Ang Dabawenyo

Being with a group of Manileño bloggers a couple of days made me realize that I overlook a few little things that make Davao such a livable place. The Japanese adjective is more apt: sumiyasui (easy to inhabit).

Bottomless rice. When I blogged about Davao cuisine, it failed to occur to me that this "bottomless rice" offering in many establishments in Davao was so remarkable. (Maybe it never struck me because I haven’t been eating as much rice now as long ago, because I’m trying to build 6-pack abs.) Abe delos Reyes, a Manila-based blogger (and the first Nueva Vizcayan I’ve ever met) was almost ecstatic when he was telling us about the never-ending servings of steaming rice at Penong’s. So it made me think, hey, that is an effective gimmick for luring customers!

And it really does work. Penong’s, one of the many places serving bottomless rice in the city, is always full everyday. I’ve only ever eaten there once — I dislike waiting in line, and each time I’d go there it would be jampacked. Both branches are like that: one in downtown near Casa Leticia, and one in the south, in front of NCCC Mall.

Dirt-cheap Internet café rates. Our guests from Manila for the Davao blog party last 17 March were impressed with Netfront Café, where we partied. Aside from the decor and furnishings, the Internet per-hour fees are very affordable compared to those in Metro Manila. Actually, Netfront’s rates are about double the usual in Davao — but, as they say, you’re paying for the ambience. Most Internet cafés in Davao charge between 10 to 20 pesos per hour. What’s surprising about Netfront, though, if you bring a laptop, you can use their wifi for free.

Of course, the fact that almost all wifi hotspots in Davao are free-of-charge really impressed our new friends. As far as I know, the only places where you get charged for wifi access are Marco Polo Hotel and the airport.

Fresh & inexpensive seafoods. But everybody knows this already. It just always comes up whenever I meet out-of-towners who come to my beloved city for the first time. However, with Davao slowly but steadily becoming more prosperous, I’m afraid this might change in the not-too-distant future.

What hopefully won’t change is how easy it is to become a Davaoeño. The Manila bloggers were joking about moving to Davao — I always think that jokes are half-meant.


ria, andrew, dennis, jun & abe

abe, aileen, me, andrew, jayvee & ria

master blogger yuga & aileen the googler