Davao on a Plate

Davao on a Plate

The Davao Region is known for many things. It is known to be home to the Philippine Eagle, our national bird; it is known to offer a wide selection of fruits like pomelo, durian, and mangosteen; it is known to be the largest city in the world, in terms of land area; it is known to have the second-cleanest water in the world; and it is known to be one of the safest places in the country. However, people often over look the fact that Davao has also become a melting pot of international and local flavors; offering something to fit every person’s palette and fancy.

Davao seems to take everybody on a culinary adventure, as it offers a tour of the world, from table to table and plate to plate. A culinary trip to Asia is possible with the authentic flavors of Korea at Somang, Korean Shiktang, and Gamjatang. Exotic Thai flavors are offered at Krua Thai and Bangkok Wok; while delicate Japanese tastes may be enjoyed at Tsuru, Zakoya, Tadakuma, and Nonka, among others. If shabu-shabu is what you crave for, Tong Yang gives you the perfect hotpot experience, while Banana Leaf offers a fusion of Southeast Asian flavors and Hanoi gives you an introduction to the world of Vietnamese cuisine.

If Chinese is more your thing, there are a lot of places to choose from. Mandarin Tea Garden and Dimsum Diner are two of the most popular Chinese fast-food chains in the city; which give you your dim sum fix any time of the day. If family style Chinese-dining is what you crave for, Ahfat Restaurant, Grand Emerald Seafood Garden, Sen Ton Whan, and Marco Polo Davao’s Lotus Court are all worth a visit.

After a trip to Asia, visit the sun-kissed flavors of Café Mediterranean; or try Persian fare at Majid’s Kabab, Turquoise, and Kash Kabab. You could also try the Syrian offerings at Zabadani or Indian cuisine at Taj Minar.

If European cuisine is what your tummy rumbles for,there are also a lot of places you could visit. Claude’s Café de Ville dishes out sophisticated French food, while Farfalla, Spirale, Picobello Ristorante Italiano, Salutti, and La Pizzeria Nel Traliccio give you the best Italian pastas, pizzas, and more. If a different pizza-dining experience is what you crave for, a trip to Eduardo’s Pizza, Italian Job, Boyd’s or Coco’s is sure to get you satisfied. If Spain is on the itinerary, Hola Espana at Damosa Gateway gives you the best of Spanish cuisine. Tiny Kitchen could help ward off your paella cravings, while Swiss Deli, Haggar’s Place and De Bonte Koe offer a host of European favorites.

Samplings of American-style burgers are also worth a visit at the surprisingly affordable Harley’s, the socially-conscious Al’s Diner, and the most popular local burger chain: Space Burger. If you’d kill for the crunch and zest of Mexican food, Dos Amigos at the Habana Compound is sure to give you a run for your money.

Whenever your tummy rumbles, and your appetite allows, you must try the several buffet restaurants in the city. Buffet Palace offers countless Filipino-Chinese favorites, while Nanay Bebeng highlights home-style Pinoy fare. Chippens is also quite popular, especially for their seemingly never-ending dessert table, and Iron Horse is king when it comes to affordable seafood and grilled fare. Glamour is the place to be for eat-all-you-can crabs, while C-Tres and Apung Kula are turning out to become the new buffet favorites.

One can never leave Davao without sampling its take on the Pinoy barbeque. Penong’s, Colasas, and Banok’s all offer sumptuous, perfectly marinated barbecued meats, all served with unlimited rice. An interesting barbeque experienced is also promised at Lyndon’s World’s Worst Ribs and Awful Chicken. Some other Pinoy favorites include the cowboy-inspired Ranchero Grill and Roadhouse Café; fusion dishes at Café El Gato, Antonio’s, and Kusina Selera. More Pinoy favorites include Dencia’s, popular for their congee and tokwa’t baboy; Nanay Conching’s and Dusk ‘Til Dawn for the best Native Chicken; and Marina and KC Fishing Restaurant for the freshest seafood in the metro.

If you have a sweet tooth, a quick visit to Davao’s pastry experts, Lachi’s and Bistro Rosario should be on schedule. Aling Foping’s halo-halo at the Matina Town Square is also worth a visit, if only for the smoothest shaved ice (in a halo-halo) in town. Cute and colorful cupcakes from Baby Cakes, sinfully indulgent cinnamon rolls at Annipie, and heavenly mini-desserts at Sugar Munch are also worth a try, while gigantic servings of ice-cold treats are available at Ice Giants. If a healthy frozen dessert is more your style, you can drop by I Scream Fro Yo, for affordable frozen yogurt, near Dover Lanes, or simply visit all the fruit stands at Ponciano Street.

Truly, Davao gives an answer to all the food-related cravings one may have. It takes but a simple trip around town to satisfy a soul’s hunger for a culinary adventure to places and regions one can only imagine visiting; but regardless of where your culinary trip may take you, or whatever it is you choose to fill that spoon with, Davao dining is always enjoyed with a serving of hospitality…and that is probably the sweetest ingredient of all.

Happy Birthday To:

Emily Osment from Hannah Montana (18)

Carrie Underwood (27)

Timbaland (39)

Prince Edward (46)

Sharon Stone (52)

Osama Bin Laden (53)

Drink of the Week: Anti Freeze

Anti Freeze- In a highball glass filled half-way with ice cubes, pour a shot of vodka. Fill to the brim with equal amounts Tonic Water and Lemon Juice.

Frozen Food Week

Take advantage of frozen food week by enjoying frozen fare all this week.

Cold Treatment

Cold Treatment

Everybody I know has been complaining about the heat in the city. El Nino is obviously here, and it is bound stay for at least two more months. Sadly, the rotational brownouts do not help at all, but below are the list of things that will.

Mix It Up: When Filipinos realize its too hot outside, we always crave for halo-halo. And when in Davao, one has to try the city’s most revered halo-halo shop: Aling Foping’s. Located at MTS, this quaint store gives you customizable halo-halo with the smoothest crushed ice ever. Rumor has it, they use mineral water to make the ice, shave it once and then pack it back in the mold. When you order a serving (if you can stand ordering JUST ONE) they shave the ice again, making it the only twice-shaved ice cream I know of.

Go Gigantic: If ice cream is what you are craving for, this cute little resto in Damosa Gateway may just be the perfect spot for you. Choose among a wide array of ice cream concoctions from the classic banana split, to parfaits and even refreshing ice cream based beverages all served in hefty packages! If you plan to beat the heat in a big way, this is the place to do it.

Fly Butterfly Fly: If you crave for something alcoholic, as I usually do mid-afternoon, but want to keep cool; Farfalla is the place for you. This pasta bar that literally translates to “butterfly” will give you just that: butterflies in your tummy. The outré smells of this homey place will get you excited to sample their wonderful pasta offerings. However, if your only purpose is to beat the heat, you must try their Mojitos. They are more citrusy and minty than I’m used to, but they just add more fresh appeal to this wonderfully classic drink. Plus, a dash of light rum never hurt anyone

Get Minty: Since we’re already in the topic of alcohol, why not try a glass of Bols Peppermint at Someplace Else at the Habana Compound in Rizal Street? This glass of mint liqeur is sure to keep you cool enough, no matter what the temperature outside is. If you can not imagine drinking a minty alcoholic beverage, imagine taking a swig of vodka with ten pieces of mentholated candy. Yes, it is that strong.

Slushed Alcohol: If something more ice-laden is what you crave for, drop by Dos Amigos, still at the Habana Compound in Rizal, and choose from their wide array of blended margaritas to finally get rid of the heat. For more added refreshment, pick flavors with mint in them.

Zen Appeal: If you want something healthier to help you beat the heat, try Café Firrenzo’s blended green tea drink. Unlike some cafes that serve their green tea drinks with a dollop of whipped cream, Firrenzo serves theirs sans the calorie-laden spoonful of icky cream. I find that the richness of the cream overpowers the fresh and refreshing taste of green tea, so Firrenzo’s take on the Japanese fave is delightfully pleasant.

Italian Job: If, like me, you often crave for something fizzy when the heat of summer arrives, you would appreciate Fagioli’s line of Italian Sodas. They offer a wide array of these fizzy drinks in several flavors like Strawberry, Kiwi, Blueberry, and other fruit favorites. Plus, they do not break the bank.

Scream Without Cream: If you want another healthy alternative, try out I Scream Fro Yo. This three-week old stall is quite simple compared to most shops that sell frozen yogurt, but their products taste as good. I had a serving of frozen yogurt with fresh strawberries, chopped walnuts, and a thin strawberry syrup. Surprisingly, it was as satisfying as more expensive brands, and was quite refreshing as well. It was so good in fact, that I ordered another one of their concoctions. My second order was the Frozen Yogurt Flurry with bits of Butterfinger and caramel syrup that turns into a chewy string once it touches the frozen dessert. The effect: a melt-in-your-mouth, stuck-between-your-teeth, pasted-on-your-lip experience, or as I would call it: pure pleasure. I predict this will be one of the city’s best kept secrets for years to come.

For comments, suggestions, and more confessions from this partyphile, log on to http://party.i.ph or add us up on Facebook. Search for “Confessions of a Partyphile”

Tune in to Confessions of a Partyphile, the radio show, on 105.9 Mix FM every Wednesday evenings, from 6 to 9 PM.

No Power. Will Party!

EVERYBODY calls this generation, our generation, the instant generation. We are known to have been exposed, most likely since birth, to everything instant: instant noodles, instant coffee, instant drinks, and even instant friends over the internet. Needless to say, we are highly reliant on everything that makes anything instant, like the telephone for instant conversations, the internet for instant correspondences, the television for instant entertainment, and since the weather these days seems to give us a taste of what life in hell could feel like, we take solace with electric fans and air conditioning units for instantly cool air.

So, it comes as no surprise that we often feel out of place whenever there are short power outages in our area; and there have been lots and lots of them! When these brown outs happen, we suddenly have nothing to do, because all our known sources of entertainment are off, and we somehow find time to think about how miserable life is…at least for those couple of hours when we don’t have power. So here, my dear partyphile, are some suggestions on what you can do when the electricity is out.

Have a hose down - I don’t know what time the brown out strikes in your area, but in my crib it always strikes at noon, or an hour later. Obviously, it is just too hot, and several minutes into the brown out your armpits get sweaty, and your head feels heavy, and it isn’t a very nice experience. When this happens, gather all your neighborhood friends for the ultimate hose down. Just water each other down or play some game involving the hose. If you have balloons lying around the house, you could fill those with water to make water bombs as well. And even though it seems childish, it is heaps of fun!

Exercise - Since you are already probably sweating like a pig, why not exercise to lose more calories? You could go on the treadmill, walk around your lot, or even do jumping jacks inside your room. If you have younger siblings or children of your own, you could chase them around the house or play tag with them. You would be surprised at how strenuous children’s games are. So basically, you can burn calories, while having fun with your siblings or children, while actually enjoying the heat! And you don’t have to worry about being too sticky after the workout; the power is bound to come back in an hour or two.

Catch up on some Zzzzs - If you are a real partyphile, you probably do not have enough sleep because of all the parties and hot events you attend. Try catching up on some sleep. If it is too warm for you to sleep, take a quick bath (heads up: since your heater is not working, the water will be super cold, which will keep you cool longer) with mentholated products like menthol soaps and shampoos. This will make you feel refreshed and ready to take on the sleeping world.

Read Some Print - Catch up on some reading. You have nothing as entertaining to do, so you might as well read some interesting book, magazine or newspaper. This is sure to keep you occupied for an hour or two. And who knows, you might even continue reading after the lights have gone back.

Scream for Ice Cream - Eat all the ice cream in your freezer. It will melt if you leave it there, and melted and re-frozen ice cream is never a good thing, so beat the heat with that huge tub of iced favors! If your icy stock has melted by the time you remembered about it, pour the melted ice cream into a glass, and enjoy it as a milk shake.

Have a Margarita Party - While the power is still on make your own margarita mix, or simply buy a pre-mixed bottle of margarita. Pour the mixture over some ice cube trays and freeze them. When the lights go out, carefully pop out your margarita cubes from the trays, into glasses. (Heads up: remember to line the brim of the glasses with salt) You then wait for the margarita ice cubes to melt into a sumptuous slush! It is quick, easy, and will give you the best tasting frozen margarita ever! Another plus: it is the funnest way to keep cool; because we all know that a little alcohol makes everything better!

Pull the chord - Even before you start thinking of fun things to do while the power is out, unplug all your appliances, because dealing with a broken fuse when all your neighbors have their power back is not very cool.

Let it be - The brown out is going to last for an hour. AN HOUR. That isn’t too long. Just lie in bed or sit on a chair and do nothing. It will not kill you. Just do nothing, and don’t sweat it.

For comments, suggestions, and more confessions from this partyphile, log on to http://party.i.ph or add us up on Facebook by searching for “confessions of a partyphile”
Catch Confessions of a Partyphile (the radio show) every Saturday evenings, from 6 to 9 in the PM on 105.9 Mix FM. For comments, suggestions, and more confessions from this partyphile, log on to http://party.i.p

Happy Birthday!

happy Birthday to:

Jessica Biel (28)

Chris Martin (33) - Coldplay

Daniel Craig (42)

Jon Bon Jovi (48)

Karen Carpenter (60)