Davao’s Local Sweets

Jul 12, 2010 by Jawz

I had the chance to try some of Davao City's local sweets. This was because I had bought some to mail off to my family & friends in the USA. There were leftovers and I gave them a try. These are my reviews from the ones I tried (though I've had local candies before).

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The Mangosteen Cube isn't really a cube, but more of a square (or maybe flat cube). Just as a mangosteen, the Mangosteen Cube has that dark magenta (or violet-red) color. Dusting the color is some white powdery, which I assume to be some sort of sugar. As for the texture, I expected it to maybe be hard. Unexpectedly though, it was soft and chewy. The texture reminded me of a Starburst, but way less chewy. The flavor kicked in after my teeth penetrated its surface, releasing the more fresh flavor within. I was expecting to not be very surprised with the results (due to my experience with a Magosteen Bar, made from a different label).  As I was surprised with the texture, the flavor wasn't what I expected. It actually held a hint of the flavor of the mangosteen fruit. With the flavor was a mix of candy-like flavor. It wasn't too tangy, but had the creamy sense of flavor as other milk based candies.

The Langka Yema, is a langka flavored yema. Yema is a milk based candy. Langka is the Filipino word for "jackfruit"; a huge round fruit that is green on the outside, and yellow on the inside. The Langka Yema was an interesting candy. It appeared as a small white drop. Its texture is what you would expect from a sugary milk candy; soft and creamy. I enjoyed how it just seemed to melt in my mouth. Its flavor amazed me. Of course, it had the taste I expected from yema, but the flavor of langka hit me. I expected a soft hint of langka, but it was more of a strong hint.

The Ube Twist was like ube twisted into a small stick. It was purple, since that is the natural color of ube. When handled, it was like a piece of stale Play-Doh. The texture, when in my mouth, was similar to a milk based candy; somewhat creamy. The flavor shocked me. I've had an Ube Bar made from a different brand, and it was okay but not satisfying. I've also had Ube Candy, als made from a different brand, and it tasted more like sweetened purple sticks of sweet potatoes. Besides those, I've had many ube products, which were good, but not satisfying me to the fullest. The reason is because Chowking has the best ube halaya topped on its halo-halo. The only things that have satisfied me to the fullest, besides Chowking's ube halaya (topping the halo-halo), was ube icecream products, such as Cornetto's icecream cone that was ube flavored. As for this lil' Ube Twist, it did exactly what I want out of ube products- the fulfillment of satisfaction. I can compare it to the ube icecreams, but with more of a rich sweet taste, and a hint of a milky taste.

The Durian Tart was interesting. As I opened the wrapper, the strong smell of durian (similar to an onion) hit my nostrils. The strong-smelling tart looked like a tiny miniature pie. There was a crust, and in the middle was some hard yellowish substance. It reminded me of hardened icing. I suppose it was the durian ingredients. Its texture was crunchy, and kind of soft, like a pie.  Although I've never had durian fruit, I've had Durian Sticks, Durian Bars, durian ice cream, and partially frozen durian milk. All have a distint taste which I know is the durian, rather than the other ingredients of the product. Same goes for this Durian Tart. This product though had more of a durian taste than the other ones I have tried, since the taste of the tart's crust wasn't as strong as the flavor of the durian ingredient. For those who are curious, durian (in the products), for me, tastes like sweet onions.