Place: Affordable Places to Eat in Boracay

As mentioned in the previous post, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary in Boracay and Nabas, Aklan. We were there for 8 days and the plan was to spend our first four days in Boracay and thereafter, we'll stay at my husband's relatives in Nabas. So we can't splurge everything in Boracay because we have another four days to make the most out of our Aklan trip.

That's why once I got our activities arranged, I started researching for affordable places to eat in Boracay. Based on my computation, if we don't spend more than 200 for every meal, we'd have enough budget to try one of the more expensive restaurants. So my criteria for what's affordable include menu items that don't go beyond 200 and restaurants that are local to Boracay and cannot be found in Manila. That makes Yellow Cab, Andok's, Mang Inasal, Pancake House and the likes already disqualified from my options.

After Google and a few blogs, this was the list that I came up with:

1. Paluto at D'Talipapa
2. Jammer's
3. Big Mama's
4. Smoke
5. Dalisay Paradise Nest
6. Hawaiian BBQ
7. Crafty's Rooftop Bar
8. Blue Berry Restaurant
9. Bite Club Grilled Burgers
10. Island Nook

Actually, we only got to try a few. And here are my reviews for those that we were able to have the pleasure of eating at:



Paluto at the D'talipapa, Day 1 Lunch.

Photo taken from Dessert Comes First

I assumed this is like the Dampa restaurants in Sucat and other places in Manila where you get to buy your own food fresh from the market and choose a restaurant that offers "paluto" or cooking service. I was right. What I wasn't right about was that it will end up cheaper.

Case in point. The price of seafoods in Boracay is by no means cheap. I was surprised to find out that a squid equivalent to 1 kilo was P350 and a Lapu-lapu fish less than half a kilo was P100. So that's already P450 in the cash register and we haven't had them cooked yet. There were a few "paluto" restaurants near the market but two of the bigger ones that we asked said they're already fully-booked. Hmm, there were lots of empty tables and chairs so I wondered how one could reserve a booking with them.

A smaller one, the air-conditioned carinderia, accommodated us. They weighed our goods first and asked us how we want to cook them before ushering us inside. Inside, a portion of one wall was plastered with pictures of celebrities who have dined there. Maybe it was an indication of the quality of their cooking, but I wasn't expecting much really. We had the squid stuffed and grilled and the fish sweet-and-sour'ed. Very simple dishes, too simple for something to go wrong.

We ordered for a plate of rice which was supposed to be good for 5-6 persons. If you're all heavy rice eaters, it will be only good for 2-3 persons. Then we added 4 bottled drinks and waited for almost an hour for the two dishes to be cooked.

The sweet and sour fish arrived first. It smelled great and luckily, tasted great, too. I loved how the saltiness of the fish blends well with the sweet and sour sauce. The stuffed grilled squid was served a few minutes later (felt like 15 minutes actually) and I was a bit dismayed to see that they stuffed it with raw tomatoes and onions after it was cooked, instead of grilling it with the stuffing. So the squid wasn't as tasty as I had hoped it would be.

The biggest shock came after we finished eating and asked for the bill. It amounted to P550. P100 was for the plate of rice, P100 was for the grilling fee, P120 was for the sweet-and-sour and the rest was for the 4 bottled drinks (each bottle was around P50-P60 each). All in all, we spent P1000 for that meal alone. Certainly not a good start in my quest to budget-dining in Boracay, especially if I'll consider how far D'talipapa is by foot if you're coming from the beach front in Station 2. So during our long walk back to the beach, my husband kept on chiding about my so-called research. I hated him. Hehe.


Jammer's, Day 2 Dinner.

Photo taken from Our Awesome Planet

Unlike D'talipapa, Jammer's is hard to miss. Conveniently located near the entrance of D'mall, this restaurant serves burgers and sandwiches, along with other staple fast-food menu items. I ordered Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich (P95) for myself and Bacon Cheese Burger (P140) for my husband. We paid an additional P80 to upgrade his ala-carte burger into a meal (meaning with fries and drinks) while I went for their Choco-Banana shake for my drink (P85).

My BLT sandwich was ok, it had more lettuce than bacon. I took a bite from hubby's burger and I thought the patty was tasty and juicy. But the serving of the fries was small (I like how it tasted though) and the lemonade drink that came with it was just half the size of regular drinks in most fast-food chains. Good thing my Choco-Banana shake was big enough and enjoyable.


Big Mama's, Day 3 Lunch.

Photo taken from OpenRice

This is a small food joint located at the beachfront in Station 1 near Starbucks. The menu consists mainly of Filipino foods such as Adobo, Sizzling Sisig, Menudo, etc. My Sisig was only P150 and hubby's Inihaw na Liempo (Grilled Pork) was P95. Our total bill came to just under P300 including 2 bottles of mineral water.

Although not crispy, the Sisig tasted good. It was flavorful but a little too oily for my preference. Most Sisig I've tasted are oily anyway. The Inihaw na Liempo was also delicious. Bottomline, Big Mama's gave us a first filling lunch that didn't hurt that much in the pocket.


Smoke, Day 4 Lunch.

Photo taken from Cardiac Delight

I've been looking for Smoke since Day 1 in Boracay. But it was only in our last day, while I was shopping for souvenirs and keepsakes that I accidentally found it. It was tucked away in a hidden alley and was among souvenir shops at the back of D'mall, that's why.

Inside, I immediately noticed their kitchen where you can see the smoke, hear the sizzling sound and smell the aroma of foods being cooked. I guess that explains the name of  this restaurant. After scanning the menu, we decided on two spicy dishes, Chili Chicken and Spicy Garlic Pork (both I think was more or less P100), and one mango shake for me.

The waitress repeated our order and asked if we're really serious about ordering two spicy dishes. We nodded, sure that we can handle spice in our food. But when our order came, I understood why she had to ask us. These two were really hot and spicy, with the pork dish being more spicy than the chicken. I can still eat the Chili Chicken with ease, but I let my husband finish off the Spicy Garlic Pork, and he wasn't even able to eat half of the dish. The mango shake offered little relief to our scorching tongue, plus it was a little on the bland side (not enough mango and milk I reckon). Overall, the food was good enough and I'd definitely try their other dishes if ever I go back to Boracay again. Our bill amounted to less than P300, almost the same as what we paid at Big Mama's. These two restaurants are comparable because both are serving rice meals at relatively affordable prices. But I think I like Smoke more.

We didn't try the following because we weren't able to find them:

• Dalisay Paradise Nest - supposedly the cheapest eat-all-you-can restaurant in Boracay.
• Blue Berry Restaurant - a restaurant offering affordable grilled foods
• Island Nook - said to served good silog breakfast meals but since we already have free buffet breakfast from Tan's, we didn't bother to look for it.

I saw Hawaiian BBQ in Station 1 and Crafty's along the main road but I figured they don't really meet my P200/meal price requirement so I crossed them out from the list.

We were supposed to dine at Bite Club Grilled Burgers (Day 3), but being the sleepyhead that we are, we took a nap in the afternoon and overslept until the morning of the next day. Thus, we skipped one meal.

And if you noticed, we're missing Day 1 Dinner and Day 2 Lunch. That will be discussed in the succeeding Boracay post, so watch out for it :)