My earlier visits to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Palawan’s most famous tourist destinations, entailed about two-hour drive from the city proper of the island province’s capital, Puerto Princesa, to the sitio of Sabang in the barangay of Cabuyagan on rough road. There were few interesting stops and fewer decent dining spots.
Now, as more tourists flock to one world’s largest underground rivers, distinguished for its emerging directly into the sea, the road has been paved and commercial establishments, including restaurants, have sprouted. Among the most beautiful is Cacaoyan Forest Park and Restaurant, which is itself a destination.
Also located in Sabang, but tucked in the forests at the fringe of the sprawling Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, surrounded by old trees and ornamental and native plants, the charming Cacaoyan has a large hut serving as the main dining area, inspired by Filipino and Balinese architectures and accentuated by designs and crafts of indigenous cultures, as well as the local arts community.
Cacaoyan follows the ambiance and aesthetics of several restaurants in Puerto Princesa, such as KaLui Seafood Restaurant, Kajoels Restaurant, Lawiswis Ecostore and Restaurant and the defunct Kamarikutan Kafe and Galeri that are known to be artsy, rustic, nature-inspired, quaint and picturesque. Cacaoyan can be described today as Instagrammable.
The people behind Cacaoyan are a group of friends — Caesar Sammy Magbanua, Angeli Natasha Mendoza and Lingling Villarez, who are into various advocacies and endeavors. Mendoza, who is wife of former matinee idol and now Puerto Princesa City politician Matt Mendoza, is vice president for Central Palawan of the Palawan Tourism Council.
“As locals of Puerto Princesa and frequent visitors of the Underground River, we have known of the area since before and took the opportunity to develop when we purchased the property,” related Mendoza.
She said they started developing the property of around 2,000 square meters in 2019 and opened in the same year. The owners chose the name Cacaoyan, which means “forest” in Cuyunon, one of the native languages of Palawan.
“In spite of the pandemic in 2020 and typhoon “Odette,” which decimated the original structure of the main restaurant, we were able to build again, sustain and develop Cacaoyan into what it is now,” Mendoza enthused.
“One of the partners collaborated with local visual artists in the design and installations in the park and the restaurant,” she added.
“We wanted to showcase Palawan culture, arts and food, and at the same time, being inside a UNESCO Heritage Site, we wanted to advocate for sustainable practices in operations as care for the environment is ingrained in Palawenyo culture,” she further said.
Artworks, decors and accents adorn the interiors, many of which use natural materials in almost their natural shapes and forms. They are often folksy, sometimes eccentric and always interesting. In the backyard are structures one can climb, elevated pathways, arches, hanging tree pods and installations, all made of wood, branches, leaves, vines and other natural materials, creating a wonderland of sorts.
“Local visual artists were tapped to do the installations and murals, and paintings of the local art community were installed to promote Palawenyo creativity,” Mendoza revealed.
A bamboo pathway leads to the century-old Argus pheasant tree, locally called dau or dao, which, according to Mendoza, is Cacaoyan’s significant feature.
She also said the area “is also known as an owling and birding site.”
“International and local birders visit every year hoping to see endemic birds found only in Palawan,” she further said.
Another important feature of Cacaoyan is the food.
“The concept behind the menu is farm/local community sources to table and seasonal Filipino comfort food. We serve what the catch of the day is from local fishermen and farm communities near the property,” Mendoza shared.
They are proud of their banana blossom salad, made with boiled and chopped banana heart, ginger, bell pepper, salt, pepper, chili, sugar, coconut milk, vinegar and chopped onion.
Also available is tamilok or shipworm. In Puerto Princesa, eating tamilok has been a popular tourist challenge. Tamilok is actually a kind of clam, which have very minuscule shells. It is part of the indigenous diet, particularly of the Tagbanwa people. Here, tamilok are extracted from mangrove trees. In Cacaoyan, tamilok is offered raw or kinilaw or ceviche-style. It is usually dipped in vinegar.
Cacaoyan offers a rare experience of comfortable dining, being surrounded by artworks and being close to nature.
“We want to showcase the enchanting flavors and colors of Puerto Princesa and Palawan. We aim to practice sustainable tourism and promote environmental awareness being in the UNESCO Heritage Site,” Mendoza said.
The restaurant was hailed as Best Sustainable Rural Tourism Product of The Philippines under the theme Gastronomy Tourism, together with Daluyon Beach and Mountain Resort, of the ASEAN Sustainable Tourism Awards 2024-2025 during the ASEAN Tourism Forum in Vientiane, Laos, in January 2024, something the owners are very proud of.
She said they dream that Cacaoyan will be “a must-do when visiting the Underground River and that the mini forest and our advocacies be recognized, as well as shared to our visitors from different countries.”