Happy Kadayawan!
This year’s Kadayawan festivity hits different as it is being held face-to-face for the first time in two years. Hence, a livelier Kadayawan season.
However, being Filipinos that we are, a celebration or festival of some sort must come with a feast.
Here are some places to enjoy a delicious meal in Davao City.
Madayaw Cafe in DusitD2 Davao
Executive Sous Chef Christopher Lugtu and his team prepared traditional dishes from the tribes of Davao. Among the dishes that will be served are the Piassak from the Tausugs, Landang from the Maguindanaons, Linotlot nga Manok from the Jangans, and Wadjet Makadurian from the Sama. Davao’s famous Malagos Chocolates take centerstage in desserts with Grissini, Mango Chocolate Malagos Mousse, Malagos Chocolate cake and macarons, cheesecake, and truffles. These dishes are featured during the Kadayawan weekend’s Madayaw Cafe dinner buffets at P1400 net per person.
Their Linotlot nga Manok, Pialam, and Cochinillo were standouts. For the desserts, I loved the Wadjet Makadurian (Durian rice cake) Sama.
Cafe Uno in Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao
Led by Chef Gilbert Banday, Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao’s food outlets — Cafe Uno, Pizzaiolo, and La Parilla — have also prepared a tasty meal.
In Cafe Uno, enjoy their spread of tribal-inspired dishes like Fish Piyalam, Chicken Piyanggang, and Shrimp Piaparan. They also have classic Filipino dishes like humba, tapa, luglug, and pastil. These dishes are featured in their Weekend Kadayawan Buffet at P999 per person. For the food in the buffet spread, the humba, lechon baka, tapa, and tuna pastil were standouts.
At Pizzaiolo, they are serving the Humba Dabawenyo Pizza. This is a traditional pizza base with cheese topped with slices of pork humba and pineapples. It is available for P428 from 10 a.m. 12 m.n. Meanwhile, La Parilla offers bilaos — All Meat Bonanza (P1,399) and Seafood Fusion (P1,799).
Taguanan
Located inside the Plaza de Bole Compound, Torres St., Taguanan offers unli-order “putok sa batok” dishes.
For P399, you can order bulalo, spicy bakachoy, sizzling sisig, sizzling bulalo steak, pork lechon kawali, grilled pork belly, and humba. It also comes with side dishes — peanuts and minatamis na saging.
I would recommend the spicy bakachoy. It is a spicy hearty dish that will have you ordering extra rice. I also love their humba. Be sure to have the minatamis na saging on the side to cut through the meaty and hearty meal.
Azuo Bistro
The restaurant is located at Cope Building, C.M. Recto Street (You enter the alleyway beside 7/11 in front of Marco Polo Hotel Davao) and offers various dishes, mostly Spanish dishes.
In a recent visit, we tried Black Aglio olio, Shrimp Gambas, Calamares, Chicken in White Sauce, Lemon Salmon, Azuo Porkchop, and the Salted Egg Chicken Wings. Then for dessert, we had the Brownie Ala Mode, Azuo Ore-yah, and the Blue Cheesecake.
The Black Aglio olio looked interesting with the black pasta. Yet, it tastes pretty good. The Chicken in White Sauce was really good too. The sauce and the fried rice that came with it were tasty. For the desserts, I like the Azuo Ore-yah.
Belito’s Vine Yard
Belito’s Vine Yard is one of the hidden gems of Davao City. They serve mostly Spanish dishes and are quite known for their Paella Negra.
A recent visit had us ordering their Tornos (Bolinao in olive oil with black pepper and garlic), Crispy Pork Ribs, Homemade Chorizo, and Gambas Al Ajillo. Of course, it is not a visit to Belito’s Garden without ordering their Paella Negra.
The tornos is a flavorful appetizer to start the meal. It was served with crackers. The Paella Negra was as good as I remembered it to be. It was a tasty dish. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan for the crust.
For dessert, we had their homemade ice cream. The flavors we got during the visit were Mango, Strawberry, Tablea, and Avocado. All were good but my favorite was the mango and avocado flavor.
Belito’s Vine Yard is located along Palm Drive.
This Kadayawan, enjoy a sumptuous meal of different flavors in Davao City. I hope you will enjoy the food in these restaurants just as I have enjoyed it.