Grill Items at a Roxas Night Market Stall

I’m doing a series on my Davao City food trip until the end of April. Today, I’m writing about the city’s most popular night market.

A true food trip in Davao City won’t be complete without a visit to Roxas Night Market. Located along Roxas Street, it’s a nightly bazaar where you can find apparel, souvenirs, and, of course, food. I went here in my first trip to the city and loved the food scene. Granted, there’s really nothing mind-blowing with the food. But nothing beats eating street food and grilled items in an open-air night market (which made me think if there’s an airconditioned night market).

If you enter through the southern end of the night market, you’ll find stalls selling non-food items such as apparel, cellphone accessories, and Davao souvenirs. I got a durian keychain and magnet.

I believe this is a mix of brand new and pre-loved apparel

Separating the non-food and food section is the massage section. So if you get tired of bargaining and shopping, just head over to the middle section of the night market. But for me, I’ll just head over towards the northern part of the night market where the food section is. That will remove my exhaustion!

Here are the food I tried in my eating order (LOL):

Grilled Food and Seafood Soup

I think that the majority of stalls in the night market sell grilled items and seafood soup. Some even offer halal versions for Muslim visitors. (Stay tuned for my halal food crawl in the city. For the meantime, you can check my Manila halal food crawl here.)

I didn’t do any prior research on where to have it so I relied on a trusted method: Find the stall with most customers. I went to stall no. 33 and got the following:

Inihaw na Tuna Panga (Grilled Tuna Jaw): It’s tender, juicy, and smoky. However, it lacks the flavor. (I went to Dod’s Ihaw-Ihaw & Grill which specializes in tuna panga. They have the best and the one I ate at the night market pales in comparison. Check out my article next week for my Dod’s experience.)

Inihaw na Tuna Panga — *Inihaw na* Tuna *Panga*

Seafood Sinigang: For seafood soup, you have the option of sinigang (a popular Filipino sour soup) or tinola (I’m not sure how to describe it; perhaps as a ginger-based soup). I got the former because I want something sour during that time. The typical soup you will find in the night market has tuna, shrimp, and Imbao or Mangrove Clams. Since I’m allergic to shrimp, I just asked for more imbao.

The sinigang’s broth is not too sour and is flavored with ginger and tanglad (lemongrass). The imbao is like mussels with a nice gumminess (it’s my first time to try it here). Then there is a nice crunch coming from kangkong (water spinach) and pechay Baguio (Chinese or napa cabbage). Overall, it’s an awesome and comforting dish!

Sinuglaw: A mix of the words sinugba (grilled) and kinilaw (“ceviched”, if there is such a term), sinuglaw is a dish that is usually a mix of grilled pork belly and fish ceviche. But in this stall, it’s only pork.

I didn’t plan to eat pork when there is an abundance of good and affordable seafood all around me; it’s hard to find good ones in Manila. But when I saw the vendor add bell peppers, cucumbers, radish, and white onion one customer’s plate, I got curious. So I ordered my own and didn’t regret it. It has tender, slightly saltier-than-usual pork belly. The veggies give a nice freshness and crunch to the dish.

I finished all of the dishes above by myself. Perhaps my seatmates were shocked, as they only had a few skewers and some rice. LOL.

Buchi

After a massive dinner, time for some dessert! Buchi are deep-fried glutinous rice balls filled with mung bean paste and covered with sesame seeds. But in Roxas Night Market, there are different fillings: Activated charcoal (this flavor is somewhat common in Davao), cheese, durian, green tea, strawberry, and ube (purple yam).

Activated Charcoal Ice Cream

As I have mentioned a while ago, this flavor is somewhat common in Davao. I have seen this used in Sorbetes, a popular Filipino ice cream that’s sold in rolling carts. It’s also known, jokingly, as “dirty ice cream” because it’s peddled in polluted streets. The sorbeteros (sorbetes sellers) in Davao have this flavor.

To the uninitiated, activated charcoal is used to treat food poisoning and drug overdose. When I was preparing for a trip to Nepal a few years back, I brought this in capsule form, as I was told that food and water there may be contaminated. Thankfully, I didn’t suffer any ill effects and I believe the activated charcoal helped. Since then, I always bring this in my travels. (So if you’re having activated charcoal dirty ice cream, does it become clean? LOL.)

Mang Danny’s Ice Cream (Activated Charcoal Ice Cream: P20; I believe there are other sizes)

In Roxas Night Market, you can have an activated charcoal ice cream at Mang Danny’s. There’s nothing remarkable with the taste. I guess it’s really the health benefits that you’re paying for. It might help with all the food you can eat at the night market.

Mango Tapioca

This is a dessert drink made with mango cream and sago (tapioca pearls). There are 3 stalls selling this in the night market, all under the same brand. I like it because it’s not too sweet.

Balut

Now let’s end with the dessert of all desserts. Well, it’s not really a dessert. It’s Balut, a fertilized developing duck egg with an embryo in it. It’s considered an exotic delicacy by foreigners but it’s just a common street food in the Philippines typically sold at night.

It’s usually accompanied with salt and vinegar. But in Roxas Night Market (and throughout Davao), the vinegar has 3 spice levels. I even noticed that the balut culture in the city is different from Manila and other parts of the country. In Manila, you eat it standing. But in Davao, balut sellers set-up table and stools so customers can sit down.

If I remember it right, I was offered 2 kinds of balut: 14-day and 18-day. The difference is the size (and price). I got the bigger one and poured the spiciest vinegar. I underestimated the condiment but I love the kick.

If you’re going to Roxas Night Market, please take note that there is No Backpack and No Jacket policy. I guess its because the night market is a target of terrorist activities. In September 2016, a bomb exploded at the night market, killing 15 people and injuring 70. When I visited in 2017, security has been heightened. So if you’re visiting, always be vigilant, as you should do anywhere you go.

Anyway, I didn’t find “dragon balls” in my recent visit. They are pork dumplings with an interesting texture, and I was able try it before. I also didn’t get to try the fried ice cream beside Mang Danny’s, which is another popular dessert in the night market. Aside from these two, what else should I try in Roxas Night Market? What food item above have you tried or would like to try? Comment them below!

Other entries in the Davao City Food Trip series: Food Experience to Try at the King City of the South

Davao City Food Trip: The Night (Market) Crawler Goes to Roxas Night Market

Grilled Food and Seafood Soup

Buchi

Activated Charcoal Ice Cream

Mango Tapioca

Balut