LACHI'S SANS RIVAL ATBP: A TRUE DAVAO LANDMARK

       You ever notice how, when you think of a trip you want to take to a place that you'd like to visit, names of restaurants from that area seem to pop up into your head instantaneously?  

        I've mentioned in the past that I used to live in the beautiful city of Cebu. Mind you, not when it was the modern city that it is today. I'm talking about the time that, when you watch "Lunch Date" on GMA 7 (There was no cable TV yet, so don't judge) you did so on a one week delayed telecast. But during my nearly one decade stay there, I found so many small, local dining gems, that till this very day, my taste buds crave for. 

        In Davao, there is one restaurant that I think anyone from Davao would easily tell you, is one of the city's dining treasures: Lachi's Sansrival, atbp.

YELLOW FIN SEAFOOD & RESTAURANT: DELICIOUSLY DAVAO!

      Before I left for Davao last August for the Kadayawan Festival, I took a little survey on what food the "City Of Blooms" was famous for. As you can imagine, I got a lot of Durian and Pomelo answers (Someone who obviously wasn't listening to the question, actually answered, "Philippine Eagle"). Apart from that though, there was an undeniably strong consensus that my trip to Davao would not be complete without sampling their seafood, particularly their Yellow Fin Tuna. 

      Thankfully, as I would find out when we landed in Davao, our gracious hosts took that into consideration, and arranged for us to dine at one of the City's finest seafood restaurants: Yellow Fin Seafood Restaurant.

THE 2013 DAVAO ADVENTURE: POLO BISTRO AT MARCO POLO DAVAO

        I'm really more a relaxed kind of guy. If you asked me where I'd like to have a meal, there's a stronger likelihood that I would choose a burger joint or a rib shack before I would go for a fine dining restaurant (You'd feel the same way too if you didn't have any comfortable leather shoes to wear). 

     But of course, I had no complaints when I found out that dinner at Polo Bistro of Marco Polo Davao. I whipped out the polo shirt I had packed, gave my Crocs a little shine, and I was ready to go!

THE 2013 DAVAO ADVENTURE: CAFE MARCO AT MARCO POLO DAVAO

              If you're like me, then one of the things that excites you most when thinking about checking into a hotel is the food.. Especially a buffet. Call me weird, but the thought of a breakfast buffet is more appealing to me than a lunch or dinner one. I'm probably one of the few people that feel Bacon trumps Roast Beef, any day.

           This case is true for Cafe Marco at Marco Polo Hotel Davao. Their lunch and dinner entrees, are actually quite spectacular. But it can't quite compare to their breakfast food... particularly their Bacon, which I have to say, easily ranks among the best I've ever tried. 

THE 2013 DAVAO ADVENTURE: LOTUS COURT AT MARCO POLO DAVAO!

         Word of advice to Philippine Airlines: A pack of peanuts and crackers does not constitute a "meal" - especially when you delayed our flight. As you can imagine, we arrived at the beautiful city of Davao around noon time, and we were absolutely famished. Seriously, I was getting worried because thoughts of burying my face in the first Durian I see were beginning to pop into my head. 

    The thought of exploring Davao for the next few days kept me excited enough to keep me from getting grumpy. But I was seriously contemplating asking Spanky if we could pass by for some drive thru somewhere. As we hopped on to the van en route to the hotel, Spanky then told the group, "Hope you're all ready for some Peking Duck from Marco Polo Hotel's Lotus Court!". 

     It was at that precise moment that my tummy decided to let out a loud growl, which I think was its way of answering"Hell yeah!". 

THE 2013 DAVAO ADVENTURE: MARCO POLO HOTEL DAVAO

     I believe it was in my 2012 year-ender post that I stated that my goals for 2013 would be to incorporate more travel posts to my blog, which would also include a "Staycation" Series. My plan was to make the most out of those deals from various Group Buying sites, and come up with at least one or two Staycation weekends, and possibly one fly out of town trip by the year ends. 

     Never in my wildest dreams did I even consider that I would be flown out to Davao by a world class hotel chain to cover the fun filled festivities of the popular Kadayawan Festival! 

     I had been to Davao before. But like most cities in the provinces that I have  had the pleasure of touring, the most I had truly ever seen were the malls. Case in point.. I was at Davao just last November for work, and again, the most memorable landmark I saw was SM Lanang Premier, which was where the conference I had attended was held. 

      Which was quite sad really, because Davao is much more than that. So much more. Its an incredibly beautiful city, rich in varied cultures, yet undeniably Filipino. 

       For the first time in my life, I would be visiting Davao as a tourist, and Marco Polo Hotel Davao made sure that, Rina and I, together with the other amazing members of our travel group would have the time of our lives. We go to experience one of the Philippine's greatest cities with the full Marco Polo Hotel VIP treatment. 

     So began our wonderful stay in Davao, courtesy of Marco Polo Hotel Davao.  

JOIN THE SECURITY BANK CASH REWARDS PHOTO CONTEST!

       As a food blogger, I'm always on the lookout for my newest food discovery. Not only do I look for quality of the food, but I also make it a point to look for places that have great value for money. And sometimes those places aren't always the glitziest and most glamorous of places. 

        Just last week, we were fortunate enough to explore the wonderful city of Davao (More of that on a future post) along with three other bloggers. Our schedule was jam-packed with an itinerary filled with some of Davao’s most amazing dining spots. Without a doubt, I left Davao much heavier than when I arrived.  

       Though our trip was graciously sponsored by Marco Polo, Rina and I agreed to make sure to be frugal when we got there. When you have a family, you try your best to tone down the WANTS and focus more on the NEEDS. But at the same time, I wanted my wife to feel like she was on vacation as well, by being able to give her even a little bit of pocket money.

      Thankfully, I got some extra cash from my rewards with Security Bank. It’s the first time I've heard of a bank giving rewards in the form of cash. This is great because I personally tend to forget it when I’m awarded via points, or redeeming a specific item at a specific establishment. (My memory sucks. So does my wife’s.) So this way, I can choose where and when I want to spend my rewards because it’s in cash. 

      And spend we did!