Partoza Durian Farms

Partoza Durian Farms is located at Brgy. Biao Escuela, Tugbok District, Davao City. It was more than an hour's drive from downtown Davao and finding the place is kind of tricky. For you not to get lost, Partoza Durian Farms has strategically placed some signage pointing to the farm and a very good landmark for you to look for is the Biao Escuela National High School. Once you've found Biao Escuela National High School, take the dirt road and you'll be at Partoza Durian Farms in less than one minute.

It was a refreshing site to see lots of beautiful garden flowers upon arriving at the Partoza Durian Farms. It didn't look like a farm to me, it was more of a rest house that offers relaxation and retreat from the hustle and bustle of city living. Don't get confused, Partoza Durian Farms is still within the City of Davao but it is located in the serene countryside.

The owners envision to make Partoza Durian Farms to be a haven of joy and peace. During our stay, we were treated to a 30-minute tour around the farm which introduced us not only to a lot of fruits such as durian and banana, but also gave us a chance to get to know some spices at the herb garden. It was both exciting and scary at the goat and vermiculture interaction center but most of us enjoyed the experience, and we also learned a lot of information about Durian inside the Remedios House. The tour is not complete without a hefty dinner served at the Malaya House.

Partoza Durian Farms now accepts guests who would like to visit there. You can contact them at http://www.facebook.com/PartozaDurianFarms.

Karlyn's Food Station

Although I have been to Karlyn's Food Station 100 times, I haven't written a single post about this little restaurant located in Doñs Luisa Village, Ecoland, Davao City. And I only have one reason for failing to feature them on my humble blog: I always consume the food first before actually thinking about taking snapshots. This one lucky night, I was able to capture the delectable food at Karlyn's.

Beef Caldereta P60.00

Beef Caldereta is everybody's favorite. You can bite into the tender beef chunks and be greeted with a sweet and delicious fusion of flavors in your mouth. It's topped with grated cheese and who puts cheese on their caldereta, maybe only Karlyn's. I'm pretty sure that every plate of caldereta served to their customers would always be simu't sarap!

Bulalo P150.00

A big bowl of Bulalo only costs P150.00 and I declare that it is good for 4 persons. If you just want the Bulalo soup, it's free and you can even ask for refills. This is a good dish to warm your body during cool nights, but weather aside, it's perfect for any occasion, even sipping a cup of this Bulalo would complement your already steaming lunch time noon break. 

Chicken with Corn and Tomato P60.00

We're not done eating, yet. This Chicken dish with corn and tomato might discourage you at first sight considering that it's sitting on grease. I did mind the oil but it did not prevent me from having a bite. Forget about my chicken allergies, this dish is really good and I did not even expect something great from chicken. I love this, and my sister liked this so much that she did not let me have any more bites.

What I love most about Karlyn's aside from their delicious food is that their menu is easy on the pocket. As you can see from the prices posted above, you can get very delicious and highly nutritious meals for around P80 if you order one viand and one rice. A cup of rice costs P18.00. And on top of that delicious meal, Karlyn's Food Station offers all of their customers a serving of FREE minatamis na saging as the concluding piece of every meal.

Karlyn's has two branches: Ecoland and Maa. The Ecoland branch is open for lunch and dinner with official restaurant hours from 10:30AM to 2:00PM and 5:30PM to 9:30PM. Meanwhile, the Maa branch is open from 9:00AM to 9:00PM. 

Contact Numbers:
Karlyn's Ecoland 3032752

Karlyn's Maa 3107219 

Cafe Andessa

Tired of the old noisy bars in the city? Then drive up North toward Cabantian and discover a quiet place to dine at Cafe Andessa. The restaurant is small and could accommodate a few small groups but don't underestimate this restaurant because they have wide choices in their menu ready to satiate even the most picky eater.

Pork Spare Ribs - P175.00

This Pork Spare Ribs has this special sweet sauce that left me licking my fingers. The serving is generous. These pieces of pork spare ribs has left my date ordering his second cup of rice. The meat is well cooked, tender, and delicious.

Garlic Pork Chops - P170.00

I love garlic and I love pork, and this Garlic Pork Chop is a good combination! The taste? Delicious, though I was kind of looking for the garlicky taste to be prominent. There isn't much but a faint trace of garlic so this dish is still safe for those who are not a fan of the pungent bulb.

Laing - P95.00

This Filipino favorite, Laing, is made mainly from gabi leaves and coconut milk which we locally call as gata.  Some versions of laing may have bulad (tuyo in Tagalog) and other versions have pieces of pork. Other traditional versions stick only to the gabi leaves and coconut milk tandem. I forgot to ask whether they used the traditional gata (the one where you squeeze out milk from shredded coconut meat), or use the canned coconut cream/milk. Either way, the Laing is delicious and had the right amount of spiciness, it was a perfect pair to our pork dishes.

You can visit Cafe Andessa at Cabantian Road. Call them at 3029314.

Chef Lu: a Taste of Hongkong now in Davao City

Who is Chef Lu? Chef Lu is a Hong Kong-trained master chef. He has been teaching cooking lessons for the past 40 years in Manila. If you're familiar with Mandarin Tea Garden here in Davao, then you'd be glad to know that Chef Lu was actually the one who brought it in Davao.

What makes Chef Lu different from other Chinese restaurants in Davao City? Chinese, and lovers of Chinese food, would actually appreciate Chef Lu's authentic Chinese cooking. Food served in Chef Lu are those which are not offered in the other Chinese restaurants in Davao City.

Last June 16, 2013, Davao Bloggers and the other delegates of the Davao Food Appreciation Tour 2013 (DFAT 2013) were served with unique and delicious Chinese food from Chef Lu. It was a great way to introduce the restaurant who opened a new and bigger branch in the downtown area. The first branch of Chef Lu was established in Lapu-Lapu Street, Agdao, Davao City. This year, Chef Lu opened a restaurant at CM Recto Street, in between RCBC and Veterans Bank.

Opening this new branch has made authentic Chinese food more accessible to Davaoeños. Let's take a look at what's inside their menu....

Here's what's on my plate:

Clockwise: Vegetarian Spring Roll, Bean Curd Roll, Salted Dumpling, Mom's Hopia, and the Noodles with Spicy Meat Sauce

Let's get to know these dishes one by one:

Bean Curd Roll or Oyster Sauce Fresh Bamboo Roll, it is wrapped in Bean Curd Skin. It contains bamboo shoots, lean meat, roasted pork or asado, and some mushrooms. This may be a simple dish but the ingredients of this Bean Curd Roll are really great in cooling the body and reducing spasms caused in the gall bladder.

Vegetarian Spring Roll is, you guessed it, made purely from vegetables. It has carrots, black fungus, mushroom, bean yam (singkamas), pressed bean curd (tokwa), bamboo shoots, and bean sprouts (togue).  It comes with its special sauce. 

Salted Dumplings. If you're familiar with tikoy then you will surely think of that sweet sticky dessert when you're eating Chef Lu's salted dumplings. The outer shell is made of glutinous rice flour but what's different about it is that it's a bit crunchy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. The filling is made up of pork, mushroom, shrimps, preserved radish, and spring onions, all shredded into pieces and salted to perfection. This is my favorite dish at Chef Lu's and its affordable at P75 for 3 pieces.

Cantonese Mom's Hopia is also one of my favorites. It's sized just right and costs P15 a piece. It is made from wintermelon and is a great dessert after a full meal. This is also a great pasalubong for the kids at home. It's both delicious and healthy.

Noodles with Spicy Meat Sauce. It has ground peanuts, spring onions. They say that this is the Chinese version of the famous Spaghetti. The noodle actually reminds me a lot of the wanton noodles back in Mandarin Tea Garden.Sauce contains shallots, dried shrimps, preserved black bean, salted yellow beans, fried pigs skin, ground pork and sizzled with spices to taste. The noodle used is called “Egg noodles” .These noodles are made of wheat flour, egg and water.

What's also great about Chef Lu is that they have this special concoction of different fruit concentrates like cherry, strawberry, mango and orange, which has now become their House Blend Iced Tea. This iced tea is so refreshing and guarantees NO AFTER TASTE. You can get bottomless servings of this iced tea for only P45. A glass costs P25.

By the way, Chef Lu is proud of their moon cakes. Customers are actually saying that Chef Lu Moon Cakes are better and tastier than any other moon cake on the market. The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Cake Festival, is going to be held on September 19, 2013 and Chef Lu is all set and ready for the coming festival. Their Moon Cakes are 100% hand made and guaranteed with more than 35 years of superior craftsmanship, taste, and quality at the most reasonable price and mostly imported ingredients. They normally sell 2,000 boxes of these Moon Cakes and Davao is so fortunate that for 3 years now, these Moon Cakes are being freshly made in Davao.

Other food that might interest you in Chef Lu are Lechon Kawali (Lechon Macau, which is actually a healthier pork dish) and the Peking Duck. One of Chef Lu's plans is to serve Premium Beef Steaks at the second floor of the restaurant. Chef Lu also serves Rice Toppings with prices ranging from P65 to P85.

Bistro Rosario Brownie Ice Cream Cake

Are you looking for a dessert station to satisfy your sweet cravings? Not all people know this but famous cake shop in Torres has already opened a branch in Ecoland, near SM City Davao.

Bistro Rosario is now accessible to the people of South Davao. It's a short walk away from SM Annex and although their little shop can just accommodate a few customers, their famous cakes such as Mango Charlotte and Blueberry Charlotte are on stock ready for take out.

The photos on this post are that of Bistro Rosario's Brownie Ice Cream Cake. A slice costs P70. Now let's take a closer look....

This brownie ice cream cake is, of course, sweet. It's made up of alternate piles of ice cream and brownies with a cake as its base. There are chocolate chips and some more chunky sweets on top. I honestly could not finish one slice alone so it's best to share this brownie ice cream cake with a friend or loved one.

Sweet!

Chocolate Bowl | Win a Cake!

Would you like to win a cake from Chocolate Bowl? Then read on until the end of this post and you might be one of the lucky people who could take home cakes, cupcakes, and other sweet treats from our friends at Chocolate Bowl!

Chocolate Bowl is a brainchild of twin sisters Charisse and Charmaine Cariño. These twin sisters are close to my heart because they're my high school classmates. I could exactly remember the first sweet treat that I tasted from them: chocolate crinkles! They baked it back in high school and I was just so amazed at how these twin sisters could bake such chocolatey and chewey crinkles way better than the bakeshop near our school. And at the age of 11 or 12, they are very very good!

No wonder why Charisse and Charmaine eventually found themselves at the food business. I'm one of their avid fans and I'm also one of their loyal customers. Now that the twin sisters are running a giveaway on Facebook, I can't help but share them to you, my dear readers, so that you can have a chance in tasting the delectable cakes and other desserts from Chocolate Bowl!

How to enter? Just follow these steps:

1. LIKE Chocolate Bow's Page. You can do it below: 
2. LIKE this post (be sure to click the link) and share it to your friends and family. Put a comment of your favorite dessert (ex. I love Cupcakes!) and thats it!  Chocolate Bowl will randomly select 3 winners using the online raffle machine. Announcement of WINNERS will be on June 3, 2013.

Prizes: --Absolutely FREE--

(1) A 6" fondant theme Cake (For Pick-up, Davao and Manila residents only)
(2) A box of Chocolate Bowl's Ultimate Fudge Brownie and Chocolate Chip Cookies. (May be shipped anywhere in the Philippines.)
(3) 1 dozen Cupcakes with these 2 amazing flavors: Chocolate Moist with chocolate ganache & Tahitian vanilla Bean with white chocolate Ganache. (For Pick-up, Davao and Manila residents only)

Good luck, everyone!

Note: This giveaway is on Facebook and not on this website.

Cucina Ilocana | Bagnet

Remember our first visit to Cucina Ilocana where we talked about that hot salad? We visited Cucina Ilocana one more time to try their Bagnet.

What is BAGNET?

Bagnet P160.00

Bagnet is crispy pork belly. What makes it different from the traditional pork chop or lechon kawali is that bagnet is cooked twice: first, it is cooked in boiling water; second, it is fried in cooking oil under the desired crispiness of the pork skin is achieved.

Cucina Ilocana's bagnet did not disappoint. The pork skin was crispy and crunchy, cooked without drying the meat.

What's the best partner for bagnet other than rice? What we ordered is not just your ordinary steamed white rice. We ordered Maregmeg Rice. Maregmeg rice contains tiny pieces of Ilocano chorizo.

Maregmeg Rice P50.00

For dessert, we had brownie alamode. 

Bownie a la Mode P85.00

Again, it was a satisfying treat at Cucina Ilocana. The food is good and the prices are within our budget. We'll be trying other dishes next time. Come back for more Cucina Ilocana posts from Swexie.me.

Hollywood Burger + Happy Lemon

While visiting The Peak at Gaisano Mall of Davao

Happy Lemon Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese
photographed inside Hollywood Burger

Hmmm, was this called Double Burger?

Happy Lemon Cocoa w/ Rock Salt &Cheese
cost: P100.00

Kevin Bacon at Hollywood Burger

I recently tried Kevin Bacon at Hollywood Burger and I was impressed. The burger is a little too big for my appetite but I enjoyed it a lot. The taste is awesome and the customer service is great at Hollywood Burger. Why did I say great? Because I was having a lot of requests from the crew and they were all accommodating.

Happy Lemon's Cocoa with rock salt and cheese it also featured in this post. This is actually my first time to try Happy Lemon and I will have to say that I still prefer Green Coffee's rock salt and cheese series. But what's great about this happy lemon drink is that I did not have tummy trouble. I couldn't finish some of Green Coffee's delicious drinks without my lactose intolerance ruining my day for me.

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

The Metro Burgers | Hawaiian Burger

Do you want to take a bite on this Hawaiian Burger from The Metro Burgers? You  might be wondering, "where's the cheese?" Oh, there's no need for cheese, baby! Just take a bite and you'll discover the cheese inside that very juicy patty!

I was invited at the service run through and food tasting at The Metro Burgers held last February 16. The burger joint officially opened last February 18, 2013. It is located at Juan dela Cruz Street, Davao City.

The photo you see above is seriously the best photo that I've ever taken using my trusty Samsung Schneider, a point-and-shoot camera. And I achieved that amazing photo (which still makes me drool looking at that Hawaiian Burger) because food photography tricks and tips were given simultaneous with our visit at The Metro Burgers. By the way, The Metro Burgers is owned by Eight Espino, one of the most demanded wedding photographers here in Davao City.

Let me tell you my experience with The Metro Burgers:

The Hawaiian Burger costs P100. It's price is way below than the other burger joints but the size of The Metro Burgers' Hawaiian Burger is also smaller compared to that of Backyard Burger or Hollywood Burger. Personally, I think that the price is commensurate to its size, it's neither too big nor too small. I finished the burger without feeling umay. I was full but not fed up. I think that it's important to consider the size of the burgers because sometimes all the burger joints are actually making their burger bigger and bigger without realizing that customers might have a hard time finishing their burger meal. Masasayang lang kung hindi maubos, diba? And to get the most value for your money, you just have to pay exactly for what you eat.

The Hawaiian Burger is sweet, thanks to that big slice of pineapple on top of the patty. I did not find anything special with their sauce but the patty has the taste that I want, plus the added benefit of having the cheese inside the patty which doesn't make it too hard for me to take a bite. I don't usually eat burgers outside because it's messy to eat one. I like that I did not have a hard time finishing my Hawaiian Burger from The Metro Burgers because of the simplicity of their burger. It wasn't messy in so far as there were no pieces of tomato, onion, or whatever falling off my burger.

In The Metro Burgers, I think that those who have large appetites can just order two burgers or order their Double Burger for P150. You can find The Metro Burgers on Facebook, click here.

Little Kate's Kitchen

I pass by Little Kate's Kitchen almost everyday, wondering what food they offer. Little Kate's Kitchen is located along McArthur Highway, Matina, Davao City. It is on the same building as ACLC Matina, a stone's throw away from the NCCC Mall of Davao.

Lechon Kawali (P120)

We ordered Lechon Kawali and their bestseller, Grilled Spareribs. Lead time before our plates were served to us was about 10 to 15 minutes. The lechon kawali was crispy and tasted just right. It just smelled a little bit too much "pork" for me but it tasted good (it's pork, anyway). The soy sauce that goes with it is good, too, hehehe!

Grilled Spareribs (P160)

Now I can see why their Grilled Spareribs is a bestseller! For only P160, you can actually indulge in this very delicious meal. I like the Grilled Spareribs. I wish that the meat was a little bigger and I wouldn't mind paying more (maybe not more than P250) if they give me another piece of it. It seems that the serving was small considering that I really love the taste of the food and I would have wanted to eat more of it. The meat was  juicy, tender, a bit sweet, and good to the bones! I'm sure you will love it, too.

Little Kate's Kitchen is not crowded and though the place is small, they have organized their tables in a way that customers will still feel comfortable moving around. An LCD TV hangs above the door and provides entertainment to their patrons.

By the way, they serve delicious Mango Shake, too, for only P60.

A Taste of Blugre

Choco Torte with Cream Sauce

Blugre is one of the top places that I go to whenever I have some visitors who are coming to Davao City. Because Davao is known for Durian, I'd like my visitors to have a taste of the famous fruit. So what if my friends have their own prejudices about durian and wouldn't want to experience the pleasure of eating it? We have a lot of alternatives in Davao including Blugre's Gatchpuccino and Larcepuccino

Cheese Roll Bites

Gatchpuccino is the old name of the famous hot durian coffee drink, Durian Capuccino, it's cappuccino with a shot of espresso and is Blugre's signature drink. If you want an ice-cold durian drink, you can go for the Larcepuccino, which is the cold version of the Gatchpuccino. Larcepuccino is my favorite!

Tuna Cheese Melt

Aside from coffee, a lot of desserts are also being served by Blugre. During our visit at Blugre Gaisano Mall of Davao, Ms. Joanne B. Siy, the VP for Operations of Blugre gave us a taste of their Cheese Roll Bites, Choco Torte with Cream Sauce, and Tuna Cheese Melt. We were also served with Iced Raspberry which instantly made friends with my taste buds.

Next time you visit Davao, be sure to drop by the different branches of Blugre in Landco Corporate Building, Gaisano Mall of Davao, and Matina Town Square. A new branch will soon open at HMPC Davao Doctors College Building on February 28, 2013. See you there!

Cucina Ilocana | Salad Oh, Init Pa!

Chancing upon this little food stall located at the Mabini Commercial Complex in V. Mapa St. Davao City, gave me and beau a bunch of surprise! Thanks to Kaye for recommending Cucina Ilocana, we can now enjoy the true taste of Ilocos right in the middle of Davao. Cucina Ilocana opened last August 2012, in time for the Kadayawan sa Davao celebration.

We were there for snacks and the staff recommended their best-seller Empanada which costs only P40.00. This is, seriously, the biggest empanada that I've seen.

Let's look at what's inside the empanada....

The empanada was made out of shredded papaya. And yes, it will surely remind you of the good-old-favorite-Pinoy-side-dish, the atsara! But this empanada does not taste like atsara. Cucina Ilocana's empanada has ground meat and eggs in it. Now, it reminds me of siopao! But this is not siopao, it's empanada.

The empanada is best eaten with Cucina Ilocana's very own vinegar.

Let's see what's for dessert.... Aside from the brownie a'la mode, Cucina Ilocana has this Knickbocker which costs only P85.00.

The Knickbocker is simply fruit salad topped with an ice cream. If you're familiar with the tagline, "salad o, init pa," then this dessert would surely remind you of that. Why? Because the salad is not your typical out-of-the-freezer dessert. Although I did not really see the preparation of the Knickbocker, it was served to me at room temperature. It has no ice in it. Only the scoop of ice cream is cold. If I remember it correctly, the Knickbocker had slices of watermelon, mango, and banana, with some gelatin. I loved this dessert, it's filling and it's healthy.

Our first visit at Cucina Ilocana was a pleasant one. And because of that, we gave Cucina Ilocana a second visit to try their famous Bagnet! Stay tuned for the post! (--,)

Matina Town Square | Whistl'top Bar

Whistle Top Bar at Matina Town Square (MTS) is one of my favorite hangout places because of their comfortable seats inside the bar. I usually go there for their generous serving of fries and burgers. It's like an American diner/bar with a wall dedicated to caricatures of famous people.

Daiquiri P50.00

Check out what's on Whistle Top's Menu:

Cindy Lauper: It's not actually the American singer/songwriter/actress on their menu but this sizzling plate of tenderloin tips is named after her.

Cindy LauperP185.00

The Cindy Lauper tenderloin tips is actually one of my favorites in Whistle Top. The sauce is sweet with a little bit of saltiness into it. It's so flavorful and the meat is cooked just right. I love the onions, slices of red bell peppers, and mushroom that would really satisfy your every bite.

Next on the menu: Roger Moore, which is actually burger steak, still served on a sizzling plate. At first I thought that this is some kind of breakfast menu considering the piece of sunny side up you see on the plate below but it's more than just that....

Roger Moore Burger Steak P135.00

Hey! Look inside and there you will see a generous serving of burger patty topped with some mushrooms.

Roger Moore Burger Steak was a little too sweet for my taste. I like the extra egg on top of the patty and the steak sauce that goes with it but I did not enjoy this meal as much as Cindy Lauper.

Whistle Top Bar is a great bar for hang-outs or dinner with friends. Aside from the food and drinks, you can also enjoy a game of pool for P110 an hour. There used to be videoke VIP rooms in Whistle Top Matina branch but they discontinued it. The good new is that Whistle Top has a new branch in Blue Posts Lanang. The new branch in Blue Posts has videoke VIP rooms where you can sing to your heart's content.

UPDATE 8/2013: THIS ESTABLISHMENT IS CLOSED. =(

Java Jive

Java Jive is the newly-opened coffee shop along Quirino Street, Davao City. It has been warmly welcomed by Davaoeños who love good coffee, good food, and good music.

Java Jive is Davao's newest coffee, tea, soda, and music abode. It is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. What's great about Java Jive, aside from their menu, is that they promote the local Davao talents.

As a non coffee drinker, I enjoyed my healthy alternative - fragrant Jasmine Green Tea.

Java Jive serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even midnight snacks! It's very convenient to have a 24/7 food place right in the heart of the city.

Having relaxing live music while sipping your drink is so much better than Sitti's album bossa nova replayed endlessly. You can even jam with the singers if you want to. *wink*

That's Java Jive from across the street, lighting up a part of Quirino Avenue. Java Jive is located at 1.18 Centron Building, Quirino Street, corner Gen. Luna Street, Davao City.

Like them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thejavajive