Imbao Soup

I used to go to Yellowfin when Ecoland was just a newly developed area in Davao. It was back in 1992, and this place was still called Karinderya back then. The place served great home-cooked food and one of its most popular dishes was the Fish Laing, which is almost like a pinangat with ground tuna as its filling. The little restaurant also had a loyal stream of fans for their Kilawin Kambing and their reddish, well-simmered, and braised Goat Kaldereta.

It also churned out hefty portions of Tuna, from the panga or jaw (whose oily, rich, and strong-tasting flesh only used to land poorer peoples plates and later turned into a delicacy especially for beer guzzlers), tiyan (belly), bihod (female egg sacs), bagaybay (male gonads), to ubol-ubol or throat cartilage (a crisp textured calamari-like offal cut treasured by fishermen for its ability to maintain tumescence). And of course, they served the quintessential Davao-style kinilaw with the fresh rush of cucumbers and radish on the palate.

One day, I felt the urge to go and have lunch there, after not being in Davao for months. As I got there, I stopped in my tracks because the old Karinderya was no longer there. What stood there was a modern structure that had a cafeteria line, which made me turn back home. With laughter, the locals told me that the owners had upgraded the place and changed the name to Yellowfin, which seemed to have become the flagship menu items ordered in the restaurant. I guess it’s because of the upgrading and continuous improvement through the years that this restaurant is now a large family eating place with a behemoth selection of dishes and beverages such as a new line of coffee concoctions.

Back in 2004, I was invited by Chef Paul Tee (Bistro Morato) to lunch at Yellowfin and I got into a pouting mood for I couldn’t complain as a guest. Chef Paul ordered Greaseless Fried Chicken and deep inside I was really questioning why this Davaoeño did not order the classic favorites. I didn’t realize that there was a craze for this style of chicken, which was started by an old restaurant that closed down and was terribly missed, called Molave. The Chicken as promised came out to greaseless with a gossamer and crisp coating on the outside and the moist, smoldering interior of innocently fried chicken. It’s been one of my standard orders when I go to this place.

As for consistent updating, I got to meet the new generation of Angeles children handling the business now, Marco and Sam. Both of them literally grew up with the business. Recently, I was introduced to their new dishes which are now top sellers. One is the Buntot na Adobo, which is a fried tuna tail in a lightly tart sauce that goes well with white steamed rice. The crunchy texture of the tuna skin, the chewy and fatty cartilage, and tender moist flesh provides a variety of textures to the diner’s enjoyment.

The dishes become a little more complex with the banana leaf wrapped tuna head. This mineral rich dish gives you an epicurean selection of gelatinous textures from the eyes, moist flesh from the cheeks and jaw, and a variety of strong and creamy flavors from the connective tissues of the head. It is accompanied by a tart sauce characteristic of pinangat with green tamarind. Again this was a wonderful partner to the freshly steamed rice, which absorbed all the rich characters of the dish.

Going all the way with the tuna meal, I decided to order some tuna eggs but this time sizzling. It was enjoyable up to the end of my dinner as I had it warm on a hot plate.

What keeps me wondering now is what magic the two Angeles boys are going to introduce further in the next years. In particular is Sam, who is an aspiring chef and culinary student, since it has always been the constant upgrading that has given Yellowfin its resiliency and has made it a place for wholesome Davaoeño cooking. This we have to see…

Yellowfin is located at Sandawa Plaza, Quimpo Boulevard, Ecoland, Davao City.