The so-called spectacularly scrumptious Cookie Butter Donuts by Go Nuts Donuts is now available in Davao City starting today May 8, 2013 at their two branches in Abreeza Mall and in Gaisano Mall Davao.

We were quite excited I think when we went into their Abreeza branch early morning after sending my little kid to school for his summer class so we can get a treat of tasting this donut that had me drooling since the time I saw Instagram photos flooding over Twitter of bloggers mostly food bloggers as well as a few celebrities and even common people (like us) posting and showing this cookie butter donut since last month when it was launched in Manila around the first week of April.

Here’s half of the dozen Cookie Butter donuts I got!

Actually, the craze over the popular cookie butter that are being sold online had me curious over the past few months. It takes awhile about a month or so for an order of that JTS cookie butter to reach me. So when I saw that Go Nuts Donuts had made their own version of donut with cookie butter frosting I got excited. It took awhile for it to be launched here in Davao so when I heard it will be launched finally today and am done with work for now, we headed out to their Abreeza branch from my kid’s school.

Here’s the Instagram photo I shared also through Twitter and re-tweeted by @gonutsdonuts.

I love eating it when the donut is light and freshly made while the luscious cookie butter frosting has just been added on top. It was not as sweet as I thought it would be which is good news for me. It was delicious and my hubby agrees with me on that as well as some people we know who also tried this donut today here in Davao. I finished one donut so quickly my husband kidded me I was not too hungry. Hahaha!

The frosting is made in Manila according to Michael their crew who entertained us. It is creamy and delicious indeed. I hope I can do away with the sugar frosting on the donut and it will be perfect. I am even wondering if they would grant requests for extra frosting on top. I would love that! *wink*

I honestly enjoyed eating my first ever Cookie Butter donut while we were still waiting for our lunch to be served. I had to stop myself from eating another one right there and then. I’ll save it for my afternoon snacks later.

We had a dozen of these scrumptious Cookie Butter donuts to enjoy at home with my boys. Thank you so much Go Nuts Donuts for these delicious donuts! Visit their branches in Davao at Abreeza Mall and at Gaisano Mall near the supermarket for your Cookie Butter donut fix now.

Some of the Prima donuts of Go Nuts Donuts

Visit Go Nuts Donuts:
Website: http://gonutsdonuts.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/gonutsdonuts.fanpage
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gonutsdonuts

I love this spicy curry we tried at the newly opened resto Banana Leaf Curry House at SM Lanang… When we went to Little Nyonya on our first visit, I got to taste the curry sauce they use for some of their dishes there and I love it too. My love for curry was revived since then. I have long been a curry lover since I first tasted my first curry dish way back in high school I think. Curry chicken to be exact. I have tried cooking curry chicken a few time before and I’d love to try more curry dishes now.

Curry is a combination of a few spices and one of which I commonly read about is red pepper spice. Thinking of spice and spicy, I want to buy and try two different kind of peppers at the grocery store to make a spicy dish. On the other hand, speaking of pepper reminds me of something I found recently which is an interesting looking pepper spray at http://www.safetygirl.com. Been looking for something for my sister to use when she’s out late at night sometimes just in case.

Next thing to look for aside from those peppers are curry powder that is good and ready to use. Or a good curry powder recipe that will give me a dish with the right spicy curry just the way I love it.

Krispy Kreme Philippines photo

Finally I was able to try and indulged in Krispy Kreme’s Truffle Kremes with my boys.

Photos by DavaoFoodTrip.com

I first heard about their new product from the ever beautiful Ms. Nadia Shami who is now with Krispy Kreme when we met once again at an event in SM Davao before. Then we met again here at their 3rd branch in Davao at SM Lanang Premier for a taste of their Truffle Kremes.

Last April 22, during the selected bloggers meet which was also the mini presscon by SM Lanang Cinema IMAX for the midnight screening of Iron Man 3 that we were invited to, I finally got myself to try the Truffle Kremes.

Ms. Nadia Shami, Krispy Kreme Philippines’ Assistant Marketing Manager LRM for VisMin.

A photo opp after the mini presscon for Iron Man 3… Ms. Nadia with SM Lanang Premier Cinemas’ Ms. Noelle Martin, Assistant Theater Manager and Mr. Lloyd Ceballos, Assistant Theater Manager IMAX.

I am excited for the first midnight screening of IMAX Lanang in as much as I was really excited to taste the Truffle Kremes…

Can’t resist taking a few snapshots of the box. I even thought of collecting them aside of course from using them. Recycle and reuse these nice boxes.

I love the elegant brown box that has a gold cover that it comes in 3s with. A box of three Kremes costs P150.

 It’s indeed a new way to satisfy the sweet cravings for those with a sweet tooth. It can be a nice and sweet gift of guys for a date, their girlfriend, a special someone or one of the gifts you can give to your sweet mom especially with Mother’s Day just more than two weeks away.

I would like to get not one but two boxes of these Truffle Kremes to complete each of all the six (6) flavors that they have – Chocolate Chocolate Kreme, Chocolate Chocolate Mocha, Vanilla Strawberry Kreme, Vanilla White Chocolate Mocha, Vanilla Chocolate Caramel and Chocolate Chocolate Caramel.

Other than me, my boys in particular who are not so much into sweet stuff were so interested on eating these Truffle Kremes. They would take out the two boxes from the ref and asked if they could eat them. I couldn’t say no of course. *wink*

I was surprised I liked the Vanilla Strawberry Kreme as I indulged in one piece all by myself.

The rest I made a point to take a bite and taste the three flavors in the box – Vanilla Strawberry, Chocolate Chocolate Mocha and Chocolate Chocolate Caramel. I like eating them when they are just taken out from the ref. I will try the other flavors next time – Chocolate Chocolate Kreme, Vanilla White Chocolate Mocha and Vanilla Chocolate Caramel.

Give in… yes sometimes you can let yourself give in to the sweet life… indulge and try some Truffle Kremes today at Krispy Kreme branches in Davao at SM Lanang Premier, Abreeza Mall and SM City Davao Annex.

Make your summer more fun starting this Friday with Summerfaction 2013: Food Festival & Fun Weekend Destination at Tienda Del Mercado in Davao City. It is located at Acacia Street, Juna Subdivision, Matina, Davao City. It’s a food festival and lifestyle bazaar with live acoustic entertainment all rolled into one.

Looking forward to this event which hopefully is going to be fun this coming weekend and as a foodie I love the first weekend when I checked the list of activities/events for the month-long Summerfaction 2013 which they called Guilty Pleasures, a three (3) day dessert affair.

Now this made me really excited as it reminded me of my fave mocha mud pie from one of the local resto cafe here in Davao City.

Saw these photos at Summerfaction’s FB Page and I hope to see more there of these sweet desserts in Davao that we often crave for… especially this coming weekend.

Weekend 1 – April 26-28, 2013 at 4:00PM to 12:00MN

The month-long acoustic band challenge “Strings Beat the Heat” kicks off this weekend as bands will be playing their best audition sets nightly for Friday and Saturday. At stake is a chance to open for Up Dharma Down, a multi-awarded Manila-based band, for their show on May 25, 2013. TDM also fills their afternoons with Guilty Pleasures, a 3-day dessert fair. Get ready to spoil your sweet tooth with the treats the selected exhibitors will prepare just for you!

Read more at the link here – Tienda del Mercado Summerfaction 2013 for Week 2 to Week 4 where Up Dharma Down fans in Davao are really excited to see the UDD concert on May 25, 2013.

See you there this weekend!

Tienda del Mercado
Acacia Street, Juna Subdivision,
Matina, Davao City 8000
Telephone Number: (082) 297-5908
Mobile Number: 0922 233 8677
Facebook Page : Tienda Del Mercado
Website: www.tiendadelmercado.com
Facebook Page: Summerfaction
Website: www.summerfaction.com

Logo from Sweet Spot

When in Davao, you must try the Crocodile Ice Cream Flavors from Sweet Spot Artisan Ice Cream at Davao Crocodile Park…

It can get so hot these days and you can always beat the summer heat with this one of a kind exotic and sweet treat that hits you right at your sweet spot available at Sweet Spot all summer long.

Last week, a day before my birthday I got a nice treat along with fellow bloggers that is, as we had a sweet treat of having a taste of freshly made artisan ice cream among them are the signature flavors of Sweet Spot Artisan Ice Cream. Their ice cream takes you to another level compared to the other ice cream brands. They use crocodile eggs on their selected ice cream take note which makes the ice cream’s texture creamier because of the viscosity of the crocodile egg yolk when compared to that of a chicken egg. It also has more protein from what I’ve read.

Photo from Sweet Spot

It’s a food tripper’s experience that will make you agree that… A taste of their ice cream will definitely hit or tickle you right on your sweet spot! It’s a unique experience that you can tell your friends especially for those just visiting Davao City that you get to experience eating artisan ice cream made with crocodile eggs.

During this particular visit with DB peeps, we first got to taste Sweet Spot’s Crocodile Dragonfruit Ice Cream and Crocodile Pandan Ice Cream. You’ve got to try these new flavors !

It may have melted even before I could take a shot of it but it is still delicious and creamy. Both ice cream flavors uses crocodile eggs instead of the usual chicken eggs used in other ice cream. They are sweet – just perfect and not too sweet, delicious and really creamy that is unique from other so-called creamy ice cream I’ve tried. Both flavors sell at P70 a serving. It’s really worth the price and after all this is artisan ice cream we’re talking about that we in Davao should be proud of. Sweet Spot ice cream has been featured on TV and in print. You got to make the summer more fun and try these ice cream made with croc eggs.

We also got to try other the flavors of their ice cream served in a cone this time. These are just perfect and delicious treats to beat the summer heat!

Also these other artisan ice cream flavors from Sweet Spot and who could say no? We tasted these delicious and creamy delights as we listened to Sir Sonny Dizon share with us the crocodile oil which I am interested in the healing effects.

Going back… The Davao homegrown artisan ice cream brand welcomes a cool wave of new flavors of its famous crocodile ice cream: Pandan, Strawberry Kiss, Chocoloco, Mangomazing, Durian Dynamite, and Cookie Monster.

Now here is a must try artisan ice cream flavor at Sweet Spot! This is my fave ice cream flavor from Sweet Spot…

Hearing about the Crocodile Egg Durian Ice Cream had me curious for quite sometime since it was not available during one visit we had at the Crocodile Park Davao during the last stop of the Life is Here: The Davao Bloggers’ Tour 2012. This Davao food tripper had been wanting to try this signature ice cream flavor of Sweet Spot at Davao Croc Park.

So when I spotted the Sweet Spot Artisan Ice Cream stall during The Weekend Artisan Food Fair in Abreeza Mall on it’s first Saturday last November 2012 with my boys then, I finally gave this artisan ice cream a try. I loved it since and my picky little boy liked it. It has a creamy, delicious durian ice cream flavor that is unique and stands out among all durian ice cream flavors I have tasted in Davao so far. I usually and initially opt to taste all durian ice cream whenever it is available anywhere here in Davao or elsewhere.

Mr. Philip “Sonny” Dizon said that it is a must try when in Davao City at Sweet Spot located at the Crocodile Park. “The first batch of crocodile ice cream slowly made it to Sweet Spot freezers in 2011; word of mouth caused the ice cream to gain favorable response from ice cream lovers and adventurous foodies alike. A gallon of crocodile ice cream prides itself to have a dozen of crocodile eggs instead of chicken eggs.”

Their croc ice cream uses 80% crocodile egg yolk that is why it can be called among the creamiest in the world and it really hits your sweet spot. It’s creaminess tells you there is really a special ingredient in this particular durian ice cream that you would find in Davao City. It costs P70 a cup and its reasonably priced. It’s worth it and it’s an experience you can share to your foodie friends!

When you’re in Davao, you must try this ice cream… durian flavor made with crocodile eggs at a must visit destination in Davao too… the Davao Crocodile Park.

Here are the other flavors of artisan ice cream that you can try… By the way, you can order their ice cream by tub.

This one is called peanut brittle and caramel candy ice cream. I want to try this when it’s available.

Photo from Sweet Spot

I also heard about their seasonal beer ice cream flavor. We’re interested to taste this as well.

Photo from Sweet Spot

They also have the Crazy Monkey Bananas ice cream flavor that I tried before and I remember I liked that flavor too which was among their best selling flavors.

Chef Bianca Garcia Dizon, owner of Sweet Spot Artisan Ice Cream and eldest daughter of Jackie Garcia-Dizon and Philip Dizon, told us that they are planning to open up another outlet in Davao.

Sweet Spot is located at Crocodile Park, Riverfront Corporate Complex, Ma-a Diversion Road, Davao City.
You may call and inquire from them at (082) 225 0184. Also visit and LIKE their Facebook Page at Sweet Spot Artisan Ice Cream. You may also email them at sweetspotdvo@gmail.com.

ALL photos by DAVAOFOODTRIP.com except those labeled from Sweet Spot

Thanks to Karla, Jesse, Chef Bianca and Sir Sonny Dizon!

Cheers to this apple juice I had when we had our first breakfast buffet at RBG in Park Inn Davao. I actually saw the hotel general manager passing by carrying a glass full of apple juice that’s why I noticed they had fruit juices at the counter. When hubby asked me what I want, I opted for the apple juice after having the orange juice he first brought for me and the lil boy.

I read recently that apples contain an antioxidant called anthocyanins. According to the Journal of Clinical Nutrition fruits and vegetables that contain anthocyanins have been shown to decrease the risk for diabetes. I have read about the apple juice fast and cleanse for colon and gallbladder before. Speaking of cleanse, I was reminding hubby that he was supposed to clean my pc this week and have it brought to the store to have it checked by their technician, I also urged him to get a glass of this apple juice at the bar given its benefits and it is a healthier choice rather than  having coffee for breakfast that day.

More apple juice in the diet from now on. Cheers everyone!

Brazo de Mercedes from Tiny Kitchen Creations in Davao

One of the things I look for when I have sweet cravings is this brazo de Mercedes from Tiny Kitchen. It has become my fave since we tasted it for the first time with my hubby. The whole roll is only P300 and could last at least until Sunday said Ms. Donna as long as it is refrigerated. I do hope it will still reach Sunday given I am home most of the following days when we bought this and the boys are home with me. Fasting may become fast eating. I tell you this is delicious especially when it’s new and served fresh from the ref.

Some of the restaurants and food establishments open today are RBG in Park Inn by Radisson, Akiko Japanese Restaurant, Korean Town Restaurant, Sen Ton Whan Restaurant, Chowking Bajada, McDonalds Bajada, Jollibee Bajada, Dexter Pizza, Blugre Landco and DDH branch, among others. Good thing there are at least a few restaurants still open even during this holy day serving some of their customers.

We went to have dinner at a Chinese restaurant which made me realize after we should have just stayed at home. Or I could have searched for another option perhaps like those restaurants in easton pa or went to another place to a fastfood instead to eat dinner with my boys where there is better service and well cooked food on a Good Friday. I know we should be observing fasting today. We actually just had two full meals today that is brunch and dinner with my boys.

So where did you eat if ever today if you went out to dine?

Guess who greets you upon entering McDo Bajada Davao? No other than Xian Lim in this life-size board of him standing there at the door as you enter the store. He’s right there holding french fries in one hand and Coke McFloat on the other hand. Xian is the new endorser of McDo and he has this ‘McFloat Summer Medley’ TV commercial.

Hubby was kidding me if I want to have a picture taken with Xian. No, sorry but I am not a fan but if it’s the real Xiam Lim right there, I would have no second thought of having a souvenir photo taken with him anyway. I did take a snapshot half of the board only. I would want that Coke McFloat he is carrying though if he gives it to me. *wink*

When my husband heard me, he thought I was asking about a flute just like our short topic last night when we got a time to talk about this quality yamaha flute at wwbw since I have been wanting to make the summer vacation of my little boy spent on productive activities like learning music or a sport perhaps. Now since my hubby heard flute, I am now wondering where the boys kept the wooden flute that my sister gave us two Christmases ago. That would still be very useful. She bought that overseas and it is made of good quality.

Since I am craving for a float now, I might just as well tell myself to hold it off till Saturday. That is just less than two days away anyway. Just a little sacrifice. Anyway, I have this crème-filled log cake that they call. This will do for now though I am looking forward to Saturday already for my coffee float.