Marco Polo Davao makes the Kadayawan Festival even more festive as it highlights the 11 tribes of Davao through a culinary and fashion exploration into Mindanao’s indigenous peoples.
Mindanao’s first and only premier hotel launched its Kadayawan Festival menu at Cafe Marco last Friday, August 12, in time for the major festival events.
Dishes inspired by the local cuisine of the different tribes are available on top of the regular Cafe Marco buffet spread, while at the hotel lobby are nine couture creations that serve to interpret their diverse culinary flavors.
Marco Polo Davao Kadayawan menu
Some of the Kadayawan dishes in the buffet include the agal-agal (seaweed salad) of the Sama Tribe, piarena seda a barilis or spicy tuna of the Maranaw tribe, linuod to baboy (pork cooked in bamboo) of the Matigasug tribe.
The Tausug tribe is represented by daral, small servings of sweet coconut meat strips wrapped in crepe, and pakikambing, while the Jangan tribe has linotlot na manok or chicken cooked in bamboo. Chef Alex Destriza said they did a lot of research on indigenous cuisine before being able to recreate the dishes at the Cafe Marco kitchen.
The dessert station carries local delicacies as well with the durian panna cotta being the centerpiece attraction.
Fashion creations
With the Cafe Marco Davao tribal dishes serving as inspiration, designers from Davao Fashion and Design Council created fashion interpretations using different fabrics and styles.
Edgar Buyan came up with couture that served to interpret Tribe Matigsalug’s linuod to baboy or pork cooked in bamboo, while Dodjie Batu crafted his output based on the tinadrad na bakbak or frogs cooked in bamboo of Tribu Ubo Manuvu. The dishes that designers based their creations on are the same ones made available in the Cafe Marco buffet.
As Davao gets more colorful and the atmosphere gets more jubilant in anticipation of the Kadayawan Festival, Marco Polo Davao encapsulates the spirit of the celebration with a highlight on indigenous culture and scrumptious cuisine.
