Quiet with good food

YES, there are many new places and this is not one of them. This is old, maybe more than a decade old. But it is not in the mainstream of happenings, such that regular diners looking for good food may have forgotten its existence.

A high school classmate was in town and we agreed to meet up, a small group, all right, except that... from past gatherings with high school classmates we'd always turn out to be the center of attention because of the way each one seems to have a story to tell or a remark to insert, all at the same time.

Thus, we were not just in search of a place to eat and hang around for a few hours, we were looking for a place where there are not too many people so that we will call less disturbance. And it has to be from morning till afternoon.

Yes, we are ladies of the day, not the night.

The answer: Red Knight Inn at Guadalupe Village in Lanang, Davao City. Actually, we were choosing between Red Knight Gardens Hotel and Drifter's British Pub in Nova Tierra also in Lanang, but directions to Red Knight is easier, and so we opted to go there.

Both feature European stuff, like shepherd's pie.

We ordered more than that. We had shepherd's pie, regular spaghetti, tuna melt, chicken pie, some kind of penne I can no longer recall, fish and chips, plus some sausage rolls. Among these, only the sausage roll didn't pass muster. It was bland.

The best part, however, was the talking. We lived up to our expectations, it was a riot such that even the lady owner and her guest were already joining in our merry conversation; who wouldn't if our voices were loud enough to be heard and we were at our crackpot best.

Best of all, we started at 10 a.m. and the place was already open and remained open like it was a restaurant in a mall. As Dabawenyos know well, many restaurants here open at lunchtime and close for the afternoon before opening again for dinner time.

Ladies like us who need to cram everything we can share in one day will have to go to the beach... except that it can be very hot.

Since it's a European restaurant, then expect some... Europeans. Some young, some old, they come in trickles, drink a couple and then disappear.

But that's the lunch till afternoon scene. We were no longer there for the evening crowd, so I wouldn't have any idea.

Thus, if you're looking for a place to spend the day with friends to share stories while chomping on good food? Try Red Knight. Especially recommended for ladies who want to share the nitty-gritty details of "ladyhood". Hohoho!

So where is it? Drive down to Guadalupe Village in Lanang... it's the village across Arroyo Street, the street before the R. Castillo-J.P. Laurel Junction, take the first corner to the left after passing by the guardhouse. Look to your left, it's there.