The Funny Lion Eats
The Funny Lion is a group of boutique hotels in Palawan run by the One-Of Collection — the same group that runs Amorita Resort Bohol.
They first opened in Coron, then El Nido, and just opened their newest Puerto Princesa picturesque beachfront resort just 15 minutes away from the airport. This property is right beside the soon-to-be-opened Amorita Resort Puerto Princesa.
Just like Amorita, the beds here are some of the most comfortable beds ever and they say their resort has “The best beds you’ll ever lion.” And just like Amorita, this resort prides itself on the food they serve.
The property only has two restaurants, but locals do walk in the main restaurant for lunch or dinner. Hunt Restaurant serves the buffet breakfast with the best-tasting bacon I have had in the country. Chef Greg Villalon says the texture is different because this locally cured bacon is made from the batok or back of the neck, giving it a crisp yet soft and chewy texture. Hunt also served all-day dining specializing in Asian and continental dishes. They also have a poolside bar that serves wines, cocktails, and bar chow.
There is a special place that one has to book for breakfast, and that is the resort’s floating hut near the mangroves. One can kayak or water bike to the place during high tide for a nice breakfast. I had the Palawan delicacy lamayo — semi-dried marinated danggit or rabbit fish.
So, my choices of dishes at Hint are Into the Dip — absolutely delicious warm crab and artichoke dip and Wonton Wonder — fried barbecue chicken wontons. Two mains I enjoyed were the tender braised beef served with pumpkin purée, maple-glazed carrots and creamed spinach called The Great Graze and a whole grilled lapu-lapu (grouper) with an anchovy-caper brown butter compound called Catch Up.
They just launched their second restaurant called C75. This serves French-Vietnamese cuisine including Vietnam’s famous banh mi (sandwiches), which comes in steak, mushroom-raclette, or tuna Nicoise varieties.
I’m not fond of vegetables but enjoyed the Rolled Ratatouille — fried spring rolls stuffed with vegetables. The Bouillabaise Bun bo Hue had wonderful rice noodles made locally. There was a huge number of Vietnamese refugees who went to Palawan in 1975; hence the name C75. There even was a Viet-Ville or Little Vietnam there which became a tourist attraction with all their noodles houses.
My favorite main dish was the lemongrass-infused Ga Nuong Grilled Chicken but do also get the Saigon Steak Frites — tenderloin with fries and Vietnamese herb salad — if your group has a big appetite.
The Pineapple Tarte Tatin with Palawan honey-braised pineapples with pastry crust and crème fraîche was a perfect ending.
The resort also has a small coffee shop that offers large sized chocolate chip and cornflake cookies worth trying.
There are still a lot of places to visit around Puerto Princesa such as Honda Bay or the Underground River, but it was just so nice to just relax and chill at The Funny Lion. Service was amazing and spending a weekend here was the perfect way to recharge.
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Check out https://www.thefunnylion.com/.
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