When in Davao: Pearl Farm Beach Resort

I get super excited whenever I score great travel deals. Who doesn't? But this is also the reason why I hesitate to splurge on hotel accommodations as I always think that I'll be away most of the time and will just be back to sleep. Then again, it's nice to stay at posh hotels and resorts from time to time as a treat. And two weekends ago, R and I decided to stay at Pearl Farm Beach Resort.

Hello, Pearl Farm Beach Resort.

Known as one, if not the best resort in Davao, I had high expectations from this place and I was definitely impressed as soon as I stepped inside its wharf.

We were warmly greeted by its staff who assisted us with our baggage and ushered us to the reception where we have to register for the boat transfer. 

Bang for the Buck: Baliwag Grill & Restaurant

Whenever I plan of food crawls, I wouldn’t consider Baliwag as one of our stops as its roasted chicken is something I could get anywhere. Hence when Zomato included Baliwag as our first stop in our Marikina food crawl, I was a bit dazed by it. I even considered skipping this stop and head straight to the next one. But I was so glad that I didn’t and let me tell you why. 

Hello, Baliwag Grill & Restaurant!

Thanks to the crazy Saturday traffic, we got to the spacious sit down Baliwag restaurant one hour later than expected. And we were greeted by bad news as soon as we stepped inside, rather, the al fresco dining area. The air conditioned area was closed for an event and we had no choice but to enjoy Manila’s humidity during lunch.

Glasses of service were served within 5 minutes but everything else took way longer than acceptable. Our plates and utensils were given to us after 15 minutes and our food were served one by one after roughly 40 minutes. Some of us even turned hangry already. 

First Bite: Vera's Place

Visiting Pearl Drive brings back memories as I have spent 5 years of my life there. No, I was not a homeless Ortigas girl; my alma mater is along that street. I would remember visiting Food Channel, Starbucks and Hotshots across my university. I have witnessed several restaurants come and go and shed a few tears when my favorites were among those that had to go. And fast forward to present, there are now more buildings and food choices around and one of which is located in Pearl Place called “Vera’s Place”.

Hello, Vera’s Place. 

To be honest, I was originally planning to eat at this Japanese restaurant along San Miguel Avenue but we had to change plans after seeing the prices of sashimi, sushi and wagyu. We headed back to Pearl Plaza with gloomy faces to match the grumpy weather. But the inviting homey Filipino restaurant adjacent to Where’s Marcel captured our interest. 

There were no customers when we arrived and we could not help feel iffy dining here. Then again, the weather was not exactly pleasant for people to go out so we assumed that it was because it was such a lazy Saturday night. 

Vera’s Place offers pocket friendly Filipino fare and we decided to go with solo servings of Gising-Gising (PHP135), Lechon Kawali (PHP250) and Kare-Kare (PHP300). Solo servings are inclusive of one cup of plain rice per viand. You could also order a sharing size portion of kare-kare for PHP550. 

Service was quick and our orders were served all at the same time. Presentation-wise, it was like the ones you’d expect from home. It was simple and zero frills. 

Gising-Gising had a nice combination of coconut milk and pork flavors. It was also a bit spicy making it slightly addicting. It also made me finish my cup of rice. I liked the winged beans too as it was not too hard nor too soft. 

First Bite: Mama Rosa

I follow several notable foodies on Instagram and when they say this restaurant or that café is their favorite, I get curious. I just have to know if these foodie approved places are worth my time and money. And so when chef and food columnist Angelo Comsti said that Mama Rosa is one of his all-time favorite restaurants, I just have to visit the place. And I went with my mom as it seemed appropriate to bring your “mama” to Mama Rosa.

Hello, Mama Rosa.

I was worried that that place might be packed so I asked my sister to make a reservation for four. We got to the place around 1 p.m. and were lucky to score the parking space in front of the restaurant. And when we got in… surprise! The place was empty!

Famished, we quickly ordered the following: Kinilaw na Isda (PHP280), Kalabasa soup (PHP90, Halaan (PHP120), Mango Chicken (PHP225), Lechon Kawali (PHP220) and Guinataang Sigarillas (PHP160). 

While waiting for our orders, we were given some chips and dip. 

First served was the Kinilaw na Isda and the tuna chunks came in three variants. One had green mangoes and coconut cream, another had salted duck egg, tomatoes and black beans, while the last one had cucumber, radish and kamias. The one with the coconut cream was the spiciest as it had red chilies in it but I still manage to eat half of it as the spice level was still tolerable. I loved the one with salted duck egg best as there was a contrast in texture and the saltiness of the egg balanced the tanginess of the dish. If you love tangy dishes, you’d love the one with kamias.

I was so delighted with the generous serving of soups. Each bowl was good for sharing. The pumpkin soup was good for 2-3 while the halaan was good for 2. 

The pumpkin soup had a nice thick texture and I loved its sweet flavor. It was the ideal pumpkin soup. 

The halaan had a nice light taste which was perfect for a starter. 

Weekend Getaway: Anvaya Cove

I still remember the first time I went to the beach. It was hot and I could hardly see anything as the sun was burning my eyes and sunglasses do not help as the rays manage to squeeze in the gaps. It wasn’t exactly what I call fun but it wasn’t bad as well. I remember the fine sand against my feet and the lovely afternoon breeze. But since my family and friends are not really into going to the beach, I became a city girl. But lately, I grew fond of the beach. It started with the wonderful Coron and now with… Anvaya.

Hello, Anvaya Cove!

Okay, the weather wasn’t exactly pleasant when we arrived as it was drizzling. And since the red flag was up, it meant we could not enjoy the beach. We enjoyed the shore and pool instead.

We also fed some ducks! (And the mosquitoes had a buffet too.)

That night, we decided to have dinner at the golf club since our consumables are only applicable there and the sports club.

R and I arrived first and decided to order the following: Classic Nachos (PHP235), Chicken Wing (PHP255), Pork Sisig (PHP185), Mongo with with Lechon Kawali (PHP135), Grilled Tuna Steak (PHP275), and Chicken Tenders (PHP165).

We also had some drinks which were refreshing.

First served was the Classic Nachos and it was a great appetizer. The crunchy corn tortilla chips topped with ground beef, sour cream and cheese defined “comfort food’.

Next served was the plate of chicken wings which were spicy. It also had a bit of after taste. It’s probably from the bird’s eye pepper sauce. I munched on the side veggies and cilantro mayo dip instead.

Revisited: Recipes by Café Metro

Simple comfort dishes are still the best for me. No unpronounceable ingredients, uncomplicated tastes and happy tummy. I think that is a great way to describe a great meal.

I was sick for a week last month and I was off work for almost the whole week as well as I had to visit a couple of doctors. It was just a simple case of cough that got out of hand that made me look like a zombie for two weeks. (Imagine waking up at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. because of your insanely itchy throat.) 

Anway, my mom and I decided to pass by Shangri-La to buy my third set of medicines and since it was already past 4 p.m. then and I haven’t had lunch yet, we decided to grab a quick meal before heading home. I recommended my all time favorite Recipes by Café Metro.

It has been quite a while since I last visited Recipes by Café Metro and it is still the same simple restaurant that I love.

My mom ordered Chicken Sotanghon Soup (PHP120, small | PHP220, regular) and Lumpiang Toge (PHP100) while I went with the Lechon Kawali with Kangkong (PHP225) and Gising Gising (PHP185).

The Chicken Sotanghon Soup was rather bland yet the warm soup was a great appetizer during that rainy Thursday afternoon.

 

The Lumpiang Toge was your usual wrapped toge. Serving was pretty generous for the price of PHP100 though.

Restaurant Discovery: Madeca

I admit, as much as I want to be lean and strong, I would choose a food trip over a free workout anytime. However, the case was different a few weeks back. I felt really heavy and when I do, I just have to give in to exercise and tried Plana Forma. It was PAIN. But there’s something I look forward to after every workout… reward. And by reward I mean food.

After an hour of squatting, T and I went to Podium with the plan of eating at Wildflour. It was our second attempt to do so but when we arrived, the place was packed with hungry brunch people. So we decided to look for another place to have brunch. Then I remembered Madeca. I saw it before in Yummy magazine and fell in love with the cute mason glasses. 

Luckily, the 4^th floor of Podium isn’t packed. (Normally, the busiest floor is the ground floor where Wildflour is located.) There was only one diner when we arrived. 

We noticed that Madeca isn’t an authentic Mexican restaurant. It is a fusion between Mexican and Filipino. I got intrigued with Lechon Kawali Burrito (PHP245) so I ordered one along with Spinach and Mushroom Quesadilla (PHP125) and Guava Mojito (PHP135). T on the other hand ordered  Sisig Burrito (PHP225).

The Spinach and Mushroom Quesadilla was on the bland side but topping it with sour cream and salsa solves that. I love that it was served warm. The chips were delightful too as it added texture to the dish.

Restaurant Discovery: The Café

Last Friday was perhaps the lightest day of my career life… so far. 

After our morning client presentation, one of our AEs offered to buy us lunch. *Happiness!*

She did not inform us where she will be treating us so we kept on guessing and guessing. There were happy thoughts of us having lunch at Yakimix or at this posh Japanese restaurant (or so what one of my colleagues said). Then we realized that we were in front of the wrong building.

Oh, hello The Café.

We saw our AE in front of a packed quaint-looking restaurant called The Café. (Packed means good right?) We waited for 2 minutes for some seats to free up but since we were too hungry to wait any further, as staring at some hungry diners smile while chewing their food was plain torture, we decided to eat outside. (There were a few tables outside the restaurant just in front of the parking area.)