get for free here.  

They have wide variety of everything to choose from. European, Asian and Filipino dishes with every kinds of meat and even crocodile for the brave ones. They have also a small selection of vegetarian dishes. When I get this kind of menu in front of me I tend to have a hard time to choose among all the delicacies. The menus down below is just a sample of what they offer. 

After some decision agony I decided to go for Tuna Sashimi and Tuna Provençal. Yes I like tuna. But to my disappointment they were out of tuna. That’s ok. But then again I had to go through the decision process but after some reading back and forth I finally opted for prawns with creamy tomato sauce. Instead of an appetizer which I thought of first I chose a dessert instead, Supreme Crepes. That would make my tastebuds very happy!

Linaw Pearl Restaurant is a part of Linaw Beach Resort which probably is a nice resort to stay at. I never stayed there though. The location of the restaurant is beautiful. To have your dinner there is like to have the front seat for an amazing sunset. The food was delicious and service excellent. Everything from the CR to the surroundings was nice and clean. One note about the surroundings though. Just very close behind the Linaw Beach Resort is currently a construction site where a new hotel is coming. It will be a large and high building which will not melt in in the beautiful environment like the Linaw Beach Resort do. Development is good but over exploitation is not. Just saying.

Bo’s Coffee Club in Tagbilaran is an institution for coffee lovers and others. It’s a life savior when you need a break from the bustling life outside and it comes with access to WiFi and clean comfort rooms as well. When I have been staying here in Tagbilaran it almost has felt as my second living room. 

There is one Bo’s located in ICM mall 3 km from the Plaza Rizal aka the City Square. The other one, this one is located at Plaza Rizal. Tagbilaran and not to mention Panglao with its new international airport is a very expansive area. New malls, restaurants and coffee shops are growing like mushrooms after a rain all over the place. So in this fierce competition, Bo’s still holding its position as the nr one coffee shop here in Tagbilaran.

Simply the best coffee in town. Deliciously unhealthy pastries and breakfasts. WiFi and clean comfort rooms. Nice and swift service. A good thing to know, is that the coffee they serve at Bo’s is grown and harvested locally here in the Philippines. So what are you waiting for??

So far on my short stay here in Manila I’ve eaten me through two different countries. Now it’s time for the third country India. It’s not that I don’t like Filipino food on the contrary I do, but soon enough I will travel out in the province where Filipino food will be the only option.

I am far from being a specialist on Indian food but it seems to me that’s nothing was missing in the menu. Mutton, chicken, fish and seafood in many varieties. There were lot’s of vegetarian dishes without any meat as well. So down below are just some samples of what was available.

​I ordered Chicken Cafrala, cubes of boneless chicken cooked in onion cashew gravy with coconut milk, garnished with grated cheese and cashew nuts with rice and Naan bread with garlic and cheese. The portion was not gigantic but together with the Naan bread it was totally enough for me and I consider myself as a big eater after all.

The food was delicious. The flavor was rich and spicy and together with the Naan bread it was super. Service was nice and swift. The prices are low to midrange. All together my lunch here was very pleasant and I will be back some day!

Today I had no special plan for the lunch. I was just randomly wandering around in Robinson Place fixing stuff when I ended up at the Teriyaki Boy, Japanese styled restaurant. 

Ramen, Tofu Steak, California Roll, Gyoza, Sushi, Rice Bowl, Dynamite Roll are examples from the menu. Some of the dishes would be suitable for vegetarians also. What I miss here is a combo platter with both sushi and rolls in a nice combination. They actually have something called sushi platter where you choose two variants of the four rolls which are available. In my ears that’s a roll platter not a sushi platter. But I might be wrong... it’s still to be discovered. The menus down below are just a sample, they have more to chose among.

I ordered a Maguro Sushi (tuna), you got two pieces for PHP 95. I also ordered four pieces of California Rolls and four pieces of Philly Cheese Steak Rolls and Miso soup. The Miso soup had a good salty and rich taste. The Maguro Sushi were two generous slices of tuna but they were only ok. I noticed also the two slices had different colors... hm two different batches of tuna? One old and one fresh? Well I don’t know. The rolls were all very good. The steak rolls had an interesting meaty taste but hey (!) it was meat after all. The California rolls were with fresh mango which made them very tasty.

The overall impression was good. Staff was nice and friendly. Price range low to medium also very reasonable. But the competition is fierce among the restaurants inside the mall so maybe next time if I would be craving for sushi I probably would try another place.

That’s their motto. Can they live up to that? Well we will see.

Soi Thai Restaurant is located inside the The Robinson Place mall in Ermita. When I am there and craving for Thai food I usually go to Soi Thai. Last time I was here was one year ago and since then they had changed the furnishing. New tables and chairs. The big question, was the food also changed?

They offer a variety of typical Thai dishes. For some that might be good not to have to choose between too much but for me I wish they could have broaden their menu. You can find chicken, pork, fish, seafood and veggies cooked Thai style. They have vegetarian dishes without any kind of meat but they are probably not vegan. Notice that the pictures below just showing a sample of their menu.

Yes the furnishing was changed but the food still remaine untouched. Thanks for that! You always get a complimentary snack, like spicy peanuts as a small starter before you order which is nice. The food is tasty and well cooked and they offer complimentary service water with ice. That’s not bottled water but tastes the same and is perfectly safe to drink. The portions are not huge but still enough for me, so if you are not a really big eater it’s probably enough for you as well. You don’t have to wait long for your food and the staff is nice and friendly. The prices are low to medium range so it’s very reasonable. In my opinion you can’t go wrong here at the Soi Thai Restaurant.