THIS is going to be the last of my CDO eating binge. All throughout my very short stay there, the mantra was we eat in a place we do not see in Davao. Meaning, fastfood chains are out even if I got the occasional KFC gravy craving.
"You can have a lot of that back home," I'd tell myself before searching for what's not familiar. Unfamiliar but obviously very popular is this food place at Lifestyle District (CDO's hipster place) - Mykarelli's Grill. It's so popular, it has two restaurants in one place. As the first one is right at the entrance and smack within the party place, we chose the quieter one just off the side.
"I'm sure they have the same food," I said. It's not new, it's seven years old, and has been enjoying a strong following since as it started from being just a "tambayan/inuman" of friends who later whipped out food for their tambay and inom, and soon gathered the curiosity of passers-by and from there came about the restaurant -- a Filipino favorites resto. That was just fitting for our mood -- the crispy pata, that is. To assuage my guilt feelings, I ordered salmon belly sinigang to go with it. As there were just three of us -- Maan and Maan's mom gina with me -- we couldn't order much. We were told that the chicken inasal and babyback ribs were among the favorites, but then, we have to satisfy the crispy pata craving first lest go home not knowing if theirs is as good as they say.
Verdict? The sinigang is super sour, but I like it. The crispy pata flavor is good and the meat very tender, but can do with a bit more crispiness to it. We love munching on crackling skin. And yes, Mykarelli's can easily be a place to go if you want something familiar. Hums... People stay in Cagayan...