Innumerable Merco Visit

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Merco's Halo-halo for 79 Pesos

If you grew up in Davao, it is nearly impossible that you haven't been to Merco.  Started doing business since 1946, Merco became Davaoenos home grown bakeshop famous for their cakes, banana split, halo-halo, mais con hielo, pastries and many more. Its first branch was located in San Pedro. Today, Merco has more than 35 branches all over Davao.

Starbucks Coffee: Waking Up Davao?

The first-ever Starbucks Coffee in Davao City has finally opened along with other shops during the opening of Abreeza Ayala Mall last May 12, 2011. 

Easing Hunger at Jaltan Food Centrum

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Yummy fruit salad composed of banana, avocado, watermelon and mango.

C.M. Recto Street -  it's one in the afternoon and Mr. Sun, the untiring heat giver was probably having a bad day. It's so hot and we're looking for a place to dine. We found this air-conditioned fast-food restaurant perfect to oppose the sunny day.

Bluewaters Village and Resort - Samal Escapade Part 1

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Five minutes of motor boat ride in their very own boat M/B Danica from Lanang, Davao City to one of Samal's pride resort, the Bluewaters Village and Resort. Showcasing their white sand beach and swimming pools the whole family will surely enjoy.

Lunch at Karlyn's

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Steak a la Pobre

Started three years ago, Karlyn's became famous because of their Steak a la pobre and Lengua (beef tongue). Unfortunately, lengua was already not available during our visit because it's already afternoon (2 o'clock) and a lot of customers ordered it during morning and lunch time. That is how popular their lengua is. We have no choice but to order another specialty, the steak a la pobre. 

Merco's Banana Split

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Bolton Street - Merco's Banana Split comes with three different ice cream flavors with yummy frosting and chocolate syrup for only 92 pesos! 

Grilled Pork (Sugba-Sugba sa Beach!)

Summer time! Outing is definitely number-1 in our "what-to-do list". Me and my friends have decided to just make it simple and cheaper this time. So we went to Bago Beach (Gulf View), the nearest beach in my house. The cottage rental is just PhP150 and the entrance per person is PhP10 (beat that!). Pwede pod mo moagi sa Salakot libre lang haha. 

Every beach gathering will never be complete without food and grilled food is among the easiest to prepare, perhaps. Some marinate the pork over night but in our case we had just bought the pork. So we just smeared a little amount of salt on it and we're ready to grill. The sauce (sawsawan) will just make a difference on its taste. 

San Pedro Street: Suroy Ta!

Hot Cake, Buko Juice and Maruya

Sunday - day of worship for the Catholics. People are flooding at San Pedro Cathedral for the Sunday Mass. Outside, vendors are glad for the numbers of people walking along the street of San Pedro, another day of profit for them. A usual scene every Sunday, I paused and glanced at every people - different kinds of people are having a great day at San Pedro. Peers, families and lovers are all welcomed by the smiling faces of the vendors in this outdoor mall.

Salbaro / Sitsiritsit

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Sitsiritsit, commonly known as salbaro or salvaro (not sure about the spelling) is a crunchy snack made of cassava and melted sugar on top of it adding the sweet taste. I used to call it CD before as in compact disc since I don't know what it's called. You can find this crunchy snack in several beaches of Davao and Samal. Also, if you're in downtown, I'm sure there's a vendor of salbaro at San Pedro Cathedral. 

I've had a little chat with the salbaro vendor at Bago Beach about the process of making salbaro.

Gardena Fresca Garden Pond and Grill

Oftentimes, we don’t have time to relax and eat in a paradise-like place which most likely can be found in country places. We live in a city and fast food chain and carenderia are the best options for busy people including students. Well, FYI, I’ve found this kind of (hidden) place in Matina which you couldn’t imagine that there’s a paradise inside that very common-looking village (Coca-Cola Village). I was amazed and shocked to find out that there is a big pond inside, the pond of Gardena Fresca.

Kinutil: Tuba Chocolate

Wow! Look at that....! The one she's holding. It's TUBA.  Not the usual tuba that we know. This one is reeeeally great! Why? Because of it's chocolate taste. Something bizarre? No it's not. It's very common in Davao especially in the beaches of Bago, Toril and Times (Ecoland). Formerly favorite of lasenggeros alone, but not anymore. Tuba has gone a long way. From the typical tuba of our lolo, now we have "kinutil". Maybe they were sick of the taste of tuba and experimented something new, something weird but turned out great.