My First Davao Adventure: Samal Island, Pastil, Tablea, and My First Taste of Durian

Arriving in Davao for the First Time

Davao felt different from the moment I arrived. It had the energy of a big city but without the frantic pace I was used to. People moved with a kind of calm confidence, and even asking for directions felt easy.

I didn't have a strict itinerary. I had a rough list of things I wanted to eat and one non-negotiable: get on a boat to Samal Island. Everything else, I decided, would sort itself out. For a first solo-style adventure, that looseness was a gift.

Island Hopping Around Samal

The crossing to Samal is short — short enough that you barely settle into the boat ride before the island starts filling the horizon. What I remember most is the color of the water changing as we moved between stops, from deep blue to that clear, pale turquoise you only really believe when you see it in person.

We hopped between beaches and swimming spots through the day. Some stops were busy with families and grilled food; others were quiet enough that the loudest sound was the boat engine ticking as it cooled. I swam until my fingers wrinkled, ate whatever was being sold near the shore, and did absolutely nothing important. It was exactly what an island day should be.

If I'm honest, I couldn't tell you the exact names of every stop we made anymore. What stayed with me is the feeling — that first real taste of island hopping, where the plan is simply the next beach.

Pastil: The Best Simple Meal of the Trip

Before this trip, I had never tried pastil — rice wrapped in banana leaf topped with shredded, savory chicken. It's humble food, the kind you can eat with one hand, and it costs almost nothing.

I understood immediately why people love it. The banana leaf gives the rice a faint aroma, the chicken is rich and a little smoky, and the whole thing just works — especially in the morning before a long day out. I went back for it more than once, and to this day pastil is one of the first things I mention when someone asks me about Mindanao food.

Tablea and Slowing Down

Davao introduced me to proper tablea — those dense discs of pure local cacao that get melted into thick, slightly bitter hot chocolate. I'd grown up with instant versions of chocolate drinks, and the difference is not subtle. Tablea tastes like it comes from somewhere. There's texture to it, a roasted depth, a bitterness that makes the sweetness feel earned.

Drinking it forces you to slow down, and slowing down might be Davao's real specialty. Some of my favorite minutes of the trip weren't at any attraction — they were just sitting with something warm, watching the city go about its day.

Facing the Durian

You cannot visit Davao and avoid durian. The city won't let you. It's on the streets, in the markets, in the desserts — and its smell arrives long before the fruit does.

I'll be honest about my first reaction: the smell nearly won. It's heavy and sweet and a little confrontational, and my brain spent a solid minute telling me this was a mistake. But I had promised myself I'd try it in the city that's practically synonymous with it, so I did.

The taste is genuinely hard to describe — rich and custard-like, sweet in a way that has savory edges. My first bite confused me. My second bite made more sense. By the third, I understood why people become devoted to this fruit. I wouldn't say I fell in love that day, but I stopped being afraid of it, and that felt like a rite of passage.

The gateway version, for me, was durian halo-halo ice cream. Cold and blended with everything else going on in a halo-halo, the durian becomes friendly — still unmistakably itself, but softened. If you're durian-hesitant, start there. It's the training wheels version, and it's delicious.

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