Araw ng Dabaw feast at Marco Polo



THE General Manager was seen wearing a red chef’s jacket. It was quite an unusual scene that I caught at around 4 p.m. inside Café Marco of the Marco Polo Davao.



What's cooking at the Marco Polo Davao this March




The place was closed to diners until the buffet opens again for the evening service. Something special was brewing.

Dottie Wurgler-Cronin then donned the white chefs hat and started moving behind the show table, mixing ingredients from the white dishes, which included the with cucumber and dayap, among others.




Demonstrating how the Davao Kinilaw is prepared.



She started talking.

“There was a Marco Polo general manager’s conference in Chengdu, China last year and we were all asked to concoct something that best represented the region we came from. It was a competition among us GMs to be judged by us as well,” she shared as she poured and mixed the ingredients into a bowl.

“I made the Kinilaw from my own recipe. My foreign counterparts asked what it was and I told them it was ceviche. I even brought my own calamansi to make the dish true to its original flavor.” she said, as she completed the mixture and sent it to the kitchen to be chilled.

We went on the tables where we were introduced to the feast displayed before us that include dimsum on the cart, seafood presented fresh and well-cooked.



Seafood dinner buffet at the Cafe Marco every Friday & Saturday




All of these will be served to the guests of Lotus Court and Café Marco for the whole month of March in celebration of the 79th ArawngDabaw.

Café Marco will be hosting a special seafood dinner buffet every Friday and Saturday (P1300 net). Guests can enjoy a variety of seafood from yellow-fin tuna, crabs, shrimps, oysters, mussels and different fishes prepared to their preference—grilled, deep-fried, steamed, baked or even prepared as a soup.



Grilled prawns topped with cheese. The buffet offers the fresh catch of the day on the chafing dishes or cooked the way you want it



A variety of sauces, seaweed or (lukot) salad are also made available to further compliment the seafood dish.

Lunch every Sunday will feature a dimsum feast at Lotus Court as the offerings land on the buffet table for P600 per person. Dig into your favorite Pork shrimp siomai, Xiao long bao, Hakao, Spring rolls, Siopao and, of course, the buchi.




They're dimsum-ing all they can. You can, too, at Lotus Court's Dimsum Buffet every Sunday this March


Yes, these golden goodies are included in the dimsum buffet, too




The GM’s kinilaw preparation was served on large shells topped with dried squid.



The Davao Kinilaw topped with crispy squid is one of the hotel's signature dishes




Apparently the dish, named Davao Kinilaw, will be available at any dining outlet of the hotel as one of the Marco Polo’s signature dishes.

On the list as well is Executive Sous Chef Alex Destriza’s Baked BBQ Baby Back Ribs and the “Davao Punch,” a refreshing drink concocted with fresh pomelo juice, soda and grenadine, and it’s alcoholic counterpart, the “Punch with a Kick,” which has a shot of vodka.





Baby, you're so tender. The Baked BBQ Baby Back Ribs is the other signature dish of the hotel


Non-alcoholic refreshment- the Davao Punch. Have yours with vodka, then it will be the "Punch witha Kick"




Did the hotel GM win the best dish award? Unfortunately not, as her colleagues may have found the dish a bit too exotic.

Intrigued? Then you should try Davao Kinilaw along with other offerings at Marco Polo served for the whole month of March before you judge.



First dibs on the hotel's March food promotion