Hi, Everybody!

I'm currently working on a new site, so watch out for a whole new look!  It's still under construction so hopefully I will be able to launch it some time soon. 

I'll keep you posted on the URL. In the meantime, check out this site for updates. Cheers!

I guess now you know where I hang out! 

Can you imagine how many WiFi Hotspots there are along F.Torres Street, D.C.?  Use this list as your practical guide:

# 1 K1 KTV.Cafe.Spa opens at 12:30 pm.  Has huge black couches really great for lazy surfing! Not too many people hang out here, which is all the better.  If you get hungry in the middle of chatting/surfing, no problem, their menu has excellent food variety and so are the drinks.  What amazes me about the place is this wall extraordinaire with caricature of some famous people from Hollywood, arts and sports scene. Great to look at when your feeling your eyes getting squinty!

# 2 Kasagingan (F.Torres Street, adjacent to Regine's SeaFood Restaurant inside the Davao Convention Compound) is a relatively new dessert place that opened right next to TAPS, which is famous for all their oily food! hehe.  The place is literally designed with banana leaves and has a smoking area, too for smoking Net addicts.

# 3 Cups & Lower Case (F.Torres Street, right beside Bistro Rosario) has a 'chill out' ambience compared to Kasagingan.  Their menu, on the contrary, has Japanese food selection.  What I like best about this place is the couch (again! I guess I'm such a lazy bastard!), very few people hang out here, and they serve tea, too.  Great alternative for coffee.

# 4 Holiday Spa Cafeteria (F.Torres Street, make a turn on the corner of Kibuwi), is open from Mondays to Saturdays only. So word of caution for those who like to surf the Net on a Sunday, the cafeteria is closed.  I have not posted any photo (but will do soon!) yet.  If you're not up for coffee, tea while surfing and feel like choosing from a healthier variety of food, this place would be great!  I'm not sure if they still have the Holy Kettle Corn here but its great to munch while getting yourself busy over the Net.

# 5 Bo's Coffee Club (F.Torres Street, beside Krua Thai Restaraunt).  I guess I'm biased about liking this place because I get 10% discount on their f&b  (thanks to my club membership at Metro Lifestyle Gym & Spa).  Great to hang out here at night. It gets too hot at noon. Has a smoking area.

Your life will be in many ways influenced by decisions you make that have been motivated by your  pride, desire for power, for authority, and your need to convince others of your courage.

Willpower is a characteristic of your personality.  You seek opportunities and when you find them you go to it, using both your mind and your emotions to strive for success with zeal and determination. You are very self-assured and you implement ideas with a self- assurance that lets nothing get in your way of success.

There exists a great amount of faith in your abilities; you believe that no matter what happens, you will always endure financially. These influences of the Sun grant strong possibilities for success in life.

You are endowed with a clever and resourceful imagination, and a mind which is receptive to ideals, higher thoughts, and perhaps even metaphysical matters.

Only those very close to you have a hint of the little known facets of your personality. Regardless of the way you speak and express yourself, when you are alone, relaxed, and free of worry, you can have a sociable and congenial temperament that runs alongside a generous, kind, and attractive character.

It just occurred to me that Davaoeños just love buffets and restos all over the city will prove that.  Of course FOOD is the cheapest pleasure in Davao (and that includes fruits! and beer!) and you can enjoy a lunch/dinner or evenmerienda buffet at affordable rates.  Below is a list Mandy and I enjoyed putting together (I guess that means, we enjoyed eating a lot, too!).  Use it as a practical guide when your stomach growls for F-O-O-D!  

Category A: Merienda Buffet 

Café Juna, Juna Subdivision, Matina, Davao City (near St. Paul’s Church) 

Perks:  it’s a fairly small café and you can arrange for an exclusive party in this place, too (with estimated guests of around 40-50).  They have the classic Pinoy merienda (dinuguan & puto, pancit canton, cassava cake, among others).

Price: PhP 75 (inclusive of one glass of iced tea)

Best Time: Sundays, 2:00 - to 5:00 pm 

It’s great to pig out here on a lazy Sunday.  Great for a “bruncher” (breakfast, lunch and dinner)!  Try their brewed coffee, too (they use Monk’s blend coffee beans) in a “chemical” setup.

I wonder if there are other places that serve merienda buffet? Let me know if you know of an alternative, ayt?  

Category B: Lunch/Dinner Buffet

1)  Iron Horse Compound, Rizal Street, Davao City

Perks:  cheapest rate for a lunch and dinner buffet all over D.C., their buffet table boasts of seafood galore! (shells, tuna panga, crabs, etc.)

Downside: a lot of people eat out here, so make sure you’re an early bird (11:30 am is a good time) for a race to the buffet table.  It’s non-aircon, too, so make sure you’re ready to eat while sweating!

Price: PhP 89 (exclusive of drinks)

3) Apung Kula Restaurant, J.P. Laurel St., Bajada

Price: PhP 99 (exclusive of drinks) for lunch and dinner buffet

Perks: very few people eat out here so its great coz you don’t have to race the line.  Food being served is Pinoy with lots of vegetable dish to choose from.  If you have a sweet tooth, their desert is not entirely satisfying.  They serve barbecue during dinner buffet, try it out, its good!

Best Time: daily, 11:30 am - to 1:30 pm / 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm

4) Greenhills Restaurant (near Apo View Hotel, right next to Pacific Harbor Acoustic Bar) along J. Camus Street

Price: PhP 99 lunch and dinner buffet

Perks:  Chinese dish, dessert is ain't that good.

5) Palovince Place, Veloso Street, Bajada (near McDonald’s Bajada, adjacent to an Elementary School)

Price:  PhP 99.

You pay extra PhP 5.00 for the air-conditioned room.  It takes a long time before they refill the food!

6)  Buffet Palace, Victoria Plaza Compound

Price: PhP 255 VAT inclusive – dinner buffet

Perks: everything’s good (from appetizer to main course to dessert!) and it’s right next to Metrobank

7)  Cynthia’s Lechon (Victoria Plaza Compound and Lanang)

Price: PhP 99 lunch and dinner buffet

Perks:  Filipino dish and dessert is not entirely good.  Note: It's non-airconditioned.  

8) Entrée Resto Bar (Apo View Hotel)

Price: PhP 460++ VAT lunch & dinner buffet

Perks: chocolate fondue. Wi-fi hotspot.  We were tipped that food is better at dinner.  So far, our good friend Bob & Feyma Martin mentioned their satisfaction in this place!

(check out my review about Entree Restobar or www.mindanao.com/photoblog)

9) Chippens Restaurant, Roxas Avenue (near Ateneo Jacinto Campus)

Spent with few friends at K1 videoke (Torres St., Davao City). 

Its funny, we've been drinking in Manila, and now we're celebrating in D.C. Its great to celebrate with good buddies: mag-asawang Alex and Dude (Espanola), and ethnic artist Benjie (who's by the way is in medicine arts right now, he's our accupuncturist!), and singing "The Hagibis" songs.   

 

K1, by the way, is the newest and cleanest videoke I've been to in D.C. haha! The food is utterly delicious. No GROs either. Food trip talaga! Sarap ng Mexican food! Yumm!

Just getting bored..Lalalalala....

As a kid, I grew up clutching on to my one peso coin (a peso can go a long way then!) and rush to the nearest store to buy some street-food.  Well, here goes...:

1) Tira-tira - really sweet candy that's brown and hard (haha! kinda reminds me of something else!)

2) Tarzan - a rectangular bubblegum that was more famous than Bazooka (& the free comicstrip) and a lot cheaper!

3) Dugo - sold in barbeque stands, together with isaw, laman-loob, hotdogs, etc. Pang kalye talaga!

4) Ice pop - an alternative to ice candy (mas sosyal lang ang lalagyan) in delectable flavors like strawberry, cherry, lemon, grape, etc.

5) Scrabble - crushed ice served with condensed milk and chocolate syrup. Yumm!

What's your favorite dirty food? Just add up what you have in mind. It's good to reminisce about our younger days. haha!

Ika nga nila, "Huwag maging dayuhan sa sariling bansa." I've listed below the number of islands I've been to, and still counting.....:

(1) Oriental Mindoro's Puerto Galera, in Luzon (skinny deeping in the White Beach!)

(2) Bohol's Panglao Island, in Central Visayas

(3) Mactan Island in Cebu

In Mindanao...

(4) Camiguin Island (check out my photo album)

(5) Mantigue Island (6 hectare island, just 20 minute motor boat ride from Camiguin island)

(6) Samal Island's Chema's by the Sea & Pearl Farm 

(7) Talicud Island's Isla Reta (an islet of IGACOS)

(8) Buena Vista Island (or small ligid island owned by the Ayalas, not JAZA)

(9) Siargao Island's Surfing Capital at Gen Luna 

(10) Dinagat Island (an islet of Siargao)

(11) Guyam Island (an islet of Siargao)

(12) Daku Island (an islet of Siargao)

(13) Basilan (municipality of Lamitan and Isabela City)

(14) Jolo, Sulu (and municipalities of Parang and Patikul)

(15) Tawi-Tawi (Bongao) 

(16) Panglima-Sugala Island, Tawi-Tawi (an hour of slow boat ride from the main island, Bongao)

(17) Tabtabon Island, Zamboanga Peninsula (visited one of our projects, a seaweed farm)

Mark your calendars, its Kadayawan Festival in Davao City from August 14 to 20, 2006.   If you decide to fly in Davao, beep me right away, I'll be your self-proclaimed tour guide . Expect the city to be jampacked so if you plan to sleep in a comfortable bed in a nice looking hotel, better book now or you'll end up snoozing somewhere else..

Check out the link if you don't know what to expect during the festival.  Better yet, scroll down and I'll let you know what to expect from an outsider myself (adopted na nga ako ng Davao eh!):

• FRUITS! fruits! FrUiTs! sold really cheap!

Did you know that Durian has different varieties? Some are milky/sweet (yellow or white cob, puyat), the classic taste is bitter sweet (native).  There's frozen durian, too.

Go to Magsaysay Fruit Stand and you'll see a line of stalls selling different fruits - rambutan, lanzones, pomelo, la la la la la la la....

• Street Parties! Live Band shows and supply of beer!~

Literally, street party. Usually in the downtown area, where you have lotsa street parties. There's a party for jologs, for sosyaleras, for bums, for yuppies, for high school hip hop crowd, for everyone! Be warned that there's no room to park your car so better leave the wheels at home or park it where its safer (say, the nearest hotel) and then walk!

Bahia Spa, Metro Lifestyle Fitness Gym, Torres St.

Most affordable body scrub inclusive of unlimited sauna, jacuzzi plus an hour massage.  It has a maze-like structure inside, but you are guaranteed to have an excellent treat at the end of the tunnel.  They have a tub soak with rose petals, too.  Try their kape barako body scrub in wetland (meaning, with sauna & jacuzzi), costs only PhP 700 for a 120++ minute treat.  There's a room for couples.

Check out their site at www.bahiaspa.com for more info and online reservations.

Time Zone Arcade, NCCC Mall, McArthur Highway, Matina

Awaken the kid in you. Spend half a day in this all-new arcade and say good bye to gool ol' token-days and get a powerclub reloadable card instead.  Daytona still tops my list of fave games! Oh, check out the Van Gogh booth for a 'lil photo souvenir ;-)

Holiday Spa Fitness Center, Torres St.

Your Php 150 can go a long way if spent in Holiday Spa. Spend the whole day and use all the facilities you paid for 150 bucks - jogging track, boxing arena, gym, jacuzzi, and swimming pool. They also have a coffeshop and a wifi zone to boast.  Hmm, I wonder how soon Gold's Gym will open in Davao?

NCCC Mall Cinemas, McArthur Highway, Matina

There's no IMax yet in Davao (and I'm hoping there will be soon!!!!), but you can equally enjoy the latest movies at only 75 bucks at NCCC Mall cinemas.  You've got no other choice, huney! Like Glorietta, it has guaranteed seats, too but you need not pay more than hundred bucks for a movie! Microwave popcorn is also a must buy! If you've got 150++ bucks, go ahead..relax, see a movie (and still afford to buy a bucket of popcorn to accompany you).    

If its your first time in Davao City, Mindanao, read on and you'll find yourself going back to the land of Durian and Pomelo! 

I'm not going to give you the oh-so-crowded places filled with high school kids or struggling yuppies.  Here are the Top 5 NIGHT SPOTS in Davao City:

#1:  Some Place Else Bar, Havana Compound, Rizal Street

1.  Be sure to order fish & chips.  The fish is lapu-lapu and is always served hot and crisp.  Chips are the classic wedge fries all served in a big plate. Talk about a sumptuous feast. It can be shared by four people if taken in as a "pulutan", otherwise, one hungry person can finish it in one sitting! 

2.  What makes this bar special? You can order a shishah + hookah for only 100 bucks! (check out my photo album "D' Hookah & Shisha Experience") Talk about cheap pleasure!

3.  They have a lot of drinks to choose from.  Be sure you ask for their old menu (in a clear book) where drinks are organized in alphabetical order.  Swell, huh?!

My appreciation to my good bud, Adele Lascano, for introducing me to this great bar. Cheers!

#2:  Jekoy's Vietnamese Resto Bar, Shrine Hills, Matina

1.  Overlooking Davao City, the place will remind you of Antipolo in Manila.  They open at 4:00 pm only.  Its a quiet hide away, but only 20 minutes away from downtown.  

2. If you're not into red meat, their menu range from veggies to white meat.  Make sure you order the following, too: hot & sour soup, fried tofu, and green chicken curry (garnished with fresh basil leaves!), among others. 

3.  Beer is always served chilled and cheap. Billiards is at PhP 60/hour. Better if you bring your own stick. 

4.  Look for Rex the waiter and I guarantee you good service. He knows the menu very well and has been serving the resto since time immemorial!

 #3: Hagar's Place, Lanang, Davao City 

1.  The best place to watch the live FIFA World Cup via projected screen, with fries on the side and a cold bottle of cerveza. yum!yum! 

2.  You won't see drunk high school or college kids hanging out here.  Usually expats fill the room and a good number of professionals.  Has a "pub-like feel" in the non-smoking area, and a line of little huts for smokers with a brand new billiard table to boast. 

3.  Hagar's was the first resto bar in Davao City that served hungarian sausage for a meal way back in 1992.  Food is a little expensive and are priced are PhP 150 and above (that is already expensive for Davao rate!) :-)

My appreciation to Mandy for introducing me this place ;-)

#4: Blue Posts Bar & Billiards, Ponciano Street, D.C.

1.  Look for Vhannie the bartender (oh, he's with Antonio's now, a Filipino Restobar in SM, GroundFloor).  Guaranteed excellent service with a smile to boot.  The bar has excellent flaming shooters to boast.  I especially love flaming ferrari (other bars call it blowjob, don't get me wrong! :-) which is my annual birthday drink.

2.  Lotsa lotsa billiard tables at reasonable rates. Great for a pool game party.  Need a party place for a private party?  You can arrange that at Blue Posts, too! Music collection highlights the 80's scene. 

#5: The House of Absinthe, Wheels n' More Drive, J.P. Laurel Street

These are just my top faves. Let me know where else you hang out by posting a reply. :-)