Iko's Ihaw Ihaw atbp

It's funny how I always pass by this restaurant yet have officially been able to eat after 3 years since the restaurant started its operations here in Davao City.

Iko's is located nearby the Francisco Bangoy International Airport (Davao City Airport). The Davao Bloggers were invited for a food tasting event and here's what Iko's prepared for us:

Kinilaw with Pork Barbeque

Normally, Iko serves kinilaw separate from the Pork Barbeque. Although I am not much a fan of spicy hot foods, the hint of spiciness in the kinilaw is tolerable for me that I actually enjoyed eating it. The pork barbeque is tender and does not have that tocino taste. Most barbeques in the city have actually that sweet taste reminiscent of the tocino. Iko's served us with just plain pork barbecue.

Bulgogi

Bulgogi

 Iko's served us with Wrap Bulgogi. It's actually my first time to taste this Korean dish so I don't have anything else to compare it with. The sauce is called ssamjang. Iko's produces their own ssamjang sauce from soy.

Tahong

This tahong reminds me so much of baked scallops. It's sweet, buttery, and garlicky. However, it does not have any cheese on it, as what baked scallops normally have. I really recommend this dish. It only costs P120.

Halabos na Hipon

This is the most basic way to cook shrimp. Iko's Halabos na Hipon is cooked just right. It brought out the sweetness of the shrimp. The meat is very soft, juicy, and not rubbery.

Grilled Tuna Belly

The tuna belly has remained tender and juicy. This is actually one of Iko's best sellers.

Fish Steak Maya-Maya

Fish Steak Maya-Maya

I don't eat Maya-Maya. But I actually took big bites of this fish steak. I don't like the stench of Maya-Maya so I don't normally eat these kinds of fishes. However, I was amazed at how Iko's has really took time in perfecting their food preparation. This fish steak is delicious and it's not malansa, promise!

Steak

What more good way to serve steak than with wine?

Rib Eye Steak with Country Fries

The Rib Eye Steak with Country Fries is also a first for me - first time to me to eat medium rare meat, that is! I was nervous that I wouldn't like the taste and was actually imagining how gory it would be to have blood on my plate. Surprisingly, I liked the medium rare kind of cooking. There's actually no blood, it's the juice of the meat and cooking the meat in medium rare actually makes it soft and juicy on the inside. With medium rare, you really don't have to chew hard or chew so much. (--,) And by the way, the country fries are also my favorite!

Beef Salpicao

This is my favorite dish in Iko's. I'm sorry that I could not describe it enough: it's simply delicious!

Pinakbet

This is probably the best-looking pinakbet that I've ever encountered! Rice, vegetables (talong, ampalaya, kalabasa, and sitaw) and a big chunk of bagnet were all piled up and topped with the bagoong sauce. I call it the gourmet pinakbet. This preparation was specially done for us that night and we were really surprised at how the humble pinakbet was taken to a higher level in terms of food presentation.

Chicken Binakol

Chicken binakol is a chicken soup which makes use of buko juice instead of water. I love buko juice and having this soup made not just with buko juice but also with buko strips was truly a delight. We ended the night with this soup and all I can say is that I was really full and satisfied.

My apologies for some of the blurry photos. It's hard to take photos when you just want to indulge in eating what's served in front of you.

Thank you very much to Mr. Ferdinand Galeno, the owner of Iko's, for inviting us to this sumptuous feast. I have never eaten so much in one seating! The 5-hour dinner that we had was a really great time to know Iko's and the food that they served. We also learned a lot of cooking tips and tricks that night.