Must-Try Foods in White Beach, Puerto Galera.

Food, How significant it to you while traveling? How important is food for you when deciding on a destination?

I love trying local foods so it’s quite high on my list when I travel however I would not let my destination be determined by food. I basically will eat anything. Food is not a decisive factor in deciding where I go (or where I don't go). I experiment by variable lengths depending on the place and circumstances but never too much. While I, to some degree, enjoy trying new stuff, food is a functional thing for me and definitely not a consideration on deciding where to go.

Banana-cue during my first day

But during my Puerto Galera Vacation, it changed my total mindset. I will go back to this place due to one food I’ve tasted and it was part of the whole travel experience for me. There're some memorable moments about food and local food culture that I remembered since the day I started to travel – Fern in Baler and Chaolong in Puerto Princesa City- and in Puerto Galera offers me the food that surely I won’t forget for the rest of my life.

Lomi in Manalo's Lodge (First Day)

From the span of my staycation, I already tasted Food e.i Tapsilog PHP120, Cordon Blue PHP250, Chicken Barbeque PHP160, Lomi  and Tinola (Manalo's Lodge) those foods that are available in restaurants situated in front of the beach (so that’s why the price is too luxurious), I also ate at the eateries located at the back of the beach (behind hotels and apartments) for a local plate amounting to PHP50 with one cup of rice and one viand (so it’s quite least expensive). However, those foods were not too appetizing to me since the tastes of those were very similar of what I’ve tasted in Urban Restaurants, therefore nothing is new.

Breakfast at Manalo's Lodge

But out of hundred Bars and Restaurants in Puerto Galera, only one of them is very remarkable. It is COCO AROMA.

Situated at the remote (but not too far) left side of the shoreline (when you’re standing on White Beach while facing the sea), is a resort along with resto-bar is the pride of Cora M. de Veyra and her husband Joel (an artist) who – after inheriting the piece of land from her mother – transformed it into a hub for the marginal tourists. This place offers the heavenly taste of “CHOCO-BANANA PANCAKE”.

Aside from the distinctive touch of the area- reggae, light rock and blues, masks carved on driftwood, people with dreadlocks, wooden construction materials, and hammocks by the sea – the very advantage that Coco Aroma can offer with - is their special “ CHOCO-BANANA PANCAKE”.

How Special? Well, I will not put up an effort to write about it, if it was not worth writing for.  I already tasted the luxurious pastries and sweets in Spiral Sofitel and Coco Aroma’s Pancake was the best pancake I’ve ever tasted so far. Their chief uses homemade ingredients that Coco Aroma’s trade secret only possessed.

Dante (my roommate) ordered one Pancake for the group. When they served it, the aroma apprehended my attention. The plating was very appetizing with a brown pancake whose size was good for 5 pax. The syrup they served was also homemade.

“IT MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH”. The pancake is perfectly partnered with black coffee. It was like – I’m eating and relaxing in a five-star coffee shop while I’m updating a blog. So heavenly experience…glorifying.

In addition, according to Mike David Tan (a good friend of mine, EIC of Outrage Magazine) on his Website Review: “Yes, drinking (and… smoking) is what comes to mind when at Coco Aroma (heck, there’s a poster of Mona Lisa with a joint on the bar’s wall), so worth considering are Coco Aroma Sling (the venue’s version of the Mindoro Sling, in itself a take on Singapore Sling) and the bottomless Margarita. But even though the sun’s still up (think late afternoons), hanging out here is fun while chewing the house specialties fruit pancakes (flavors include banana, mango, and choco-banana) at P185; any of the curried dishes (e.g. vegetable curry at P150, and curried tofu at P120); and pansit (noodles) from P180. Watching the sunset away from the crowd while slowly sipping kapeng barako (brewed coffee using local beans) is an option worth considering (versus ice cold beer in hand).

If I going to visit again the said place, I’ll make sure to include in my itinerary this must-experience Resto. Not just because it’s too far away from the crowded area but it’s because I want to experience all over again the heavenly taste of their “CHOCO-BANANA PANCAKE”

For more information on Coco Aroma, contact Cora M. de Veyra at (+63) 9166167337, (+63) 9194728882 or (+63) 9232187399; email cocoaroma_5203@yahoo.com; visit www.cocoaromapg.com

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