Eye in the Sky: Davao Dining 2013 - Peri Peri, South Mouth Grill & Coffee For Health

PERI-PERI CHARCOAL CHICKEN

Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken is fast dining with a relaxed atmosphere. They are proud of their Portuguese gastronomy which I am not too familiar with. I have tried Portuguese in Sydney's Nando's (along George Street): smokey chicken with chips in huge plate servings. Despite appearances, this restaurant is quite affordable. In fact, they have something I haven't seen in other restaurants: a drink-all-you-can "soup-and-beverage" offer for just P49 ($1.20), and this includes 2 kinds of soup, softdrinks on a vendo machine (Pepsi, etc.) and coffee or tea - all to your heart's desire. What I loved was the chicken breast in pitta bread. This shouldn't be missed!

Peri Peri Chicken is prepared with a special regimen. It is marinated for 24 hours then cooked in charcoal, trimming excess fat, thus making it a healthy, but flavor-rich choice. You can also try their mozzarella sticks.

Davao's Peri-Peri is found in SM City Annex (Davao City) at the ground floor.

SOUTH MOUTH GRILL

Just at the fringes of SM City Davao, at the corner of Quimpo Boulevard and Tulip Drive, is an unassuming restaurant called South Mouth Grill (SMG). In the daytime, the place looks like a canteen, but when night time falls, the lighting and the color of the place come together to make it a good option for affordable and delectable food. Beef burgers are a specialty, but they have rice meals as well, mostly priced at P130 - Mongolian BBQ with rice, Southern Grilled with rice, Tuna Belly with rice. Other dishes are even cheaper: Zambo pork stew (P110), Pacific Pork Chop (P80), Sizzling sisig (P110), Pancit Canton (P120).

I ordered Bagnet del Sur (P120 or $2.90) which was more "lechon kawali" than bagnet, to be quite honest. But this "local version" of bagnet is tasty and mouth-watering. Their bottomless Lipton iced tea is just P40. Coca cola is P35.

SMG is a part of Phase 1 Ecoland Subdivision. They also accept catering. For delivery and other inquiries: (+63) 082-2719044 or 0922-8003477 and 0933-5450662.

Bagnet del Sur

South Mouth Grill

COFFEE FOR HEALTH

Along Palma Gil Street, a few strides from the city's People's Park is a coffee shop worth visiting. In fact, everytime I am in the area, I always have to stop for their Durian Shake, one of the region's tastiest, purest durian-based preparations. The cafe mostly serves snacks and meryenda staple, nothing heavy, but you can get sandwiches - like our delectable bacon-and-cheese and chicken salad sandwich.

They have interesting coffee brews: ampalaya (bitter gourd, goya or paakhaarkai) coffee, anyone? They also have coffees named after local personalities so there's a Rody coffee (for Rody Duterte), Inday Sara (Rody's successor and lady mayor), etc. You can either spit or swallow Inday Sarah. :) Service is a bit on the glacial, albeit relaxed pace so it will take a while to wait for your Durian shake. On two separate instances, we were refused to order the shake because "wala po ang gumagawa, lumabas lang" (cook was out for a bit).

Though thematically spare, the atmosphere is adequately AC-cooled and relaxed. There's a smorgasbord mix of furniture - a comfortable gray sala set, a rattan set, etc. There are wooden masks from indigenous tribes on display mixed with a modern photo frame. The interiors feel a bit uneven, but that's alright. There isn't an ongoing contest. There's wifi inside too.

I would come back anytime for their durian shake comparable to Merco's. It's one of the city's best known secrets.

This is the Eye in the Sky!