Papa Bear

Papa Bear, signed as Papa Bear and Friends these days, is a small counter kitchen inside The Great Northwest Travel Stop and Viewing Deck on MacArthur Highway in Urbiztondo, the roadside food hub shared with El Union Coffee. It started out cooking Southeast Asian rice bowls, and the house-cured bacon is still part of the menu.

The menu mixes Thai, Malaysian and Vietnamese plates with Filipino breakfasts. Sambal pork, the long-standing best seller, comes over rice with greens and a soft egg, alongside beef rendang, beef krapow, smashed chicken, pho and char kway teow. Mornings bring silog plates like bacon bagnet silog, bangsilog and beef tapa, and the Begg bowl pairs the house bacon with a sous-vide egg. Vegan pho and a Thai salad cover plant-based diners. The seasoning leans Filipino rather than strictly regional, and recent reviews are mixed on value.

Papa Bear opens 11AM to 9PM Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9AM to 9PM on weekends, and is closed on Wednesdays. Silog plates ran ₱250 to ₱300 in 2026, and takeout adds a small container fee. The stall's own seating is tight and warm, so carry your tray to the travel stop's shared deck, which faces the beach and catches the sunset. Ask for light pepper on the silogs if you're sensitive to it.