The city’s landmark beachfront hotel marks the Festival of Fruits and Flowers with a weekend buffet honoring the 11 Tribes of Davao; and a glimpse into six decades of culinary tradition
DAVAO CITY — As Davao City gathers to celebrate Kadayawan 2026, Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao opens its doors wider, not just to the festival, but to the story it has always been part of. This August, the hotel’s signature all-day dining restaurant, Café Uno, presents a Kadayawan-themed weekend lunch and dinner buffet honoring the 11 Indigenous Peoples of Davao, served within the same heritage walls that have welcomed Dabawenyos for 65 years.
A TABLE SET TO CELEBRATE DAVAO’S CULTURE
Available every weekend throughout August 2026, Café Uno’s Kadayawan Buffet is a culinary tribute to the living traditions of Davao’s indigenous communities. The spread features dishes drawn from the kitchens of Mindanao’s indigenous peoples — including Tausug Beef Kulma, slow-cooked in coconut milk and peanuts; Maranao Piaparan, spiced with palapa and simmered in creamy coconut broth; Tausug Chicken Piyanggang, grilled over burnt coconut and lemongrass; Sayur Langka, a hearty Maranao coconut jackfruit stew; and Nilotlot na Manok sa Gata, native chicken cooked inside bamboo in the tradition of the Bagobo-Tagabawa from the slopes of Mt. Apo.
The buffet is available at Php 1,288 nett per person for both lunch and dinner service every Friday, Saturday and Sunday of August.
STAY AND CELEBRATE KADAYAWAN
For guests who wish to make the festival a full Davao experience, Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao offers a special Kadayawan Stay-and-Dine package, complete with complimentary buffet breakfast for two and discounted access to Café Uno’s weekend buffet at Php. 1000 nett per person:
- Standard Room — Php 3,500 nett/room
- Deluxe Room — Php 3,800 nett/room
- Deluxe Premium — Php 4,100 nett/room
A SNEAK PEEK: THE HERITAGE ALA CARTE MENU
The Kadayawan weekend buffet is only one chapter in what promises to be a season of meaningful celebration. As part of Pasigarbo sa Insular: 65 Years of Dabawenyo Hospitality — the hotel’s upcoming anniversary campaign — Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao will soon be unveiling its Heritage Ala Carte Menu: a curated collection of dishes that have graced the hotel’s tables across six and a half decades.
These are not new recipes. They are old ones, plates that have been served at wedding receptions, debut dinners, family reunions, and quiet meals between strangers who became friends over a shared table. The Heritage Menu is a living record of what Waterfront Insular has always cooked, and what Davao has always come back for.
Among the dishes to be featured: the slow-braised richness of Beef Ox Tail Kare Kare, the deep, wine-simmered warmth of Coq au Vin, the silky elegance of Creamy Beef Lengua, the classic Spanish comfort of Beef Callos, the crackle and tenderness of Porcheta, the bright citrus finish of Maya Maya Mayonesa, and the refined simplicity of St. Peter’s Fish in Velvety Beurre Blanc Sauce. Each dish carries the weight of memory and the promise that some things are worth keeping exactly as they are. Further details on the Heritage Ala Carte Menu, along with other anniversary activations, will be announced in the coming weeks.
