Sooo Pinoy in Davao at Yellow Fin Seafood Restaurant

It's been an overload of tuna in Davao a few weeks ago and on our last day for our second to the last restaurant - it was still, you guess it, tuna! But it was a tuna of a different kind, a "fusion" of Dabawenyo and Bicol specialties. Say hello to Tuna Laing served by Yellow Fin Seafood Restaurant.

I was part of Sooo Pinoy, Food Trip na Pilipinas! which is set to visit 300 restaurants in 10 key regions/areas all over the Philippines. Davao is the 4th food stop after Iloilo, Bora cay 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.

As the restaurant name suggests, "yellow fin" is the tuna variety served in the restaurant. It started as a small "carinderia" (around 30-40 seats) in the early 90's and if I got my info right the Angeles Family also had a steakhouse and a furniture business then. It was popular restaurant that was frequented not only by families but by politicians as well. I heard that Davao City Mayor Rod Duterte is a suki here.

Maybe, he loved the Adobong Buntot ng Tuna which is the specialty of the house. During the past few days in Davao, tuna buntot was almost always served "grilled". So it was welcome taste for us to enjoy one of the most flavourful part of the tuna served as Filipino as it can be - adobo style!

And they can sell almost 100 tuna tail per day! WOW!

We've had lots of tuna bagaybay ever since our arrival, and it is just fitting that we have one last round as we end out food tour. Yellow Fin's sizzling bagaybay, gave us one last taste of one our food discoveries in Davao.

A "greaseless" fried chicken? Seems to good to be true but a bite into one of Yellow Fin's most popular food item, makes one an instant believer. There used to be another restaurant serving this famous chicken - Molave; but when it closed(?) the cook from that resto transferred to Yellow Fin and the grease-less chicken was reborn.

Capping off our Yellow Fin gastronomic adventure were durian rolls that were turon but filled with a durian mash. Good thing I was the first to discover it on the table so I had as many as I could (lol).

Based on the "foodie stats" of this leg Sooo Pinoy food trip, chicken and tuna and neck to neck when it comes to the meaty component of Davao cuisine. And we had the "best of both worlds" here at Yellow Fin.

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

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?"

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.

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.

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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