Upper Farm - Rustic Atmosphere in Upper-End Steakhouse (Digos City, Davao del Sur)

It was a pleasant surprise finding Upper Farm in Digos City, Davao del Sur. The joint is a hamburger and steakhouse set in a rustic ranch-inspired, rough-around-the-edges diner at the back of a department store. Some readings point out that the concept of the place is partially a tribute to the owner's parents who were farmers. I just dropped by and ordered a heavy set of chicken wings paired with white rice and the delectable salty vinegar sauce which I was told, was a best seller. We wanted to try their sisig but it wasn't available. Their shoestring potato is a good serving on a bowl and a must-try at P75. 

The place isn't inexpensive. Rice meals are rather limited if you can't do away with rice, but if you're into burgers and steaks, this is a great place to indulge. It does make an uncomfortable meal when the weather is sweltering; there's obviously no airconditioning. But I am just nitpicking. 

The address is Asian Highway 26, a narrow backroad. You have to head towards Cor Jesu College and turn left somewhere. It opens at 9 AM. 

#upperfarm   #dining   #foodporn

Black Sands of Dawis Beach (Digos City, Davao del Sur)

The northern stretch of black sand from Dawis Pier used to have rows of cottages facing the beach, now there's none. Talisay trees and coconut palms line the shore. It is accessible from the lone restaurant beside the pier. South of this, there's a smattering of hole-in-the-wall beach resorts with limited facilities.

To get to Dawis Beach, you can hail a pedicab (tricycle) from the city center. Be sure to agree on a price, which should cost you about P80. 

These days, labels on the road en route to Dawis read "Barangay Dawis" instead of "Dawis Beach". In sunny afternoons, you can stand on the pier and watch the waves rush to the shore. It's a beguiling scene, to say the least.

The view south of the Dawis pier.

Unicolor Beach Resort, Barangay Dawis, (Digos City, Davao del Sur)

At the eastern coast of the Davao Gulf, south of Digos City, is the burough of Dawis. People used to call the stretch of black sand as "Dawis Beach" stretching northward from the pier. Now it is just "Barangay Dawis". The more open area is the southern stretch. We found Unicolor Beach Resort.

If I am not mistaken, getting a cottage will cost you P300 (or was it P500). These is a contiguous row of concrete shacks, like holes in the wall, painted in reds and blue-greens. These shacks are completely enclosed except for the entrance, thus you don't have a view of the sea. At the center of the compound is a medium-sized function hall. There's ample parking at the entrance, framed by a "tindahan", that subs as an entrance booth.

The compound has available rooms for those wanting to stay for the night. I asked about the rates - P800 and P1,200; the difference is probably in the availability of AC. The beach is, however, a few steps away. Just mind the children as there are wandering dogs everywhere. I read an online page that mentions a swimming pool. This does not have one. There are no cabanas facing the beach either; just Talisay trees.

During my visit, I saw a family bring pots of food with them so it should be safe to assume there's no corkage fee for food and beverages brought in. The resort has a Facebook page. Please refer inquiries there; not here.

You can leisurely stroll from this resort to the pier which provides a more dramatic vista of the ocean. In the golden hour of the afternoon, the sun casts a milky green hue on the sea. The stretch of dark sand north of the pier seems more inviting, with palms swaying with the gentle breeze. Next post, we'll show you the northern stretch from the pier. You can take a tricycle from Digos City proper to get to Dawis, setting you back by P80. Agree on a fare before getting in the trike.

Function Hall

Charcoal Grill and Restobar: Boodle Fights and Filipino Dishes (Digos City)

Their most popular meal is the set of "boodle fight" entries, a Philippine Military Academy traditional meal where a variety of food and rice are spread on a table covered with Banana leaves and shared by everyone. This feast is enjoyed bare hands (well, there's disposable plastic gloves you can wear). 

But we aren't fond of this style so we ordered the traditional Filipino dishes. Their sinigang (a stew characterized by its sour and savoury taste most associated with a tamarind) is to die for. Their calamares is tasteful and crunchy. I wasn't in the mood for a crispy pata but I wanted to check out their version. Let's just say it didn't make me a fan. Skin on the rubbery side and meat is not very tender. But there's several choices to be had on the menu.

Charcoal Grill and Restobar is tucked away in a quiet neighborhood along Del Pilar Bataan Street in the fringes of Digos City, in progressive Davao del Sur. Guests may prefer to sit in the airconditioned restaurant or in their open-air dining hall. For more information, try calling their number at 63-923-142-0564. We're not connected with them so please refer your inquiries to the aforementioned number. They also have a Facebook page you can google.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

The Market Scene in Digos (Digos, Davao del Sur)

As a child, the market wasn't a place of interest. I wasn't encouraged to visit it. It was congested, wet, hot and not the most pleasant place. Fast forward to 2015, I find market visits fascinating because you'll never know what to expect to find - the fruits in season, the flowers peddled, the food stuff available and its slew of very transient characters.

Digos City, some two hours south of Davao City, doesn't feel like a very cosmopolitan place, to be honest. The surroundings seem more rural.

Yellow pedicabs congest the clogged-up streets; one of the "ugliest" road scene I have noticed this side of the Philippines. I have heard that General Santos City is the same. Just the same, I don't like the clutter. The whole road system looks chaotic - no traffic lights and yellow tricycles that zoom away as they please. If this is a sign of urban development, then I'd have to say it is one ugly heck of development. But this is just my opinion.

The market scene on the other hand, fascinates. Let's take the case of a flower vendor who offers 3 roses for just PhP25. Huh? Where in the Philippines do you get red roses, three of 'em, as cheap as that? A trio of anthuriums costs PhP15. Can they get any cheaper?


STARK CONTRAST

Then there's a row of fruits selling golden mangoes (PhP55 to 60 per kilo), avocados, bananas (PhP25-35 per kilo), and the seasonal star apple ("kaymito") at PhP25 per kilo. What's interesting is, when I bought 2 kilos of star apples in SM Megamall's supermarekt, they fetched a hefty PhP150 per kilo, and they're not even half as sweet as these 25-peso Digos kaymitos.

Elsewhere, a mangosteen, not in season, costs PhP280 per kilo. Yes, they're plump and juicy, sweet-and-tad-sour wonder, but is almost a king's ransom. When they taste this heavenly, who cares about the cost?

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Very sweet star apples ("caymito", also shown below).

Star apple is also called caimito, abiaba, pomme de lait, milk fruit and aguay. In Vietnam, it is called "vu su'a" which literally means "breast milk". It is "swarnapathry" in Malayalam. There are 3 varieties in terms of color: purple, greenish brown and the very rare yellow which I still have yet to see. The green ones are very sweet. The fruit has anti-oxidant properties.

Mangosteen

Gaisano Grand Mall - Digos City Joins the Mall Craze

The mall craze has finally caught up with Digos City with the opening of Gaisano Grand Digos. Under Philippine standards, it isn't really as grand as its moniker, but it's a step towards this. People used to troop to parks to chill out, but in the age of the internet, they turned to the glittery, cool interiors of the mall. We've written before about the big malls soon rising in this moderately affluent, progressive yet rural "city". The Gaisano Grand Digos is the first to open. It has a sprawling parking space, a two-story building (with a small 3rd level for the Gaisano Department Store), a food court, a huge supermarket at the back of the building, and several shops, spas and parlors, etc. No stand-alone restaurants just yet as of this writing. No, there are no cinemas here as well. Digos has long forgotten how it is to queue up for their favorite blockbuster movies. But that soon shall change when a new SM or NCCC open its doors.

There is an older Gaisano along Estrada Street, but its cramped space and tiangge mentality takes you to the era of department stores, not malls. Make no mistake, vestiges of such mentality still exist in Gaisano Grand Digos. Upon entrance into the lobby, you find little stalls of bargain garments, some as cheap as P30 and P50 (less than a dollar). This tacky displays actually defeats the purpose of the glittery and behemoth concept of millennial commerce, but then this is still rural central. People walk with leisurely pace. City paranoia is too far removed from their lifestyle just yet.

The food court at the second level has a considerable selection of local dishes. There's a Goldilocks inside. An RCBC ATM machine bashfully hides under the escalator steps. There's a PSBank as well. More importantly, a CDR King with generous space has opened in the mall. The two-level department store is spacious but lacks imagination where partition is concerned. In fact, you find the kitchenware, the appliance center, the home decor section, the garments, toy section, school supplies scattered aimlessly on a glisteningly tiled floor, above the supermarket.

MISLABELING

I overheard a customer complaining about the mislabeling. A huge sign read "3 for P100" for a kitchen tupperware, yet when the customer queues up to buy three, he was told that he can only buy the three similar items if he gets 4. The products were erroneously marked P60 per piece - and you cannot purchase just one. What then is the sign of "3 for P100" for? Fictional? This is a clear violation in the Department of Trade and Industry practices, isn't it? Either that - or they remove the huge advertorial signs visible several meters within the supermarket floor. What's worse, they couldn't find whoever it is that manages and decides on this simple dilemma.

Regardless, Gaisano Grand ushers the epoch of malls in a progressive city like Digos. It's starting to get its rightful place in maps. And do i even have to mention that the recent winner of the Philippines' "X-Factor" hails from Digos? So congratulations are in order for Miss KZ Tandingan who went home with a bounty worth P4 million. It's a victory well deserved.

Happy malling, Digosenios and Davaoenos.

This is the Eye in the Sky!  

It glistens and it's cool inside, but what greets you is the tacky bargain displays.

Gaisano Department Store

CDR King (above and below)

This horizontal bar reminds me of the riots in Mendiola. Are they anticipating such riots here? LOL

Small food stalls fronting the supermarket.

Supermarket. Elevators lead to the Department Store at the second level.

Elevators at the mall lobby lead to the food court and the front of the Department Store.

Food Court

Goldilocks.

Gadgets and peripherals at the Octagon.

One of the 2 optical shops in Gaisano.

Mt. Shake has terrific Durian shakes but service is excruciatingly slow.

A row of refreshment stalls fronting the grocery.

LBC, Rose Pharmacy, My Phone, a photo shop, Globe Shop (at the opposite side) in this hallway also leading to the supermarket.

Yellow chairs punctuate the food court. What's with yellow? Cory Fever? Even their tricycles in the streets are all colored yellow.

Globe Center

RCBC ATM, the "secret" ATM machine hides bashfully under an escalator.

As of February 2015, there's a new Red Ribbon, but it's mainly a take-out counter with 2 or 3 tables. Those tacky steel bars are still there.

Over at the Food Court, many of the food shops have folded so there are fewer options to choose from.

Over at Mang Inasal (beside Greenwich), a huge tarpaulin advertises its bigger Palabok, but guess what. They were mostly out of so many stuff, including their PM1 (pecho), dinuguan, and their latest Palabok on offer. It's almost funny. Time to close shop maybe?

Front of the building facing the highway that leads to Bansalan westward and Digos City proper at the opposite direction.

One of the two Jollibee stores in Digos City.

Second Jollibee store at the MC Square, another cramped out shopping complex with a Rose Pharmacy and a small supermarket inside.

When a BDO bank is around, could SM be far behind? This is one of the half a dozen ATM machines available in this city.

Roadside stuffed toys on sale in several areas in the city.

Traffic stagnates in the narrow streets of Digos with its thousands of unregulated, noisy, wayward tricycles. They have a color scheme - yellow. All other trikes have to paint their vehicles yellow or they won't get renewed at the LTO.

Young majorettes of a marching band at the beautiful Rizal Park.