Classic Davao... My Fave Childhood Restos

To be honest, I hardly know Davao City any more. Well it’s my fault. I left my hometown back in 1995 to pursue a college degree in UP Diliman. Later on Metro Manila inevitably became my new permanent residence after I graduated. During my recent visit last March I was overwhelmed by the dramatic make-over that my former humble and simple town underwent. I always visit Davao every year but it was only then I really took notice of its metamorphosis.

As of date 3 new malls are being constructed, coffee shops are found at practically every street corner, the restaurant industry is booming, the increasing number of international flights, traffic is much heavier, etc etc… One clear indicator for me that I’m already a stranger in my own land is when I don’t recognize even one person on the plane home any more. I’ve been experiencing that ever since the turn of the century.

I remember that I used to dream of a developing Davao in one of my feature articles on our High School Newspaper back in the very early ‘90s. I even had an interview with Mayor Duterte for that cover story and he was able to share to me the city government’s plan to construct a flyover across Buhangin and Bajada. And now it’s been there for years. I feel a tingle of pride knowing that I was one of those privileged few to learn about the infrastructure project beforehand.

As much as I am impressed with the growth spurt of the municipality, I can’t help but be all sappy and nostalgic about the Davao that I know back in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. The cityscape has certainly changed. While some of the iconic Davao establishments are still there, most are already gone. Let me just drive down memory lane and reminisce about the places that were uniquely Davao during my childhood. Let me start this list with my favorite thing: FOOD!

MY FAVORITE CLASSIC DAVAO RESTAURANTS
Some of my family’s favorite restaurants still exist and it’s quite a delight to know that these Davao Classics are still alive. They may have refurbished their restaurants to keep with the times and improved their menu but nothing beats the good ol’ days…

1. MERCO (Bolton St/227-4435)– Owned by the Ferrazinis, this café/restaurant/bakeshop which was originally just an ice cream parlor is truly a Davao Icon since 1946!!! Right now I’m not sure how many branches they already have but the one I have fondest memories of is its mother branch on Bolton corner Rizal Sts. How can you ever forget their posters that said “Share a Seat, Win a Friend”? And oh, did I mention their banana split… classic Merco rolls… and Durian shake? Yummy!!! Haaay… nakaka-miss.

2. HARANA (Torres St/ 227-3937)– This is the place to go to whenever an occasion calls for a nice dinner celebration. The cuisine is All-Filipino. Dining is al fresco. The best time to go is always in the evening. I love their sinigang na baboy and the grilled tuna. But of course as a kid, food was secondary for me when we have a family date at Harana. The best thing about this place is its PLAYGROUND! This is the only restaurant I know that has that classic steel monkey bars, old tire swings, and giant slides made of marble stones! Child safety was certainly still unheard of at that time. And true enough, one of us always had to go home with a bump on his head or a scratch on his knee after a visit to Harana. The old Harana in Matina Street has long been gone. There’s still another one at F. Torres Street but I’m not sure if they still have those marble slides.

3. CHICKIES N’ PATTIES (Bonifacio St/ 227-4918) – I think this restaurant was more famous for its jingle than for its chicken! Hahaha! If you were a kid growing up in Davao City, you probably at some point in your childhood memorized the lyrics to the Chickies & Patties jingle. Okay, let me see if I still remember them… “Come all friends! Come to Chickies & Patties, where the chickies are always the best! Taste is different at Chickies & Patties, once you bite you will never go for less. Prices are right at Chickies & Patties. Quality. Specialty for you and for me like na na na na na na and yummy sandwiches, cheesy chickie burgers and many many more. Plus quality service from Chickies & Patties!!!” ... Need I say more? Hahaha. I forgot some of the lyrics. Anybody?

4. DENCIAS (Gen. Luna St/ 227-6777) – We go to Dencias for one thing only – lugaw and tokwa’t baboy! And they have been serving this comfort food for 70 years now. What is even amazing is that it has stayed on its original location all this time. I remember back in the ‘80s, the restaurant had two areas – the main dining hall where customers order the typical Chinese ala carte dishes and then there’s the smaller “lugaw” room as I call it. They serve nothing else but lugaw in that room and the people don’t mind. Once you enter the room, no need to tell the waitresses what you need. Just take your seat and for sure a bowl of steaming hot lugaw will appear right under your nose before you know it.

5. CECIL’S SNACK INN (Anda St/227-5305) – When I was a kid, I loved going to the dentist not only because my dentist was a nice sweet old lady who gave me lollipops after each tooth extraction (kinda ironic, huh?) but because right across her clinic on Anda Street is Cecil’s Snack Inn – home of the best Luglug (palabok in Tagalog) in town, if not in the entire Philippines! A visit to the dentist was always followed with a merienda at Cecil’s. I think another reason why my mom and I always frequented the place was because the owner was an old classmate of hers or something like that.

Other noteworthy of being named as part of the Davao Classic List are the following:

6. JALTAN FOOD CENTRUM which started as a small canteen right beside the family’s Jaltan Drugstore in the ‘60s and has been the go-to place for its bestseller merienda fares: fresh lumpia, maruya, and other native delicacies… (City Hall Drive/227-3477)

7. TAPS for its (you guess it) variety of student-friendly tapsilog meals. I remember back in High School, we would sneak out of the campus during lunch time just so we could eat here… (Duterte St)


8. HONEYBEAR CHICKEN HOUSE, which already closed down several years ago and now is back… (Quirino Ave/226-8288)

9. MOLAVE for its greaseless chicken and for being one of the “fine dining” places in Davao BACK THEN… (Jacinto St/227-6522)

10. COLASA'S for its world-famous chicken barbeque… (Magallanes St/224-0098)

11. LUZ KINILAW for being one of the Mayor’s favorite seaside dining places; also where you can savor seafood at its best for coastal cheap prices for 40 years now… (Quezon Blvd/226-4612)

12. ZED PIZZA for their famous and Davao’s first square pizza… (Bonifacio St/221-0958)

And though it doesn’t exist anymore I’m sure fellow Ateneans could remember:
13. DELIHOUSE, the burger & hotdog kiosk right outside the Ateneo Grade School gate which serves a mouth-watering bacon-cheesedog. Oh my! I think that was when I started becoming chubby in Grade 5.

If you’re visiting Davao City anytime soon, get on a Food Trip and experience the same Davao I had when I was growing up. The Area Code for the phone numbers I provided is 82.

Check out my next blog on Classic Davao Shopping & Lifestyle! :-)