Eat through Davao in a day

Mention Davao to a life-long foodie, and a few things will come up more often than others. First, durian: that odoriferously delicious fruit grown in the farms around Davao City. Second, kinilaw: the tasty raw-tuna dish that pairs very well with beer. Third, tuna: Davao diners’ favorite fish from General Santos City's fish ports.

If you're visiting Davao with plans to gorge yourself silly on local fare, then this one’s for you. Do a whole day's worth of traveling and eating through Mindanao's premier city.

Breakfast: Sinangag at Taps

Taps has long been synonymous with quick, hearty fried rice breakfasts for as long as your correspondent can remember. Its eponymous and inexpensive tapsilog aside, Taps serves plenty of other creatively named meat-rice-egg team-ups, including bellybangsilog (bangus belly), hulongsilog (hubad or skinless longganisa) and primasilog (pritong manok or fried chicken).

Most Taps branches are open 24 hours a day. Try one of its newer branches at Damosa Gateway, JP Laurel Avenue cor. Mamay Road.

e

The much-maligned durian is surprisingly good friends with milk; pastillas and ice cream do very well when flavored with durian. So does that coffee shop favorite: cappuccino.

Enter Davao's BluGre Coffee and its durian "gatchpuccino", or hot durian-flavored cappuccino. (The "gatch" in the name refers to BluGre's proprietor, "Gatchie" Gatchalian; the cold cappuccino is named the "larcepuccino" after Gatchy's wife Larcy.)

Visit the BluGre branch at LandCo Corporate Center on JP Laurel Avenue across from Victoria Plaza, down the street from Taps.

Lunch: Kinilaw at Marina Tuna Restaurant

To experience tuna at its most versatile, you'll need to travel north up the old airport road to a unique fish restaurant. Marina Tuna boasts of serving different versions of tuna—from the usual ways (tuna sashimi, grilled tuna jaw, grilled tuna belly) to unusual adaptations (tuna kare-kare, crispy tuna tail) to the positively exotic (tuna eye soup, sizzling tuna pancreas, tuna roe, tuna tendon).

Marina Tuna also serves its very own tuna kinilaw, made from fresh, raw tuna soaked in vinegar and served with chopped vegetables and chilies. Who knew tuna had so much personality?

To get to Marina Tuna Restaurant, go up Km. 8 Barrio Pampanga in Sasa.

Dessert: Durian at Magsaysay Park

Your durian gatchpuccino experience at BluGre will have primed you to try the real thing, and where better to experience absolutely fresh durian than at Magsaysay Park? The road in front of this small, dingy seafront park is lined with fruit stalls selling durian and a few other Davao agricultural products.

Be warned, though: the Magsaysay Park experience isn't for visitors who don't like to get their hands dirty. To really enjoy your durian-eating spree, you need to get knuckle-deep in the fruit, eat the pulp, and lick what's left of it off your fingers.

Snack: Coffee for Peace

The cramped, one-floor space that Coffee for Peace calls its own reflects its owners' back-to-the-grassroots aspirations. It is filled with handmade knick-knacks, shirts, and artwork for sale. The coffee shop serves freshly-brewed Arabica coffee bought from Davao coffee growers at more-than-fair prices. Their revel bar is unusually rich, a perfect match with the house brew.

The revenues from Coffee for Peace go to educating coffee farmers and helping them with livelihood programs.

Coffee for Peace is across the street from McDonald's Matina, on McArthur Highway. Visit their site: coffeeforpeace.com.

Dinner: Ronaldo's

Davao's best foot forward for fusion cuisine comes to us at Ronaldo's, a Filipino restaurant.

Ronaldo's uses Davao's fresh, tasty ingredients in Filipino dishes infused with French influences. Ronaldo's pizza is one of its more popular appetizers, using locally made cheese and topped with arugula. End your meal with yet another durian-based dish—Ronaldo’s durian sans rival is a rich little pastry morsel topped with a spun-sugar garnish.

Find Ronaldo's at the Holiday Gym and Spa Complex, F. Torres Street. Visit their Facebook page.

Nightcap: Matina Town Square

Finish your day-long Davao food trip with a beer or three at Matina Town Square, known as "MTS" to locals. A sizeable performance space in its center is surrounded by bars, grills and restaurants, some with interesting entertainment of their own, whether through up-and-coming musical acts, flea-market shopping, or random beer-bonding sessions with friends.

Matina Town Square is at McArthur Highway, near the Ateneo de Davao campus.