Davao Food Tourism with Davao “FAT”

On March in 2009, prior to me owning the high-power zooming ultra compact Lumix ZS3 and a Canon EOS 550D, I brought my trusty Nokia N82 camera phone to Davao City in time for the now annual Davao Food Appreciation Tour (DFAT) through the efforts and graciousness (not of the local DOT as you might think but) of local bloggers to show us visitors a different story to the city otherwise famous for its durian and suha. Think about it: taking upon a daunting task of getting select local restaurants’ buy-in to feed a group of hungry travelers from Manila for free is no easy task. But it’s happened AND it will again this year, this coming weekend, on its third straight year in a row. This “food tourism” project is the initiative of Davao City bloggers Ria, Drew, Blogie, and Chattee.

Looking back, let me re-count with words and a few food pron photographs how much of a swell time I had with good friends and great company. We did spend for our own airfare and accommodation, yes, but going to Davao with no other intention but to grub (and enjoy the city on the side) was IMHO a three-day travel-adventure worth saving up for.

During Lunch of the first day, we were sat inside the quaint Tadakuma Japanese Restaurant at Damosa where we were served one flavorful Japanese dish after another: Atuyaki Tofu, Sukiyaki, Yakisoba, Gomoku Chahan, and Gyoza. Of the lot, I’ll never forget their Sukiyaki, priced at a low P380.00 last year. Although I don’t have a photo of it here, I fondly recall its sheer magnificence (so not kidding) when I day dream inside meh Japanese fast food restos in Makati. Quite comparable to the Sukiyaki from the Jap resto along Pasay Rd and near Pasong Tamo (I’m not saying which, exactly LOL).

From this point, onwards, please hover on the images for descriptions. Thank you.

At dinner, we went to Aileen and Ria’s (the birthday girl 04.28 yay!) favorite restaurant, Lachi’s, where they served Cream Dory in Thai Sauce (limited release and “coming soon” back then), Breaded Tofu in Teriyaki Sauce, Laing Pasta (see how creative they are?), Pork Belly in red Bean Curd Sauce (also a limited release food item), Pork Marinara (pasta, Aileen’s favorite), Unforgettable Ribs (my ultimate favorite), and Ube Panna Cotta and Crème Brûlée for dessert. Lachi’s is famous for their Sans Rival, for those not in the know. I always make it a point to drop by this resto when I’m in Davao (Drew and Ria seem more than happy to oblige and take me there). Lachi’s, I overheard, makes cakes for several other restaurants in Davao City. Goes to show how good they really are in pampering a sweet tooth.

After dinner, we capped the night off with coffee (and stories) over at Kangaroo, a local coffee shop famous for their Alamid/Manos (cat poo LOL) coffee. Our group signed their guestbook like the self proclaimed stars that we are. I also bought mint chocolate chip cookies from the cafe as pasalubong for my boss (bribe for letting me take a leave that time).

On the second day, we went Zip-lining at Asia’s longest zip, The Xcelerator, first before lunch was served at a cozy restaurant called Pepper & Peppers. The most memorable dish they served was the Iberian Chicken: baked to perfection and glazed with spices that will make your mind spin in euphoria, despite it soaking in what appears to be heart-attack-inducing oil but is, in fact, zero-cholesterol-and-zero-trans-fat olive oil. I think you’ll have to call the store and order the Iberian Chicken in advance because it takes quite a while to prepare. It’s that special!

More city touring followed and at dinner, we went to Mamu’s where they served the best soup I had during my stay. It is here that I got to first eat salmon sashimi. First. You read that right. Contrary to the aura I project, I never got the hang of Japanese food from since I was little. To my joy and delight, my first salmon sashimi experience was ab-so-lutely fuckentastic! Mamu’s owner showed us around the hotel rooms of the adjoining Anisabel Suites. Had I known of this from before, I would have booked my stay at Anisabel, instead. Their Suite Room’s T&B has see-through showers with only a curtain dividing it from the bedroom. Perfect for the “first” during honeymoon night! OMG, an epiphany a year too late! Hahaha!

On our third and last day, we had lunch at Cafe Andessa, home to the Bicol Express Pasta. A MUST TRY! On my notes, I scribbled down “Iced Tea FTMFW! (woot) (rock) (panic),” just so I could remember how fantastic their iced tea is. Now I want one. Bummer. For dessert, we had Suman Latik and Turon a la mode. Looking at my year-old photos is making me hallucinate. Not good.

This coming weekend, DFAT shall happen on its third year. For first time joiners, you’re in for a wild ride, I assure you. To Drew, Chattee, and Ria, you guys are amazing. Every city needs a clone of each of you and collectively, you and your clones will take food tourism to greater heights all over the country. To the DOT, learn from these guys. To the guys I went with, you are the best company ever! To the rest of the participants this weekend, please take better photos than what I got with my camphone. That’s a dare ;)

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First Shots off my Canon 550D (Rebel T2i)

Got this baby on April 14 after much thought and internal deliberation (cost versus a 3-year warranty that’ll cover service and parts). I have now, ladies and gents, succumbed to the “this is long overdue,” “your talent deserves a DSLR,” “the point and shoot being as good as a DSLR is a myth,” and the “nothing feels better than composing your shot in-cam and not depend on post processing” advice I constantly get from peers. I bought a Canon 550D (Digital Rebel T2i in some parts of the world). Not a 7D as initially planned, shut up.

Shortly after purchase, I went on a trip to Legaspi City in Bicol, Donsol, Pili in Naga, and the Caramoan Peninsula in Camarines Sur all in 5 days. The trip deserves a lengthy post on its own and since it’s late and I’ve a bajillion things lined up for my Saturday, let me share with you the test shots I took with the 550D using a kit lens, an ultra wide angle, and a prime 50mm f/1.8 “plastic fantastic.” So far, I’ve done people, food, inanimate objects, and landscape mostly by tweaking the manual settings. Do critique and advise, if you must and let me know, my shots so I can improve on them as needed (yung mga nagbabalak magsabi para may masabi lang, tumahimik na lang at di ko yan kelangan LOL).

There you go. The cam cost plus Markku’s 10-22mm ultra wide angle (got a great deal from him, too) practically made my financial liquidity non-existent but still, I’m happy. Happy and awed like seeing a Butanding up close. Will share that story in a few.

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Poblacion Makati Lent 2010

Resitends near the U-Belt area have so many churches to go to making it a cinch for them to complete visita iglecia, a custom for those of the Catholic faith where they visit 14 churches during the Lenten Season. In Poblacion, Makati, however, people visit elaborate works of art made to house various images of Christ depicting the various stages of his “way to the cross.” (You may see all the 42 photos I took below)

I’m not aware of any contest where the best designed stations win. The residents go all out to come up with these life-sized structures year after year like clockwork. Comparing this year with last year’s setup, I have observed that the statues are the same (as in 2009) for each street. It’s what surrounds it that’s different. Also, there are stations that look “low budget” as there are some that look well financed. You may catch yourself thinking, “oh, this one’s a B-Movie… but that other one’s definitely a James Cameron/Michael Bay.” LOL

If I recall correctly, come Sunday, all these shall already be taken down. If you’ve nothing to do on Holy Friday, take your cue from the hundreds of photographers I saw a while ago, go to Poblacion (Makati), and marvel at these, IRL, yourself. People from northern Metro Manila may make their way on a pilgrimage towards Antipolo but people in Makati choose to conveniently crowd the Poblacion residential streets (causing JP Rizal to become two-way during the day time). Instead of praying, why is it that I’ve witnessed hundreds of camwhores striking poses beside their suffering God again? *click* Am I missing something here? *click*

On Holy Friday, there will be a procession at around 6PM. Either stay out of Poblacion or stay in it for the highlight of their Lenten celebration.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

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So I Spent Four Days In Bangkok Last September With These Guys

They’re Kring, Faith, Coy, and Rick. While I shot the scene and them, they shot themselves. As I went home with hundreds of photos of them and the scenes, they collectively ended up having about five shots of me with them. Story of my life.

I’ll show off more of Bangkok in my next posts. Meanwhile, I present to you the “crazies” in a collection I styled to look “tabloidal.”

*sigh* I miss Bangkok already!

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Being Watched Over

Some believe them to be angels while others, spirits. They are the Meliads, Naiads, Oceanids, Mahadryads, Dryads, Nereids, Epimeliads, or Heliads for those to look up to Nymphs. Shamans believe them to be spirits taking on animal form. Others trust that they are in the hearts of some who walk the earth as people. Faithfuls claim saints as theirs. For a few, they are everywhere and without form.

Generally, they are called guardians. The protectors.

I am feeling only dread now for my country at the wake of the great storm Ondoy. So many people lost their homes (although most did not even have homes to begin with), properties, and family. It’s rather comforting that we only got rains and not rains + strong winds. Thinking about it makes me shiver so I stopped and just got thankful. I was lucky enough to not get hit hard by the calamity and this being the case, in what little way I can, I made myself very vigilant during the past two days in monitoring the situation and passing on helpful bits of info and messages via the web. Been calling up some, too. I was up until 9 in the morning today waiting for updates and helping in making them known and checking on friends and how they are. We’ll do some more of this tomorrow at work, we were told. Looking forward to it already.

Photos below were taken during our trip to Bangkok, Thailand earlier this month. I deemed it fitting to show, first, my shots of the guardians scattered all over the city. (Looking at them again, I’m at awe at the talent of those who made these ancient sculptures. And they are all well preserved, too!) Some of them are in animal form while others look like very angry, no-nonsense, and strict father figures. Makes me wonder what my personal guardian looks like. If I were given the choice, what would I want him/her/it to look like? A very sturdy, fog resistant bubble, perhaps? I wonder.

To know how you can help victims of Typhoon Ondoy, visit MLQ’s site, mirrored here via tumblr. Be safe, Philippines!

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Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes (look out you rock ‘n rollers)

For years, I have restrained myself from getting a DSLR and yet I managed to live, just let my N82 capture the instants, and still rather effectively tell a tale with my shots, humility aside. However, as days turned to months, moreso after Sony had so kindly let me use some of their flagship cameras earlier this year, I began to crave for more shooting equipment power.

You see, for me to produce a decent collection of photos, I will have to compose with the mobile phone’s camera limitations in mind (very limited “manual” tweaks available, a rather slow response time, no optical zoom function, etc.), making sure that I compensate the shortcomings of the instrument with well pieced together elements within my control, pre-shot. After I transfer the files into a PC, I look at each photo closely, scrutinizing the littlest details, and, if I’m lucky, I will only be daunted to do minor crops and saturation adjustments before I can show the final output to the world.

Since I’m a sucker for toy photography set in the dark, using only an LED caving lamp most of the time, I’d have to suck all my frustrations up and live with the digital noise infestation. Post processing then is a must rather than a luxury I could do without. Doing the composing in-cam (for me) may have been next to impossible, but I’ve done it. That so-called SOOC. Once. The photos may not have lived up to even the lowest of photography standards but when I got a flickr comment from a person I do not even know which read, “You gave it a soul. Great job,” I felt I got it made. LOL

After three weeks of asking around, reading internet reviews, and a very helpful phone-in dialogue with Drew, I gave in to getting my second point and shoot camera (after the Canon Ixus i5 I bought in Taiwan around 4 years ago). Behold, the Panasonic Lumix ZS3: made by voyeurs FOR voyeurs. Er, not really, but with its 12x optical zoom and Leica lens, that, too, can be possible.

Let me share with you one great feature of the ZS3 and one that I had been wanting to have for a while, too. HD video capture with optical zoom operation baybee, yeah!

Camphone, you have served me well. I’m still taking you wherever so I think we’ll still be doing some sweet projects soon, although not as often as before. You see, I’m just a lowly human answering the nagging call of grandeur. I know you’d understand.

More photos from my recent trip coming very soon.

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Recent Fritzparazzi ^TM shots of Caleruaga

Getting married way down south is a chore to pull off (logistics wise) moreso when (I’ve heard) going home to, say, Las Piñas on a weekday could take comuters and private car owners up to 4 hours on the road during the past week. That’s owing to the Skyway being extended to Alabang plus the heavy rains. it is in times like these that I’m glad I’m living near where I work.

Still, the Caleruega Church (or is it a chapel?) in Nasugbu, Batangas remains a popular venue for weddings even for those who do not live anywhere near Tagaytay. I’ve college friends who flew in their relatives from Iloilo and Surigao for a Caleruega wedding. Ah, the torture! Those who are lucky to have witnessed a Caleruega wedding, though (granting the weather cooperates), would recount how it’s so much worth their while to share the moment with friends who chose to get married on that church atop of that hill, the long drive aside.

I have recently been in one, my fourth, for the wedding of friends Carlo and Cay. They won’t be in the photos that I’ll be showing below, but here’s their wedding video as shown during the reception,for those who are curious.

Since I was tasked to be one of the groom’s men who luckily had absolutely no role to do during and after the wedding ceremony, I made use of my time by taking shots of the church, inside and out. Photos taken using the Nokia N82 camphone (surprise, surprise. Not! LOL).

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