Imagine an event that is half a week long, and is full of food stops in between. Imagine that coupled with some adventure, new friends, and many other activities in between. That’s exactly what I have tried… TWICE.

Every year, Davao’s blogging organisation: Davao Bloggers Society  organises the longest-running super food event called DFAT or Davao Food Appreciation Tour. I call this a super food event because they always make sure that we have our next 3-4 days fully packed with a series of nomnom adventures and exciting activities that allow us to see more of Davao other than just the food.

It Began with a Buffet

As a Cebuano, we didn’t have Viking’s Buffet back in 2015 so it was really cool to finally try it! They’re now in SM City Cebu if you’re wondering. Anyway, we got in pretty early so it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves!

If you are a foodie you’d prolly start hyperventilating. There was just lines and lines and lines of food everywhere. The sushi section boasted a seemingly unending flow of sashimi, maki and sushi. You’ve got premium meat cuts, cold cuts, and other hot stuff. Drinks were not a problem as they seemed to have everything for everyone. Beer drinkers rejoice, their beer is unlimited. If I recall correctly I broke my 6 month alcohol-fast with a pint of beer in one of those nice beer mugs.

Finally for the desserts portion, you had cakes, small treats in cute shot glasses, froyo, ice cream (you CANNOT not have ice cream) and even our pinoy street favourite: Taho!

Okay here’s the fun part as well when eating in Viking’s – BIRTHDAY dance! For birthday celebrants you can inform the management ahead about a celebrant in your table. Out comes the flashy Viking’s birthday arc along with the helmet that the celebrant SHOULD wear. A rather lively dancing and singing performance will occur (no dance is the same in each branch so be sure to check out the unique live performances every time you try out a new Viking’s Buffet in the Philippines). After the celebrant has been embarrassed till kingdom come, you can all laugh about it and post the videos for further embarrassment.
It’s Not Davao without Durian

Though the dinner was hearty and fun, Koya Drew offered to bring us to the fruit market where we could have some late night Durian snacking. It really isn’t a complete Davao experience if you do not try some Durian. For the more experienced eaters you can try getting the really strong variants. If you’re new to this Durian game, then start with the sweeter ones.

Durian may smell bad on the outside and may even be gross to the new players, but as you keep eating it I think it is actually an acquired taste. To some Dabawenyos, this is nice to pair with a can of Coke.

Putting it simply, Day 1 consisted of me eating as soon as I arrived, then before I went home for sleep, I ate again. I think I’m still very much on-track with my title.

Filling up with a Full Course Meal

You can pretty much guess that I slept quite late after our Durian stop the night before.  Though I did wake up quite early I refused to have breakfast to make enough space for the series of meals we will be having the rest of the day.

For lunch Marco Polo Davao treated us to a full-course meal that consisted of not-so-usual creations that gave us a rather interesting dining experience. Lunch by the poolside consisted with dishes like the Tiger Prawn, Quinoa salmon salad, sirloin steak, and cute treats in shot glasses. You know you’re in a classy place cuz they got their desserts in Shot glasses (just a theory, you can argue further in the comments section).

Grabbing Gelato at Missy Bonbon

The City tour got us seeing Davao City but just as this is a story on how I got fat (fatter), let me tell you of this pretty place called Missy Bonbon which serves some very sweet treats. Missy Bonbon offers some great baked goodies and on top of the Sans Rival Gelato I ordered, Brennan treated us all to a round of cheese rolls! Missy Bonbon’s cheese rolls are quite popular and  the next time you pass by a Missy Bonbon you gotta try this delicious roll. It makes for a good pasalubong. Note: Cebu now has Missy Bonbon at the Mactan Cebu International Airport Gate 5 Domestic Departure Area.

Still in Love with Lachi’s

In the  few times that I’ve been to Davao, Lachi’s is always on my list of places to eat in when in Davao. Dabawenyos are all praises for this humble café which serves unforgettable  baby back ribs, cheesecakes made with love, and their famous Sans Rival. I’ve had friends insist that I fly them one whole Sans Rival cake to their city!

This small restaurant/café is actually run by two brothers, twins, who are very hands-on with the creation of their pastries. In all the years it has been running this place always gets full and in fact this led to their small expansion. Lachi’s Davao will always have a special place in my heart, may it stay humble and delicious at all times.

I Got Drunk

And so with every DFAT San Miguel Brewery, through the facilitation of  Meggy who was present in both DFAT events that I attended, sponsors an evening session with the bloggers. Last time it was a Tuna buffet, this time it’s, yes, a drinking session. Now coming from 6 months of no alcohol in my bloodstream, I guess I kinda forgot HOW to drink properly without losing my sense of self-control. Note to self: drink water in between hard drinks. I can’t recall much of what happened but I do remember Ate Ria buying Yellow Cab and I had flashes of memory in between. I took a selfie during the peak of my intoxication. I tend to do that, I dunno why. Documentation perhaps? But it was fun, thank you San Miguel Brewery!
Recovery Lunch at Alor’s

Ria pretty much knew that no one was gonna be up and about in the morning due to last night’s activities so our next stop of the trip was then lunch time at Alor’s.

 

If you’re Cebuano, you’d know catering services like Creative Cuisine and I think Alor’s pretty much feels like that. They had a nice selection of finger food like their Bacon rolls (you can’t go wrong with Bacon), lumpia shots and other sweet stuff.

The folks behind Alor’s could not resist sharing their other cool food like their rainbow cakes and their delicious Strawberry lemonade. I’m such a strawberry boy so this really made me happy.

 

 My Last Stop: Basti’s Brew

Davao does not disappoint with my last food stop being a very full meal. We had the option of either going for the pork belly or the Chicken Cordon Bleu. White meat was my choice of last supper. They also had cakes but this wasn’t ordered because the group was off to Matina Town Square for Halo-halo.

Sadly I had to make an early leave because this was also around that time that I was entering a new chapter in my professional life. I had to be back in Cebu the very next day. The weekend was well-spent and Davao continues to keep me nice and fattened like the cruel children that burned that poor witch. All she ever wanted to do was share her house of delicious goodies.

Thank you Davao and thank you Davao bloggers society! Special thanks to Ate Ria for always making DFAT possible so that more bloggers outside Mindanao can see that life is truly “here” at Davao.

I have been filled with food, fun, and friendship. So with 2 buffets, 3 snack breaks, 2 full-course meals, 1 drinking session, post-drinking pizza,  and other in-between nomnoms, THAT is how Davao made me fat.

The Crazy Juann