Quality Dining Palau Style

Dinner at Sam's Tours Since Jellyfish Lake and the Rock Islands were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in July 2012, more and more seasoned travelers are choosing Palau as a vacation destination. Recent statistics indicate that nearly 100,000 people visit Palau annually. Holidaymakers who have not yet explored Palau’s charms may be yearning to ascertain if the above water cuisine experience matches Palau’s underwater treasures. During our ten-day stay on Palau, we were treated to a variety of local tastes that we highly recommend to incoming visitors.

Eric Kuo, the owner of Rose Garden Resort, Palau international Tours, and Mingles So Thai restaurant is a wonderful host and creative entrepreneur. At Rose Garden Resort, we enjoyed our room with a view as well as our giant Palau breakfast of eggs, rice and delicious white snapper, truly one of the tastiest fish entrees we’ve ever sampled.

In town, Mingles So Thai employs Thai chefs who serve authentic and delicious Thai cuisine. Having spent over three months in Thailand over the last year, we can vouch for the quality of the food. The whole fresh Unicorn and Parrotfish were beautifully presented and very tasty. The veggie dishes, Penang Tofu and Pad Thai were also excellent.

We participated in the Mingles So Thai flaming Alii 16 shots challenge with each one representing a state in Palau. Another fiery alcoholic beverage was appropriately named the waterfall, a cascading multilevel drink lit afire and consumed with a plastic straw. Live musical entertainment and dance music augmented the party atmosphere.

Tova Harel, the proprietor of FishNFins and the recently opened restaurant, Little Italy, provided superior Italian fare from the streets of Italy including caprese salad, eggplant parmigana, spaghetti and meatballs and succulent blackened fish. The dishes at Little Italy were so tasty we barely left room for the lovely assortment of dessert tray options.

: Rur Shaved Ice

: Parrot Fish at Mingles So Thai

: Dugong Pancake Breakfast at Palau Pacific Resort

: Drinks at Mingles So Thai

Another dining option where locals intermingle with tourists is the notably popular The Taj restaurant, with a menu including a variety of Indian dishes from around the entire country. The sumptuous and tender Chicken Tikka Masala is among our favorites at this restaurant and bar. Open for lunch and dinner, cuisine options from both northern and southern India are available. After having traveled over three months in India this year, we were impressed with the genuineness of the food as well as the variety of dishes, especially the cheese and onion nan.

A light stroll from the Eptison Museum, Rur gift shop and café serves tasty and refreshing creamy coconut shaved ice with red bean that we enjoyed on our first and last day in Palau.

The fish everywhere in Palau was fantastic but we can highly recommend Kramer’s Blackened fish lunch special, either the mackerel or the yellow fin tuna. Practically adjacent to Kramers is the Palau Royal Resort, a great spot for drinks, live music and fantastic local and international food.

During our stay at the Palau Pacific Resort, we enjoyed the Asian Sunday dinner buffet accompanied by Polynesian dancing. Particularly delightful was the piping hot and flavorful Yaki Soba, a mixture of selected meat, vegetables, and noodles doused in tasty Asian style sauces. Dining under the stars by the sea was a lovely setting to enjoy our dining experience.

During breakfast at Palau Pacific Resort, Tony, a long time chef at the resort, created dugong shaped pancakes for a client. After learning that his breakfast creations were appreciated, Tony happily produced pancakes in the configurations of a SCUBA diver, hammerhead shark and a whale.

Often during our pleasurable stay in Palau, the above water hospitality matched the stunning underwater display that included fascinating aquatic creatures. Move Palau onto your must-see list of places to visit and enjoy the beautiful Rock Islands as well as the hospitable people and the delectable cuisine.

Thank you to the Palau Visitor’s Association for inviting us to Palau!