As a consequence of the fall of Saigon in 1975, many Vietnamese people sought asylum in Puerto Princesa—and found livelihood by serving their own food.
The Funny Lion in Puerto Princesa, the third and biggest of the three properties under the brand (the other two are in El Nido and Coron), recently opened a restaurant that proves how acculturated a particular Asian cuisine in the city is. It’s called C75 Bistro and it casts the spotlight on Vietnamese fare, something the coastal city is known for.
As a consequence of the fall of Saigon in 1975, many Vietnamese sought asylum in neighboring lands. Among those places is Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Many of them found solace and home in Puerto Princesa, eventually forming Viet Ville, which once housed nearly 2,000 Vietnamese refugees, who found livelihood by serving food.
To this day, one will see side street stalls and eateries that serve authentic banh mi, spring rolls wrapped in rice paper, and the popular chao long, an iteration of pho that suits the Filipino palate—slightly sweeter and meatier.
Reinforcing this representation is the Funny Lion’s 60-seater C75 French Bistro, which, unlike many others, decided to serve Vietnamese not by banking on the traditional, but by tipping its hat to history once more and highlighting the French influences brought about by France’s 70-year occupation. This gives their kind of Vietnamese food more personality and interest, says One-of Collection’s corporate chef Greg Villalon, who, together with chef Ace Manalo, worked on the creative menu.
There are two spring rolls: a mahi-mahi stuffed rice paper along with pickled vegetables, and a deep-fried, sesame seed-studded one filled with ratatouille, to be dipped in cheese fondue. Their banh mi is composed of grilled beef tenderloin, chicken pate, and coronation in house-made baguette; while their skewers have fork tender pieces of duck breast that has been marinated in Asian aromatics, and served with remoulade sauce.
Heavier numbers include crisp duck confit with potato pave, sauce ala orange and a Vietnamese salad; the catch of the day served whole with turmeric brown butter, fried capers and ginger with corn chien fried rice; beef bourguignon that has beef chunks braised in red wine and Asian spices; and spring chicken that’s infused with lemongrass, grilled, and made complete with a serving of bacon and mushroom duxelle fried rice.
No Vietnamese menu would be complete without pho, and C75 has four options for guests to choose from: a braised beef rib and raw tenderloin slices in a potent clear beef broth; squid and shrimp terrine in a spiced seafood broth; a grilled duck breast and pulled duck confit in a duck essence broth; and for vegetarians—or anyone who wants an umami punch—a mushroom trio (braised, oven-dried, and pickled) in a flavorful vegetable broth. Each bowl is good enough for sharing and comes with the usual noodle soup suspects: fresh herbs, bean sprouts, red chili, and lemon. The handmade, hand-cut rice noodles, on the other hand, come from a local pho shop.
The boutique resort, which opened just last August, is now fully operational. It has a cafe by the entry, which exclusively offers coffee made with the beans grown and roasted by the Tagbanua tribe as well as milky soft serve. And just by the pool is Hunt Restaurant, their all-day dining, which serves pizzas, burgers, pastas, halo-halo, and Asian specials such as adobo krapao, galbi jjim pares, and beef rib mechado.
With the addition of and the recent opening of C75 French Vietnamese Bistro, The Funny Lion in Puerto Princesa has just made its pull and lure a lot stronger.
To know more about The Funny Lion properties, visit www.thefunnylion.com.
