Davao Delicious

The first time I had a meal at Honeybear Chicken House, I wasn’t overly impressed, as I’d previously written on AngDabawenyo.com nearly a year ago. But, last month, when the bloggers were treated to a dinner by proprietor, Emmylou Yee, it was a veritable feast! And I’m not just talking about the fiesta-sized amounts of food here — the fare was really good!

Ok, ok, some might think I’m saying this because it was a free meal. But no, that’s not the case. I went there on my own again, unannounced, and ordered their Chicken Cordon Bleu. I was quite satisfied. The breading was not oily at all, crunchy the way I like it, and the filling was oozing with goodness. It’s a set meal order, so it came with rice and a generous helping of fresh vegetables. I really appreciated the little touches, like those black sesame-looking seeds sprinkled on the rice. They made the dining experience all the more enjoyable.

So, for the bloggers’ food trip at Honeybear, check out the dishes that we feasted on. The photos were taken by Andrew, our tireless foodnographer (my father coined that term, after I told him about bloggers doing ‘food pornography’!! ).

This is one of the dishes I wish we had more of (despite having so many others on the table): the Sizzling Noodles with Beef and Mushrooms (P180). This order is practically good for 2 or 3 people already. I loved the al dente pasta, and the to-die-for gravy.

Another item that I enjoyed so much was the Creamy Kare-Kare (P210, good for 3 to 4). I have this theory about Kare-Kare. This could be the Filipino equivalent of curry in other cultures — the sauce / gravy is thick and brownish, like Japanese curry or one of the curries of Indian cuisine, and the taste is remotely like curry –but that’s debatable. However, my theory might be backed by linguistics: in Filipino languages, word repetition serves to dilute the real essence of the repeated word, or express likeness. So, "kare-kare" might be translated to "like curry (but not quite)". But that’s just me.

Wait a minute… this is a chicken house! Alright, so here’s the enticing close-up shot of the star of the show: the Honeybear Greaseless Fried Chicken (P280 for a whole chicken). Everyone loved it. Hmmm… I’m not such a big fan of fowl, but I give it a thumbs-up! Why? Because I eat only white meat, which is usually dry and tasteless, but at Honeybear, even the white meat was juicy. (Still, the sizzling noodles remains my favorite.)

Other mentionables: Fish & Chips (P140), Bulalo Steak a la Pobre (P180), and Bro’s American Spare Ribs (P175). The fish & chips didn’t last very long on the table — Migs even wanted to order more! The bulalo steak, however, might have been good… but there was so much food, it got neglected till the gravy went to sleep. The spare ribs, well, it was not bad, but nothing spectacular.

After the trés heavy dinner, Emmylou had us try their various desserts. Did I try them all? Of course! But so did everyone else. My favorite was this one shown here… but I can’t remember the name! I think maybe this was the chocolate sundae.

Even the coffee was decent, and it went down really well with the cakes that we had.

All in all, it was a heartily delicious experience. Thanks very much, Emmylou!

Honeybear Chicken House is located on Quirino Ave., beside a convenience store and across the highway from the Central Bank building. They’re open everyday from 11:00 AM to around 10:00 PM (except Sundays, when they close at 9). Tel.: (82)226-8288. Oh, free WIFI here!

Tags: chicken, desserts, Filipino, steaks

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