Ang Dabawenyo

Andrew, Migs, Ria and I had another organizational meeting for WordCamp Philippines 2008 yesterday, this time at Café Andessa. It was also a mini food trip for the four most intrepid bloggers of Davao City (we’re missing Winston, who’s in Cebu). My friend Sue Anne Orig, whose family owns this restaurant, graciously agreed to host our dinner — and it was such a feast!

We were served Caesar’s Salad, Rosemary Pork Chops, Laing, Callos, Hot Chicken Wings, Buttered Chicken and Deep-Fried Buntot ng Bariles (tuna tail), Garlic Rice, and my favorite Bagoong Rice. The chicken wings weren’t very spicy, but they were really tasty — perfect for opening a meal.

The dish that I really enjoyed was the deep-fried tuna. It was infused with garlic and other spices that made it really sumptuous and irresistible — I practically finished the whole plate, and it’s an order that’s good for 2 or 3 people! It also comes with a serving of burong mangga (pickled green mangoes), which provides good contrast taste-wise.

For dessert, we were treated to Binutong, which is like bico (sticky rice), Tikoy Turon with Langka, and another one whose name I can’t seem to recall. It was the best, too! It had banana turon topped with ice cream, chocolate flakes and cherry.

I should also mention that Café Andessa’s brewed coffee is really good. Sue Anne tells me that they’d just bought a coffee machine, so you can expect good brews after a satisfying meal.

Here’s a slideshow of the food.

Now, for WordCamp. We’ve covered some ground in the organizing of this highly aniticpated bloggers’ event in the country. The speakers and camp events schedule will soon be finalized, for one, and so will the list of volunteers.

We’re also coming up with a WordCamp t-shirt. I am confident to say that the design is spectacular in its simplicity; Andrew’s designing it. Keep tabs on the official WordCamp Philippines blog for further details.

And, there’s one delicious surprise that we will soon be announcing — watch out for that!