The Aviary at Eden Nature Park

Male (peacock) Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus)

Eden Nature Park and Mountain Resort is one of the best places to visit in Davao during summer. If you want to get away from it all and experience the grandeur of Mother Nature all in one place then don’t forget to add this destination to your places-to-visit-this-summer list. Summer’s far from over so start planning your trip now! J

The first (and hopefully not the last) time I went to “Davao’s Baguio” was last November 2010 when we covered an event for the Marketing Society of UP Iloilo. [Eden Nature Park: Davao City's Version of Baguio]

One of the things that I loved about my visit there was the animal sanctuary. Eden has its own deer park and aviary. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to take some decent pictures of the deer because they were too shy to even pose for the camera.

I spent most of my time taking pictures of the birds at the aviary. At least they had nowhere to go to once I had my lenses set. haha! Some of the birds even came closer to have their pictures taken! I had fun “working” with a pair of red-and-blue Lories because they did countless tricks just to impress their visitor. 

I had a good 2-hour session with all of the birds. It was my first time to be in an aviary. I felt like a kid during his first visit to the zoo. Listening to the gentle water gushing through the stream nearby awakens your senses and relaxes the soul after a long and stressful day. Add the myriad sounds of the beautiful birds around you and you could almost tell that you are in paradise.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, (Cacatua galerita)

Red-and-blue lory, (Eos histrio)

Olive-headed Lorikeet, (Trichoglossus euteles)

Golden Pheasant or "Chinese Pheasant", (Chrysolophus pictus)

Victoria Crowned Pigeon, (Goura victoria)

Northern Cassowary, (Casuarius unappendiculatus)

Thanks to Ms. Sham Leonora for the camera. :)

Kyeranpbang: Egg Bread

This is a Korean street food I tried a few nights ago with my room mate, Yu Cheon, when we went to Eunpa lake to see the cherry blossoms and to try out his newly fixed scooter. It's called Kyeranpbang (게란빵) – or Egg bread. It's a traditional Korean delicacy and is usually sold in the streets in cold weather along with the other street food like boiled silkworm pupae. One can only try this in Korea during winter or spring and if you're lucky enough, some of your Korean friends might let you try this when you visit their homes.

Kyeranpbang - Egg Bread

Boiled Silkworm Pupae, a Korean traditional street food

It might taste very familiar especially if you've been to the Philippines and have already tried out some of their traditional delicacies like puto or mamon. Kyeranpbang is only a bit harder and it has this hard-boiled egg in the center.

Take the sweet-salty taste of puto and the texture of mamon and you'll get the taste of this Korean street bread. Combine that with the powdery texture of the hard-boiled egg in the center and you get the perfect street food for a cold Korean spring or winter evening. It can be considered as a light snack and is best served with coffee. The ones I tried were a bit cold since it was already late in the evening when we went to the lake. But having them when they’re fresh from the oven should taste heavenly!

Too bad I wasn’t able to bring cash. I only had a few coins in my pocket because I wasn't expecting to go on a food trip that night. Yu Cheon only bought one for each of us but it was enough to make me say that it is a must for me to go back for more of this egg bread before the season ended.

After I was finished with this delicacy, I went back to the ajumma's stand to take pictures of her delicious treat. She was sweet and kind enough to pose for a picture. This was a very big accomplishment for me! It was my first time to ask a Korean – a stranger – to pose for a picture! I was so happy when she smiled (that, I didn't expect) as she held up that famous peace sign.

If you're ever wondering how to make this at home, here is a simple recipe along with the steps to make this delicious treat:

http://www.kfoodaddict.com/korean-style-egg-bread-gaeran-bbang/

Patpat's Kansi House

“Bulalo is a light colored soup that's made rich by cooking beef shanks and beef marrow bones for hours until much of the collagen and fat has melted into the clear broth. The seasonings vary from chef to chef with some using only salt and black pepper while other variations call for patis, bay leaves or even garlic. But at its core, Bulalo, a simple cattleman's stew, best made in a large cauldron with whatever (vegetables) are growing nearby." No Recipes: Cooking is More Fun Without Them

Kansi is what Illonggos call bulalo. There are a lot of Kansi Houses in the city but we think that the best restaurant to get them is at Patpat’s Kansi House located at Luna St., La Paz.

                        
  
I first ate there a few years ago back when I was still in college. My dad brought me and it was clear what he said that I shouldn’t eat there often. But since then, I started bringing my friends and they loved the food. We would have lunch every 2 months just to get a taste of their mouth-watering Kansi.

Before they serve you with a bowl full of broth and a large (yes, it really is large) bone with that soft marrow inside (this makes me hungry just writing about it) they provide you with a barbecue stick and a thin serrated knife. The barbecue stick’s actually for getting all that tasty marrow out of the bone and the knife’s for slicing off meat from it. They both prove to be very useful and it's a bit awkward to use at first but hey, with practice comes perfection. You do want to enjoy your first bowl of Kansi, right?


At the first sip of their special broth, one will be able to forget all of their worries about heart diseases. But we do recommend not eating here every day. The food is great but it really pays if one should remain conscious about their health. The soup is what we are all after. It has everything in it - the taste of the meat, the marrow, some vegetables (if there are any) and the spices.

Patpat’s Kansi is the “sabaw-pa-lang-ulam-na” type of food. The broth, after getting your first sip, will make you think about ordering another cup of rice even though you haven’t even started eating it yet. I’ve been trying to figure out for years how to properly describe the soup. There's this certain sweetness and sourness in it. The beef is so tender that oftentimes, you’ll find yourself nibbling to the very last bit of beef strip and cartilage on the bone. I’ve tasted bulalo from other restaurants in Iloilo City as well as those around Tagaytay but I have to say that nothing beats the taste of Patpat’s Kansi. It lacks all the other vegetables present in other bulalo versions but trading it all off for the soup is all worth it after all.