Luz Kinilaw, Davao City

The longest running restaurant in Davao City is a place called Luz Kinilaw.  It is probably the most famous restaurant in Davao as well.  Luz is located in Salmonan, Davao City, right on the waterfront.  When I say it is on the waterfront, many of you surely have idealic thoughts of a pure and beautiful beach area, girls clad in bikinis running through the sand and such.  Wipe those thoughts from your mind.  That’s not Luz, and that is not the kind of waterfront that I am talking about!

Luz sits right next to the highway, with the Davao Gulf right behind it. This waterfront area is a squatters area, dirty, dingy, it even stinks a little bit.  But, Luz is quintessential Davao.  Luz is famous all across the country!  Television commercials have been filmed at Luz.  When major politicians visit Davao and want to eat the foods that Davao is famous for, they go to Luz.  When you go to eat at Luz you never know who will be at the next table… it could be a poor, common “Juan dela Cruz” or it could be the President or a well known Senator.  The place is that diverse!

My friend, Rick Bowden and I went to Luz for lunch on Wednesday, and shot a little video of the experience so that you could come along for the meal. Sorry, I haven’t figured out how to actually send food through the Internet, so you can only watch!

For lunch, we had Panga, which is Tuna Jaw.  Rick also enjoyed the dish that Luz is famous for, Kinilaw!  Kinilaw is raw fish with vinegar and vegetables.  I’m not a fan of Kinilaw.  It’s not the raw fish, I love raw fish, but when I choose to eat my fish raw, I prefer sashimi.  We also had rice, and soup.  We even enjoyed a few live ants with our tuna, since they were crawling on the plate!  You get used to things like that when you live in the tropics for any length of time!  I know that it didn’t bother me, and Rick didn’t seem too upset about the ants either!

Anyway, it was a great meal, and a place like Luz really shows you the “real” Philippines, and how the common people live!  I hope that you enjoy the video!

By the way, how much was the lunch?  Two people – one medium sized tuna jaw, rice, kinilaw, drinks…. P350 total.  Not bad!

Fine Dining in Davao!

Last week was a hard week for everybody, worldwide.  The pressures of all the economic problems coming into play were a real roller coaster ride.  With the stock markets worldwide plunging one day and rallying the next day, it was enough to leave your head spinning.  By Friday evening, Feyma and I were ready for a little distraction, so we went out for dinner with my friends John Grant, and Migs Bassig, each of whom are also columnists here on LiP.

John was wanting to go to a local Italian Restaurant that I recently introduced him to, La Toscana.  Their food is excellent, but I was in the mood to try something new.  I had recently been hearing about a restaurant in town that I had never tried before, Bryan’s Grill and Café.  I didn’t know much about the place, but had heard that the food was good.  When Feyma and I picked up John and Migs, I informed them that we’d be trying a new place, didn’t give them much of a choice I think.

Bryan’s is located in a neighborhood subdivision, Palm Village subdivision, not too far from where we live.  It wasn’t hard to find the place, although we had no idea where it was just directions from a friend.  When we walked in, it wasn’t quite what I expected.  I thought it looked a little downscale, and based on the descriptions of the food that I had heard I thought it would be quite the opposite.  But, I wanted to try something new, so I thought let’s give it a try.

I ordered a Caesar salad and an orange honey glazed chicken with baked potatoes.  Feyma ordered a spare rib with a peanut-based sauce, with Rice.  John ordered a sirloin steak with potato wedges, and Migs ordered the same as Feyma’s.  Oh yes, Feyma also ordered a shrimp cocktail.

When my salad and Feyma’s cocktail arrived, I was quite happy with it.  Mostly, I was happy because the appetizers came before the main dish, which usually doesn’t happen here.  The Caesar salad was excellent, also.  The dressing on the salad was a little bit different than what you would normally expect on the Caesar salad, but delicious nonetheless.  Feyma said that her shrimp cocktail was also excellent.

Shortly after we finished our appetizers (which Feyma and I also shared with John and Migs).  Our main courses arrived.  The plating of these main courses was absolutely stunning.  It looked like something you’d see in a gourmet restaurant in London or Paris, possibly New York.  This food looked like something that Gordon Ramsay was serving, not something you’d find in Davao city.  When we tasted our dishes, the flavor was just as good as the looks too.

Orange Honey Glazed Chicken

Sparerib with Peanut Sauce

Sirloin Steak with Potato Wedges

So, Friday really turned out to be a great evening.  Good food, good friends, and we found a new restaurant that will surely be one of our favorites for sometime to come.  Another pleasant thing about the place was the prices, very reasonable.  Personally, I would say that this is one of the best restaurants in Davao city, and the prices are cheaper than some of the other restaurants too.

After we ate our meal, we had a chance to speak with Bryan, he is the owner and also the chef.  Bryan was trained at a well-known culinary Institute, and I can say for certain that he really knows his business. when it comes to cooking and also presentation of the food, Bryan is in a class by himself.  In addition, I found bride-to-be Bryan to be a very likable person, quite friendly.  Although, I think he was a bit shy, but I’m sure that will be going back for additional visits and will probably see him shed his shyness, as we continue to return to his business.

In addition to the restaurant, Bryan also operates a bed and breakfast at the location, and has a beautiful swimming pool as well.  The rates for swimming, and also for an overnight stay are very reasonable as well.  It’s a place that I will be recommending to friends who want to stay in Davao in the future.

If you’re in Davao, I highly recommend a visit to Bryan’s Grill.

Jacks Ridge Davao City

If you are lucky enough to come to Davao City one of the places I suggest you need to visit is a place called Jacks Ridge which set high up on a hill looks down on the beautiful Davao City and its Gulf and all the surroundings.

During the day time there its very quiet and you can almost have the swimming pool to yourself and partake at the restaurants with a view to die for. At night its very livey and boasts good music and a great atmosphere and is very popular with the locals who have money.

The Ridge has a children’s playground even what appears to be a mock up of a World War Two plane simulated in a crash position by the swimming pool which certainly gets your attention. There is evidence that a new hotel will also be built on the site and already you can hire small cottages that over look the City. from its vantage point of Shrine Hills in the Matina district.

Here is a link to the official web page JACKS RIDGE

The recent history of Jacks Ridge includes the fall of the Japanese in world war two by the Americans who outmanoeuvred them