How I Chose Penong’s

“I have been to Jack’s Ridge, MTS, Marco Polo, Apo View, Insular, Kolasa’s, the San Pedro Barbecue “Square”, and other usual places offered to tourists, so now I want to go to some place I have not been to, not necessarily a fine dining or luxurious restaurant, it can be a turo-turo or a tapsilogan or a bulalohan or a palengke, as long as it is where many Davaoeños go to for dinner and there is no branch in Metro Manila or Metro Cebu”! That’s what I told the cheerful helpful front desk staff at The Pinnacle. Demanding? Well, nah, I was bantering with them.

The girl was a bit busy with some of her front desk things, though still responding to my pesky queries even if she was doing this and that. But the guy stood up for the challenge to address queries an obnoxious guest (that’s me) was throwing in! The mood was jolly and informal (I made sure of that) so they were quite at ease answering my questions in search of a place to have dinner!

After a while of discussions, I even armed with the helpful map of the city I got from the airport’s tourism desk, the guy jokingly said “go to hell”, and I was quick to respond “that’s where I am from, remember? so be creative please!”. The girl asked “don’t you like The Peak sir?” and I was ever ready with “NO, their idiot guards there might just tell me bawal yan! Can you believe they even told me bawal for me to take pictures of this hotel from their The Peak?” Them jolly front desk staff I was bantering with were of course aghast learning about that.

“Sir, how about Torres Street?”
“Been there, done that, somewhere else please”!
“Obrero!”
“I can consider that after dinner”
“Ahfat or Penong’s or…”
“HOLD IT! What were those again?”

They then described Penong’s and Ahfat. Hehe, after a lengthy search, it was unanimously decided that I must eat at Penong’s tonight. To be followed by an Obrero night cap! And tomorrow I should go Ahfat and somewhere else! Whew!

“Now, how do I find Penong’s?”
“Just step out of the hotel sir, then take a few steps to the left. That’s the nearest”
“Ganun lang, as in dyan lang sa labas, sa baba?”
“Yes sir, sa dami ng pinag-usapan natin, dyan ka lang pala babagsak”!

And we all had a good laugh.

So I went!

 

 

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