ZAMBOANGA CITY | Where to Eat in Zamboanga ~ a Food Trip Down South
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Zamboanga City came as a surprise in terms of food. Its history as a former stronghold of Spain in Mindanao has indeed taken root in its cuisine, with Spanish dishes going alongside more local flavors from the Zamboanga Peninsula, the neighboring Sulu archipelago, and even Malaysia. It also helps that the area is near the sea, with harvest coming in abundantly—the city isn’t dubbed as the Sardine Capital of the Philippines for no reason.
During our weeklong escapade in the city, in between Zamboanga tourist spots, the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival, and an Once Islas island hopping adventure, we tried various restaurants serving everything from traditional Filipino and Moro cuisines, to Hispanic dishes, and even unique and tasty street food that can only be found on this part of the country.
ALAVAR SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
ADDRESS: 173 DON ALFARO ST., BRGY. TETUAN | CONTACT NUMBER: +63 (62) 991 2483 | OPENING HOURS: 10:00AM - 10:00PM | FB
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| ALAVAR SEAFOOD RESTAURANTS IN ZAMBOANGA CITY |
Alavar Seafood Restaurant is one of the go to places, if not the go to place, for eating out in Zamboanga City. They have two branches, the main one at Alfaro Street in Tetuan, and a smaller stall at the Paseo del Mar. We ate at the former. The interiors are very Filipiniana—capiz windows and long shiny wooden tables paired with heavy chairs with rattan weavings.
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| CURACHA WITH ALAVAR SAUCE ~ PRICED PER KILO |
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| ALAVAR SEAFOOD PLATTER |
Their specialty is curacha, a spanner crab—a cross between a lobster and crab. Here, they steam it before pouring copious amount of Alavar Sauce, a thick orangey signature sauce made from coconut milk mixed with all sorts of spices. Of course, you eat this with your bare hands, digging through every last bit of curacha meat and licking every last bit of the sauce from your hands. It goes well with their Alavar seafood platter, which is topped by imbao clams, hefty crab claws, and prawns—a complete meal in itself.
BAY TAL MAL RESTAURANT
ADDRESS: MAYOR JALDON ST., BRGY. CANELAR | CONTACT NUMBER: +63 (915) 016-0448 | OPENING HOURS: 10:00AM - 10:00PM | FB
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| BAY TAL MAL’S INTERIORS |
Going for something more local, we headed over to Bay Tal Mal Restaurant for dinner. The name, which translates to House of Wealth from Arabic, reflects on its interiors—almost everything is gilded in gold, including the teapot they use for cold drinking water.
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| LATAL, A PLATTER OF TAUSUG DISHES |
We were served with a plethora of Moro cuisine including latal, a platter of Tausug dishes served mostly during special occasions. It includes small portions of piyassak (liver), beef kulma, beef and chicken kiyaliya, chicken pyanggang, calamares, utak utak (fish cake), cucumber with chili sambal paste, fried fish, and the main dish, tyulah itum. That last one is a beef soup cooked with burnt coconut paste. It does look like dinuguan, but it’s definitely not, as Bay Tal Mal is one of the legit halal-certified restaurants in the whole of Zamboanga City.
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| CHICKEN RICE SAMBAL |
I really liked their chicken rice sambal, especially when I actually dipped the chicken on the sambal sauce. Their mee goreng—one of my favorite Malaysian dishes—seemed blah at first, until they told me to pour a dose of spicy vinegar. I devoured half the plate served for the group right after.
HARLEY'S FOOD & CRAFT BEERS
ADDRESS: YUBENCO FOOD COMPLEX | CONTACT NUMBER: +63 (917) 727-0406 | OPENING HOURS: 3:00PM - 12:00AM | FB
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| HARLEY’S FOOD & CRAFT BEERS IN ZAMBOANGA CITY |
As if we’re not stuffed full yet, we decided on checking out the food scene at the Yubenco Food Complex. Actually, we’re not looking for chow, what we’re looking for is a drink. Again, it was a surprise to find a craft beer bar in Zamboanga City. Actually, Harley’s Food & Craft Beers serves halal dishes, but they do serve beer. Connect that.
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| HARLEY’S SECOND FLOOR |
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| HARLEY’S BEER FLIGHTS TASTING SET |
The motorbike-themed restaurant currently has a total of nine craft beers, with more than a few utilizing local flavors like biosong lime and Arabica coffee from Bukidnon. Since we’re really not here to binge, we simply ordered a couple of their beer flights, each one consisting of four 500ml of craft beer, just so we can sample everything. Some of the notables were Harley’s El Chonngo Blanco and the Sultan Coffee Stout. Alright, beer-tasting over, now gimme a Red Horse, lol.
ANDY'S SPECIAL SATTI
ADDRESS: C. ATILANO ST., BRGY. TETUAN | OPENING HOURS: 6:00AM - 6:00PM | MENU
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| ANDY’S SPECIAL SATTI IN ZAMBOANGA CITY |
One of the staple breakfast in Zamboanga City is satti. It’s very similar to the South East Asian satay—a grilled skewer of chicken or beef that’s then lathered with peanut sauce. The main difference is that Zamboanga’s satti swims on the sauce, which is reddish and slightly spicy with a very subtle hint of peanuts, along with chopped portions of rice cooked on coconut leaves they call puso.
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| SATTI IS A REGULAR BREAKFAST FARE IN ZAMBOANGA |
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| PUSO IS RICE COOKED INSIDE A WEAVED COCONUT LEAF |
Andy’s is one of the three most popular satti houses in the city along with Jimmy’s Sati and Johnny’s Morning Sun Satti. And like them, these places are located on humble carinderia-like settings. Superb, cheap, and filling morning fare.
HACIENDA DE PALMERAS HOTEL & RESTAURANT
ADDRESS: PASONANCA ROAD., BRGY. STA. MARIA | CONTACT NUMBER: +63 (62) 991-3284 | OPENING HOURS: 10:00AM - 10:00PM | FB | MENU
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| HACIENDA DE PALMERAS’ CRISPY PATA (₱689.00 MEDIUM) |
Hacienda de Palmeras’ in-house restaurant is one of the most popular dining venues in Zamboanga City. With plaid tables set over a gazebo, their claim to fame is the Knicker Bocker (₱131.00), their version of the Filipino halo-halo which fuses sliced sweet mangoes, bananas, and gelatin, topped with a scoop of ice cream.
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| KNICKER BOCKER ~ ₱131.00 | CRISPY NOODLES |
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| SIZZLING GAMBAS ~ ₱383.00 |
But since I’m really not a sweet-tooth-kinda-guy, I was more enamored with their lunch offerings, particularly their crispy noodles, cheesy baked imbao clams (₱272.00), sizzling gambas (₱383.00), and their heart-stopping version of crispy pata (₱689.00 medium). Deliciously sinful!
BAR CODE
ADDRESS: RIZAL ST., DOWNTOWN | CONTACT NUMBER: +63 (926) 353-6349 | OPENING HOURS: 8:00AM - 11:55PM, MON-FRI | FB | MENU
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| BARCODE IN ZAMBOANGA CITY |
Situated right at the center of happenings in Zamboanga City, Bar Code is a popular hangout for those wanting a few bottles of beer while chowing down traditional Filipino comfort food on sizzling plates while listening to a live band.
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| BARCODE’S TIULA ITUM ~ ₱248.00 |
We got to try out a few of their favorites—chopseuy guisado (₱158.00), buttered chicken (₱188.00), and pancit seafood (₱158.00), to name a few. Among these, their sizzling chicken pianggang (₱168.00) definitely stood out for me.
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| SIZZLING CHICKEN PIANGGANG ~ ₱168.00 |
If you want a much livelier and scenic location to dine on, they also have a smaller branch at Paseo Del Mar which fronts the sea.
DENNIS COFFEE GARDEN
ADDRESS: SAN JOSE RD., BRGY. BALIWASAN | CONTACT NUMBER: +63 (995) 820-6642 | OPENING HOURS: 9:00AM - 11:00PM | FB | MENU
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| A TAUSUG PLATTER AT DENNIS COFFEE GARDEN |
Dennis Coffee Garden is one of the best restaurants I’ve tried in Zamboanga City. The restaurant originated from Sulu and has been serving Tausug dishes since 1962. Spell legit.
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| DENNIS COFFEE GARDEN’S TIYULA ITUM |
Literally housed inside a house—a former residential home, that is—I sampled some of the best Moro Cuisine I’ve had in Zamboanga City here. From their snacks and entrees like panggi-panggi (deep-fried bread similar to a donut), jualan saing (fried bananas), and pastil (empanada dipped in hot vinegar), to their main fares like the chicken pianggang, kulma (beef in curry paste), tiula itum, utak utak (fried fish cake)—everything was done extremely well.
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| PANGGI-PANGGI |
Dennis Coffee Garden has recently opened a second branch inside the KCC Mall De Zamboanga. It’s a great alternative if the original location is too inaccessible for you, though the house ambience of the original branch definitely can’t be matched.
COUNTRY CHICKEN RESTAURANT
ADDRESS: KM4 PASONANCA ROAD | CONTACT NUMBER: +63 (62) 993-3862 | OPENING HOURS: 11:00AM - 10:00PM | FB
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| COUNTRY CHICKEN RESTAURANT’S HOMEY INTERIORS |
Having been around since the seventies, Country Chicken is one of the oldest restaurants in Zamboanga City. Besides chicken, they serve Filipino and Spanish dishes, with them specializing more on the latter.
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| SEAFOOD PAELLA |
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| BEEF CALLOS |
Under the rustic and cozy atmosphere of their interiors, we devoured their seafood paella, crispy pata, beef callos, and, of course, their fried chicken, with gusto. More than the chicken though, their callos won over everyone’s heart.
VISTA DEL MAR RESTAURANT
ADDRESS: LABUAN-LAMPARA ROAD | CONTACT NUMBER: +63 (62) 991-1208 | OPENING HOURS: 8:00AM - 5:00PM | FB
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| VILLA DEL MAR’S RESTAURANT |
Vista Del Mar Restaurant was our last stop for our Zamboanga food trip. Vista del Mar is actually a sprawling nature-inspired resort and a popular picnic place for locals. Their restaurant is set on a huge open-aired two-storey hut right by the sea.
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| ENSALADA DE CHAMBA |
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| BAKED IMBAO |
A long table was set on the second floor filled with platefuls of crisply fried shrimps, baked imbao clams, grilled squid, and their house specialties—ensalada de chamba (salad with eggplants and tomatoes, garnished with red onions and topped with sliced salted eggs), crispy dinuguan (blood pudding topped with pork lechon kawali), and last, but not the least, their steamed curacha which comes with its own delectable sauce that can rival those at Alavar. And they have a special way of getting to its meat too by pressing a plate down on the curacha to crack it open.
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| HOW TO OPEN A STEAMED CURACHA |
It was one of the best seafood meals we’ve had in Zamboanga City, and needless to say, I was gut-bustingly full after the course. I think I overindulged on their dinuguan and crispy shrimps!
MANDARIN TEA GARDEN
ADDRESS: 2ND FLR. KCC MALL DE ZAMBOANGA, GOV. CAMINS ROAD | CONTACT NUMBER: +63 (977) 803-0580 | OPENING HOURS: 9:00AM - 9:00PM | FB | MENU 1, MENU 2
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| MANDARIN TEA GARDEN IN KCC MALL DE ZAMBOANGA |
Chinese food isn’t really the first thing you’d think of having when you think about a Zamboanga City food trip, but if ever you crave for it, the Mandarin Tea Garden at KCC Mall de Zamboanga is worth a shot. This is actually a popular Chinese restaurant in Mindanao, with the original one from Davao, and has branches in CDO, Surigao, GenSan, to name a few.
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| MANDARIN TEA GARDEN COMBO D ~ ₱215.00 |
The restaurant is located inside a mall, so it’s air-conditioned and has a decent minimalist interiors. We initially thought of eating at the nearby Dennis Coffee Garden, but found its price to be a bit prohibitive, so we settled with Mandarin Tea Garden with their midrange food prices.
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| WANTON NOODLE SOUP ~ ₱130.00 | REGULAR ASADO SIOPAO ~ ₱48.00 |
We ordered a bowl of wanton noodle soup (₱130.00), regular asado siopao (₱48.00), and Combo Meal D (₱215.00) which consists of fried rice, pancit canton, sweet & sour fish fillet, shrimp crackers, and buchi. Everything tasted as they should—nothing over the top, nothing bad—just what you’d expect from a comforting Chinese meal.
OLE OLE MARI MAKAN RESTAURANT
ADDRESS: SAN JOSE ROAD, BRGY. STO. NINO | CONTACT NUMBER: +63 (906) 573-8906 | OPENING HOURS: 10:30AM - 3:00AM | FB | MENU
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| INSIDE OLE OLE MARI MAKAN RESTAURANT |
With its proximity to Malaysia, Zamboanga City’s cuisine has adopted a few of its neighbor’s dishes. We found not a few Malaysian restaurants along the city, and one of the best ones we tried was Ole Ole Mari Makan Restaurant, as recommended to us by one of the staff at Two Seasons Executive Suites Zamboanga where we were staying at the time.
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| SPECIAL MEE GORENG ~ ₱65.00 |
They offer mostly Malaysian dishes along with a couple of Thai ones. We requested for plates of special mee goreng (₱65.00) and nasi goreng kampung (₱75.00), and paired it with glasses of kopi ais (₱75.00). It was a bit strange that their iced coffee is more expensive than their mee goreng (stir-fried noodles).
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| NASI GORENG KAMPUNG ~ ₱85.00 |
It was the best mee goreng we’ve tried in Zamboanga so far. The flavor was similar to those we feast on along Malaysia’s Jalan Alor Food Street. They do serve it a little differently though, the egg is soft boiled and not fried, they use cabbage instead of mustard leaves, and they top it with a cucumber. Still, it was so good, we immediately ordered another one.
Their nasi goreng kampung, which comes with fried egg and bits of chicken toppings, was also superb and so was their kopi ais.
iTravel Tourist Lane Zamboanga Tours
Address: Mayor Jaldon St., Canelar, Zamboanga City
Contact Number: (0917) 724-3199
Email: info@itraveltouristlane.com
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1 comments
Very nice post.
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