Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken at SM Davao Annex

I dropped by the recently-opened SM Annex primarily to scout for new places to eat. One of the new restaurants you can find there is Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken.

What I find most interesting about Peri-Peri is their unique 49-peso 'Soup and Beverage all you want' deal. They usually serve mushroom and chicken soup in this bar plus a variation of drinks of soda, juices, etc. Most other restaurants would serve drinks alone that cost nearly as much as this price..while Peri-Peri gives the liberty of drinks and soup all you want for that incredibly affordable value.

I also love that Peri-Peri meal deals are very much worth the price both in quantity and quality. I tried out their pasta and chicken meal. And for 210Php I could hardly finish the entire plate of 1/4 chicken, caesar salad, and alfredo pasta. Somehow, for these kinds of meal deals, I've gotten used to other restaurants around the city that serve a little bit of the different dishes. But Peri-Peri doesn't do that...they serve the salad and the pasta as though they were separate orders put together in one huge oblong plate.

Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken: Alfredo pasta, 1/4 chicken, Caesar Salad

Homemade Caesar Salad

I have these occasional "spells" during which I don't really feel like eating rice. These thing happens very rarely. Earlier this morning was one of those times.

For some reason, I was craving for Caesar salad. It was good enough that I had a bottle of Lady's Choice classic caesar dressing stocked in the fridge along with other essential ingredients, lettuce, tomato, cheese. I thought of toasting bread too but was just hungry enough to not opt to wait and so I reheated leftover fries instead.

So after about 15 minutes of preparation, here's my version of homemade caesar salad:

Yellow Cab's Charlie Chan Pasta Made at Home

I have always liked Yellow Cab pizzas. But more than that, I also love one of their specialties, the Charlie Chan Pasta. I looked up this name online as I wondered why they would use a guy's name to label a dish. At first I thought maybe Charlie Chan is a chef who created this yummy treat. Or maybe he is the owner of the food chain itself. Turns out, he's none of the above. All that was was returned in my search results was that of a fictional character. And so I thought to myself maybe they named it after him, the character, to give it a Chinese feel because this pasta did after all, have ingredients of that origin.

I found myself wanting to hit the kitchen and see if I can make my own Charlie Chan Chicken Pasta at home. And so looking up the recipe online, I found that I could actually easily find the ingredients at any local mall! I got excited and hit the nearest grocery stacks immediately! I bought all that I needed as listed in the recipe I found at food.com.

Cello's Doughnuts and Dips in SM City Davao

Craving for something sweet doesn't happen to me everyday. But whenever it does, I find that Cello's Doughnuts and Dips is one of the things on my sweet tooth's list. It has been like that ever since I first got a taste of their varieties from the Sales Street branch, which is actually their pioneering one here in the city.

Now, this Quezon City-born brand has taken their Oreo- and cheese-flavored doughnuts and other favorites to SM City Davao where it is accessible to a much larger, sweet toothed-Davaoeño audience. It was silly because I first learned of their SM branch by seeing people in the foodcourt, which is on the 2nd floor, munching over a bunch of mini doughnuts from a very familiar, orange-colored dozen box. I thought to myself,  Cello's has probably branched out here, at SM. Otherwise, they'd have bought those from the Sales Street branch, which is quite far, and brought them all the way to a Quimpo Boulevard foodcourt to finish them off. I didn't think it was possible to bring them all the way from point a to b without emptying the box somewhere in between. And so yes, later on that day, I would find out that Cello's actually IS in SM City Davao already...and situated, ironically so, near the main entrance of the mall. I would've spotted it easily if it weren't for the stairs that was at its opposite.

La Toscana's Buy 1 Take 1 Pizza

What more can a pizza lover like me be ecstatic about than a buy-1-take-1 pizza deal! La Toscana Italian Bar and Restaurant currently offers this every 2-5PM and gives Davao a chance to get more of their finest pizzas. Just like how usual buy 1 take 1 pizzas around town go, you'd get two pizzas and pay for the more expensive one. I've already talked about how I love their place in a previous blog post and now they're making me love them even more.

Oh how awesome La Toscana's pizzas are! As soon as it reaches my table I'd practically swallow it whole. LOL! Okay, that was exaggerating...I'd rather savor in every bite I take of it but I want it hot and fresh so I usually eat it quickly. One could easily finish an entire pie and still want some more. It makes me wanna wish it's 2-5PM all day.

Annipie - More than just a cinnamon haven

Annipie is one of Davao's long-running food establishments. I find every visit to their homey branches very delightful. Even if they're usually famous for their heavenly cinnamon treats of varying flavours, Anniepie's other offerings are quite as mouth-watering. Here are some of which that I've tried..

outside seats at the Malvar Street Branch of Annipie

One of the most recent addition to their menu is the Hickory Smoked Pork Ribs. I'd give it a 10! It is incredibly tender and tasty and unbelievably affordable. Its value is definitely more than it's actual 100Php cost. After my first taste of it earlier today, I think this has become my newest reason to frequent Annipie.

Hickory Smoked Pork Ribs | Annipie

Ranchero at Abreeza

at the old Ranchero branch

Ranchero has been one of Davao's top destinations for grill and steak for as long as I can remember. I have always loved their old location at Tionko Avenue. Even if the place wasn't air conditioned, it was well ventilated and I couldn't help but enjoy the ambiance that perfectly matched their brand name. It was like being in a refreshingly ancient ranch house somewhere.

Just January of this year, Ranchero moved to a new location in Torres corner Jacinto Extension Street, which I still haven't been to yet. What I have been able to visit is their branch in Abreeza Mall, right at the 3rd floor, along those array of restaurants and coffee shops located "outdoors". And yes..I love their new place!

That feeling of being in a ranch house is still there when you're in Ranchero Abreeza. Only it got more modernized and, well, better ventilated. They did very well with the interior designing. And to stay consistent with their brand, the waiters and waitresses dress in cowboy attires complete with cowboy hats.

inside Ranchero in Abreeza

Crepelato - Davao's House of Crepe and Gelato

Gelato is an Italian frozen dessert which has become popular all over the world. In Davao, one of the places to be when craving for this heavenly delight is Crepelato - House of Crepe and Gelato.

Crepalato's branch at Mayon Street, Davao City

The latter takes pride in their homemade recipes that are both visually and gastronomically pleasing. Whenever I go there, I couldn't resist taking a shot of their array of mouth-watering gelato. And I do not get satisfied with just a single serving of it. I usually go for the unlimited package which is 199Php. This is money very well spent, I tell you! Take a look..

Krispy Kreme Donuts: Davao Outlets

More than a month has passed since Abreeza has opened and there still aren't any signs of a Krispy Kreme branch opening in it.

However, I found a couple of Krispy Kreme mini outlets on certain areas in Davao. The ones who want them badly can at least satisfy their cravings temporarily. Here's where you can get Krispy Kreme in Davao:

My G Café experience: the first of many

Whenever I get inside a coffee shop, there's a couple of things I first look for -  an Internet connection, available charging outlets, a couch. Surprisingly, coffee and food isn't necessarily on that list. This is because I don't just eat and drink but I more importantly try to be as productive as I can be while I'm in there. Plus I also just assume that the food is good in semi-expensive establishments such as coffee shops so..

G Cafe counter

Just recently, I found yet another coffee shop in Davao that suits this very qualification - G Cafe, A coffee shop found in Quimpo Blvd. which, I think, has been open for quite some time now.