Ang Dabawenyo

Yesterday was a successful first day for the Davao Food Appreciation Tour (DavaoFAT). The bloggers had been planning this for sometime now — although, it’s really no surprise anymore that it’s turning out well. The Davao bloggers group (instigated by The Usual Suspects) have been continuously active for more than a year now.

Davao FAT is Andrew’s brainchild, which he came up with late last year. His plan to hold this tour during Araw ng Dabaw gave me the idea to do the Davao food trips. So this is like a culminating event for the bloggers’ 3-month food tripping in Davao. (But nobody’s stopping us from going on with the food trips even after DavaoFAT.) Read the full story

Notice: Unfortunately, this restaurant no longer exists.

It’s always a delight to discover little places with great food. And that was my experience when I went to Pinutos for after-drinks dining with friends. The place is al fresco, decorated simply — far from the look and feel of expensive restaurants, but comfortable enough.

The food, though, now that’s what you’d go to Pinutos for. I had the Crispy Tadyang (deep-fried beef ribs) and Binagoongan Rice — not a very healthy dish… but when you have it that good, who cares? My friends had Adobo and Kalderetang Baka, which of course I had a taste of as well. The pork adobo was awesome! It gave me a very homey feeling, as well as a palate-satisfying effect. Read the full story

My brother Jake’s leaving for Manila already — moving up the corporate ladder — and so the family had a despedida dinner for him last night. I was delighted that Mom decided on Aseya, that Asian fusion restaurant in Humberto’s Hotel. I’d already tried their sumptuous Thai fare when they catered the launching of Suay Thai at BioEssence Spa last week, but I’d never been to their restaurant before yesterday.

It’s just a small place, with only 7 family-sized tables, if I’m not mistaken, but very comfortable, bright and clean. The service was OK, but they should field one more waiter on a Sunday. There was just one lone waiter when we were there — the poor guy was serving non-stop the whole time we were there.

The food was superb! Not perfect, but all of us heartily savored the gastronomic experience. It gave the family an enjoyable time together — food is always a great catalyst, don’t you think? Read the full story

Had lunch today with Andrew, Ria, Marc and Aileen at Boyd’s. I’m not exactly sure when this pizza place opened, but I think it wasn’t very long ago.

The pizza was good! We had two kinds, but I wasn’t there when my friends ordered, so I’m not sure what they were. But both were really delicious. And the spaghetti was a treat too — although I think they put too much oregano and basil…

I’m definitely going back to Boyd’s for a more thorough review!

Update:
Boyd’s is on Palma Gil St., Bajada. It’s that road going into Bo. Obrero. The place is right across from Wheels ‘n More Drive (where AutoShop is). When you turn onto Palma Gil from J.P.Laurel Ave., Boyd’s is on the left, not far from the corner.

I read in Matt Mullenweg’s bio that he loves going around the world sampling barbecued foods and comparing them to his native Texas’ own variety. Well then, he should come to Davao and see how our grilled tuna and other barbecue offerings stand up to “the gold standard of Texas BBQ.”

In fact we did invite Matt (to the uninitiated: he’s only the founder of WordPress) to come to Davao to be part of the Mindanao Bloggers Summit coming up this October. He emailed us back saying he was interested, but unfortunately, he’s scheduled to be at another WordPress event during this time. Too bad…

Anyway, I thought I’d blog about Davao barbecue again after a treat-for-the-palate experience last night. I really had no plans of going out last night, but my friends Rodney and Christian were able to pry me off of the computer and drag me kicking and screaming to a beer-&-barbecue place called Chilli Chills. Read the full story

I was just blogging about Karl’s (my previous post), and I realized I hadn’t written about this coffee shop / restaurant where I am now! It’s called Sagay (named after a place on Negros island, near Bacolod), Casa Leticia‘s lobby restaurant. The food here is influenced by the owner’s Ilonggo roots. Try their kansi — it’s like sinigang, which is my ultimate favorite Filipino fare. Ilonggo food is decidedly of the maasim (sour) persuasion. Read the full story

Another testament to Davao’s being barbecue country is Belly’s Grill. I believe they opened sometime last year, but yesterday was only my first time there. The place used to be a pizza-and-beer joint called “Sage” (yeah, a few establishments in Davao do have inexplicably strange names). Now it’s a restaurant that serves mouth-watering grilled and seafood fare.

We had kinilaw (Davao-style sashimi), scallops, deep-fried tuna tail and bangus (milkfish) belly. Sure we had meat dishes too, but it was the seafood that wowed us. The baked scallops — topped with cheese and garlic — were so tasty we had to have another serving! Read the full story

My friend Ian brought me to this fairly new chicken place in downtown Davao, Papa Ching’s. I want to say straight away, their greaseless chicken is awesome!! It really was greaseless, and the taste was just heavenly. I don’t particularly enjoy chicken as much as, say, beef. But that experience last night made me reconsider… it was that good. Read the full story

Happy 70th Araw ng Dabaw!!!

In Davao there are quite a number of various cuisines to get excited about. There are several European restaurants: Claude’s le Café de Ville (French); De Bonte Koe (the name’s Dutch, but what’s on the menu’s Euro fusion); Picobello (Italian); and a few more. There’s American… hmm… McDonald’s? Asian, of course: Tsuru, Mabo, Zakoya, etc. (Japanese); Twosome Palace, Korea Town, etc. (Korean); Hanoi (Vietnamese); Marco Polo’s Lotus Garden (Cantonese); etc.

But I’ve been asked: What really is Davao cuisine?

Read the full story