Davao Treats

I found several treats at the Davao airport.  Didn't have any time to buy the usual pomelo and mangosteen pasalubong, so I merely shopped at the pre-departure area of the airport.  As you can see, I found a few interesting treats that are made in Davao.  The first snack that caught my eye was Biscone, which somehow looked familiar. As I picked up the pack, I remembered that Vicky had bought this cookie some years back.  The Biscone is a wafer cookie that is the round version of the ice cream sugar cone.  Thin and crunchy, this cookie is sweet, has a buttery taste, and for me is best eaten with milk, hot chocolate or hot coffee. A  pack costs P40.  The Hochas, on the other hand, is much like the Biscone, but slightly less sweet.  Also wafer thin, the Hochas is flat like  a communion host, much larger and without the ridges of the wafer cookie.  I would say that this is the flattened version of the barquillos.  Nice to have with a little butter or jam.  This was available only in big boxes, so I picked up a box (P250) just to try.  Finally, I chose the Trappistine crinkles to complete my grocery cart.  These cookies are made by Trappist sisters and come in different kinds of flavors--chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.  A pack cost me P140, which, by the way, helps in maintaining the abbey.  All these items, proudly made in Davao--something new to try!

Shamcey Supsup

Go go Shamcey!  While at the gym of the Marco Polo Hotel, the gym attendant told me that Shamcey Supsup, the 2011 Philippine representative to the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant managed to place 3rd Runner-Up in the much loved contest.  That"s super! Shamcey is a combination of beauty and brains (she is an architect who graduated Magna cum Laude at the University of the Philippines, and a board top-notcher at that!) and we are very proud of her achievement.  Marvelous job, Shamcey!

Marco Polo Davao

This overnight trip to Davao was pretty hectic and the flight made me dizzy--literally that is, as I don't like flying.  I forgot to take my air-sickness tablets so the touchdowns in both Davao and Manila gave me a ringing buzz in my head.  Arriving in Davao at lunchtime, I was pretty much disoriented, it least I felt much better when we checked in at the Marco Polo Davao Hotel which is one of the best hotels in Davao City (I understand it is a 4-star hotel).  After some business meetings I had to endure, I took off to unwind at the pool, and felt much much better.  We then had dinner at the Lotus Court, their Chinese restaurant which had a very nice view of the city.  I understand that the restaurant features a new promotion--a dimsum buffet every Saturday for only P488, which is very reasonable, given the quality of the food.  We had duck soup, beef and asparagus, stuffed prawns and tofu with vegetables, and I found the pricing to be reasonable given that the restaurant was the best Chinese restaurant in the city--an average spend of P750 per head.  For the next day's breakfast, we had a buffet at the Cafe Marco, which had a wide variety of cold and hot local and international dishes on the menu.  Their poolside bistro, the Polo, is well-situated and has a cozy ambience and feel, and I wished that I had taken Vicky, Monique and Andrea to this restaurant in our last family trip to Davao in 2009.  My friend had time to work out at the gym, and I was quite impressed with the equipment.  Nice place to stay when one is in Davao, corporate rates are around P4,500 per room per night, but the rack rates are something like P8,000 per room per night.

Ya Kun Kaya Toast

Just arrived from an overnight business trip from Davao, and as we were waiting for the Davao flight at the NAIA Terminal 2, my friend took me for breakfast at the Ya Kun Kaya Toast coffee shop.  They serve uniquely Singaporean style coffee which is "pulled" or poured in a long stream onto another pot, in order to bring out the full body and taste of the coffee.  This, I understand has been the practice since the 40s, and along with the coffee, we had toast with kaya (coconut jam) and butter, and 2 soft-boiled eggs (which I love since I don't find this often).  This is probably the only coffee shop in Manila that serves soft-boiled eggs on a regular basis!  Very reasonable, one can have breakfast for P150.

Tapa King

Went with some of my colleagues to Clark Field for some meetings last week, and our usual early morning breakfast ritual is a stop at Tapa King at the Total gas station right after the Candaba aqueduct.  Leaving our meeting place at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao at the early time of 7:30 am can take its toll on my body, and after driving for an hour, I just have to appease my grumbly tummy!  Tapa King was been around since the late eighties, taking flight from the Tapsilog (tapa, sinangag at itlog) craze during that era.  Their "Royale" plate consists of 3-4 slices of good beef tapa, 2 eggs and a cupful of garlic rice, for P165. The classic plate has smaller beef slices, and goes for P135, but has only 1 egg.  After our 30 minute pit stop cum coffee break, we were off to Clark just in time to catch our 9:30 am meeting!

Mary Grace

I have long been a fan of Mary Grace products, their cheese roll and ensaymada are among the best in their class.  I have always bought their fruit cake for giveaways at Christmastime, but until yesterday, I have not tried any of their cakes.  Erika brought two Mary Grace cakes to celebrate Julian's birthday-- chocolate cake with white glazing and tiramisu, and both were absolutely wonders to the palate.  We opened them at Rich St. Deli, and Julian & Vicky enjoyed the chocolate cake while I loved the tiramisu--creamy, not too sweet, bursting with coffee flavor and with just the right bitterness from the cocoa topping.  Absolute pastry delights!  As I have no idea of the pricing, I would probably place the cakes at around P800 each.

Pepeton's

Was invited to lunch for my brother-in-law Julian's birthday celebration today at Pepeton's Grill and Restaurant along Mother Ignacia St. in Quezon City, around the area of Tropical Hut & National Bookstore.  I was told that this restaurant has been around for a few years, but I've been passing this area for sometime now, and until today, I haven't had the foggiest notion of what to expect.  Well, we found out it was good Fillipino food!  We had sinigang na hipon (shrimps) and bulalo (beef soup) for starters, green mango salad topped with crispy hito (catfish), gising-gising (spinach in coconut milk), chicken adobo, liver adobo, fried catfish, and the specialty of the house--Kapalmuks (literally, "thick face" which is the name of crispy fried pig's head, or should I  call if pork face).  Cholesterol galore!  But the fear was only for an instant, as we don't get to eat this on a regular basis anyway...hehehe..  I felt the Mexican-inspired decor lent a warm cozy feeling to the place; the restaurant has function rooms for private parties, and I understand that at night time, the open-air portion at the second floor turns into a drinking place, and this is usually packed, especially on Friday and Saturday, when the office people around the area unwind.  The restaurant also delivers Kapalmuks and other menu items around the QC area.  All in all, the place is a great find.  I'd estimate a budget of around P400 per head for a bloated tummy!