Palaweño flavors
Palawan Wild Honey
Raw honey gathered from wild giant-bee colonies deep in Palawan's old-growth forests by Indigenous Batak and Tagbanua honey-hunters. Dark, floral, and unprocessed, it's stirred into warm water, calamansi, or tea as a daily tonic.
About this dish
Palawan's wild honey is a product of one of Asia's last great rainforests and of the Indigenous knowledge that harvests it. The island's old-growth forests host colonies of the giant honeybee (Apis dorsata), which build huge open combs high in emergent trees, and gathering their honey is the traditional livelihood of Indigenous Batak and Tagbanua communities. Honey-hunters climb tall, often dangerous trees — frequently at night and using smoke to calm the bees — to cut the combs by hand, a practice passed down over generations and increasingly organised into sustainable, fair-trade harvesting that gives forest communities a reason to protect the trees. The resulting honey is raw, dark, intensely floral, and unprocessed, varying with the season's blossoms. Locals take it stirred into warm water, calamansi juice, or tea as a daily tonic and folk remedy, and a jar of genuine Palawan wild honey is treasured as a pure souvenir of the island's untouched wilderness.
Allergen information
Preparation methods may vary by restaurant. Always confirm with staff if you have severe allergies.
Where to try
Pasalubong shops across Puerto Princesa; sold directly by Batak and Tagbanua forest communities