MY FRIENDS are regular customers there, they have photos to share every time they go.
I have been drooling ever since, and it's been like years now. Finally, last Thursday, I had lunch at Le Fermette Dairy Farm - Cafe Bistro in Tacunan, Mintal District, Davao City, and it was bliss.
The salad is so pretty, the food bursting with flavors in the most delicate way as French cuisine tend to be. But wait. As its name says, it's a farm.
A working farm, not some showcase designed for selfies and postcards so don't expect some colonial house on manicured lawn. It's a farm.
Be ready to get muddy and a bit wet if the weather isn't cooperating. And no, there's no villa to speak of, just a farm shed that's screened to keep out the elements -- insects and cows among them.
The weather was fine last Thursday, and so I got to explore a bit and meet two of the five cows. I'm not sure if it was Daisy or Moomay whom I met, but she was young and spotted.
Then there's the big dark brown cow. The cows provide the milk for their cheese and butter, and so, much as we'd want to buy their cheese and butter, they can't sell us any to-go because the few cows they have can only provide for the restaurant.
I got the beef stroganoff. Mabel got the Bahn-mi bowl (with rice noodles and not bread), we also ordered the bread platter, and the pork adobo. Everything was delicious. Period. We topped that with tea and their Roselle sponge cake.
That's the problem with having just a few companions when exploring a place like this: you can eat so little of all the food you would have wanted to order.
I'm asking my officemates that we go on an “excursion” soon. The place is pretty far if you're coming from downtown and being able to enjoy all that they offer would really be a very nice treat. It's farther than the old Deca Wakeboard site. Drive straight and watch out for the sign that points to the Iglesia ni Cristo church. Take that road and just a few meters ahead will be Le Fermette. There's a sign on the left side of the road.
I still can't get over their salad and Bahn-mi. They were so pretty. (And no, Councilor Mabel was my companion, Councilor Petite and her staff just happened to drop by as well).