Food | Luxurious Feels yet Affordable Treats at Davao Lounge

Me at Davao Lounge

Davao City is a Meetings, Incentives, Conventions or Events (MICE) destination in the Philippines. As more and more MICE activities are being done in the city, there are more venues needed to cater the growing demand. Just recently opened, last year December 2019, Davao Lounge Cafe Restaurant and Business Center is a very promising venue and a Halal-friendly establishment!

Some Davao Lounge Staff

Davao Lounge Outside

Davao Lounge is located at Duterte St., ATU Plaza, Davao City. The establishment is new and entering the vicinity is a bit intimidating. I, for example, thought that the establishment is a very pricey cafe restaurant because it has a very luxurious feel, it is well-lit, cool and with elegant furniture sets. But who would have thought that they have a very affordable menu? They even have MEALennial combo (value meal) as low as P165! You can also enjoy a solo or group (good for 3-4 persons) serving of food as low as P95 upto P750. In fact, they have a great halal-friendly menu.

By the way, they are OPEN 24/7; students and business people can eat and stay there plus enjoy FREE WIFI!

Anyways, I have been saying about their affordable menu, but what do they have? There’s a lot, but I will show you what we have tasted with some of my friends.

The Appetizer - Tuna Kinilaw

Tuna Kinilaw

A raw tuna fish with relish of lemon and spices that is not very sour - a perfect taste! It is also a Davao favorite!

The Soup - Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse

It is a classic stew of the freshest seafood! It is an overwhelming seafood soup, and a good choice! Just eat, don't spell. LOL 

The Pasta - Seafood Pasta

Seafood Pasta

This is a creamy seafood pasta presented like there's a flying fork. It is rich, creamy and perfect pasta noodles - al dente!

The Rice - Asian Rice Platter

Asian Rice Platter

Filipinos love rice and this rice is Chinese style with egg and veges that I think is good for 4 persons.

The Main Courses!

Ardiente Bulalo

Ardiente Bulalo

A different presentation of bulalo with a creamy gravy and yes, it’s ardiente! The meat is tender and the gravy is thick, a bit salty.

Beef Salpicao

Beef Salpicao

It is a cut beef tenderloin with roasted garlic and soy glaze. It is one of my favorites as it is tender and perfectly seasoned.

Orange-Pineapple with Honey Glaze

Orange-Pineapple with Honey Glaze

It is a citrus dish of chicken fillet with pineapple chunks glazed with honey with some spices and cute to its presentation in a pineapple!

Deep Fry St. Peter Fish

Deep Fry St. Peter Fish

It is a cut fish fried with delicious vinegar for dipping.

The Dessert - Brownie Sundae

Brownie Sundae

As a sweet tooth, my mouth is having a party with this! Yes, with a rich fudge, topped with a vanilla ice cream under a crystal-sugar dome and some fruits (apples and strawberry) flavorfully prepared at the sides. It is so heaven! Available this coming Valentine’s!!!

The Drinks - Green Apple Sensation and Ube Keso Smoothie

Green Apple Sensation and Ube Keso Smoothie

Green Apple Sensation is a refreshing drink of green apple with some slices of apples.

Ube Keso Smoothie, as recommended by one of the servers, is a good selection of a not so sweet smoothie with taro flavor and grates of cheese.

Indeed, that’s a sumptuous menu and you have more to choose in the menu.

After that meal, check out the function rooms of Davao Lounge!

Function Room

The function or meeting rooms can be occupied for 4 hours with consumable amount. There’s a meeting room that can accommodate 10 persons worth P5,000 with consumable amount of P4,000. There’s a meeting room that can accommodate 10-12 persons worth P6,500 and also a meeting room that can accommodate 12-15 persons worth P8,500 with respective consumable amount. Aside from that, they have a big well-decorated of elegant furniture function room that can accommodate 70 persons. They have affordable rates to choose from. It is indeed a function that you thought in a hotel but not necessarily in a hotel. It is very nice!

Meeting Room

You may contact Davao Lounge at these mobile numbers +639483294126 or +639776057980 or telephone numbers +6382-333-6717.

I wish more power for Davao Lounge Cafe Restaurant and Business Center with the very sophisticated interiors and delicious food serving!

Thank you, Davao Lounge - Atty Caballero, Chef JL and staff!

Thank you for visiting my avenue, www.ten7avenue.com.

Food | Great Treats at Tiny Kitchen and Dulce Vida

Me, Sir Vince, Leebai and Pal

credit: Pal Raine

Visiting a place, one of the things that you will ask is, “where is the good place to eat at?” In Davao City, one that I can say where you can find great food at a reasonable price is at TINY KITCHEN - it is a Spanish treat!  Yes, it is one of the places that one can immediately think of.

It maybe a bit intimidating to have Spanish names in the menu as many of us are not used to such names. Well, I got intimidated by the names too but they are familiar with the food description in the menu. Oh well, I just want to eat and do not be intimidated! LOL

It is a good day with my friends and new friend, Sir Vince, for having us at the Tiny Kitchen. By the way, not just a good day but one full-tummy lunch! Thank you very much, Sir!

It is fun to learn more about food. Tiny Kitchen offers a wide variety of dishes that my palate really enjoyed. There are seven (7) dishes that we were served and I will give my top three (3) picks, but rest assured everything is really tasting good!

Sopa Blanco

First of, my third pick is the SOPA BLANCO!

It is a hearty clear soup with shells, shrimps, squid and potatoes. I really like the taste of this clear soup, especially with the seafood in it. I just love it! Well, as of its taste and feel, it is not salty, just right, there is bland after-taste brought by the clams and not too heavy in your tummy. There are also some crunches and soaked croutons in the dish. It is in fact a good starter, for me.

Mechado con Patatas

My second pick is the MECHADO CON PATATAS!

Definitely not a Filipino mechado. It is a Spanish style stew of beef with potatoes. Indeed, this is a must try! The beef is not gummy, perfectly cooked, tender, every bite is heaven plus the sauce has a spice that is perfect with a rice. More rice, please!

Fideua Rojo

My top pick is the very delicious FIDEUA ROJO!

It is an angel hair pasta in tomato sauce, seafoods, chicken and chorizo. This is a classic Spanish pasta dish. The dish is very savory! At first I thought that the pasta is misua (my bad…) but it is not, it is fideua - fine Spanish angel hair noodle. Awesomely, delicious! I cannot stop to scoop after finishing a scoop.

But that’s not all, there are still other delicious servings that we munched such as the, following:

Ensalada de Atun Y Oliva

ENSALADA DE ATUN Y OLIVA, a very good appetizer but, for me, it can be a very good meal! Yes, with the components in it: served with delicious bread, there’s the tuna and olives with the oil - it is a great meal already since it got me full. LOL

Paulina's Salad

PAULINA’S SALAD, a name after Sir Vince’s daughter, is a very healthy salad. I really liked the pesto dressing of this! It is very fresh, as you can feel and hear the crunch of the vegetables and yes, the pesto is the best!

Al a Basque Con Patatas

AL A BASQUE CON PATATAS, is another seafood treat from tiny kitchen, based with savory tomato sauce.

Paella Verdura

PAELLA VERDURA, a vegetable paella. This one is really good especially for those non-meat eaters - there’s the asparagus, potatoes, squash and mushroom. Yum-yum!

The serving is good for sharing for 3-4 individuals. Yes, the serving is generous and will really make you full after eating. Aside from that, there are choices of desserts too with Dulce Vida Cakes.

Strawberry Cheesecake

Brazo de Mercedez Cheesecake

Caramel Cheesecake

Dulce Vida has three branches, one in F. Torres St., Azuela Cove and near the Philippine Women’s College in Davao City.

They have a variety of cheesecakes to choose from! They have caramel cheesecake, brazo de mercedez cheesecake, strawberry cheesecake, and others. Then, they have the YOLO cake of several layers of chocolate cake, mousse and peanut butter.

YOLO Cake

It is indeed very fun exploring food. A cup of tea will help you to balance yourself from the experience. Oh yeah! Thank you Tiny Kitchen and Dulce Vida! Until next time! :-)

Thank you for visiting my avenue, www.ten7avenue.com and share your stories, too!

Event | The Paragon Davao Showroom Opens

Model Room for Citadines Paragon Davao

The Paragon Davao is Cebu Landmasters Inc.’s (CLI) fourth mixed-used property development in the Visayas and Mindanao area conceptualized and designed by Callison RTKL in collaboration with top architectural firm RMDA.

Ribbon Cutting by the Partners

The development is a partnership with the Villa-Abrille family, through a joint venture YHES, Inc. The Paragon Davao will have a 26-storey residential condominium (known to be the One Paragon Place), 263-room Citadines Paragon Davao that will be operated by the Ascott Limited, The Paragon Davao Convention Center and The Paragon Davao Lifestyle Mall.

Model room for One Paragon Place

To have a sneak preview of how the rooms will look like at the One Paragon Place and Citadines Paragon Davao, The Paragon Davao showroom opens at the 4^th floor of the Cebu LandMasters Inc. Building, along Quirino Avenue near the Sutherland. The showroom for One Paragon Place showcases tropical and coastal themed model studio and 1-bedroom units; the designs are infused with Davao elements in patterns and textures of materials. The showroom for Citadines Paragon Davao showcases vibrant and space efficient design that has a contemporary style fused with a local flavor.

Mr. Frederick Yuson and Mr. Jose Franco Soberano during media huddle

The Paragon Davao is a masterpiece that amounts to P2.6 billion that is expected to be completed by 2022 and envisioned to be Davao City’s lifestyle destination. According to Mr. Jose Franco Soberano, Vice-President and COO of CLI, that The Paragon Davao is 90% sold already even the showroom is just opened. It is a good indication that CLI and YHES is embraced by the market with open arms since the launch of the project last March 2019.

The showroom will be open every Mondays to Fridays from 9AM to 6PM, and on Saturdays from 9AM to 12noon.

CLI is awarded as Best Developer for 2019 in the Philippines and Best Developer for 2019 in VisMin area, too. The first venture of YHES is the MessaTierra Garden Residences which is about to top off by next month, January 2020.

Mr. Yuson Showing Plans for Times Beach

The other projects expected from their joint venture will be Davao Global Township that is worth P10 billion. The development is around 22 hectare and the road development will be ready in 6 months time. More projects will be expected!

Event | Celebrating 3rd Year of Justice Knights Tracker International

Justice Knights Tracker International Officers and Japanese Guests

Founded 3 years ago by Mr. Eduard T. Fuentes, Justice Knights Tracker International is anchored to help for nation building and eradicating illegal drugs. In their 3 years existence the organization has conducted several activities already like feeding program, bloodletting, livelihood program for the members and medical mission to needy communities in a discreet way. They believe that when you help, it doesn’t need to be broadcasted.

Most of their members are businessmen around the globe, from Asia, Europe and even North America. Members are endorsed with commendable track record and with true desire to help communities. Again, their primary objective is to help the community.

In their 3rd anniversary celebration, they have a whole day activity to accept new members, recognize officers, acknowledge international guests and it also serves as their Christmas party. For me, it is indeed a full-pack event that busy people in helping communities will have so that after this, they can continue with their vision of having a better community aligned with the desires of the incumbent government administration.

In their celebration, there are some guests from Japan who attended and are very willing to help communities in the country to produce tea. The group is eyeing to help many communities with the tea production and also to send somebody to Japan to help their families. Aside from that, members are also discussing the needs of their community and in return, some members offer to help by knowing how they can help in the manufacturing and distribution. It is a simple gesture of “bayanihan” and being a family.

I wish their organization more years to help communities and their ecosystem. May they attain the desires they have for the nation and reach more helpful communities internationally. In that way, they can help many areas in the country to attain a better living.

Thank you for visiting my avenue, www.ten7avenue.com.

Food | Bo's Coffee at the Compound

Bo's Coffee at the Compound

The Compound is one of Davao City's newest hub for various establishments at Tulip Drive, Matina, Davao City. Yes, it is becoming a hub for dining, shopping and other lifestyle events. It is also home to Bo's Coffee's newest branch!

Currently, Bo's Coffee has 103 branches as of December 2018 and the coffee chain hopes to double its presence in the country in the years to come.

Mount Apo Arabica Coffee of Bo's Coffee

Bo's Coffee is known to be one of the local coffee ambassadors in the Philippines and going international, in Qatar. This newest branch of Bo's shows great interiors like the ceiling inspired with the durian thorns with its pointed edges with unevenness, an iconic eagle wall mounted artwork and a very beautiful painted mural showing landmarks of Davao City. You cannot deny the fact that you really are in Davao City! It is one of the things that Bo's Coffee will put in every branch, touch of local scenes and icons that will definitely tell you about the place. Aside from that, if I am to say, Bo's Coffee is not just a place for coffee, it is very cozy and instagrammable!

Trivia: Bo's Coffee beans are coming from various farmers of picked Arabica variety from Sagada, Mount Kitanglad in Bukidnon, Mount Matutum in Tupi, South Cotabato, Atok and Ampucao from Benguet, and Mount Apo. Other beans of Robusta variety comes from Cavite and other coffee highlands in the country. Definitely, Bo's Coffee is championing local coffee and waving a Filipino brand against bigger foreign brands.

Guests and Owners of Bo's Coffee at the Compound

I am very happy to be part of those invited to visit this newest branch of Bo's Coffee. This branch is owned and managed by Samantha Liu. The opening is also graced by Sir Steve Benitez, founder of Bo's Coffee. So far, this branch is one of those not inside a mall and a stand alone shop that is ready to accept a lot of guests and even accommodate corporate meetings.

Breakfast Platter

Food Selection

If you think that Bo's Coffee is only serving coffee, they also have breakfast treats and other snack items to enjoy anytime of the day. Usually, they open at 7:00 AM until 12 midnight. I like their breakfast platter that is heavy and will really give me energy for the day! Aside from that, I like the selection of pasta, too.

So, I hope you guys will visit Bo's Coffee at the Compound and experience great coffee and food!

Thank you for visiting my avenue, www.ten7avenue.com. Don't hesitate to leave your comments or share it to your friends. :)