The Amateur Tastebud: Delectable Davao

Have A Taste of Davao!
[Robbi and Kricket's Food Trips-turned Public Service!]

These reviews are long overdue and thanks to that, I have a wonderful title, haha. For the benefit of the first time readers (like i have that many!), this section is like where I can rave about some of the good, scratch that, best food I've like tasted so far. Judging from the column title, it's coming from a nobody (-ies) who practically just loves to eat. So no fancy spice names, no hyfaluting taste terms (apparently, my kitchen vocab can only go so far as the tastebud shows), and no pricey place recommendations whose names practically spell $ ka-ching $!

For locals and tourists alike, who happen to pass by this page, here's a treat for you as August is only a day away, and the famous Kadayawan (vernacular for good, good harvest, etc) Festival is just around the corner. With your plane tickets and hotel rooms booked as planned, there's no way you'd be throwing away a probable "time of your life" (Oh, Cookie.) by not knowing the best where to's and what to's as regards local food destinations. Thus, this post would just be the first of several entries. Also, I would like to apologize in advance for the rather inaccurate dish names as I had some issues with my blessed cellphone memory where I saved down the dish names. I am hoping the pictures from my often low-batt phone would suffice, though. lol. So, let's get those tastebuds working!

When in Davao, try Coco's!

If you're hungry, or claim to have a large appetite, this is the place for you. At least, if rice is the staple food in your region, though you can always have mashed potatoes in lieu of it. However, if you prefer the latter, that would mean missing out on the glory of the rice that is Coco's. Forgive the misplaced adjectives above but what I meant by it was that unlike most "flavored" rice dishes, Coco's rice does not take away or interfere with your enjoyment of the the flavors in the main dish itself. And from someone who is obsessed with rice, I can say their serving is HUGE, absolutely more than enough to fill you!

But what's rice without the dish? Their Babyback Ribs (above) is a definite delight! If you're not the figure-conscious type, you'd enjoy this one fo' sho'. Cooked to perfection, with the sweetness that's just right. Although available in half and whole servings, this meal is heavy enough to make you want for not just more servings, but for even more tummy space! A sure filler! The best part is, it costs less than the other BBR dishes out there.

Coco's Grilled Chicken (left) is another must-try too! Grilled just right, and topped with melted cheese and bacon bits, the flavors fight for domination as soon as the bits touch your tongue. However, I was slightly disappointed with the sweet/sour dip/sauce that came with it as I was expecting a bit more, for a lack of more specific term, descriptively flavorful. For this dish though, I recommend trying it with Mashed Potatoes instead of rice to better enjoy the flavors (I had rice with it, so I can tell!) and also since the two slices are a wee bit out of proportion with their monster rice serving.

After a rather generous meal, you may opt to try Coco's line of sweets and desserts among which We, more specifically Boo, would highly recommend their Moist Chocolate Cake (left) -- packed, not too chewy, and wildly chocolatey (cake/coating/garnish - all chocolate!). Boo actually still couldn't stop raving about how good it is, despite its rather uncreative name --one that doesn't quite give justice to its out-of-this-world-liness. How good you ask? One word, Boo says "damn".

Other great desserts include the classic Chocolate Mousse and the post-modern Apple [insert proper term that sounds like souffle or krevacuk (wait, that was a singer?) or whatever here] Pie Thingy (right) --baked apple slices with special oatmeal stuffing, with hints of cinnamon and caramel, topped with a scoop of the vanilla ice cream and nuts. Even the description already tells you how good it is. I personally loved loved loved this one. Seriously, Apple and Cinammon are already like heaven's perfect combination! Add oatmeal, caramel, the cold and classic sweet, milky french vanilla to it and your eyes are going to roll upon first bite. I honestly found it impossible not to have gone "MMmmMMmm". I bet Boo would have gone "damn" too.

Tastebud Ratings: (click here for more on my silly rating scheme)
Babyback Ribs, Moist Choc. Cake, Apple Pie Thingy:
-Need to Go Home! Ate waaaaay to much, I need to unload! (5/5)
Grilled Chicken:
-Return Act Awardee. Definitely eating this again! (4/5)
Budget Buzz: A bit pricey if you're not the "spend-for-food" type, but totally freakin' worth it!

If you want to check Coco's out, drop by their place at Torres St., Davao City.

The Amateur Tastebud: The Boyd's Discovery

Chicken in Vinegar Sauce

I feel awful having to write this in a bad and lazy mood. But the long overdue entries are to blame. So let's get this going.

Never have I imagined vinegar to perfectly complement any fried chicken dish, but Boyd's proved me wrong. This has got to be the most awesome sauce-for-this-food thing I've ever encountered so far!

The chicken was nicely done, crisp and tasty but the dip blew me away! I even tried creating my own "version" at home. [Try: 1 part banana catsup + 1 1/2 part Pinakurat] Fyi, the latter ingredient is a local spiced (more of pasteurized?!) vinegar condiment. Anyway, this homemade dip should make a worthy, not to mention, delightful addition to your favorite fried chicken meal. Forget the gravy!

Tastebud Rating: Return Act Awardee. Definitely eating this again!
Budget Buzz: The dish costs less than a hundred bucks! Fair enough.

Beef and Mushroom Pizza

Crust is crisp and perfect, not too light not too heavy. One bite was like a total explosion of meat and cheese! I f''loved it! Cheese, Beef, Onions. All the pizza basics perfected!

Tastebud Rating: Need to Go Home. So good that I ate waaay too much and needed to unload!
Budget Buzz: Regular - a little above a hundred bucks. Double - double the price too, obviously. Family - triple. Totally worth every penny.

(pardon the pizza snap, I told you I'm too lazy right now to do anything perfect)

If you want to have a bite, you may checkout Boyd's Pizza House, beside Autoshop Compound. (i don't know the effing street address!)

The Amateur Tastebud: Farmer's Meatloaf by Gourmet Deli

Breaking the Rice Diet

I remember having "Americans barely eat rice" as my number 1 reason for not being able to live comfortably in the US, not that i have gone there.

Rice is the staple food in our country, and I for one, never get full - no matter how much i eat - without it.

Surpisingly though, Gourmet Deli has proven me dead wrong. I got totally hooked on their mashed potatoes! The texture is perfect, not too pasty, not too dry. The sweet and buttery taste totally complements the crisp premium ham, which is a little too salty. The herbs mixed in, together with the fresh lettuce beneath the mashed potatoes add even more flavor to this already delectable starch overload. For someone as rice die-hard as me, I actually thought the meal was very filling. I totally forgot for a while how much I needed rice for e very single meal.

In contrast to the typical Filipino dishes where all flavors combine in one single dish, Gourmet Deli's Farmer's Meatloaf actually has each part contributing their specific flavor. The stir-fried veggie sticks came quite interesting to me, as steaming them would have probably deprived the tastebud of its unique texture - slightly burnt and crisp outside, but insanely tender on the inside. Sunny side up or Scrambled, eggs always go well with meat and the same doesn't change for this one. Or maybe I'm just biased, considering I love love love bacon and eggs.
All in all, its one of those meals you can eat at any time of the day.

Tastebud Rating: Return Act Awardee. Definitely eating this again!
Budget Buzz: The dish costs less than a hundred bucks! Fair enough.

If you want to have a bite, you may checkout Gourmet Deli at Chimes, Sales St., DC.

The Amateur Tastebud: Food Reviews by A Culinary Non-expert

Most culinary reviews come from either a well-known journalist, a tv personality, an elite or upperclass figure, or a cooking expert or chef. Such reviews, most of the time, feature either the exquisiteness, or exoticness (if such both words exist) of the ingredients and the dish itself , the grandeur of the restaurant, the chef's competence and the owner's success, aside from many other things.

However I, a total non-expert (probably even dummy) in the field of culinary arts - one who has not even worn a chef's hat, who cannot even remember local fish names, and who totally freaks at being within 1 feet of a lengua (an exotic local cow tongue dish) - dare take this challenge of posting my takes on some of the most (and least) delightful food in Davao City (and, given the chance, other places as well).

I will be rating the subject (i may be confusing this with a laboratory dish!) food on the following, well, i'd like to call it scores:

Need to Go Home (5/5: So good that I ate waaay too much and needed to unload!)
Return Act Awardee (4/5: I'm definitely eating this again!)
TGIH (2-3/5: Thank God I'm Hungry, or I would have noticed I can cook better!)
Swallowable (1/5: like when all the ice cubes in your iced-tea has melted. You drink it but you don't love or hate it)
Puke-able (0/5: like when you're drinking and something hilarious/bad happens, you spit the water out of your mouth.)

Important: Do not mistake TGIH as an implication of me being bad at cooking. I have a few specialties, and am actually good, I just have not fully developed my potential as the next Wolfgang Puck.

That's not quite a clever scoring criteria, I know. But it's exactly why this may just be the perfect review, not for the culinary genius, but for the everyday consumer - he who eats just because. After all, food is not over-analyzed - actually even expelled through that found within the same word - It is enjoyed.

I've always wanted to say this anyway, Bon Apetit!