369 Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan
(048) 433 2580 / 0928 753 9621
Monday to Saturday
Lunch 11AM to 2PM
Dinner 6PM to 1030PM
When in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, eat at KaLui, one of the city's best restaurants, so I have been told. That's if you can score a table.
On my first visit to Puerto Princesa, our big group dropped by KaLui around noon to book a table for dinner on the same day... but were told that a table would be free around 9PM. No discussion ensued, we all knew we would be starving by then. We drove away crestfallen.
A year later, I was going to find myself in Puerto Princesa City for a few hours. Not going to let this chance escape, I booked a table a week ahead, through email (online@kaluirestaurant.com) and was pleased to receive a quick response. The next thing to do was to pray that our flight won't get delayed, or else they'd release the table 15 minutes after the reserved time.
Our flight arrived ahead of schedule. (Thanks Mr Pilot, I bet you have a reservation at KaLui, too.) A short tricycle ride from the airport and we were deposited at the entrance of KaLui Restaurant. A shelf with all kinds of footwear was outside the dining area and we added ours to the pile. (This was the second restaurant I have been to that required guests to enter barefoot; the other one was in Siargao).
The easy breezy feel of the restaurant. The wood interiors. The low tables and pillows. The paintings and artsy stuff. The washrooms. Yes, even the washrooms deserve a visit—the girls swore they could stay in KaLui's washroom all day (even eat their lunch there? I don't think so).
But those were just bonuses. The highlight of this restaurant was, of course, the food. The fresh shrimps! In our sourness–just–right sinigang (Php245). In garlic and butter (Php215)—finger lickin' good, sorry KFC. The seafood sisig (Php215)! Which I could have eaten all by myself. The KaLui veggie plate (Php190)! A good mix of vegetables cooked in different ways. Came with a coconut bowl of fruits, too (plus two more complimentary fruit bowls!). And, not to forget, my tall, refreshing glass of soursop (guyabano) shake (Php70)!
Servings, from my observation, are good for 2-3 persons
(Click to enlarge)
All this for Php1645 (including 10% service charge) for seven persons. That's Php235 per person, which was over my Php150 per meal budget, but worth the effort of booking a table (thank you for accepting email reservations, the money for long distance/cell phone calls was added to my Php150 budget), exposing my stinky feet to all the diners (this might have caused them to gag throughout their meal while I enjoyed mine), and cutting down my budget for the next two meals (KaLui, you really know your way around...I am stuffed and can now afford to go on a diet...for the next two meals).