HYACINTH, a really good friend and classmate from college, was recently in Davao City for work. Iresse and I were very eager to have dinner with her since it has been a while since the three of us got together. Back in college in Siliman University in Dumaguete City, we were very active in the College of Mass Communication.

Since I am the one who is familiar with the places to eat in the city, I took the initiative to plan our dinner. Hyacinth was staying at Lispher Inn in Juna Subdivision in Matina. I suggested that we check out the restaurants along one of the city’s popular food strips, Tulip Drive.

We were deciding between Haya’s Place and Minkah Kitchen. Eventually, we opted to have dinner at Haya’s Place then have coffee at Purge Coffee Roasters, which just beside the restaurant.

Our dinner started with Hummus (P135) and Roti with Curry Dip (P125).

We enjoyed the roti with curry dip. I think the roti itself was really good.

Hummus is a dip made from ground chickpeas, toasted sesame seeds, olive oil lemon, and garlic served with a side of pita bread.

For our mains, I ordered the Chicken Biryani (P245), Iresse had the Mee Goreng (P145), and Hyacinth had the Satti (P120).

The Chicken Biryani is long grained basmati rice slowly cooked in curry with Indian spices and topped with chicken marinated in Arabic spcies. I really loved the dish. It was flavorful and I just love its level of spiciness.

Hyacinth enjoyed her Satti. The dish is grilled chicken with rice topped with Haya’s satti sauce, which is a blend of spices in a coconut cream base. I tried the dish and liked it too. The sauce was creamy and had a hint of spiciness.

Iresse said she liked her Mee Goreng. This is a Classic Malaysian stir fried noodle dish with shrimp and a spicy savoury sauce topped with fried egg. I also had a taste of the dish. I find it to be good too. It was spicy at the same time sweet.

After our dinner, we had coffee at the Purge Coffee Roaster. As always, they serve a great cup of coffee.

Haya’s Place and Purge Coffee Roaster are both located along Tulip Drive near Fuente de Villa Abrille Subdivision. The Tulip Drive strip is one of the booming food destinations in the city offering diners a variety of options for dinner.

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