Dishes you can't miss
Bandera
Traditional dish made with rice, beans, meat, and fried bananas.
Picapollo
Exquisite typical dish made with fried and breaded chicken, served with French fries or fried bananas. It is very common as fast food.
Mamajuana
Typical beverage based on various ingredients mixed with rum.
Habichuelas con dulce
Typical sweet prepared with beans, evaporated milk, sugar, and cinnamon. You can accompany it with vanilla biscuits.
Typical food of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
The cuisine of Puerto Plata is exquisite, and even though it is based on traditionally simple ingredients, the strong European and Asian influences have inherited a unique mix of flavors to it.
Although most of the typical dishes of Dominican Republic are the same, including the delicious "Bandera", which is prepared with rice, beans, meat, salad, and fried bananas; there are other specialties as the popular "Picapollo", which is fast food based on fried breaded chicken, served with fried plantains or French fries. In this destination, considered the largest in the country, you can enjoy other dishes as "Moro", a mixture of beans, rice, and meat, sometimes accompanied with cod; "Sancocho", which is made with seven varieties of meat and a mixture of cassava, potato, banana, coriander, and other ingredients. "Asopao", a delicious soup of rice, chicken, and tomato with coriander, or with seafood in some regions, commonly eaten after a heavy night out. In addition, all regional dishes are usually accompanied with white rice and delicious "tostones", which are fried green plantains, also known as "guineos".
Among the most popular traditional beverages, you can enjoy the delicious "batidos", which are fruit shakes with water or milk, and ice with sugar; and the refreshing juices, which are freshly prepared with "chinola" (passion fruit), pineapple, and tamarind. However, rum is considered one of the most traditional drinks, other beverages are prepared with it, as the typical "Mamajuana", that can be combined with different ingredients such as cinnamon and sweet clove, as well as fresh seafood as octopus, squid, and shrimp, ideal for adventurous palates.
After enjoying any of these delicious popular dishes, you cannot miss sweets as "habichuelas con dulce", which are prepared with beans, milk, sugar, raisins, and condensed milk, very traditional in Easter; it is usually accompanied with exquisite vanilla biscuits. Another tasty dessert is "Majarete", creamed corn with ground cinnamon; and milk caramel paste, that can be enjoyed by itself or filled with fruits as oranges and guava.
In Puerto Plata you can find a variety of restaurants with different specialties, but The Ponderosa is an excellent option to try the exquisite typical cuisine of this destination, plus it also offers seafood dishes including lobster.