An epic Davao food trip with Sooo Pinoy

An epic Davao food trip with Sooo Pinoy - Day 1

Mention Davao and an image of durian comes to mind. There’s also tuna and a lot of assorted barbecue. But there is really more than the king of fruits or tuna in this city as I have recently discovered. Last June, I embarked on a gastronomic journey of epic proportions in Davao with the Sooo Pinoy, Food Trip Na Pilipinas.

This campaign by Unilever Food Solutions aims to show that Filipino dishes per region have different identities based on the culture, lifestyle and history of the place. Davao City is the fourth stop (after Iloilo, Boracay and Cebu) of this food trip around the Philippines and as a melting pot of religion and culture, there is surely a lot to discover in this part of the country.

MY FIRST TIME IN DAVAO

It was my first time in Davao City and my second on the island of Mindanao (travelled to Cabadbaran through Butuan City via Cagayan de Oro almost five years ago). Good thing Cebu Pacific now has direct Iloilo-Davao (v.v) flights in the morning while Airphil Express in the evening. I arrived around 20 minutes earlier than the rest of the Sooo Pinoy contingent (from Manila) so I just waited at the arrival lobby.

My “home away from home” during the food trip was the Microtel Inn and Suites in Lanang – a bustling district built around some BPO centers, if I’m not mistaken. The location is great as everything was just within reach – banks, groceries, restaurants, service shops, etc. A humongous mall – SM Premiere Lanang, is set to open very soon.

And I really loved my room – big bed, large closet, a personal ref, a window side “lounge”, and big bathroom – all to myself. I enjoyed having a nightly “spa” turning on the hot water faucet for that effect and snuggling under the triple-blanket cover.

THE YELLOW BRIGADE

Donning our uniform, we had a courtesy call with Mayor Inday Sara Duterte at the Davo City before we started our epic food trip. I just love how the Davaoeños refer to their mayor as “Inday Sara”. Even on TV, captions are always “Mayor Inday Sara Duterte”.

Despite her infamous moves ala Pacman months ago, she was amiable to her constituents. As we were waiting in line to have our courtesy call, she was entertaining various problems of various people and providing solutions upfront.

The Sooo Pinoy Team with Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte

DENCIO'S KAMAYAN

My gastronomic baptism on Davao cuisine started with the grilled specialties of Dencio's Kamayan. We satisfied ourselves with the perfectly charbroiled and delectable Ribs Espesyal, Chicken Barbecue and Sizzling Sisig. It was the ribs that left a mark in my taste buds that I’ll surely have them on the table if ever I’ll be back. Read More about Dencio’s Kamayan.

THE GRAND REGAL HOTEL DAVAO

Over at The Grand Regal Hotel, which is home to a PAGCOR Casino, we then sampled Dinakdakan (crunchy pork meat smothered with mayonnaise and pig’s brain), Fiesta Pompano and Crabs in Coconut Milk and Chili Sardine Sauce. The latter proved to be the most interesting for usually “ginisang sardinas” and “hotels” don’t usually come in one sentence. Read More about The Grand Regal Hotel.

BARBEQUE BOSS

Our day ended with dinner at Barbeque Boss where we had assorted steaks, Grilled Bangus Stuffed with Salted Egg and the specialty of the house – Pork Barbecue! I was really curious about the bangus for it’s the first time I’ve tried one but for a restaurant (of this set up) to sell their pork barbecue (their specialty) for only 6 pesos apiece – now that’s really interesting. But you’ll have to have a minimum order of 5 pieces. Read More about Barbeque Boss.

So Day 1 of our epic Davao food trip with Sooo Pinoy has just ended and what more Day 2 would bring. See you “tomorrow” …

Filipinos are encouraged to join and support the Sooo Pinoy movement, a partnership between Unilever Food Solutions and the Department of Tourism, and go on a gastronomic adventure that both fills the stomach and enriches our awareness of our own identity. To know more about the campaign, food lovers are invited to like the Sooo Pinoy page on Facebook and follow @SoooPinoy on Twitter

Sooo Pinoy Epic DAVAO Food Trip: June 25-29, 2012

Ultimate Ilonggo Favorite: KBL Kadyos, Baboy, Langka

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region. Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of batwan and the malinamnam na sabaw . One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with the recipe below. Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED and sliced into bite size pieces 1 unripe Jack fruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit (or tamarind powder) 1 piece pork broth cube (

An Ilonggo favorite - Valenciana

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home. A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ". Here's the recipe for Valenciana

Batwan

Ilonggos know batwan or batuan by heart as the fruit is almost endemic to the Western Visayas. Its scientific name is Garcinia binucao, derived from the Tagalog name for the fruit, binukaw. It is a large green fruit with large seeds and its a favorite souring ingredient in most Ilonggo dishes especially KBL or kadyos, baboy, langka and the Ilonggo-style paksiw known as "pinamalhan". It is characterized by a tamed sourness compared to tamarind and kamias . The fruit is sold by pieces or kilo in wet markets and even big grocery stores. Batwan is the preferred souring ingredients for the Ilonggo favorite- KBL. The photo shows boiled batwan with skin and without skin (right) A favorite riddle when we were young - "Among the many fruits in the forest, but one (batuan) is the best. What is it?"

A native (foods) welcome in Guimaras

Even after having breakfast less than an hour that time, we couldn't say no to this lot of native delciacies that welcomed us in Guimaras. First and foremost, Guimaras best known produce is their sweet mango famous almost worldwide. And it comes with it's best partner, ibos. This brown baye-baye variety is made from toasted rice thus giving it a more disctinct flavour compared to it's more "caucasian" cousin. I like the one wrapped in banana leaves compared with the one in plastic for it gives it a more native feel. So when you're in Guimaras, be sure to check out the markets for these native delicacies that can make your trip more gastronomically satisfying.

Takway

The gabi (taro) is just one of those plants which is edible from "roots to tops". The most popular of which is the tuber part which is used in a variety of dishes and mostly in combination with coconut milk. Its leaves, of course, is the main ingredient of a Bicol specialty, laing . It is dried then chopped and sauteed with other ingredients including, again, coconut milk. Then there is takway . The local term for its tendrils/runner, that part which is torn between being a stem or a root for it neither grows upwards nor downwards - it grows sideways . Scraped off of its outer skin, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the gabi tuber with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon . It is also popular when cooked adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . It is very popular in the region that even big supermarkets sell takway in style - cleaned and plastic wrapped in styro with some additions to make it easier to prepare.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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