1. Menu
2. Food Review
3. Restaurant Rating
4. Recommendations
5. Information

Dusit Thani stands as one of the premier luxury hotels in the city of Davao. Its structure adds a taste of grandeur in one of the biggest metropolitan cities in Mindanao. As it brings the warmth and elegance of Thai hospitality to Mindanao, it also offers a taste of Thai cuisine through the grand doors of its signature restaurant, Benjarong.

Benjarong is an invitation to experience the richness of royal Thai cuisine. Thai people pride themselves on their cooking, which had the height of its development during the reign of King Rama V (over 100 years ago), highlighting not only the sophistication of picking the right ingredients but also its artistic presentation.

While Thai cuisine on social media is often celebrated for its street dining experience (which is regarded as one of the best in the world), it also has a long-standing history and tradition of much-refined culinary craftsmanship. Thai cuisine is a beautiful representation of Southeast Asian cuisine that reflects a beautiful balance between the mundanity of everyday meals and the carefully curated dishes fit for royalty.

This idea is best explored with one of Davao’s Tatler Dining restaurants, Benjarong, as they offer the best of Thai cuisine from the best of both ends of the social spectrum.

Menu

View my tiktok post for the menu:

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Food Review

Benjarong Davao is one of the Asian cuisine restaurants in Davao City that provides an air of sophistication and fine dining elegance. As it is situated in one of the most luxurious hotels in the city, a lot of people miss out on a great opportunity to have a taste of a genuine selection of Thai dishes outside the more renowned flavors seen on social media because they are intimidated by the price and the sense of opulence.

However, once you overcome your hesitations, you’ll experience a food destination that allows you to explore Thai dishes with a plus for the elegant setting.

There is a reassuring sense of credibility behind the experience at Benjarong Davao, as it is headed by their Executive Chef, Chef Piya Suthasiri, a Thai native from Phuket. Chef Piya continues to lead the team at Benjarong to craft their dish to stay as true to the flavors of Thai cuisine as possible.

Por Pia Pak *Vegetable Spring Roll* – 9 (9,9)
To start our Thai dining experience at Benjarong Davao, we first dug our fingers to Thai’s version of spring rolls as our appetizer. This is a great way to start the meal because this dish is a safe and familiar flavor for Filipino diners. While its presentation looks a lot like Filipino’s fried vegetable lumpia, the similarity ends there. Filipino vegetable lumpia usually has a base of either toge (bean sprouts) or sayote, but this version had vermicelli noodles in them and shiitake mushrooms. It has other ingredients like shredded cabbage, capsicum, and shredded carrots but it has its own identity compared to a Filipino spring roll.

The pepper on this dish is noticeably strong. It has a beautiful golden coloration for the wrap and has a beautiful crisp on each bite. It’s not overly oily. The wrapper isn’t too thick as well and every crunch is filled with generous bites of vegetable filling. The sauce also adds a nice mix of sweet and sour to each bite. However, while enjoyable, four pieces is underwhelming for its price which kept us from scoring a perfect 10. Priced at P300.

Gang Khiew-wan Gai *Thai Green Curry, Chicken*- 8 (9,7)
We moved on from appetizers and went straight to a bowl of green curry. Green curry is what Thai is famously known for. Filipinos have their version of yellow curry which has turmeric as its base ingredient giving it a yellow coloration. This is influenced by Indian and Muslim cuisine.

Thai green curries, however, lean towards fresh and herb flavors since its base is Thai basil and green chilies. It has its own identity that many Filipino diners may not easily adapt to because basil is not a usual herb we use on our cuisines. Despite that, Benjarong Davao’s iteration of Thai green chicken curry is enjoyable. They allow their diners to pick the spice level whether its low, medium or authentic spicy. To be safe we picked medium spice because we are spice lovers but did not want to overestimate our spice tolerance as Thai dishes are known for being spicy.

This dish is very healthy providing a great ratio between protein and fiber. Other than the generous amount of chicken bites, it has basil leaves, eggplants, carrots, bamboo shoots, bayleaf, green chilies to fill the bowl. But, there is one key ingredient that completely piqued my interest. It’s the smallest eggplant that I’ve seen in my life! It’s called pea eggplants that is native in Thailand. It adds a crunchy texture to each bite that explodes into a tart flavor with a slight bitter profile that deepens the dish’s complexity.

The curry achieves a pleasant balance between spice, creamy coconut milk, and herbal notes. For the price of P420, the bowl is really generous and can be shared by 3-4 people.

Overall, it’s a well-balanced dish. However, it’s not something that instantly appeals in just one bite. The flavors take a little getting used to, especially for diners unfamiliar with Thai herbs like basil. Still, once you warm up to it, the dish reveals a thoughtful and enjoyable combination of flavors.

Nua Phad Khing *Wok-fried beef with ginger, spring onion, white onion in oyster sauce* – 7.8 (8,7.5)
If there is anything noticeable across the Thai dishes we tried at Benjarong Davao, including Nua Phad Khing, it’s that their dishes are balanced between protein and vegetables. The ratio between the two is thoughtfully managed.

Nua Phad Khing, their wok-fried beef in oyster sauce comes in a dish filled with medium stalks of spring onion, shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, shiitake mushroom, capsicum and generous portion of flavorful and tender beef.

Despite being a stir-fried dish, it’s not oily and the flavors remain fresh and light. It’s heavy with white onions that provide some gentle sweetness, while the vegetable textures are crunchy and not undercooked.

While it is a highly executed dish, we put it at a solid 7.8 as it doesn’t particularly stand out both in visual presentation and taste. It is a clean, healthy, and well-balanced meal but a forgettable dish. Priced at P420 that can be shared by 2.

Khao Niew Ma Muang *Mango Sticky Rice* – 10 (10,10)
Visual Presentation – Check!
Quantity – Check!
Quality of the ingredients – Check!
Flavor – Check!

This dish is easily a 10/10! Their mango sticky rice is not dependent on the sweetness of the cream. It allowed the natural sweetness of the mango and their coconut ice cream to shine.

There is a wonderful contrast not only in texture and flavor, but also in temperature. The sticky rice arrives warm while the coconut ice cream was perfectly cold and the mango chilled. Together, you get a harmonious experience in taste, texture, and temperature.

Despite a simple dish with really few ingredients, you can enjoy it in different ways. The dish can stand on its own without the coconut ice cream. It’s already a satisfying and guiltless sweet dessert. With the coconut ice cream, though, it elevates the flavor further adding richness and creaminess without overpowering or drastically changing the original flavors. The ground nuts also add another layer of texture and depth that rounds everything out.

Apart from that, the sticky rice doesn’t have any added flavors like some restaurant variation adding ginger juice or making it overly sweet or too coconuty. It’s the perfect blank canvas allowing all other flavors to shine but maintaining its own as the foundation of the dish. Pricey tho at P320 that can be shared between two people but the price can be justified somehow by delivering a really great dish.

Every element isn’t competing for attention; it works together and fits like perfect pieces of a puzzle. It is a great way to end our night at Benjarong Davao.

Restaurant Rating

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