Fortunately or unfortunately, El Nido is becoming more commercialized and by many foreign-owned…read moreestablishments. This be but one of the foreigners with roots in El Nido and interestingly it is a Ukrainian restaurant. Certainly curious to the casual passerby since a Ukrainian restaurant in the Philippines an automatic anomaly. But also curious because they: (1) lay claim to housing the "first and only" craft beer brewery on the island -- Bar Boodmo -- and, (2) have a very explicit sign refusing to serve anyone speaking Russian. Russians love the Philippines therefore this proclamation has been met with a lot of backlash. Which affects me not! I sat at the bar with clear intention to order dranks only. The flight of 3 5oz tasters was advertised at 300 PHP but I went ahead and ordered a pint of Cadlao IPA for 270 PHP instead. They detail this IPA to have a "bitter and woody taste, malty, and piney basic notes". I'd say it were more malty with a slight bitterness. At 5.2% ABV, it was mildly refreshing. Obviously not a mind blowing IPA but appreciated nonetheless. This is a more spendy spot for drinks and one that will cater to a certain mood as most, including myself, would rather be sipping on a clean, crisp, and cheap lager in the form of a San Mig.

So I stopped in Odessa for a change of pace. It has been a long time since I had Ukrainian food,…read moreand what I had was pretty good. I had some potato pancakes (just like latkes) with mushroom sauce, and a cheese and meat pie/pastry that was quite tasty. Their beers were solid, and I stack the up to the craft beers back in other parts of the world. If fact, if I didn't know that I was in El NIDO, I'd swear that I was back home.