Food Trip in the City
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009Aside from the beautiful tourist spots and the famed courteousness of the Dabawenyo, Davao City is also known for its abundance of good food.
From fruits such as the luscious Durian to sea foods, like crabs and prawns, and other truly Filipino exotic meals, Davao has it all for you. While the issue of food in other places revolves around the lack of supply, visitors of Davao City face a different dilemma: with so much food, choosing where and what to eat is always a problem.
But it’s the kind of problem most tourists, especially those who like to indulge in good food, love to have.
So, where would you go for a food trip in the city? Let’s start off with the so-called Dabawenyo Specialties.
Durian — Tastes Like Heaven, Smells Like Hell?
The Durian Park along the Torres Street is a popular hang-out when Durian fruits are on its peak season. If you are not familiar with the place, it is close to the Davao City Convention Center and fronting the famous restaurants of Davao like the Harana, Bistro Rosario, and others. If you’re looking for take-out outlets, the most notable location is the Magsaysay Park.
Foreigners beware: Durian can be considered an exotic food for you. Please tell your friends if you are offended by the smell of the fruit. The other technique is to keep it in the refrigerator for a while and the take a few bites as you feel comfortable. It works for some. Ask your other foreigner pals how they handle that smell of hell.
Barbecue
Now if you’re craving for delicious barbecue, there are even more to choose from. The more popular barbecue food chains in Davao City include Banok’s, Penong’s and Delongtes. Each of these food chains offers delicious and affordable barbecue plus a variety of other popular dishes. They are usually served with unlimited rice. It all you kan-on, as popularized by Penongs. This means that when you are done with the first rice serving, you can order as many plates of rice you want.
Restaurants
For regular meals, there’s an abundance of quality restaurants to choose from, such as Taklobo Restaurant (located in JacksRidge resort), Yellow Fin Seafoods Restaurant, Luz Kinilaw and many more. At the back of the Victoria Plaza Mall, you will find a number of good restaurants service Chinese and Filipino specialties.
Fine Dining
For high-end and first class dishes, you can find them in hotels like Marco Polo Davao, Apo View Hotel, and Grand Regal Hotel, among others. There are also several restaurants that cater such food like the re-knowned Zakoya Japanese Restaurant, Hanoi Vietnamese Restaurant, and so on.
(If fine dining is your thing, you may want to refer to the previous article on Fine Dining in Davao.)
The Fastfood That You Love
And for fastfood junkies, Davao doesn’t have a shortage of it either. In fact, a variety of fastfood chains abound the city. You’ll find good ole’ McDonalds and KFC over here. Western visitors will surely love to see they can eat hamburgers that taste and smell like those back from the homeland. Thanks to globalization and the carefully standardized Franchising manual.
Plus there are also the locally-started food chains like Chickies N’ Patties and Cecil’s (for merienda) and nationwide run outfits like Chowking and Jollibee. You will find them in the malls of Davao and along the major streets.
Finally, always remember that most restaurants in the city adhere to city guidelines on quality of food and service, so have confidence and happy eating.
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Another article by Ramesh Dataya in response to the previous article on fine dining.