Welcome To My Truth: Jan 12, 2011

Bagobo House Hotel, Davao City

Bagobo House Hotel

Gov. Duterte Street, Davao City

Duration of our stay: January 8 to 12, 2011

De luxe twin rate: Php 1,400/day (twin sharing)*

Complimentary continental breakfast

Fairly decent and clean

Bathroom & the towels

Let's go to the nitty-gritty part of the package. I suggest bringing your own toiletries such as soap and shampoo. They do provide those but Bioderm and Clear & Clear doesn't work for me.

Mini-ref for de luxe rooms

We found out that a standard room (Php 1,300) doesn't have a mini-ref. There's a hundred bucks difference between a standard room and a de luxe room so why not grab the chance to have ice-cold water every time you want some? You can buy mineral water from a convenience store nearby.

Cable TV and cabinet

The hotel has no elevators that's why we were grateful enough to be on the 3rd floor. Exercise, folks! :)

* Published rate. We're able to get a lower deal thru Agoda. :)

Davao Food Trip: Dencia's Restaurant

Davao Dencia's Restaurant

Gen. Luna Street, Davao City

Date of visit: January 12, 2011

Breakfast

Before we fly back to Manila, my uncle treated us for breakfast at Davao Dencia's Restaurant, which is a stone's throw away from the hotel.

Brewed coffee; evap milk as creamer

Pinoy breakfast: fried eggs, garlic rice, beef tapa & fried sweet potato...

... and fruits! Papaya, to be specific.

One of Davao Dencia's bestsellers: lugaw and tokwa't baboy

Davao Food Trip: Taklobo Restaurant, Jack's Ridge

Taklobo Restaurant

Jack's Ridge

Shrine Hills, Matina

Davao City

Date of visit: January 11, 2011 (oh yes, 1-11-11!)

Dinner

Taklobo means a giant clam.

Trivia: Unbelievable as it may seem, the land you are standing on was under
the sea millions of years ago. These taklobo shells right here at Jack’s Ridge
are silent witness to Davao’s watery past. (taken from one of Jack's Ridge markers)

The menu

Sinigang na seafoods (Php 253.25)

Specialty of the month: steamed tuna steak (Php 285)

Kinilaw -cubed raw malasugue fish mixed in vinegar, onions, lemon juice and slices of cucumber and radish (Php 152.35)

Seafood supreme -combination of clams, crabs, squid, tuna and shrimps in a special sauce (Php 288.60)

Fruit platter (Php 105)

Total cost: delicious viands, rice & drinks & fresh mountain air= Php 1, 524.78 (including service charge)

3 adults & 1 child

Davao Food Trip: Shakey's Duterte Branch

Davao Food Trip: Pearl Farm Beach Resort

January 10, 2011

Pearl Farm Marina

Lanang, Davao City

6:45-8:00 a.m.

I guess we were too excited to get to Pearl Farm Beach Resort in Samal Island that I set the alarm at 5 a.m. We were instructed to be at the Marina thirty (30) minutes before boarding time which is 8 a.m. But lo and behold, BF and I were among the early birds. So we decided to have breakfast at the Marina to kill time.

Filipino breakast fare: pan de sal (or garlic rice), scrambled eggs, beef tapa & coffee (not in the pic)

We also decided to share the breakfast plate since we wanted to reserve as much as tummy space as we could to fully enjoy the buffet lunch at the resort. For crying out loud, the breakfast plate was worth Php 450!

Every breakfast meal comes with fruits in season.

Pearl Farm Beach Resort

Kaputian, Islang Garden City of Samal

Day Tour is from 8: 00 am to 4: 00 p.m.

Php 1, 550/pax inclusive of roundtrip boat transfer, welcome drink, towel, buffet lunch and use of selected resort facilities

Ice-cold pineapple drink welcomed us!

Note the dinosaur appetite I brought with me. First plate contains the appetizers in cute portions.

Appetizers: kinilaw na tuna, pork wonton, breaded chicken fingers, itlog na maalat at kamatis & mangga't bagoong

Shanghai fried rice, pancit canton, calamares en su tinta, beef goulash, grilled pork spareribs, buttered vegetables, chicken cordon bleu & malasugue in creamy grape sauce

Desserts galore: chocolate cake, mango mousse, mango cheesecake, mango crepe with chocolate sauce, banana cake, fruit flan and mango ball thingy dessert (forgot the exact name, sorry)

Fruit plate: papaya, dalandan, apple, mango & pineapple. The watermelon went pfft!

After swimming under the scorching heat of the sun, I became hungry. Good thing the buffet lunch lasts until 3 p.m.

Brewed coffee, mango mouse, teeny-weeny salad I concocted and mango ball thingy dessert

Davao Food Trip: Davao Green Buffet Haus

January 9, 2011

Davao Green Buffet Haus

Pelayo Street, Davao City

Cheapest price for a buffet: Php 128 (really)

Yup, that's right! Their buffet dinner is only Php 128! We were very hesitant to try this one out considering the seemingly low price. In Manila, the cheaper the buffet is, the yuckier the food, right? Well, this resto seems to be an exception. The food is fairly okay. The sad part however is that I was full as a donkey when we dined here. A few hours prior, we had a heavy lunch at Liza's Store in Times Beach.

So, this is what my first plate looked like. You'd think I was really on a diet, huh? Nah. I went first to the vegetable section of the buffet table. Too bad I forgot to take pictures since I really don't want to impede other diners from getting food. At Php 128, expect human traffic at the buffet table.

1st plate: lumpiang hubad, chopsuey, steamed fish and vine spinach salad (or "ensaladang alugbati") and fruit salad

No rice, yey! Their fruit salad is not the fruit cocktail-type of salad but the "Hey mom, fruits are about to spoil so let's whip up our own version of fruit salad!"-type of salad. Throw in the watermelon, banana, mango and evap milk and voila! You get the picture.