Bona's Chao Long Haus — Restaurant in Puerto Princesa

After seeing all these Chao Long signs all over the city, which one should you go to? Locals highly suggested Bona’s in Manalo Street & it did not disappoint.

There are several versions of Chao Long (they have photos of all the variants printed on a huge tarpaulin), even the lady at the counter couldn’t answer my query as to which one is the “real” chao long. She just replied, “Chao Long po lahat yan (They’re all chao long).” I sought her advice on what to order and she said, “Masarap po lahat yan (They’re all delicious).”

She wasn’t being helpful so I just went for a Pork Buto-buto with SBS (Sabaw Beef Stew) @ P80.00 per serving. They served my food in less than five minutes. When I took my first sip of the broth, I immediately realized that this would be the kind of food you’d want after a night of drinking. You should really try this,...

In Puerto Princesa people copied the noodle soup of Vietnamese refugees who came to Palawan during the Vietnam War. Chao Long is rice porridge in Vietnam but in Puerto Princesa it's noodle soup which is supposed to be Pho. But it's not. Having said that, don't expect anything close to Vietnamese Pho. The broth has nothing to do with a long cooked and well seasoned meat broth. It's quite greasy, has too much salt and MSG. The rice noodles have a weird texture. But that's just the way people like it here and it's also cheap. Taking all this into consideration, it's quite OK. The baguette is not sweet, which I very much appreciate. The Tuna baguette was more like Tuna sandwich. The baguette with pork was quite OK. To sum it up, it's a place with OK noodle soup for a...

Chao long, according to many locals, is a must-try Vietnamese food in Puerto Princesa. Locals would always point at Bona’s for first timers.

The place is not as fancy as you would expect it to be, or at least to me. Pay-as-you-order basis.

Chao long can be of different variants. I’ve tried the most expensive Pork Buto-buto.

Unfortunately, my experience was reminiscent of Pho, another Vietnamese cuisine. I couldn’t enjoy the taste of a relatively bland soup like Chao long and Pho. This may be because of my salty and sweet inclined taste buds—filipino taste buds.

Nevertheless, locals love it and some tourists share the same view. Try it yourself. You...