Rene's Saigon: Vietnamese Kitchen Brought Right in the Heart of Puerto Princesa

Puerto Princesa had been a temporary home for Vietnamese refugees when they landed the Philippines in post-1975. A community called "Viet-ville" (French word for "Viettown" was created. They brought their culture with them and one is Vietnamese cuisine, which they successfully introduced to the local community by putting up Vietnamese restaurants.

Filipinos embraced the flavors of Vietnam. Proof are several Chaolong houses (inspired by Vietnamese Pho) you would see scattered in any part of the city. Some are already owned by Filipinos who used to work for the Vietnamese Refugees. One restaurant that is still owned by a true blooded Vietnamese is Rene's Saigon, owned and managed by Rene Sabio who has a Filipino father a Vietnamese mother. His wife Huynh Thi Van assists him with their family business.

I'm surprised Rene's Saigon seemed not to be a very familiar name  (as compared to Bona's) with tricycle drivers. I asked two of them to kindly bring me to the restaurant but they seemed not to know it. Gladly, the third I asked has an idea although unsure about the location. It helped when I told him, it must be somewhere near the airport and is just along Rizal Ave. (It pays to do a research before heading somewhere) Nevertheless, we arrived at the right restaurant. When you're coming from the airport, Rene's Saigon is about a 5 minute drive towards your left, the opposite direction when you're headed to the city center. They open 8:30 in the morning and closes 8:30 at night.

We went there for brunch and a smiling lady handed us their menu once we have settled in one of their tables. They have wide variety of options. We ordered mostly their different variety of noodles (pho') perfect for the climate that day. A typhoon was currently passing Puerto Princesa that time. My sister and I loved their food. Noodles tasted fresh and chewy. The broth is perfect, there's a slight hint of sweetness and it's not overly sweet as the others I've tried, it was flavorful. Average you would spend here is about 100-150 per meal. This is one place I'd like to go back to when I visit PP again.

While eating, I noticed there's a featured article included on their menu. It was written by Marilen Kahn, I suppose one the customers who visited and tried their food. It was written there that this business started as a turo-turo (a small informal looking restaurant) with a 15 person seating capacity, located at the original Vietnamese Camp where Rene baked his French bread and cooked the dishes his mother and wife taught him. Now, the current restaurant is built on a 800 sq meter land, with a 50 person seating capacity where he continually bakes an average of 3,000 or more pieces of French bread daily and manage a kitchen that continually produces Vietnamese flavors for locals and tourists who came to love what Rene's Saigon offer. :)

Rene's Saigon can be found along Rizal Ave, passing by the Puerto Princesa Airport when coming from the City Center. It is located in Brgy. Bancao-Bancao. Their contact number is 433-5255.

Aklan: The Night Before Invading Boracay

A friend here in Manila is coincidentally in Aklan while we were in Iloilo. She invited us to their place so we decided to leave our original plan of going to Guimaras to discover their beaches and instead took a 4 hour van ride to Kalibo, the capital of Aklan to meet her.

There had been an accident on the highway during our trip. One of the Ceres buses headed to Iloilo collided with a jeepney going to Aklan. According to the van driver(on our way back to Iloilo), 6 died including the driver of the jeep.

It's already late afternoon when we arrived. We we're fetched by Diane (our friend) from the terminal and was brought to the lovely home of her cousins, Councilor Apol Roldan and his wife, ate Rhine, who welcomed us warmly to their humble abode. Diane prepared a sumptuous dinner for us. :)

Diane and Ate Rhine planned on touring us to the Sampaguita Gardens, a resort that feature attractions with Christmas theme throughout the year. Since it's already late and the resort's attraction will be closing soon, that idea was ditched and we thought a bottle of beer or just a few more will be perfect to call the day a quits. The kids were left at home who were still busy acquainting with each other.

One of Diane's cousin is a band member and happened to be having a gig that night. We went to the place where they will be performing called the Abre Gana Bar and Restaurant. It is a simple yet spacious open bar and restaurant located along Judge N. Martelino St. in Andagao, Kalibo, Aklan. It's there that we met more of their relatives, one is Noy who had always displayed a kind smile.

When we arrived, I could probably do a quick headcount of the people who were there but by the time we left, the bar was already crowded by mostly young adults. I couldn't blame them for choosing the place. The bar has a relaxing ambiance and was designed with native materials, mostly bamboo. The light bulbs are tucked in hats or bamboos with carved holes, illuminating dim lights which kind of make you in the mood for more drinks. There are tables and chairs set the usual way but we chose to sit on the bamboo platform with cushions, ala Japanese style.

When the band started to play, the place became livelier. Acoustic and sometimes alternative and reggae music filled the air. The band also started singing requests from the audience. I'm usually not a party goer or a night life junkie but I love music. :)

After few hours, Kuya Apol joined us, coming from a work related engagement. I personally am thinking that he had a long day yet he was there to be with us. I'm really thankful for their family's hospitality. It left me an impression that Aklanons are all warm and accommodating.

Few more bottles and many stories shared, we felt it's time to go home. We left Abre Gana with a glad heart. We slumbered that night and woke up early the following morning to prepare going to Boracay. We were saved from the trouble of looking for transportation, everything had been arranged for us. (Thank you again to the Roldans ^_^)

Before leaving, I can't resist the urge to have a picture in their home's beautiful garden. hahaha!

Minutes later, our van is travelling the highway to Caticlan and I am most excited to see Boracay. :)

Carlito's Restaurant in Jaro District

The day I set foot in Carlito's Jaro Branch wasn't planned at all. I didn't even know it existed. We we're looking for old houses in Jaro and the scorching heat of the sun made us crave for a refreshing drink. Walking around Jaro Plaza, we noticed this cute establishment. The roof is made of what looked like brick pieces laid together carefully. The facade is made of glass and wood which is carved on the upper part. It looked modern and cozy. Coincidentally, we saw a board near the entrance advertising that they we're selling halo halo. Perfect! ^_^

Upon entering I couldn't help but notice the nice design of the restaurant's interior. The roof looks so interesting with pieces of wood arranged in a symmetry. The hanging lamp made of stained glass at the center of the ceiling complimented very well with the theme of the interior. The furnitures are made of wood too. There's a beautifully landscaped grotto accessible through a back door. Everything is simple yet looks perfect.

Carlito's is located along Lopez Jaena St. in Jaro very near Jaro Church and plaza. I noticed that the other part of the restaurant is shared with T Grillhaus, the latter also have an Al Fresco Restaurant.

The waitress provided us the menu and I noticed they have wide range of selections. Since we're not hungry (having snacked on rice cakes), we just ordered the halo-halo to cool off so I won't be able to share about their other meals but the halo halo, once we added more milk was already a treat. I'll intend to go back to Carlito's to try their best sellers once I visit Iloilo again. :)