Country > Philippines > Bohol > Dauis
Date > 2024 > May
Activity > Food Odyssey

Chocolate Blogs

Sikwate
Daday
May 2024

Dalareich
Revisited
May 2024

Siamaya
Chocolates
Oct 2022

Cacao
Roasting
Jan 2018

Making Sikwate: From Cacao Fruit To A Hot Dark Chocolate Drink

Making Sikwate
Jan 2018

Chocolate Overload At Dalareich Chocolate House

Dalareich
Chocolate
Oct 2017

Chocolate
Souffle
Oct 2006

May 9, 2024

Sikwate at Daday Painitan

Location : Daday Painitan, Dauis, Bohol, Philippines

Best Sikwate in Tagbilaran?
I'd been told by a few locals that the best sikwate (hot chocolate drink made from the native cacao) in Tagbilaran is at Daday Painitan in Dauis. When I searched Youtube for 'sikwate Tagbilaran', Daday again came up. It was time to head out to Dauis for that fabled sikwate. It wouldn't be easy to find this place without Google Maps. Finally, there it was, a typical non-descript carinderia place like any other, but it was full and the vehicles parked were SUVs. Other out-of-towners also arrived by chartered tricycles - you cannot get here using the public buses.

Daday Painitan is a typical non-descript carinderia place like any other

Also on the Menu
On the side, I also ordered the usual combination - puto maya, Pan de Dauis and bibingka. They were all good but the bibingka was extra yummy, fudgy and almost sticky - perhaps they used tuba (coconut nectar) instead of water in making it.

perfect combo: bibingka, Pan de Dauis, puto maya and Sikwate

Boqueo Family
While eating, I got into a conversation with the Boqueo family - Jun-Jun (Dad), Elaine (Mom), NJ (daughter) and another daughter. It's quite a wholesome family. Jun-Jun told me several must-try eating places in Tagbilaran - Alsa Baso, Six Sisters, etc. I also invited them to participate in my forthcoming Kids Yoga.

Boqueo Family - Jun-Jun, Elaine, NJ

One thing I noticed about Boholanos is that they are genuinely friendly. They strike up a conversation with complete strangers and freely offer assistance when they sense it.

Sherwood Bay Resort
Since I was already along the Dauis coastal area with a few resorts, I tried exploring. Some on Google Maps were already permanently closed. Some were still open for business but with closed gates and high walls - not exactly inviting. I stumbled into Sherwood Bay Resort with open gates. It looked like a sprawling villa with an infinity swimming pool facing the ocean - yes, the resort is oceanfront. I was the only one and they didn't even have change for a small bill. So there I was, sitting on a chair facing the ocean in retrospect.

Sherwood Bay Resort has an infinity pool facing the ocean

Ending Thoughts
The verdict! Is it really the best sikwate place in Tagbilaran? I can say it's the best sikwate compared to any I've tasted in Lazi, Siquijor (since most of their sikwate is watered-down with too much sugar). In Tagbilaran, I've only had 3 places so far - the one in Dao Market and the posh Dalareich Chocolate House. I would say Daday is at par with the Dao Market sikwatehan - both are rich, thick and flavourful. Dao is cheaper by P5 at P25/cup w/o milk, while Daday is P30. To date, I would say that Dalareich is the best sikwate drink for its smoothness. I don't think you can buy the sikwate itself but you can buy the tableya (dark chocolate in hard tablet form, used to make sikwate) - the sikwate is offered free as a welcome drink when you visit their showroom. When asked how, they said they employ the same refinement process used in making fine chocolates in the making of sikwate as well. Altogether, I would confidently say that in Tagbilaran (because I haven't tasted sikwate outside), people take their sikwate seriously and they know what they're doing when it comes to sikwate.

--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

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Next Food Odyssey / Restaurant Review:

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Bohol, Philippines

tourist attractions

Danao Adventure Park - zip lining, cable car ride, caving, river rides/trekking, off-road buggy ride, root climbing, rappelling and ultra-glide rides
Alona Beach - hub for tourists with hotels, resorts, restos, bars and dive shops
Chocolate Hills - hills side-by-side shaped like giant Kisses chocolate
Tarsier - pocket-sized marsupia looking like a monkey
Balicasag Island - one of the best dive spots in the Philippines
Loboc River - river cruise on a boat
Anda Beach - fine white sand beach with resorts, restos and cottages, 3 hours by bus from Tagbilaran
Cabagnow Cave Pool - brackish water pool about 5ft deep inside a limestone opening on the ground, 8 feet deep, P50
Lamanok Island - walk on a 100m bamboo bridge on stilts to a resto area to take a boat tour to caves and nearly attractions, P300
Combento Cave Pool - cave pool with underwater cave system, P20
Can-umantad Falls - long narrow drop until it hits a bulbous mound spreading it into a a curtain-like water canopy and down into a splash pool
Canawa Cold Spring - deep refreshing cold spring with developed pool area
Firefly Tour - evening boat ride into the river to watch fireflies

hotel

Fox & The Firefly Cottages - SUP paddle boarding, luxury riverside native cottages, mountain bike tours, SUP yoga
Baranggay Valladolid, Loboc, Bohol
Bohol Tropics Resort - seafront location, manicured surroundings, swimming pool, resto/bar
0133 Graham Avenue, Brgy. Cogon, Tagbilaran, Bohol 6300
Oasis Resort - Alona Beach location, dive center, resto / bar
Alona Beach, Panglao, Bohol

yoga

Jing Yoga - health & well being through yoga
The Courtyard - Airport Road fronting the church
Bohol Meditation and Yoga Center - 2nd Floor Lim Magtajas Bldg. CPG Avenue

Bohol Travel Info/Tips

Bohol FYI / Tips

the tourist area where most of the hotels, restaurants, ticket offices, tour operators are, is located within the Alona Beach area
the tourist attractions in Bohol are far apart and spread-out. It would be difficult to visit them all using public mass transit. Better hire a van (P3500/day) if in a big group, or rent a motorcycle (P400/day + gas)
Bohol relies on its tourism for revenue. As expected, everything they can capitalize on from tourism is extensively used and developed

Tagbilaran Port to Panglao

You can charter any tricycle from the port all the way to Panglao (~P300), but if you want to do it on the cheap,

don't take the tricycles lined-up inside the port. Walk past the port gate and immediately outside, you'll see many tricycles. Take one to the bus terminal in Dao (~P15)
in Dao, take the jeep that plies the Panglao route (~P20)

Tagbilaran (Bohol) to Cebu City by boat

** schedules and rates keep changing, call for latest schedule

Weesam Express - departs 6:15 AM, 11:30 AM, 4:00 PM
one way: Economy (aircon) P500.00, Economy (non-aircon) P400.00, First Class P600.00
round trip promo (at least 2 days advance booking): Economy (aircon) P600, Economy(non-aircon) P500, First Class P1200
round trip promo (1 day or on the day booking): Economy (aircon) P800, Economy (non-aircon) P700, First Class P1200
Ocean Jet - departs 6-7:05-8:20-9:20-10:40-11:40AM, 1-2-3:30-4:20-5:30-6:30PM, 2 hours, arrives Pier 1 in Cebu
Open Air / Tourist Class P800, Business Class P1000
+63(32)255 7560 / +63 (32) 255 0115 / 0917 638 0000
SuperCat (2GO) - departs 5:50-11AM, 3:45-5:25-8:15PM, arrives Pier 1 in Cebu
P 500.00
+63 32 233 7000

Things to do, Places to go in Bohol

Chocolate Hills - this is a clustering of more than 1200 hills within a 50km² area. They range in height from 30-50 meters. What's unusual is their near-perfect conical shape resembling an individual chocolate chip. No one knows how they were formed. Entrance is P50/pax.
Tarsier Conservation Area - located Upper Bonbon, Loboc. The tarsiers are no longer being played at by tourists as circus props, but instead, visitors now view them in cordoned-off areas in their natural 6ha habitat. As they are territorial and nocturnal, they are predictable on where they can be viewed. P50/pax.
Alona Beach (Panglao) - Alona Beach is the tourist hub of Bohol. It has 1.5 kms of white sand beach lined-up by bars, hotels and restos. Alona is also the jump-off point for Balicasag Island, a world class dive destination.
Danao Adventure Park - located in Barangay Magtangtang, 72 kms (2 hours ride) from Tagbilaran. Adventure activities include river trekking, tyrolean traverse, rappelling, bouldering, rock climbing and ziplining.

Blogs

Bohol blogs