Karlo's Gourmet and Coffee @ Jack's Ridge, Davao City
After the late lunch at Taklobo Restaurant our group trooped to Karlo's (a few steps away) for dessert and coffee. Good thing that there were no other visitors with us just as few small groups of local diners. Solong-solo namin ang Karlo's where we took the liberty of shooting award-winning (!) videos and photos of just about anything in that coffee shop.
Coffee time. I forced my friends to try out the Durian Coffee (I tried it already the first I was in Davao City years back and I enjoyed it). They did not like it. Absolutely detested the taste.
Karlo's Durian Coffee is a bit bitter. Not coffee bitter (which I like) but Durian bitter. I had to add Equal (why are there still coffee shop who refuse to carry Splenda??) to temper the lingering bitterness and the strong Durian after taste. As expected, while using the toilet less than an hour later, I was smelling Durian again. And again...
Durian Coffee P125
Americano P70
Taklobo Restaurant @ Jack's Ridge, Davao City
I've been saying that I prefer my fried chicken breaded (flour, egg, bread crumbs). Not too thick. Deliciously thin.
Don't get me wrong. I also enjoy fried chicken without breading provided that the meat's not dry like Max's. Taklobo's fried chicken, I think, is not breaded but coated with flour (I use corn starch which make the skin crispier). The chicken looked good but sad to say, it's frustratingly bland. Sadder still, there was no gravy to drown the chicken in but only a small plate of banana catsup.
Tip: Next time this happens to you, just do what we all do when we eat at Max's... ask your waiter for Worcestershire (local, "fake" brand is better), a small plate and a bottle of banana catsup. You know what to do next.
Jack's Ridge Resort @ Shrine Hills, Matina Davao City
Jack's Ridge is one of the nicer places to go to in Davao City. If you're not from the city, ask any taxi driver and he would surely recommend the place. It's a hilly trip where you see the towers of the three top networks (Abs-Cbn, GMA, TV5). The ridge is immaculate and the natives very polite. The view, though not really THAT breathtaking, is memorable enough for you take home... you don't see anything like this here (forget about Antipolo, it has long been prostituted by commerce,).
The very first time I went to Davao City, we visited the famous ridge but were unable to explore the place because there was too much people then, and we were pressed for time (that wasn't actually a vacation trip but more, work). In short, I wasn't able to try the Taklobo Restaurant which is located within Jack's Ridge.
How did I find Taklobo? Well, disappointing. Maybe masyadong
akong nasabik (few friends have said pretty good things about it) that I really expected too much.
Except for the Fried Chicken, everything else was just okay. Nothing great. Look, I asked the waiter to take the Crispy Pata back to the kitchen to be fried some more. Yep, Pata siya pero hindi siya Crispy. See?
How about the Seafood Supreme? Its a rich, creamy evaporated milk soup. Seafood flavor is almost zero. But believe it or not, I was still cool about it. I enjoyed Jack Ridge so much that I didn't give a fig... everything's forgiven.
Seafood Supreme P290
Crispy Pata P560
Fried Chicken (half) P185
Steamed Rice P23
