A mouth-watering slab of ribs and a scrumptious chicken barbecue christened my palate to what Davao City has to offer in terms of gastronomy. It was my first time in this part of Mindanao and I was bursting with excitement and curiosity to finally experience Davao beyond durian.
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| THUMBS UP. Sooo Pinoy spokesman Bogart the Explorer (left) poses with the owners of Dencio's Kamayan. |
I was part of Sooo Pinoy, Food Trip na Pilipinas! which is set to visit 300 restaurants in 10 key regions/areas in 10 months all over the Philippines. Davao is the 4th food stop after Iloilo, Boracay and Cebu that started last March. The goal of the Food Trip is to show that Filipino dishes per region have different identities based on the culture, lifestyle and history of the area. The Food Trip also aims to show that there are many Filipino recipes from different regions of the Philippines, each having its own specialty that has to be recognized for the unique flavor it adds to the Filipino Cuisine.
The mere mention of Dencio’s brings back the memories of the barbecue-grill-restaurant chain that has branches all over Metro Manila, though I know that it originally came from Davao. But when we got to the place, it turned out to be a different one – Dencio’s Kamayan, with a different logo.
“Dencio's Kamayan in Davao City has become synonymous with tasty, affordable Filipino food” opens up Len Bosquit, owner of the restaurant together with husband Jojo. “Our family restaurant started in 1998 at Victoria Plaza Carpark, quickly grew through word-of-mouth and since then has become part of the dining experience of locals and visitors”
“Our signature food are our grilled items like Chicken Barbecue, Pork Barbecue, Grilled Spare Ribs, Ribs Espesyal, and Sari-Sari Espesyal” she continues. “Other favorites are seafood dishes like Grilled Panga, Sizzling Bangus Belly, Grilled Squid, Grilled Tiyan ng Isda, and Pinoy staples such as Kare-Kare and Crispy Pata.”
Interrupting our casual talk was visually enticing and delicious smelling slab of ribs they refer to as Ribs Espesyal. “We have a special secret marinade developed through and each slab is marinated overnight for the flavors to seep in” Len explains what makes these ribs special. “It is charbroiled to perfection and occasionally brushed with a sweet sauce braise.”
As this was a kamayan (eating with bare hands) restaurant, I took one bite of the rib and gastronomically understood what Ms. Len explained. Oozing with flavour, the Ribs Espesyal indeed were seasoned “sarap to the bones” as I can’t help myself licking the bones and the sauce off my fingers. It was also made Sooo Pinoy as the taste of the ribs had hints of the basic Filipino barbecue sauce – soy sauce, pepper, salt among others. And nothing is more Sooo Pinoy with atsara as side dish to grilled specialties.
“Our chicken barbecue recipe was the result of a few trial and error formulas” Len said as each of us was served a stick of chicken barbecue with rice and atchara. Even though I kept on reminding myself that there would be two more restaurants to go, I quickly finished the meal savoring each bite of the chicken. It has the same basting sauce so that makes it as delectable as the ribs.
An out of the food tasting menu specialty found itself on our table as we were served Sizzling Pork Sisig with Chicharon. The pork cracklings gave the sisig a crunch that gave it another dimension in both taste and texture. A perfect beer mate, anytime, all the time!
Dencio’s Kamayan goes with the tagline “Pamilya Tayo Dito” reflecting its origins as the Bosquit’s family hang out. “Our father loved to cook and his skills in the kitchen inspired us to make a business out of his passion”. They now have six branches in Davao City as well as Tagum and Gen. Santos.
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
The mere mention of Dencio’s brings back the memories of the barbecue-grill-restaurant chain that has branches all over Metro Manila, though I know that it originally came from Davao. But when we got to the place, it turned out to be a different one – Dencio’s Kamayan, with a different logo.
“Dencio's Kamayan in Davao City has become synonymous with tasty, affordable Filipino food” opens up Len Bosquit, owner of the restaurant together with husband Jojo. “Our family restaurant started in 1998 at Victoria Plaza Carpark, quickly grew through word-of-mouth and since then has become part of the dining experience of locals and visitors”
Interrupting our casual talk was visually enticing and delicious smelling slab of ribs they refer to as Ribs Espesyal. “We have a special secret marinade developed through and each slab is marinated overnight for the flavors to seep in” Len explains what makes these ribs special. “It is charbroiled to perfection and occasionally brushed with a sweet sauce braise.”
As this was a kamayan (eating with bare hands) restaurant, I took one bite of the rib and gastronomically understood what Ms. Len explained. Oozing with flavour, the Ribs Espesyal indeed were seasoned “sarap to the bones” as I can’t help myself licking the bones and the sauce off my fingers. It was also made Sooo Pinoy as the taste of the ribs had hints of the basic Filipino barbecue sauce – soy sauce, pepper, salt among others. And nothing is more Sooo Pinoy with atsara as side dish to grilled specialties.
“Our chicken barbecue recipe was the result of a few trial and error formulas” Len said as each of us was served a stick of chicken barbecue with rice and atchara. Even though I kept on reminding myself that there would be two more restaurants to go, I quickly finished the meal savoring each bite of the chicken. It has the same basting sauce so that makes it as delectable as the ribs.
An out of the food tasting menu specialty found itself on our table as we were served Sizzling Pork Sisig with Chicharon. The pork cracklings gave the sisig a crunch that gave it another dimension in both taste and texture. A perfect beer mate, anytime, all the time!
Dencio’s Kamayan goes with the tagline “Pamilya Tayo Dito” reflecting its origins as the Bosquit’s family hang out. “Our father loved to cook and his skills in the kitchen inspired us to make a business out of his passion”. They now have six branches in Davao City as well as Tagum and Gen. Santos.
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
DAY 4: \Round up | Kusina Selera | Binggoy's Lounge | Kusineros | Glamour Crabs Buffet | Tiny Kitchen | Pansititoy | Kookel's