Sooo Pinoy in Davao City at The Grand Regal Hotel

I’ve had lots of Hot Chili Crabs before but the one served at the Montmartre Café at The Grand Regal Hotel in Davao City was among the most extraordinary. The crabs were lounging in chili sardine sauce that spiced up that afternoon and gave each forkful an extra kick.

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 Grand Regal Hotel hosts a PAGCOR casino in Davao City and the hotel’s executive chef, Ed Chavez surely bet on this out of the ordinary chili crab creation to win the hearts of the Sooo Pinoy foodies. He utilized the typical Pinoy “emergency” viand – ginisang sardinas (sautéed sardines in tomato sauce), and made it gourmet worthy to be part of the hotel’s food showcase.

The combination of crabs with sardine sauce created not only fiery visual presentation but also a burst of flavour in every bite. Chef Ed made his sauce a notch spicier but tolerable to give it flavour thrill worthy of licking your fingers.

A gastronomic play of grilled pork belly and pig’s ears, Chef Ed’s next dish was dinakdakan. It consists of crunchy meat concoction was smothered with mayonnaise mixed with brain leaving that afternoon tasty and crunchy.

Capping off our first hotel food trip in Davao City was Chef Ed’s Fiesta Pompano in a typical Davao fiesta manner. A deep fried halved tilapia that packed in the crispy goodness garnished with a green mango, tomatoes, cucumber, white onion, chili and radish with a tinge of calamansi.

It was an afternoon of gastronomic discovery with Chef Ed Chavez and the staff of The Grand Regal Hotel. And true to it's name, it was one regale way of entertaining us with the best cuisine they've got to offer!

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 Grand Regal Hotel Davao

Km. 7, J.P. Laurel Avenue
Lanang, Davao City, Philippines,
P.O. Box 80838

Tel. No. (63-82) 235-0888 | (63-82) 235-3400 to 3402
Fax No. (63-82) 234-3688 (Sales Office) | (63-82) 234-3858

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

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FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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