At home in Davao City

Every chance I get, I eat at Bondi & Bourke. I always like the food in this Australian restaurant and always have a laugh with owner and Australian chef Wade Watson.

(Left) Australian Embassy Deputy Head of Mission Mat Kimberley. (Right) Chiche Alejandre-McCarthy and Patrick McCarthy.

After opening Bondi & Bourke restaurants in Legazpi Village in Makati and Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, the Bondi & Bourke Group opened The Bourke Hotel in Davao City.

(Left) Jay Lee and Chin Chin Lat-Santos. (Right) Kawshik Sehwani and former Special Assistant to the President Bong Go.

The quaint hotel is located at 115 P. Pelayo St., Poblacion District at the heart of downtown Davao City.

The official opening of the hotel was led by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte, who was also a longtime mayor of Davao City. The President together with Wade Watson and Australian Embassy Deputy Head of Mission Mat Kimberley took part in the ceremonial opening.

President Duterte with (from left) Wonsok Heo, Kawshik Sehwani and Quinto Oreta.

The Bourke Hotel offers spacious rooms and a 24-hour full guest service concierge. Each of the 20 suites, inspired by classic Filipino-Spanish design elements, is appointed with custom furnishing mostly by Cebu-based furniture designer Obra Cebuana. Every room also has a 60-inch smart TV, open closets and imported Egyptian cotton linens. Breakfast can be enjoyed in-room or at Bondi & Bourke Davao also located in the same compound.

Bondi & Bourke Davao is also located in the same compound as the hotel.

(For more information, visit www.thebourke.com, call 6382-227-8613 and 6382-227-1230 or e-mail [email protected]. Check out @TheBourkeHotel on Instagram and Facebook.)

Best in eSports

Electronic sports (eSports) is a continuously growing industry not just in the country but also worldwide. And with its rising popularity, competitive video gaming reportedly will be included as an exhibition event at this year’s Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines.

Acer and Predator Philippines sales and marketing director Sue Ong-Lim.

Recently, eSports teams in the Philippines gathered at High Grounds Cafe in Quezon City for the prestigious Predator League: Dota 2 Finals. This is the second year that Predator is holding the tournament in the country.

Four semi-finalists battled for the title: Alpha Gaming from Visayas, Neon eSports from Metro Manila, TaskUs Titans from Luzon and NCGC from Mindanao. All four teams were determined to win the top prize, not just for cash but for the bragging rights to be called the best of the best.

Neon eSports — composed of Andrei Ong, Rafael Palo, Christian John Abasolo, Ejay Maque and Marc Mamales — emerged as the over-all winner and brought home P120,000 grand prize. First runner-up TaskUs received P40,000 while second runner-up NCGC and third runner-up Alpha Gaming received P20,000 each.

Predator League Dota 2 Finals champions Neon eSports members (from left) Rafael Palo, Andrei Ong, Christian John Abasolo, Marc Mamales and Ejay Maque.

Predator is a product series dedicated to PC gaming from Acer. The line includes desktop, notebooks, tablets and monitors that provide a complete gaming experience.

Acer and Predator Philippines sales and marketing director Sue Ong-Lim said, “The gaming notebook market has been growing fast and steadily around 80 percent. Predator’s growth is almost 400 percent to date.”

She added, “The Philippine gaming community is strong and continues to grow tremendously. The Acer Predator League Dota 2 Finals showcases the country’s best of the best in one tournament.”

(For more information, visit predator-league.com.)

* * *

(Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)