After the first time I ate at Caffe Vivere, I immediately became a fan. The place has great ambiance and serves great food. Their prices are not high, but they never scrimp on the ingredients. In fact, I like the place so much that I joined their speed dating event. Last week, me and my blogger friends visited the place for our Davao Bloggers Food Trip. There were 6 of us, none went home disappointed.

Our scrumptious lunch began with Buttered Garlic Bread served with Salsa Verde (basil pesto) and Sun-dried Tomatoes Pesto. The bread was very buttery, YUMMM! And the sauces were perfect. They were not too oily and didn’t have any overwhelming garlic taste.

Then, we sampled some rice dishes. We were served the Braised Short Ribs and the Grilled Pork Chop. The Braised Short Ribs were served in a rich sauce with a distinct flavor which I cannot comprehend or guess the ingredients. Mawie, the Caffe Vivere owner, explained that the beef was baked for about two hours making it very tender and flavorful. The grilled pork chop was also a hit. It was very juicy and had a simple but delicious taste.

We also had four types of pasta: Chicken Cacciatore, Chicken Parmigiana, Spicy Tuna Pasta, and Puttanesca. Among the four, the Chicken Parmigiana was the best. The chicken breast was not dry and perfectly topped with marinara sauce and copious amounts of mozzarella. The Chicken Cacciatore was the healthier chicken pasta with a chicken thigh served over a bed of pasta with a sauce of olives and tomatoes similar to their puttanesca. Blogie loved the healthy Spicy Tuna Pasta, which was light and didn’t have any unwanted fishy taste at all. Meanwhile, the Puttasnesca was surprisingly heavy for a vegetarian meal. It had lots and lots of fresh tomatoes, olives, and capers. YUM!

The meal ended with Mawie’s famous diet-busting Ferrero Dome Cake and Decadent Chcolate Cake. The dome cake consisted of layers of cake, ganache, and mousse. While the chocolate cake was much simpler with a layer of caramel sauce in between layers of rich chocolate cake. Simpler but not less delicious.

As a Vivere fan, I must not fail to mention their other dishes which you must also try: Chicken Ballantine and Shrimp Daviolo. Chicken Ballantine is chicken fillet stuffed with mushrooms and wrapped in bacon, while Shrimp Daviolo are spicy shrimps on top of pasta.

Drooling already? Visit Caffe Vivere at AnnRey Building along Mt. Apo Street, Davao City.