Ahfat: A must for tourists

"GOOD food travels by mouth."

And Ahfat Restaurant at the back of Victoria Plaza in Bajada is proof of this adage.

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The first restaurant opened in October 1999 and no time soon, the second branch opened in July 2004 followed by Ahfat 3, which opened last year.

"Our marketing is done via word of mouth. Kadalasan ng mga customers namin, pag balik, may dala ng kasamang ibang customers din," Philip Raymond Ang said in a recent interview.

Indeed, Ahfat has become one of the musts if you are a tourist in Davao, its popularity spreading across the shores.

"Maraming tourists pumupunta dito, mga balikbayan din," he says.

The name of the restaurant comes from a Chinese pet name of the youngest in the group of four friends. The youngest being Philip's father. Other branches are being managed by his other siblings.

The move to expand was natural after they noticed that a lot of people wait to be seated.

"Ang dami nakapila, so we decided to expand," he said.

The three restaurants have a seating capacity that ranges from 140 to 300 persons.

Philip says there are no well-guarded secrets to their success.

"Mahilig magluto ang parents ko and pioneering ang mga cook namin, mga expert. 'Yun lang" he said.

The three restaurants have the same recipe but he says they put add-ons every quarter. However, before the new recipes are added to the menu, they conduct an extensive taste test first.

And Ahfat does have an impressive and varied menu.

About 18 variations of bird's nest and sharks fin are in their soup menu. For fish dishes, four different kinds of fish excluding eel, crabs and lobsters, are prepared in four different recipes. For meat dishes, customers can choose from about 15 recipes and 17 each for both vegetable dishes and appetizers. Each order is also conveniently packaged in three different sizes, small (good for three to four persons), and medium (six to seven persons) and large for ten or more.

Philip said among their bestseller dishes are the Ahfat Seafood Green Soup, a thick broth with blended spinach; patatim and spicy ribs.

"Take-out orders come non-stop during the day. We request advance booking for private functions since we don't want decline walk-in clients," he said.

The restaurants also cater to private parties, with prizes ranging from P200 to 500 per head. All three restaurants are open the entire year, except on Good Fridays and Holy Thursdays.

The peak season is during holidays when they have to shut down kitchen if the orders are just too plenty.

Ahfat 1 opens at 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. while Ahfat 2 -- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. then opens again at 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Ahafat 3 opens from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.