Davao, my love

in one of my friend's posts over at multiply, another friend asked her if it would be nice to live in Davao.  my friend, who is from Cebu, told her that i would be the best person to ask since i think i'm the only friend in our circle who is from here and who actually lives here now.

so this was my answer to her question:

if you want: to get many things done in a day; less smog; less traffic; more nature; a simpler life; a more laid-back life; inexpensive restaurants; easy access to cool mountain air; quick trips to the islands and white sand beaches; a typhoon-free life; cheap and abundant fruits and veggies; to live near a church, a school, a mall, a bank, a supermarket; and everything else good in between, he he,come live in DAVAO.

of course, it's much less exciting than life in bigger cities like manila and cebu ; less variety in terms of venues for gustatory delights, bars, and shopping destinations;  less 'fabulous'-looking people [meaning: people who look like they just stepped out of the fashion runway]; there aren't any skyscrapers to marvel at, and the city streets are practically devoid of cars by 2am on a weekday.

he he, i just wanted to tone it down a bit, people might think i love DAVAO too much. =P

it made me realize once again how lucky i am to live in a city like davao.  and this is something big coming from someone who always daydreams about traveling far and wide, and finding the perfect quaint little city where i can settle and live in.  and i daydream all the time, even if i'm in the middle of my thousand and one activities each day.

i realize now that each and every word i wrote about why i love DAVAO is precisely what i imagine my dream destination to be.  i'm actually living in my dream city!  of course, Davao can never be called little nor quaint, but i have everything i need here and woe is me for having only realized this now. =P


the above pic borrowed from here.

Manila's top secret buffet place [you wish!]

when my mother-in-law, told me we were going to have dinner in a buffet place which charged only P195 per head for adults, i wasn't sure what to think.  you won't find a decent place serving buffet for that low a price even here in davao.  the cheapest here is atleast P270++ per person.  so when dinner time came, i convinced myself not to expect anything and prepare for what might be a night of gastronomic disappointment.

i happily realized that my fears were unfounded as soon as we stepped into the restaurant.

 

The buffet table was filled with unexpectedly good mostly chinese fare.  and the variety was surprising!  from the more common ones like sweet and sour pork, yang chow fried rice, and pancit canton to oyster cakes, a tofu dish, steamed lapu-lapu in soy sauce.  they also had siomai, congee and bird's nest soup and even japanese chopstick-food like sushi and maki rolls complete with wasabi and kikoman.  and mind you the california maki's orange-colored roe was real [sorry, i don't know what they are called].  there was also green mango with bagoong, i thought it out of place, but many seemed to like it there.

and the dessert spread was not bad either, from fresh fruits to filipino desserts like buko pandan to chinese buchi.  i 'met' and tasted for the first time steamed egg  in a cup, i found it strange that it was in the dessert area because it was not sweet at all.  but i liked it anyway.

of course, there is a but.  with a price like that you can't expect the ambiance you get from a pricy restaurant.  you can't expect an abundance of space, nor can you expect to be able to eat in peace with soft music in the background.  we shared the place with a big group which was celebrating somebody's birthday.  of course they sang and accompanied it with a birthday cake and loud cheering and clapping as the celebrant blew the candle.  on the other side of our table was a group of co-workers probably in an impromptu after work dinner escapade, so they also contributed to the noise.  and of course add to that the other sounds you expect to hear in a busy chinese restaurant.

well, obviously it's not really a secret dining destination.  the place was filled to the brim when we arrived.  Luckily, a big group was just starting to leave so we managed to get a big round table fast.  we were 18 in all [yes, the hubby's side of the family is a big one, we weren't even complete that night] so we were kinda scattered into different tables.  we spent only P3kplus that night which really amazed us as we rang up more than double that amount in the past nights.

i would normally advise you to go there early as buffet places usually fill up easily and the quality and freshness of the food usually deteriorates by the hour, not to mention the quantity and variety.  But here it is happily different, they constantly refill all dishes and they serve them freshly prepared until an hour before closing.  so don't worry about the traffic or being late, you're sure to get good food when you arrive.

Tramway Tea House 
76 Sct.Alcaraz Street Cor. Banawe Street, Quezon City
[02]411-1565 / 410-3717
Opens from 11:30 am - 2:30 pm, 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

welcome home!

okay, the pancake house did not originate in davao but i can't help but write about it.  i don't know why but it is one of the places i like to eat and hang-out in especially when i have to go at it alone.  the food rates are not that affordable i know but the homey-ness of the place and it's bright clean interiors just make me feel right at home.  and the food selection si so varied that studying their well-made menu is one of the things i love doing before i make my order.  there's always something interesting and new to try.

but being the segurista and predictable diner, most times, i order the same thing 99% of the time.  a refillable cup of brewed coffee and my favorite [for years now] - the chicken asparagus sandwich.  until just recently [read: yesterday and today] i ended up ordering this combo, even if i intend to try something else once they hand me the menu.

yesterday afternoon, as i was not that hungry, i wanted something less filling.  i ordered the classic medley which is 2 pancakes with butter and syrup, a side order of sausages and a cup of brewed coffee.  i was careful to just put a couple of drops of syrup but i smothered on the whipped butter.  every bite was a sweet, creamy, fluffy forkful of comfort.  sure, i could make tastier pancakes with bisquick mix, but the magic of Pancake House is this:  you get what you expect.  from the pictures in the menu, to the way the food looks when it is served to you, to that first bite that you make, to the last drop of strong, freshly brewed coffee.  it is consistent, just like home.  until today that is....

today was sadly different, i had to go to SM after fetching my daughter from school.  it was 4pm and my first and only meal was a quick brunch.  i was hungry and my daughter wanted pasta.  we went straight to Pancake House   and i ordered white-sauce pasta for her [i forgot what they called it], it had shiitake mushrooms, asparagus and bacon.  i ordered a taco for myself and the usual strong coffee.  to cut my story short, only the coffee was good.  the pasta was bland and tasteless and the taco filling was 90% garnish and just 10% meat [more of meat paste, actually].

for the first time i was disappointed in my 'home away from home'.  but, no permanent harm done.  the magic is still there, i guess i'll just stick to my good old reliable chicken asparagus sandwich till the next time i'm brave enough to try something else. =P

 [that man is sitting in my favorite booth.  see me in the mirror?]

 my beloved sandwich


Pancake House
2nd Level, SM City
Davao


note:  all pictures were taken a few months ago, during a more satisfying visit.