Archive for the 'Streets of Davao' Category

Filipinos love eating, whenever, wherever, and well… whatever, as long as it is edible and tasty of course. Because of the love for good food, we’ve not only grown fond of eating, we also mastered the art of cooking… more or less. Adaptive as we will always be, we didn’t only master our own way of cooking, we also picked up techniques from all over the world. The product: A one of a kind cuisine culture so extensive that we can actually provide you the different tastes of the world in just one street. The proof: we’ll give you a free food trip in one of Davao’s nightlife destinations, Rizal Street.

Buckle up because this one’s going to be a really good ride.

That Street Named Rizal

Found in Metro Davao, this half-a-mile stretch is frequented by tourists and locals who are in search of some chow and booze. Tourists should have no trouble locating this well traveled road as it is very accessible ‘round the clock. As for variety, there’s just so much to find in here that you wouldn’t need to go far to suite the specific things your palate desires.

Fast Food? Get It Really Fast!

Jollibee

If you’re looking to go for a quick of pit stop from your touring all around the city, Rizal Street offers a wide variety of quick-cooks to relieve your hunger and fuel you up for your enjoyable race around town. Who wouldn’t recognize the famous fast food chain Jollibee? A yummy burger should do the job of satisfying you well and quick. Try their fried chicken fondly called the “Chickenjoy” too. That’s something that goes down as one of the Filipino’s favorite.

Merco and Mandarin Tea Garden

If you want a full meal of sorts and you want it quick, then go to Merco. This place is very well known for its cakes and pastries, but they don’t only focus on the sweet stuff. Right beside their pastry shop is a restaurant where you can get some American style dishes. They also serve “lutong-bahay” (home cooked) style Filipino dishes. However, if you’re looking for Chinese food, then you can go to the Mandarin Tea Garden right across the street. Rice toppings, dimsum, congee, there’s just a lot of delicious dishes to choose from. With these two good restaurants, satisfaction will surely be guaranteed!

Big Appetite? No problem!

The Rizal Strata offers you a lot of options for a good place where you can eat a lot with your friends and family. You never have to go far just to find the very famous Filipino style roasted pig a.k.a. the “lechon”. Whaw Litson Biik Grill and Restaurant specializes in roasting homegrown piglets at an affordable price. Eating big with a big group? This is the place to be!

As for buffets, we have two restaurants in the place to give you maximum satisfaction when it comes to the food and the price. Vist the Iron Horse buffet and you shall see why this street is well visited. For around 130 PHP, you can choose from a wide variety of Davaoeño dishes in whatever way you want them. Grilled, fried, or baked, it doesn’t matter. What matters most is that you enjoy the food! Also check out the Apung Kula Seafood Grill located further down the street. This place is highly regarded when it comes to catering for big events such as weddings and birthday parties. On a daily basis, it doesn’t fail to impress as well. For 118 PHP, you can eat all you can find a long buffet table of delicious delicacies including your favorite seafoods!

And when you’re visiting the city, you should never miss out on Davao’s very own TAPS. This fast-food chain started out and grew big in none other than Davao City itself. What started out as a small family business is now bigger than ever. Filipino dishes anyone? This place offers all the Filipino favorites such as the famous Tapa, Adobo and Ox feet among many others – all served with garlic rice and a scrambled egg. Truly delicious, truly Filipino, proudly Davaoeño!

Fine Dining Delight

Fine dining desires? You guessed it right, we have them here too! Check out Chico’s Music Bistro found in Casa de Habana. Casa de Habana is a compound where everything may seem too good to be true. Chico’s Music Bistro offers not only good food and wonderful drinks; they also offer good music, specifically Jazz and Samba, from Davao’s best musicians. If you’re looking to relax and spend the night comfortably after a whole day of tours and sightseeing, you should visit this place. Casa de Habana also houses the De Boute Koe European Restaurant. Indulge in fine European cuisine. Here’s a taste of Europe right on Philippine soil. Also, do check out the El Toro Spanish Cuisine. This restaurant offers Spanish cuisine at its best. You can choose from their menu which includes Tapa, Salads, Soups, and Paellas. Casa de Habana also has an inn for with rooms available at low rates.

Also, don’t forget to visit Claude’s Le Cafe de Ville just beside the Iron Horse. This place specializes on French cuisine, something you would have pre-empted from the name of the café alone. Anyway, this café has been around since the early 90’s, and has established itself as the only authentic French restaurant in Davao City. The elegance is reflected by its sumptuous servings of awesome steaks and stews; not to mention mouth watering appetizers! We’re bringing Europe to Davao, and there’s no other place where you can find it better than here!

The Nightlife

We already expressed how a lot of people frequent this avenue for its nightlife. Now, the only thing left is for you to experience it. But for now, let’s go through the establishments which make this street tick during the night. This area is known for a place named The Rizal Promenade, an arcade flanked by a number of bars that will make you dance the night away. Good booze, lots of people and music that should make you sway to the beat – all of these make this place awesome. Your presence should make this place awesome even more!

And if ever you get tired of dancing and decide to go singing instead, right across the street in front of Rizal Promenade is a commercial establishment named Cats and Dogs. For 100 PHP per hour, you can get a room hooked up with a Karaoke system so good it will only make you sing even more. Also, there are food stations outside Cats and Dogs where you can order some food and take with you to your karaoke room. You can choose from grilled meat, even the famous Asian dish we all know as the Kabab. Yes, they have that one too, in Majid’s Kabab, a small restaurant outside Cats and Dogs. They don’t only offer their signature kababs, they also offer a few Eastern dishes. Wasn’t I right when I said we have everything in this place?

A Good Coffee for a Good Night

A truly satisfying night wouldn’t be complete without a cup of coffee. Visit Las Casitas de Angela, a hotel beside the Rizal Promenade. This exquisite hotel doesn’t only offer wonderful rooms at value prices; they also house the Coffee Mood Coffee Shop. Spend an easy time with a warm cup of coffee and a Mexican-inspired ambience. After a lot of partying and a lot of very satisfying meals, this should pretty much sum up everything well. And a bit of a reminder, go slow on the caffeine. You deserve a very good sleep after a tour around Rizal Street!

That deep sleep should re-energize you for another tour around Davao’s main streets one of these days. And we’ll make sure you’ll be up for that. Until next time! Have a good time in Davao City everyone!

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This article on Rizal Street is written by Randolph Reserva. In Davao, you don’t have to go far to have Good Food, Good Coffee and Good Music. They are all in one street, according to Randolph.

What’s special about the city of Davao is that it never fails to offer us a special mix of the south’s cultural identity and some new age savvy. It truly is a melting pot of diverse cultures, enriched by the constant convergence of tourists from all parts of the globe; while at the same time keeping its Mindanao character intact. Such richness in culture is very evident in the city’s streets, not only during big festivals like the Araw ng Davao or the Kadayawan. On a day to day basis, this image of an exquisite city is reflected no far better than the city’s streets itself.

So fuel your imagination up and join us today as we walk you through one of Davao’s fastest growing streets, the Roxas Avenue.

M. Roxas Avenue

Named after the 5th president of the Philippines, the Manuel Roxas Avenue stretches for about a kilometer right through metro Davao. Since the construction of the famous Marco Polo Hotel of Davao on one of its ends, the street has seen nothing but continuous development. After all, with the constant movement of people in and around the street (the street actually serves as a vital converging point for public transportation routes, while two prominent schools are in the area), it’s inevitable for the street to become a commercial domain. We say, this promising street should turn word class in the near future, and we just can’t wait.

Aldevinco Shopping Center

Before the big shopping malls of Davao, there was the Aldevinco Shopping Center. Located on the corner of C.M. Recto and Roxas streets, this shopping establishment offers true Mindanawon taste. This place is well-known for its boutiques that sell indigenous souvenir items on a wide variety – from clothes to shawls and jewelries, even special souvenirs such as tribal swords. This is where you go if you want to bring something with a touch of Mindanao back home. And don’t worry, if it happens that you’re short of Philippine pesos because you had a very good time shopping, you can exchange your foreign currencies at the Money Changers (forex) found in here as well. They offer good exchange rates too!

Chippens Restaurant

Need a place to go to satisfy your appetite? Roxas Avenue will never disappoint. A few meters walk from the Marco Polo Hotel should bring you to Paseo de Roxas Arcade, where the Chippens Restaurant is. Chippens is known for its buffet that offers a very wide variety of dishes – from appetizers to main courses, to mouth-watering desserts. How much, you ask? At an affordable price of PhP 286 per person, you can indulge yourself for as much as you can.

You can find Chippens at the Paseo de Roxas Arcarde, Roxas Avenue. Tel. Nos. (082) 225-4498, 225-8264

C5 Dormitel

The first luxury dormitory in Davao as they call it, the C5 Dormitel looks nothing short of posh from whatever angle you look at it. And if you thought that its rates would be too posh to handle as well, you’re just deceived by its looks. Daily transient rates can be as cheap as PhP 650 for a single deluxe room and PhP 1,100 for a double deluxe room. Suite rooms are available starting at PhP 1,300, with complete amenities including cable TV and hot and cold shower.

Apart from this, they also offer affordable monthly rates. You can get a room for as low PhP 9,000. Tourists who are planning to stay long in the city should consider staying in this Dormitel. They don’t only offer good rates when it comes to room accommodations; the whole establishment has everything a tourist should ever need. A business center, beauty salon, boutique shop, coffee shop, laundry shop, and travel agency among many others can be found in the whole compound.

Too bad, they don’t get a lot of travel publicity?

At Davao Traveler, it doesn’t escape our attention. If it’s good to feature, we’ll be there to do it. FREE of charge… FREE as in like the air you breath. How about that?

To inquire about C5, contact them at these Business Number: (082)-228-6186

Chicco de Café

We all love cozy coffee shops don’t we? Roxas Avenue isn’t short of that either. Two blocks from the Marco Polo Hotel, you can find Chicco de Café, Davao’s newest coffee sensation. With owners who studied the art of coffee making from overseas, this café surely captures the taste a traveler would love to savor. In fact, the name “Chicco” (Kiko as pronounced) is the Italian word for “coffee bean”. And you probably guessed it right when you thought that this coffee shop imports coffee beans from none other than Italy itself!

Fancy isn’t it? It doesn’t stop there. This café was designed to reflect the coziness of an American home. Aside from that, you can also surf the Net with the Wi-Fi in the place while you revel in your cup of coffee.

Chicco de Café is open from 8:00 am – 12:00 am from Mondays thru Thursdays, and 8:00 am – 2:00 from Fridays to Saturdays.

Address: Corner Roxas Avenue and Padre Faura Streets, Davao City.

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So there you go! That’s Roxas Avenue for you folks. We hope you got a lot of info from our tour. Of course, there’s no better substitute for knowing the place than feeling it yourself. So, whenever you’re in Davao, be sure to visit this avenue. There’s just so much to discover that we’re sure you’ll have a fun time walking the entire length of this avenue.

Anyway, see you next time for another travel tour in another street, all in the same city. Enjoy your stay in Davao!

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“Life At Roxas Avenue” is another piece written by Randolph Reserva.

Have you heard of a place in Davao City called Ulas? If you are from Davao or have been here frequently, the answer would be a resounding “Yes.” For those who do not, here are some short descriptions:

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