We got quite a few resto recommendations from our friends in Davao. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to try them all. We would've liked to try the P99 buffet at Kuya Ed's and Greenhills, the Roadhouse Steakhouse at SM City, and the pizza place at the smaller Gaisano, but we just didn't have enough time. Besides, our gracious hosts grabbed every opportunity to stuff us silly, so I wasn't quite so inclined to gorge at every meal.
Some of the places we did get to visit were...
Dencio's KamayanIf I'm not mistaken, Dencio's Kamayan is located at the highest point of Davao City, offering an awesome view...
With fellow travelers Issa and Kath
The resto is not affiliated with the Manila Dencio's, but it's similar in that it serves Pinoy dishes, grilled items, and pulutan favorites like sisig.
Nanay BebengMarfori Subdv., Davao City
I just googled this address so I'm not sure if it's accurate. This place was just a few blocks from Chateau Veronica (Araullo St.), the apartelle where we stayed (good rates!).
We went there for dinner and there was no a la carte menu, just a buffet at a reasonable price of P248. They've got different kinds of kare-kare (seen below), oily but super crunchy crispy kangkong, and bottomless melon juice--absolutely refreshing given the rather warm Davao weather.
Kare-kare variants
Coffee at Yellow HauzV. Mapa St., Davao City
We noticed that a lot of places in Davao have "haus" in their names--just like our second home, Yellow Hauz. This coffee shop was just walking distance from our place, so we must've gone there at least three times to avail of their free wireless internet.
Prices are cheaper than typical Manila coffee shops, so I kept ordering iced tea and various juices, and even got my daily dose of milk (here, I had steamed strawberry milk. Yum). They've also got real food, like pasta for less than P100, and sweets.
Miguel's cheeseburger--was a little dry
Spaghetti was quite good
The brownie I was dying to try (but I couldn't)--Miguel had a lot of this. It looked incredibly moist and fudgy; my watered down pink juice is seen in back
Blugre Coffee*Landco Building, Pryce Business Park, J. P. Laurel Ave., Davao City
*Matina Town Square, MacArthur Ave., Davao City
*SM City Davao
Owned by Gatchi and Larcy Gatchalian, Blugre (pronounced "blue-gray") is famous for its durian coffee--a great way for durian virgins to get a taste of the fruit.
Gatchi and Larcy originally owned a clothing store called Blugre. They eventually shifted to the coffee shop business, retaining the name that people down south were already familiar with. Larcy, who loves to cook, developed the recipes in the cafe herself. Among them were the pastas and desserts we tried.
Penne pasta with sausage, one of the pricier things on the menu, about P165
Tuna pesto--good, but I'm biased towards our homemade version!
Hungarian sausage--mildly spicy, just the way I like it. Reminded me of Old Swiss Inn, where I first started eating non-Vienna-type sausages!
Chicken enchilada--cheesy! Mmmm
The famous durian coffee--I am not big on the coffee, but this is coffee I can drink. The mix of durian and coffee is very pleasant. It kind of tastes like candy
Dessert--I'm not sure what this was. But it looked mighty fine. They also had this really tempting chocolate pudding-type treat served in a small cup; you can order it a la mode!
Blugre is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
Paradise Island
"Best to have breakfast there at around 6:30, then head back to the city by 9:30," we were told by the locals, over and over again. "Stay any later than that and you'll regret it."
We didn't leave the city quite so early, but we were on the island by 8:00 am. We were warned about the scorching Davao sun, and were prepared to shell out some moolah for sun block. But the day we had time to go to Paradise Island was also the rare day that Davao was cloudy and pretty cool--we couldn't stay longer than a few minutes in the cold water.
We could've stayed all day, but the plan was to have breakfast there, so...
No beach trip is complete without a mango shake (it ain't true that if you've tried one, you've tried 'em all! This one was rockin'! Slightly milky. Obviously, I like milk)
Tapa--each ulam costs about P150, more or less, but it's good for two
The danggit was salty, but I liked it
Obviously, someone was playing with her food...
Durian wasn't in season so we didn't get to try it, but we did bring home a box of pomelo and mangosteen.
The thing about Davao is they've got an array of different food offerings--it's not just all grilled seafood or whatever. Near our place alone, we noted a sandwich place, a steak place, a Chinese food place. Gatchi pointed out that Davao is a family-friendly city; I might add that it's also foodie-friendly!
Labels: Davao, food trip