Does Palawan have the best Vietnamese food in PH?

Michael Mahinay, general manager of The Funny Lion on Hagedorn Road, recalls, “They survived and made it here. The Palaweños accepted them and the city created a refugee camp for them, near the airport. One of their sources of livelihood was food. Before, you would see them selling their baguette by the roadside.”

Mahinay, 42, who was born and raised in Puerto Princesa, adds, “Up to now, at least once a week, we have to have their chao long or pho because it has become part of our diet. Even my kids, they’d say, chao long tayo!”

And so it comes as no surprise that the latest boutique hotel of the One-of Collection opened a Vietnamese restaurant not only to tip the hat to this bit of history, but also to offer their guests something that the coastal city has become recognized for.

The 60-seater C75 Bistro opened just last Friday. And from the menu alone, diners will realize how unique and different their food is compared to the commercial ones located outside their premises. The dishes are heavily influenced by French cuisine.

It’s a clever marriage of cuisines, as Vietnamese food, especially that from the south of the country, is marked by French influence, because of their occupation that lasted nearly 70 years.

Pho (rice noodle soup), banh mi (baguette sandwich), and banh xeo (a sizzling take on the French crepe) are popular examples of the culinary blend, but Villalon takes it further by peppering his dishes with stronger and more apparent French notes.

Case in point: His sesame seed-studded deep-fried spring rolls are stuffed with ratatouille and served with a cheese fondue dip, and his meat skewers use duck breast that’s been marinated in Vietnamese aromatics and served with remoulade as a condiment.

His take on the much loved banh mi matches chicken paté with grilled beef tenderloin slices, and his beef bourguignon is seasoned with Asian spices. The fish meuniere is lubricated with a sauce made of turmeric and ginger and comes with corn chien fried rice. And the lemongrass-scented grilled spring chicken is made rich and complete by the brown rice with bacon and mushroom duxelle as well as the cilantro sauce verte.

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Since C75 is a Vietnamese bistro, a pho is in order. They have four to choose from: a grilled duck breast and pulled duck confit in a duck essence broth; braised beef ribs and raw tenderloin slices in a beef soup; squid and and shrimp terrine in a spiced seafood broth; and my favorite as it has the most umami of all, the trio of mushrooms (braised, oven-dried and pickled) in a flavorful vegetable broth. Their springy handmade, hand-cut rice noodles come from a local pho place.

The Funny Lion hotels are spread out all over Palawan. The first in Coron opened in 2014, followed by El Nido in 2022. The one in Puerto Princesa, which started operations August last year, is the biggest of the three at 3.6 ha. It is also the only one with direct access to the beach and the only place anyone can enjoy coffee beans from Coron that’s grown and roasted by the Tagbanua tribe. These, along with the recent opening of C75 Bistro, make for a compelling case—and a strong lure—for the Puerto Princesa branch, no doubt.