Jack's Ridge in Davao

On my second night in Davao City, we decided to have dinner at Jack's Ridge which is located on a hill about twenty minutes drive away from the downtown area.  Jack's Ridge is considered as one of Davao City's must-visit tourist attraction due to its overlooking-view of  the city.

Jack's Ridge

It was raining hard on that Tuesday night, but the rains did not deter our plans for our last night in the city. When we got to the compound, our cab dropped us off right in front of the Taklobo Restaurant. 

Taklobo Restaurant's entrance

the restaurant's interior

I was impressed that the restaurant's usher immediately led us to the table with an unimpeded view. I was also quite thankful that the rains did not mar the spectacle of Davao City's lights.

Wind chill was a major, major factor though. :D I felt very cold immediately and we had to ask to put down the tarpaulin to shield us from the wind and rain. 

While waiting for our food, I read the flier (which I picked up by the entrance of the restaurant) and learned more about the place. 

We feasted on  the restaurant's Kadayawan Special Seafood Platter. The platter had ample servings of crab, seashells (which they called tahong but was way different from the green-shelled and orange meat variety that we are used to), tuna fillet, squid and seaweed salad. All the seafood were grilled and we definitely gorged and devoured everything.

By the time we finished eating, it had stopped raining and I was able to take some shots.

A few steps beside the restaurant is this marker chronicling the history of Jack's Ridge.

Beside the marker is this collection of statuettes depicting the different tribes of the Mindanao Region. (Wikipedia defines Lumad as a term used to denote the indigenous peoples of Mindanao.)

Upon closer inspection, we were amazed that the symbols which spell D-A-V-A-O are comprised of the things which Davao is famous for: 

"D" is for Durian, the province's most popular fruit which is also infamous for its smell ;)

the Waling-waling Orchid form an "A", 

the wings of the Philippine Eagle form a "V", 

"A" stands for Mt. Apo which is our country's highest peak, and 

"O" for Oysters which produces very beautiful South Sea Pearls.

I must say that I will not tire of going back to Jack's Ridge on my next visits to Davao. There are still more to explore on the compound and I vow to return when the sun is about to set as the pictures then would have a nicer play of colors. But then again, I wouldn't change anything in this last experience which put a nice cap to a very busy day in Davao.