Do 30 things in Davao (Concluded from Sunday)
Exhibit M: Durian porn, love it or hate it
Though available year-round, durian’s peak season starts around late July, August and September. Let’s focus our attention on those who love it, as it’s probably the only fruit that elicits either deep appreciation or intense disgust, never in between.
To the durian cognoscenti (hmmm, we’re getting a li’l hoity-toity here), they’ll never run out of words to describe their obsession: creamy, buttery rich custard vs. watery mouth feel; hint of spicy garlic vs. burnt toffee-like finish; thick meat vs. less substance; profound vs. lacking in depth. It could have a pleasant sweet smell, but to the uninitiated, it smells hellishly revolting, like standing in front of an open sewer, or so they claim. Nevertheless, it is considered an aphrodisiac by many.
Anyway, fruit stands abound all over the city, especially along Magsaysay Avenue in Chinatown. But there’s an establishment that stands out, not like a sore thumb, but like a jewel in a sea of fruit vendors: D’ Farmers Market. It is basically a fruits and pastries center cum coffee shop, owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Larry and Amy Miculob. Its specialty, though, is durian. Their 14-hectace farm is located in Calinan District, Davao City. It is planted with cash crops and an assortment of fruit-bearing trees.
At the time of our visit, the “durian man,” Larry, gave us a primer on the four cultivars he sells in ready-peeled, vacuum-sealed and blast-frozen packs that are perfect for check-in luggage. He has the Aroncillo, Puyat, Muntong or D101 (so-called for its entry-level qualities, meaning rather bland and odorless), and Para sa Pari. The latter, as the name implies, is the rarest and most sought-after fruit reserved “for the priest.” But I thought durian is supposed to be an aphrodisiac? Give him papaya instead. (Wink!)
The Mayor was seen once on television eating durian with his fingers (Larry said true Davaoeños eat durian with bare hands, not with disposable plastic gloves tourists are often seen doing.) Could the durian be his secret elixir that keeps him energized till the wee hours of the morning? Holding court in After Dark and patrolling the city in a taxicab, that is. I just wonder what cultivar is his favorite?
Finally, Larry advises the best way to rid oneself of the smell of durian in one’s fingers and mouth is by pouring water into a hallow durian shell, dip your fingers into the water, and gargle with this rinsing water afterwards.
(D’ Farmers Market – Pryce Road, Bajada, Davao City. Tel: +63-82-225-4861; +63-998-541-5057. Email: dfarmersmarket@yahoo.com.)
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Exhibit N: The buck stops here, in the South, that is
The so-called Malacañang of the South is located well within the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Depot compound in Km 14, Panacan District, along the Davao-Agusan Hi-way.
Its construction was started during the last quarter of 2005 and was completed in 2006. It was used by then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as her official residence whenever she was in Davao. It has eight guest rooms on the second floor. During P-Noy’s term, the building was left unused. It has been slightly renovated and refurbished as the official workplace of President-elect Rody Duterte while in Davao City. The guest rooms were converted into holding rooms for visiting dignitaries while waiting for their audience with the president.
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Exhibit O: From the outside looking in
Chef Gene Gonzalez, chef/patron of Café Ysabel and founder of Center for Asian Culinary Studies (CACS) in San Juan, Metro Manila, opened a branch of his school in Davao City some nine years ago. This is his story:
“When I opened CACS in Davao City, the first reaction of everyone was ‘Why Davao?’ This was only because I have been going in and out of this place doing short contracts and I found the quality of life and business climate so enticing.
“On certain occasions that I would bump into Mayor Digong in some of his favorite restaurants and his fave sing-along bar (After Dark), he showed that he was very reachable and would at least do some small talk with people who approached him.
“There was a time when everyone knew everybody in this city. But even when the highways had opened and there was a migration to this city, the mayor had kept the peace and order situation even as the city had expanded and there was this economic boom. It felt like I was ready to bring CACS and introduce our method of culinary learning. Davao residents’ attitude to following rules and productivity became ingrained in Davao culture. Added to this was a chef’s playground of wonderful ingredients like excellent fruits, chocolate, rice, pork, poultry, fresh and preserved fish or seafood that was so enticing and available in their wet markets as well as supermarkets that are still crying out for more development. Part of our programs, though international in standard, is to make our Davao students appreciate the gastronomic potential of their homegrown ingredients.
“We also sponsored a lecture to their tourist guides and tourism students on the flavors and ingredients which they may have taken for granted as ordinary but which have great tourism potential. It’s a great pleasure to see the progress of our students. To date, we’ve had about 300 full graduates and countless short-course students. Most of our graduates have been contributing to their family coffers being employed here and abroad.”
(CACS Davao City – Don Dionisio Complex, Cabaguio Avenue across NSO, Davao City. Tel: +63-82-282-8373.)
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Exhibit P: Doing it their way
A little past midnight, Atty. Salvador S. Saleno, Chief Presidential Legal Council to the incoming president, and the man who started the road to Malacañang rolling, was belting it out at the karaoke bar After Dark. He had invited me here in the hope the Mayor might drop by and introduce me. But alas, that was never to happen.
He sang two from his repertoire — From the Bottom of My Heart and his original composition, You Are the Love of My Life. When he and our lady companions egged me to join him onstage, which I did, the pianist asked me what song I’d like to sing. Not good at remembering song titles, but nevertheless capable of humming along to a song once played, I replied “any song by The Carpenters.” You want to know what that f***ing idiot replied? (The swearing must be contagious.) “Pampababae lang mga yon (Those are for girls only).” Gusto kong bautukan. Since when did songs have any gender, I asked myself? Anyway, I hummed along whatever my new pal Sal was singing. It’s just a pity none of our companions took a photo of us singing together. It would have added to my bragging rights. There goes my singing career (wink, wink.)
Outside of his lawyering, Sal (to his family and close friends) is a known crooner, excellent piano player and a composer. He has yet to record these compositions, which he ought to do soon, he said. The Mayor’s own favorite songs when he’s at After Dark are MacArthur’s Park and Windmills of Your Mind, both difficult songs to pull off, added Sal.
Asking him which nickname the Mayor wants used when he’s president (like PGMA, Erap or P-Noy), he said it’s “President Rody” (pronounced “Rudy,” as the Mayor himself pronounces it).
Someone stepped onto the stage and sang an “original” (not Sal) composition of his to the tune of Obla-di, Obla-da. It went like this: “Dooteertee, Dooteertee, Roodee Dooteertee, Pilipinas para kay Dooteertee.” It’s no wonder the political spinners came up with the very catchy Du30 name — that’s exactly how it is pronounced in this part of the country.
Forgive my impertinence in calling my new pal Sal, but earlier in the evening, I sat next to him for a dinner at Claude’s (not mine but that of Frenchman Le Neindre). Little did I know that Sal was a former classmate of my two elder brothers Lito and Mario at UP Law in the late 1960s. “Not just classmates, but buddies. I used to go to your house in Pampanga,” he said.
Another common ground between ourselves is his de-stressing activity: bonsai making. He has created some 300 bonsais over the years in his Marikina City house, taking pride in starting them from “material” gathered from the wild (not ready-made or bought from other bonsai enthusiasts). I look forward to his invitation to view them one day.
(After Dark Resto Bar – Sandawa Plaza, Quimpo Boulevard, Davao City, 8000. Tel: +63- 82-298 0299.)
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Exhibit P: Midnight at the tiangge
Back in 2013, a night market was established by the City Council along the wide-open, underutilized Roxas Avenue to address the congestion of sidewalk vendors on San Pedro Street and the City Hall area. Though it was initially met with protests by the street vendors, it has since become one of the liveliest tiangge night markets around the city, attracting both locals and tourists alike.
The dry goods vendors and food stalls run around the canal that divide Roxas Avenue for several blocks. Like all tiangges anywhere, all sorts of merchandise abound like new and used clothing, fashion accessories, footwear, leather goods (albeit synthetic), etc., all at bargain prices (one must haggle). And for the tired feet, there’s a section where massage therapists offer their services, if you don’t mind sitting out in the open on high-back plastic chairs, in full view of passersby.
We went there on our first night, Monday, walking just about 100 meters from our hotel. Yet it was teeming with people, mostly college students and office workers still in their uniforms. One would think it was a weekend night, like eating out was going out of fashion. The food stalls were all doing brisk business, from grilled meats and seafood, fried potatoes and meatballs balls, ready-to-eat peeled fruits, boiled and fried peanuts, and “dirty” ice cream carts. Its most famous one, Mang Danny’s ice cream, was conspicuously absent that night. It is said that people queue up for several hours just to have a cone or two of his frozen delight in three flavors — chocolate, mango and durian (at P20 per cone of five assorted scoops.) Oh well, that gives us a pretty good reason to come back.
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(Roxas Night market – Roxas Avenue, from 5 p.m. till 2 a.m., open daily.)
Exhibit R: DU31, the man was on fire
It was a mammoth celebration like no other. Dubbed “DU31: One Love, One Nation Thanksgiving Party,” some 300,000 people trooped to the Davao Crododile Park last June 4. It was a star-studded 12-hour party that ended at 1 a.m. the following day. Its host, the park’s owner and a long-time friend and supporter of the Mayor, Philip “Sonny” Dizon, had this to share:
“It was a well-planned and well-executed event, I must say. Some 4,000 policemen were fielded that day. Buses were provided to shuttle in the people, but a lot walked all the way from the city. Many booths were set up selling food and drinks. Live entertainment was continuously being performed. When the Mayor finally arrived, I accompanied him onstage. Being such a humid and muggy night due to the impending rain, I was fanning myself with an abanico I borrowed from my wife. When the Mayor started to speak, I stood next to him still fanning myself. But as he went on with his speech, I felt the heat building up from him — the man was on fire addressing the crowd! That’s when I started fanning him, like I was stoking the fire to spread its heat.”
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(Davao Crocodile Park Address: ?Riverfront, Corporate City, Diversion Highway, Ma-a, Davao City, 8000. Tel.no: +63-82-301-3274, +63-82-305-7080)
Exhibit S – make mine medium well
Claude’s Le Café de Ville was established in 1996 by husband and wife team, FrenchmanClaude Le Neindre and Filipina Tess Villanueva. He takes care of the restaurant operations while Tess does the back of the house. It serves French and Mediterranean dishes in a homey and laid-back setting within the white Oboza ancestral house right in the heart of Davao City.
Whenever Mayor Rody Duterte finds himself at Claude’s, he’d order his usual favorite dishes, which the maître ‘d already knows by heart: fresh Fin de Claire oysters on the half shell, two to three pieces of lamb chops (medium well) served with asparagus (instead of the standard mixed vegetables), and sautéed mushrooms as a side dish. And no alcoholic beverage for him, please. Just Coke Zero.
(Claude’s Le Café de Ville – Oboza Heritage House, 143 Rizal Street, Davao City. Tel: +63-82-222-4287. Www.claudescafedavao.com.)
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The author wishes to thank the following: Sonny and Bol Dominguez; Atty. Salvador Panelo; Sonny Dizon of Davao Crocodile Park; Dir. Robby Alabado III, DOT XI Davao Regional Director; Benjie Lizada, president of Restaurant Owners Association of Davao City (ROADC); Mary Ann “Baby” Montemayor, Davao Region Tourism Council Chair; Pao and Rina Angeles; Olive Puentespina, Larry Miculob of D’Farmers Market; Chef Gene Gonzalez and the countless anonymous Davaoeños who have made our six-day visit a most memorable one, not to mention a most delicious one. Lami gyud kaayo! Daghang salamat sa inyong tanan. Burp!
Recipe File: Du30’s paksiw na bangus by Ate Solde
