It's funny what made us come up with our final decision about where to eat and celebrate our mother's big day! Our Group Chat (Messenger) was beeping now and then as I and my siblings argued about where we could nosh up.
It has become our tradition to celebrate mother's birthday in a little fancy restaurant, yet not so painful on our wallet every year. It is our happiness to see our mother joyfully smiling every time we brought her to new restaurants each year. Father and she had not tried eating at big restaurants when we were still studying, because they only focus on their time working on the farm and saving their small earnings for our daily needs.
"How about let's try Dampa? They have a play station there", my sister in law suggested.
"Okay then, call the restaurant and booked for a reservation". The statement that ended our long discussions.
Gee, I never imagined, days like these would come, that we will think of our kids first before the Menu. Is this parenting too?😎
Now that we've grown up and have our job, we want our parents to experience the things we feel they were deprived of in the olden days. So we prioritize the things that can make them happy. However, things changed a bit when we, siblings, have our kids on our own. On occasions like these: choosing restaurants, choosing a beach, choosing a place where to go, and more, we have to secure first the fun, safety, and convenience of our kids before us.
So in this eat-out birthday celebration of our mother, Dampa Restaurant of Bogo is the best place to go! So come on in and join us in this celebration!
Dampa Seafood, Grill and Restobar
Dampa Restobar is the latest restaurant in Bogo City which serves not just good food but also provides a warm and pleasant atmosphere to its customers that made it so relaxing to dine in especially at night. Its simplicity gives that "feels like home" vibe".
The interior of the restaurant looks so vibrant and lovely. It is made of entirely wood, from the tables, chairs, and benches, the walls, the ceilings, the bar counter, and even the roof!
It has tables and umbrellas and a Nipa hut outside which is a good spot to have some drinks while watching the night sky and the vehicles that pass by.
We choose this table as this is the nearest table to the play station, easy to watch the kids having fun.
If you notice, this is an open restaurant, so while eating you can feel the fresh cold air gently touching your skin. Did I not mention they play good music too? Ahhh. A good ambiance with good music is 😍.
It has plenty of ornamental plants, which adds freshness to the place Everything looks so natural! And this is I think, the asset of this resto-bar aside from food. It gives us a countryside feels while serving us its most delicious food.
There's more to see on the second floor!
Just a few steps and I found myself going upstairs. There's more on the second floor!
The beautiful designs of the bamboo walls are more evident on the second floor. I love the squaring design of the bamboo and the decor on it, its color perfectly blends with the whole interior.
This part is almost made of bamboo, look at that woven walls!
The lightings romantically match the woods on the ceiling and the open wall. *(Yes I found yellow lights romantic when installed on the wood. hehe) *
The high ceiling of the restaurant at the center made it appear even more spacious and relaxing.
And how about let's check the food and eat!
The delicious feast: The Boodle fight!
The mouth watering food served on the table made us all hungry. Its delicious smell and good presentation wanted me to devour everything. Haha! I know we were so excited to eat the dish in front of us and tried Dampa's best! Excited about the Boodle fight!
Boodle fight is a Filipino feast where a huge amount of good food, the viands, and the fruits are all served on a banana leaves. This type of food feast is eaten without the use of utensils. This is inspired by the Philippine military way of eating which signifies equality and brotherhood.
Restaurants are adapting this kind of food served for group pax. Though in Boodle Fight people normally use their bare hands, Dampa provides complete utensils for us to use. So it's really up to the customer if they will use their bare hands or not.
We ordered their Best Seller Boodle Overload which is composed of grilled Bangus, Grilled Pork Barbeque, Grilled Chicken Inasal, Grilled Chorizo, Lumpiang Shanghai, Calamares, Buttered Garlic Shrimp, Boiled Tahong, Cajun Seafood, Rice, Kimchi, and one Liter Pepsi drink. This only cost 2,499Php (45.70USD) good for 8-10 persons.
Everything was so palatable but my favorite was the Buttered Garlic Shrimp and the Cajun seafood. We ordered an extra rice and a drink!
We were so silent while eating, I knew everybody loved the food. We were full and satisfied. We saw our mother dear very happy, especially when the resto crew sang a "Happy Birthday song" to her bringing the cake we prepared for her. She was so overwhelmed.
The child friendly - play station!
As our toddlers are getting active and playful every day, searching for which restaurant to eat at has become a challenge. We have 3 toddlers and 1 grader at home, and when these 4 cousins are together, our group has been the liveliest and the loudest. We can't keep them in the same place and let them behave. Ugh, the struggle is real!
Imagine how relieved we were to know that Dampa has a play station for the kids to play while the adults are eating and enjoying their time. And the playing station is free!
The kids enjoyed sliding, crawling, climbing, and exploring the toys Dampa provided. I gave a 10/10 for Dampa's strategy for such accommodation. The kids were having fun and were able to meet other kids too! Isn't it amazing?
There are several kids playing there too and mothers can get inside to watch their kids.
Other food they offer:
Not, just they offered a Boodle fight, but they also offered solo serving and platter. Here are some of the food they serve:
How to get to Dampa Restaurant?
By Bus, from Cebu city ride a Bus going to Northern Cebu (signboard could be To Hagnaya, To Medellin, To Daan Bantayan), and ask the driver to drop you off at Malingin Bogo Cebu before Cebeco II. The restaurant is just along the National Road.
By Private vehicle, navigate Waze to Dampa, Malingin, Bogo City Cebu.
We were having a great time at Dampa. Mother was very happy and contented with the newly found place. Definitely, we will be coming back.
That's it guys for our simple celebration of our Mother's birthday. Indeed it's double fun and triple food and budget friendly.
Thank you so much for reading. Keep safe everyone! have a great week ahead!