An epic Davao food trip with Sooo Pinoy Day 5

This is it! Or I should I say”This is EAT!” Our final day in Davao for Unilever Food Solutions Sooo Pinoy Food Trip Na, Pilipinas is coming to an end. The food memories of the past four days and the memory of what Day 5 brings will surely be an unforgettable facet in our blogging, writing, traveling and more.

Our final day of food binge started on a sweet note as Harana gave our last breakfast in Davao a gastronomic tune. From a few open huts in the Abella family’s garden, it has transformed a once dark and void street into Davao’s number one food street (when it transferred to F. Torres Street three decades ago).

Harana gave us just a glimpse of their wide array of food choices that include their famous Grilled Spare Ribs, pancit canton, Pork Sinigang, Imbao Soup, Grilled Squid, Grilled Tuna, Kare-kare, Pinakbet, Chicken barbecue, Sizzling Sisig, Talong Ensalada, Pork Binagoongan and a whole lot more.

Davao’s most popular native fastfood chain, Penong’s, was the scene of our last lunch. Getting the attention of the food servers with two hand claps gave us a taste of their famous Chicken “BarBESTcue” which was among appetizing I had during the 5-day food trip.

A plate of Crispy Talong had us occupied while we waited for Penong’s delectable backribs and it’s newest on the menu Pinukutan – a basket of shrimps, squid, clams, and blue marlin with assorted vegetables. No wonder Penong’s is among the fastest growing fastfood in Davao and the nearby places.

Named after the owner’s two sons, Chippens started as a small carinderia but has elevated into a classy buffet restaurant serving specialties. Among the many buffet places in Davao, Chippens makes the usual cluttery smorgasbord of food into an intimate dining experience as it gives a high end ambience to its customers.

Yet the price is still competitive and one can still enjoy Pork Asado, Chicken and Pork Adobo, noodle dishes like Palabok and Canton, Puto and Dinuguan and Buko Pandan, without making a dent on the pockets.

Yellow Fin Seafood Restaurant shared their specialties like Tuna Laing (tuna wrapped in gabi leaves then cooked in coconut milk), Adobong Buntot ng Tuna and Crispy Tuna Tail – all utilizing the yellow fin tuna variety. They also extended their famous Molave chicken – deep fried chicken but without the greasy feel and taste.

This restaurant is frequented by the politicians, former Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to name a few. For a restaurant that can serve up to 100 tuna tails in just a day, it surely is a feat worth the emulation. Capping off our Yellowfin foodie adventure were Durian Rolls, which were just lumpia wraps filled with a mixture of durian and others but were so delicious that I ended up almost clearing the whole plate.

Ending our epic five-day eating galore in Davao was Fiesta Dabaw at the foodcourt of the Gaisano Mall of Davao. It was our first set up inside a mall’s food court that gave us a different kind of ambiance but still with the best food Davao has to offer. Serving around 40 dishes a day in the food courts all around the city, Fiesta Dabaw dished up Sepo Guisado (sautéed mixed vegetables), Paksiw na Buntot ng Tuna, Pork Sisig, Bulalo, Ox Tail Kare-kare and Tuna Steak for our last supper. The Tuna tail paksiw has become their best seller when they started offering it on their menu – a testament how the Davaoeños really love tuna!

But as usual, it really wasn’t the end of everything. After official end of our Epic Davao Food Trip, we trooped to another foodiestination – Lachi’s. This quaint food shop serves pasta and meats but was dessert we all looked forward to then. There we had lots -Durian Cheesecake, Durian Sans Rival, Midnight delight, Dulce de Leche Cheesecake, Blueberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Cake and a whole lot more that escaped my food memory. It was literally and figuratively ending the day and the whole Davao Food trip on a sweet note!

And finally, on top of the pasalubong galore I bought from Lola Abon’s I couldn’t say no to a rich and luscious Durian Pie, I just chanced upon the airport on my way home the following day. Rich and luscious are just understatement as the durian pie made every forkful truly a taste of the kind of fruits!

Our five-day food trip has ended and it was a really enjoyable way of discovering a place, in this case – Davao, through its food and food ways. A truly Sooo Pinoy approach and ‘til we EAT again!

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 1: Round up | Dencio's Kamayan | Grand Regal Hotel | Barbeque Boss

Mama's Kitchen and Sinamay House in Arevalo

A stones throw away from the plaza of La Villa de Arevalo is an ancestral house where one can find not only good pasalubong items but also a look into the past of the district. Known as the Sinamay House , this well preserved ancestral house is an attraction not only in the outside but also what it houses inside. A collection of what the past like is housed in the two storey edifice which also acts like a museum of sorts. Sinamay is simply known as abaca by most and, here, a variety of products made from this fiber can be found. I remember watching a feature on tv wherein the owner proudly showed a framed letter signed by the late Princess of Wales, Diana, showing her appreciation of the handkerchief she was given as a gift coming from this very shop. But the attraction I am most familiar with are the chewies and crunchies made by Mama's Kitchen. Attractively packed in boxes showing their current flavours and variety, this is among the better...

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

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 por...

Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice . I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the us...

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

Search This Blog