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H I G H L A N D S T O L O W L A N D S
movies, as well as acclaimed foreign
films, more accessible to everyone.
Good quality food is affordable in
Davao. For days when I want to indulge,
I head to the Oboza Heritage House
along Rizal Street, where an ancestral
home built in the 1920s now houses two
of the city’s best restaurants. Claude’s
Le Café de Ville, as the name suggests,
is a fine-dining French restaurant that
serves imported steaks and oysters,
while Cellar de Oboza specializes in
Filipino home-style dishes, such as the
classic beef salpicao, the sinful shrimp
in crab fat and the unusual maja blanca
cheesecake. These restaurants share a
garden that is ideal for al fresco dining or
a quiet nightcap.
For a livelier night out, Matina Town
Square (or MTS to locals) is a good
spot to catch homegrown bands in
a casual commercial complex that
houses several shops, restaurants,
bars, and cafés. Another option is the
newly relaunched Blue Room of local
icon Apo View Hotel
(150
J Camus St;
tel: +63 82 221 6430;
com)
.
At 65 years old, the country’s
second longest operating hotel has
undergone a series of renovations over
the years, but remains Davao’s most
hard-working landmark — a good
number of locals can and will direct
you to where you want to go with Apo
View Hotel as the starting point. The
Blue Room, on the ground floor, is the
latest outlet in the hotel to get spruced
up, now offering a longer bar, more
events and an even more creative bar
list (their best-selling bar chow is salted
fish rice). “We want Blue Room to be
an option for Dabawenyos who are
Clockwise from
top: sampling
fresh durian
at Magsaysay
Park; colorful
public rides
called multi-
cabs; fabric
bazaars at
Aldevinco
Shopping
Center;
women selling
freshwater
pearls, also at
Aldevinco
ON MODEL
DRESS FROM MANGO; ACCESSORIES FROM SEVENTEEN
