Davao festival flavors at Rekado



LOCAL flavors take center stage on this festive season. As fruits teem along the city sidewalks, the restaurants fill their tables with the freshest catch and harvest for the day.

At Rekado Comfort Food Cuisine, these “distinctly Davao” ingredients are highlighted in the new additions to the menu.



Home cooked Davao cuisine, find it today at REKADO.




“Davao is popular for its seafood and fruits so we wanted to highlight those in our Kadayawan menu. We are expecting a lot of tourists to visit Davao during the festival and we wanted to offer them something distinctly from our hometown,” said Chef Pauline “Pau” Benedicto, “We want them to remember Davao not just for this fun and colorful festival, but for the delicious food,” added the chef.




“We want them to remember Davao not just for this fun and colorful festival, but for the delicious food,” said Chef Pauline.



The young chef of Rekado came up with a selection of flavorful dishes on this festive season, “It's a feast for the eyes and the taste buds, this I can guarantee,” she promised.

Of what to expect this time at Rekado, Chef Pau said, “Like many of the items in our existing menu, we use local produce such as durian and bihod (fish roe), and serve it unlike any other way a diner has had it before.”

The bihod found its way on one of the jars of the new appetizer. Along with fresh Tuna and Malasugue, the three make up the Ceviche sampler.

“We used three of the most popular seafood in Davao and served it with our homemade dressings.”



Fresh seafood in jars. The Ceviche Sampler serves fresh Malasugue, Bihos & Tuna



The Ceviche Sampler is served in three separate jars. First, the Fresh Malasugue with Guava-Cilantro Dressing topped with Crispy Nori; the second jar is the Bihod with Ensaladang Talong and Burong Manga; and the third is the Fresh Tuna with Fresh Coconut Milk and Chilies.

The Pancit Negra is another exciting addition to the menu, and the Chef believes that it’s bound to end up on the bestseller list.




Pancit Negra is Pancit Canton in Squid Ink & topped with Soy-Marinated Tuna




Pancit Negra is pancit canton bathed in squid ink and topped with soy-marinated Tuna.

Boosting the flavors and rekados of its predecessor is the Seafood Tininghi. What used to be only prawns on the serving pan is now a medley of seafood. Crabsticks and squid are added to the original recipe, which adds a new layer of flavor to the dish on the bed of coconut milk sauce and deep blends of local spices.



The new Seafood Tininghi are shrimps, crabsticks & squid swimming in coconut milk goodness




How about ending the meal on a good Davao note? Chef Pau puts the spotlight on the “King of fruits,” tweaked the recipe of a bestseller on the dessert choices, the turon, and came up with a new delicious treat—the Durian-Langka Turon paired with Malagos Tablea Chocolate. The dark chocolate dipping sauce makes for a delicious contrast to the combo of bittersweet and fruity flavors of the durian and langka jam filling of the fried delicacy.



Best of Davao in a sweet treat. The Durian-Langka Turon with Malagos Tablea dipping sauce




Enjoy the flavors of Davao at Rekado this Kadayawan season and for the rest of the year.

“We are proud that our region is blessed with an abundance of local produce. All the components in our dishes are sourced locally. We are especially proud of incorporating the products of Malagos Farms, which are all homegrown,” shared Chef Pau.

REKADO Filipino Comfort Food is at 1050 Jacinto Extension. Open daily from 11AM-11PM. Call (082) 284-2136 or 0915-722-9299.


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Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on August 23, 2015.