Throwback Thursday: Cebu and Davao (2005)

If I remember correctly, 2005 was the first time I visited Davao. I was still working for the yellow pages back then and I traveled to train sales. They moved provinces every other week and I'd be shipped to see them wherever they were.

In August 2005, I chased them in Cebu and Davao. They were all bent to show me around since they deemed I was too sheltered (haha). In Cebu, they introduced me to the delicious BBQ and siomai in Fuente Osmena. I remember we also went to a bar where we went dancing. It wasn't really for me and I remember escaping with one of them. 

In Davao, they brought me to Eden and we ate at a buffet that only cost PhP100 each! It's been 21 years and my memories from that time are slowly fading away. I remember having so much fun with my colleagues and I actually felt more aligned with them. 

How I wish I had a good camera back then. The photos I have here were taken with a Nokia 6630. It was my first camera phone that was assigned by the company. Good thing I managed to back-up my photos and I still have some of the blurry photos of those fun times. 

I caught up with one of my colleagues through chat and she gave me an update on some of our colleagues. Sadly, two of the nicest ones passed away a few years ago. Most have transferred to other industries with some in controversies. Don't ask me about it since I'm really bad at keeping in touch with people. 

Happy days :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Samal Island

Recently watched a video featuring a different part of Samal Island. I quickly checked my treasure trove of photos to see when was the last time I went there. It's already 14 years since I last visited Samal Island with my girlfriends. That was before Sweetie and I tied the knot. 

c2007

I loved going to Samal Island. Never stayed overnight since it was easy to just take the ferry and do a day trip. I brought my girlfriends there because I wanted them to experience it too. We stayed in Davao and just took the ferry for a day trip. It was a relaxing and chill trip where we just swam and ate and ate, haha. 

I'm thinking maybe we could visit Davao next year. I miss going there since I have friends there. I did think about moving there before. I love that you can easily go to the beach or go up the mountain. It's also easy to travel by land to Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro or go to GenSan. Air quality is great and there's a lot of seafood. Plus, LACHI's!

Now that I looked at my old photos, I want to go sooner than later! Haha. Have to save up first since I want to experience staying on the island. I'll also need more assistance now (#signsofoldage), so will need to plan it properly. It's also been awhile since I've been to Davao, so will need updates. I think a week won't be enough to explore, haha. We'll see :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: Lachi's and DFAT

Yesterday, Sweetie searched for Lachi's videos on YouTube. Of course, my vlog from 14 years ago came up! I laughed because I seemed to be a totally different person. Also watched Ria's Lachi's vlog from 2009 and was surprised to see myself. I think we got so busy with wedding preparations after we got back from Davao, we didn't get to see the DFAT vlogs. 

2008 <3

Lachi's is one of my super favorite restos. It's located in Davao. Whenever I go there I eat two dishes, the unforgettable pork ribs and pork marinara. They have sinfully amazing desserts. Whenever I go to Davao I visit it several times and also bring home goodies. Sigh, I miss Lachi's a lot!

We watched several videos last night and saw newer ones from recent DFAT seasons. It made me miss going to Davao more. I think the best thing about joining blogger food events before was meeting new friends.We were hoping to visit them this year, but we decided to stay put after the boys got COVID-19 after our trip to Bohol. 

With one of the Lachi's twin owners, Mike, and blogger friends.

Well, if you ever find yourself in Davao. Do visit Lachi's! Saw from more recent videos that you need to reserve since they're always full and they may still be closed on Sundays. 

Nomnomnom. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Love, Lachi's, Davao

Last night on the flight to Davao Sweetie asked me to listen to a song playing on his MP3 player. At first I didn't recognize the song, but I soon realized it was our theme song. Sweetie was reminiscing our last trip together in Davao in 2009. It was the trip where he proposed to me while I was hanging on a zipline (I clearly didn't have a choice!). 

If I could I would live in Davao because I just feel so right at home here even though I don't speak Bisaya. I understand some of it though because some of the words they use are very similar to the Bicol dialect. I love Davao because life is simple here and you can get the best of many things. Low cost of living, awesome fresh food all year-round, the beach and the mountain is just minutes away and I have made a number of fantastic friends as well in Davao (and my Mom says I have relatives here too). 

My favorite restaurant in the whole-wide-world is also located in Davao - Lachi's Sansrival Atbp. Owned and run by twins, Mike and Melvin Aviles I discovered Lachi's many years ago through my Davao-based friends. I instantly fell in love with their pork marinara and unforgettable pork ribs and sansrival and multitude of cakes and pastries. And mind you the prices are so affordable. They have quite a lot of dishes and I'd probably eat there for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I could. So if you by any chance visit Davao make sure you visit and eat at least two dishes and two desserts from Lachi's (I do everytime!). 

I've actually been craving for pork marinara for almost 2 years now because I haven't had the chance to visit Davao since 2010 (argh!). It sometimes haunts me especially when I'm somewhere where I can't get what I want to eat (I'm a picky eater sorry). I discovered a resto at Changi Airport though that has a slightly similar dish. I'll probably head there when I'm really desperate. 

Pork Marinara

The unforgettable pork ribs lives up to its name. Once you try it you will surely come back for it. I'm not really sure how they cook it but it's really awesome. They also introduced a new dish - Elsie's melt-in-your-mouth roast pork - which is true to its name. 

Unforgettable Pork Ribs

Another new dish we got to try was the Asian spicy chicken. I didn't get to try it since I'm allergic to chicken but Sweetie said it was like chicken chicharon and I noticed Miguel kept coming back for more long after he finished eating.

Asian Spicy Chicken

  

For fish lovers, Miguel always orders fish fillet whenever we eat at Lachi's and that's what I get as well whenever I feel guilty about eating too much pork (I feel I'm going to get a scolding from my doc soon...). 

Fish Fillet

But, of course, one has to leave space for dessert! I had a bit of a hard time deciding which one to order. I eventually decided to get my favorite - the Five Choco Torte. Mind you all the cakes, cheesecakes and pastries in Lachi's aren't that sweet. They're actually perfect because it's the only place where I can eat as many slices of cake as I want and my tonsils don't react (they're very sensitive to sweet stuff). So that's why Lachi's my favorite restaurant in the whole wide world. 

 

 

 

Amaretto Brownie

   

Lachi's Sansrival Atbp.

Ruby St., Marfori Heights,

Davao City

Thank you Mike for accommodating us! I hope to be back soon!

The Davao F.A.T. Journal

I have finally completed my Davao FAT blog posts and here's the complete story:

Day 1

Early morning visit to Samal Island

Lunch at Tadakuma

Skipped the museum visit to go to Lachi's

Dinner at Lachi's

Coffee at Kangaroo

Day 2

the exhilirating Xcelerator experience (and the proposal)

Lunch at Pepper & Peppers

Went to Lachi's (again)

Crocodile Park and the Butterfly Sanctuary (post coming up this week)

Merienda at Bryan's Bar & Grill

Dinner at Mamu's

Day 3

Lunch at Cafe Andessa

went to see David (ahh I've yet to blog about that)

Davao F.A.T.

I always, ALWAYS gain weight whenever I go to Davao. I think the air there is calorie-ridden. I grew so bilog the first time I went there, I had to buy a new pair of jeans when I flew to Cebu after the trainings I did in Davao.


And that's why I have been dieting the past 2 weeks.

Because I am going to (what I call) my second home... DAVAO!


Davao F.A.T.

The Usual Suspects concocted this idea a couple of months ago and I have been looking forward to it. Fondly called Davao F.A.T., the project is a Food Appreciation Tour of Davao's yummiest (and willing) restos. Check out some of the gastronomic delights I had last Christmas and July last year.


Anybody can sign-up for it! Just leave a comment at the Davao F.A.T. announcement or send Ria an email at riajose at gmail dot com.

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Jolly Update: Jolly met Mr. Moe the Hamster today. Too bad Ms. Curly the Hamster was in her usual unsociable mood (and don't ask what happened to Mr. Larry the Hamster, such a gory incident I'd rather not remember). Both of them were curious about each other. Too bad I missed taking a video of them making beso-beso.

Sleepless in Davao

Yes, Tappy's right, I can actually snap out of a daze (a.k.a. sleep mode) in an instant. And what's funny is I've developed a new talent! Falling asleep before the airplane actually takes off. LOL. That's what happens when you lose a lot of sleep when traveling.

And I don't mind traveling since here I am again in Davao. The place where I would want to live. And even with just a night to spend here I managed to squeeze in some bonding time with The Usual Suspects - Ria, Dennis, Jun, Blogie, Andrew, Marc (nang-indian!), and joining us through an online conference were Winston and Jehzeel. We definitely had a ball and I learned a couple of new words from them plus the words for the day, "alambre" and "adhikain".


We had grand plans to go off to another cafe, but just ended up hanging out at the Sagay Restaurant of Casa Leticia. Brought out all our laptops, chose a corner each - seems weird huh, but let's say we really had a great time.

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Mindanao Bloggers Summit

Travel Blog: Davao and Cebu

Picture this.

Soft, cool sand going between your toes

Salty, tangy wind blowing… whipping…

Small waves crashing through the shore

Sun rays streaming through a tree

And nothing else but the wide blue horizon in front of you.

Oh yes! I’m at the beach tap-tapping on my laptop (now belly-top).

Are you now itching to go to the beach? It’s summer! Go!

The past few days have been a blur of activity. I spent the weekend in Davao to attend the Davao Blog Party organized by Blogie, Andrew, Jun, Marc and countless others. Abe, Jayvee, Abe and Janette also came from Manila to attend. It was a huge success with a hundred percent more attending versus target. After the party we had durian coffee at Blugre Café (with free wifi!). Oh! And we stayed at Casa Leticia, the hotel with free wi-fi and the most number of electrical plugs I’ve seen in one hotel room (I managed to charge my laptop, 2 phones, Ipod and PDA all at the same time!).

We all wanted to go white water rafting, but wasn’t able to plan for it. Rex, a Davao-based friend was kind enough to bring Abe, Abe, Jayvee and me to Costa Marina, Samal Island. Costa Marina’s a really cool place. It just took us less than 15 minutes to get to the dock and a five minute jetty ride to the resort (at PhP12 each!). We all just chilled the whole day, napping, eating and taking photos. Wanna know how much fun we had? What Abe’s really cute dance (hihihi).

In the evening, Dennis invited us to his “house that Adsense bought” (more of Adsense paying for the rent). There was so much food! I liked the kinilaw best and the “clams” (too bad Abe and Jayvee are allergic to seafood! So I ate their share haha). After dinner, Abe and Jayvee did some jamming. Watch the videos here.

Jack’s Ridge, a place overlooking Davao City, was still very much beautiful. Rob, a college friend brought me there two years ago and I thought that the first timers would have a grand time at the place. We ended up at a cozy bar and did some videoke. Watch Abe as he sings a love song.

We had an interesting time at NCCC Mall. Who’d have thought of naming their stores “Juice Ko Day”, “Wear Else” and “We Make Scents”? Crazy isn’t it?

I would love to live in Davao. Aside from free wi-fi all over the place, where else could you eat three barbecues with unlimited rice for only PhP25? Buffet at “Buffet Palace” (the best in Davao) for only PhP200 (and buffet at PhP75 to 99 in other places). Everybody is so easy to speak with, no hassle whatsoever! The place is as clean as Singapore. Not crowded. And the best thing? The beach is just 15 minutes away!

Click on the photo to see more pictures.

Davao

See Davao Blog Party photos here (click on the photo please):

Davao Blog Party

After Davao I hibernated in Cebu for 48 hours. Managed to go to the beach with my best friend. In the evening we went to 22nd St. (they have branches in Las Pinas and Malate in Manila), a comedy club. We had a hilarious time and basically laughed the whole night. It was a good thing we didn’t push through singing on stage. I can just imagine going through the “interview”. I would’ve probably been so embarrassed and would’ve probably died on the spot. Well I left Cebu crying again because parting with one’s best friend is never an easy thing to do.

Click on the photo to see more pictures.

Cebu