on the Verge of

It was a long Sunday for me, Keen and my sister Jacq. We just finished some errands and a long overdue grocery so we were starving. We decided to check out one of the newest restaurants in Tulip drive: Cuencos. Cuencos Rice and Noodle Bar is just in front of Fuente de Villa-Abrille. The restaurant offers a variety of noodles and rice bowls at reasonable prices, an average of P180-200 per person. We ordered Arroz ala Cubana for my sister, Nasi Lemak for me, and Beef Pares for Keen. We also ordered Laksa as a soup for sharing. The servings were adequate and it tasted really good, especially the Laksa. I have tried many Laksa and I must say theirs is one of the impressive ones. Beef Pares Nasi Lemak Arroz ala Cubana Laksa While they they have friendly and attentive staff, I must note that their service time is quite slow. There were only three groups in the restaurant at the time. It took almost 40 mins to serve the food. I don't think it would be practical t...

Keen and I have been going to Aurora Quezon street to buy fresh buko juice and we have been passing by this new Japanese restaurant in the area. It wasn't anything fancy but it looked nice with all the street dining feels. We tried to eat there twice but the place was always full. Finally on our third attempt, there was a table for two available. The restaurant was called Sukidesu. Their place was small and a bit cramped. But everything else looked decent and the staff were attentive despite being busy. Keen and I looked at the menu and we were really surprised with the very affordable prices. Their gyoza was only 45php and chicken karaage 50php. We ordered both with a bowl of ajitama ramen and sukidesu maki. Ajitama Ramen Ajitama ramen was served first. The serving was just enough for one person and its price. The soup was surprisingly good too. As you can see in the photo the broth is rich and the eggs were done perfectly. Keen and I agreed it was next best ramen in ...

Keen and I were searching for a new place to dine in town. We've been passing by Torres Street before and saw Soul Kitchen  and this new restaurant beside it, Project Paella. Since Keen wasn't up for some salads or wraps from Soul Kitchen, we decided to try Project Paella instead. Keen wasn't a fan of paella because of previous experience. However, he was willing to give it another try since I like paellas, especially Paella Negra. The place was small but the space was maximized well. It had a modern industrial interior design. Keen and I sat in front of their open kitchen where we could see the chef flambé. The menu was simply comprised of a small variety of tapas, paella and dessert. Keen ordered Valenciana while I had my favorite Paella Negra. The we added Gambas since I wanted something spicy. I thought a P180 per plate of paella was quite pricy. It turns out the serving was more than enough for one person, at least for Keen and I. Keen enjoyed his paella which ...

Japanese restaurants in Davao City have sprouted sporadically for the past three years. Although it is no surprise as Davaoenos have retained many Japanese influences since the latter's occupation, it is only now that we have further explored our taste for the Japanese cuisine. For the past two years we've been together, Keen and I have tried almost each Japanese restaurant in the city. We've tried every gyoza, maki and ramen we can get our hands on. We've been to many minimalist, modern or high-end Japanese restaurants. We've also been satisfied and disappointed many times. With the many things we have tasted, we are confident enough to judge and identify which Japanese restaurant in Davao serves the best dish. Not all restaurants are perfect. Some have the best gyoza but has the most disappointing ramen, or vice versa. To be fair, we will only be comparing the dishes we have tried from each restaurant. Also, we will be judging not only the taste, but the servi...

Since Confex & Co. Bakehouse opened its first humble bakeshop in Madrazo Compound, C. Bangoy St., I have always wanted to go and check them out. They have drawn a lot of attention because of their unique freakshakes - a milkshake topped with a slice of cake, revel bar or brownie and lots of sprinkles everywhere. I knew friends who lined up for this and told me that it was worth the wait. Unfortunately for me at that time, my work was far from their bakeshop. By the time I got there, they were already closed for the day. Confex & Co. have finally moved to a new place, a more spacious one where they can accommodate more customers. They are now located at The Site Compound, E. Jacinto St. That's where Keen and I headed for dessert last night after some kebab dinner. I was excited to try out their revel bars. It was the highly recommended revel bar in town. Sadly at 8pm, all revel bars have been sold out. Keen wasn't up for any dessert but he wanted a milkshake. I wante...

My trip to Tagum City is never complete without dropping by Yuyu Cafe and Dessert Shop for a quick snack and pasalubong. Tagum's  homegrown cafe is located along Tagum National Highway, in front of Gaisano Mall. The shop offers a variety of artisan cakes, pastries for pasalubong, hearty meals, and refreshing drinks. The Cakes at Yuyu Cafe Their cakes are well-crafted and taste as impressive as it looks. The last time Keen and I were able to go to Yuyu was with his parents. We were passing by Tagum and I recommended that we take a short afternoon break at Yuyu. We ordered some of my favorites and tried new ones. We ordered my favorite slice of Praline cake, one of their best-sellers. One slice is comprised of delectable chocolate layers of cake and mousse with a surprisingly crunchy base. Its golden accents makes it looks Instagram worthy too. Slice of Praline Another favorite of mine is their Fresh Fruit Tart. This beautiful pastry doesn't easily crumble unl...

Keen and I were thrilled since we were finally back at Chez Nous where we celebrated our 13th monthsary last May 2. Chez Nous has been one of our favorite restaurants in Davao. It is also one of our most recommended restaurants in the city. So far, all the feedback from our recommendations has always been positive. Since it opened early last year, it has created quite a buzz in social media for its consistently good reviews. Their innovative cuisine, which aims to 'Think Global, Eat Local', mainly delivers international dishes made primarily from local ingredients. From our latest visit, we noticed that they have revamped their menu, keeping their bestsellers while making room for new dishes. They've increased some of the prices but they remain reasonable for their taste and quality. We ordered our staple Seared Tuna Nicoise Salad . Everything was satisfyingly fresh from the greens to the tuna. The excellent combination of textures and tastes made it a r...

One Saturday night, Keen and I ran out of ideas where to go out for dinner. We wanted to pig out without spending too much. He suddenly thought of the Grillery Smokehouse, the unli barbecue place beside Backyard Burgers in Ecoland. I've always wanted to try out the Grillery but I never really had a chance.  It was something new for us so we both agreed. One can avail of Grillery's unlimited rice and barbecue for Php169 only. That also comes with unlimited soup and fruits. If you also want unlimited drinks, you can pay Php199 instead. Keen getting his first bbq stick Naturally, Keen and I availed the Php199 promo. We were seated near the buffet of raw barbeque. We helped ourselves to some skewered bacon, beef kebab, our staple isaw, chorizo and I think pretty much everything else. Haha Unlimited Bbq Grilling everything in our table didn't take too long. Soon, everything was hot and smoky. It was probably the only thing I didn't like about the place. You...