Food and Restaurants in Davao

[JDDavao II]

Review: Calve's Steakside Batulao Street, Central Park Subd, Bangkal

Menu: Angus ribeye, prime rib, flat iron steak, pork steak, marlin steak, as well as chicken and appetizers.

The menu is short, the sides and appetizers are small. We had the Angus ribeye, cut in half. The steaks are sold by the kilo and fractions thereof. We got the smallest division which I think is .650. M had hers well, I had mine medium rare. We also ordered a pork steak and two orders of fries.

The ribeye had more connective tissue through it than I expected for a USD$30 piece of meat. Being that they have a big TV looping steak programs showing luscious pieces of beef, what arrives is disappointing. I wonder what the flat iron steak must be like.

Both the beef steak and the fries were billed as having a special "Calve's Rub" seasoning on them. As near as I could taste, it was mostly salt.

The cooking was fine. The steaks are served with house-made BBQ sauce and gravy as well as a tiny pot of mashed potatoes and coarse coleslaw. The fries are "crinkle-cut". The order is small.

The pork steak was better, to me, than the beef was.

As I said, the cooking was fine. Spot-on, actually. The flavors were fine. I would go back to try the prime rib.

 

 

Edited October 18, 2019 by JDDavao
forgot photo

[Tommy T.]

36 minutes ago, JDDavao said:

The ribeye had more connective tissue through it than I expected for a USD$30 piece of meat. Being that they have a big TV looping steak programs showing luscious pieces of beef, what arrives is disappointing. I wonder what the flat iron steak must be like.

 

Thanks for the review...

JD...what did they nick you for the whole meal? It sounds like it was rather disappointing. I have bought "rib-eye" steaks to cook myself in a few places and they sound just like what you got - connective tissue and little meat. The exception was at S & R. And actually tonight, I am going to try cooking up two huge porterhouse steaks I just bought there last week at about $6/pound. I'll let you know.

Oh... and I drove past a restaurant I was going to tell you about but had forgotten the name: it's called Yummy Restaurant. It's a kitchy name with odd, kitchy atmosphere and furniture, but good food and very reasonable prices. That was the place I mentioned before on F. Torres Street - not far from V-Mall that had good roast beef and gravy dinner. Ribs and other things were good too as I remember...

Is that photo of the rib-eye the pork steak? I really cannot tell. See what you mean about the small sides...

Did you go out to McDonald's later to satiate your hunger? Enough there to feed a small cat...

Edited October 18, 2019 by Tommy T.

[JDDavao II]

28 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

JD...what did they nick you for the whole meal? It sounds like it was rather disappointing. I have bought "rib-eye" steaks to cook myself in a few places and they sound just like what you got - connective tissue and little meat. The exception was at S & R. And actually tonight, I am going to try cooking up two huge porterhouse steaks I just bought there last week at about $6/pound. I'll let you know.

The total hit for soda and all was P2050.

The photo is my medium rare half of the rib-eye. 

We actually did go to SM City after we ate but just for Starbucks coffee and a slice of cheesecake.

I think the worst part about the meal was watching the shows on the TV where people like Gordon Ramsey are cooking up three-inch thick filet mignon And then seeing my half-inch steak arrive. 

Like I said, they nailed my wife's medium-well and my medium-rare so my disappointment may have just been that particular piece of meat. I'd go back to try the prime rib, just not until I have more money.

One interesting thing that i forgot to mention is that though they had blue marlin steak on the menu, the tuna steak they also had on it was unavailable. I wonder where their stock come from.

I'll keep Yummy in mind when we're down that way, Tommy. Thanks for the head's up!

[JDDavao II]

Bought a jar of this yesterday at GMall in Toril, apparently it's available at all of them and at Victoria Plaza. It's a little on the sweet side put packs an authentic kick of heat. It is made by Manna Restaurant here in Davao.  It's just napa cabbage.

[Tommy T.]

13 hours ago, JDDavao said:

Bought a jar of this yesterday at GMall in Toril, apparently it's available at all of them and at Victoria Plaza. It's a little on the sweet side put packs an authentic kick of heat. It is made by Manna Restaurant here in Davao.  It's just napa cabbage.

Yeah... I have seen and bought that and like it a lot! It tastes fairly authentic. And Manna restaurant at SM Ecoland is a good restaurant that I mentioned before, I think? Prices are reasonable and food is great.

[Tommy T.]

On 10/18/2019 at 1:47 PM, JDDavao said:

I'll keep Yummy in mind when we're down that way, Tommy. Thanks for the head's up!

Brief update on Yummy restaurant...

We went there for lunch yesterday and were very disappointed. As the previous two visits, my favourite menu item - the roast beef - was "sorry...out of stock!"

So we ordered a couple of other things that ended up being average (or even below) - a teriyaki chicken and some sort of beef in cream something... We don't think we will return. There was a big group of diners there that was a get-together, but otherwise the place was almost empty. The price was low, but so was quality and quantity...pass...

[JDDavao II]

6 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

some sort of beef in cream something

That sounds like lengua, ox tongue in cream sauce. And that's a shame because that is one of my favorite dishes.

Thanks for taking one for the Davao Foodie team, Tommy!

[JDDavao II]

Had another very nice lunch at the Swiss Deli in Matina. I chose the pan fried pork tenderloin from the board here. I enjoyed the blue and feta cheese atop the pork but there was a little too much blue cheese. That's a strong flavor and overwhelmed the feta and pork. The tenderloin was cooked beautifully as were the sides of carrots and cabbage and French fries.

I'm so happy they do not use lauric oil to fry in at the SD. It's the cheaper option and is used extensively here but it adds a flavor to fried foods that I do not like.

Menchu had a breaded chop with rice and we shared a bread bowl of seafood chowder which is now our go to appetizer.

From the shop we got a couple of pastries and Christmas stollens. Yum!

[JDDavao II]

On 12/5/2019 at 12:41 PM, JDDavao said:

From the shop we got a couple of pastries

I will go on record as saying that the pastries, having eaten too many of them, are delicious!

[Tommy T.]

Yeah... I like Swiss Deli. I go there more for the frozen meats and European delights that they sell canned or packaged. The manager there is a very strange little man who I really dislike, but their foods are good. Their bread products are also pretty good...

Next time in town, try the seafood chowder in the bread bowl at Coco's, just up the street from Swiss Deli. Also our favourite, very close to Seattle clam chowder in quality and taste.