Donna Peralta (now Rodriguez) my BFF from high school and me (right) the blogging beauty queen (LOLOL!)
IF YOU ARE FROM BENE, PLEASE SCROLL DOWN AND LEAVE A MESSAGE FOR DONNA PERALTA (NOW RODRIGUEZ). SHE WILL BE VISITING THIS BLOG POST!!!
My weekend adventure in Davao was not just all about training. I also had the chance to see Donna Peralta Rodriguez one of my best friends whom I hadn’t seen in 15 YEARS!!! Donna and I both studied at Benedictine Abbey School in Alabang and graduated high school there. She is married to another good friend of mine – Enteng Rodriguez – and together they own and run TINY KITCHEN, a cafe/bake shop that specializes in cakes, breads, bottled tuyo and PAELLA! Yum-yummy-YUM!!!
Tiny Kitchen's Bottled Tuyo is the BEST I've ever tasted!!!
Tiny Kitchen, I must inform you, is aptly-named. It is a TINY place, a hole in the wall even, and on the Friday night we were there, all 5 tables were filled with diners! My husband Ron and I eventually surrendered our table to a waiting couple who wanted to have dinner there; we were just sipping coffee so it wasn’t a problem.
Tiny Kitchen packed to the rafters!
While waiting for my best friend Donna to appear, I kept marveling at how far she had come from having just a tiny pastry stall to a tiny kitchen (LOLOL)!!! But lots of tiny things equals big and I hear that Tiny Kitchen will soon be opening ANOTHER branch (thier second one) in Metro Davao.
Tiny Kitchen is on Mabini corner Torres Streets in Davao City. Call them at 305.9232 for orders.
I have always remembered Donna as being the business-minded type and more inclined to doing business rather than becoming an artista. So even if she had the looks and flair for acting, she went straight into putting up a children’s clothing line after graduating from college. When she moved to Davao and married the handsome Enteng, she shifted to her other passion – baking – and turned it into a new business called Tiny Kitchen.
One of the main reasons why Donna and Enteng’s Tiny Kitchen is always busy is that they are the hands-on type. Enteng spends all day cooking in Tiny Kitchen’s tiny kitchen (hahaha!) while Donna bakes the goodies and manages the operations.
Tiny Kitchen's Chef Enteng Rodriguez (left of course, I'm on the right) after cooking more than a dozen paellas...
Tiny Kitchen is the kind of place where you can hang out for an hour reading a book. Yet at the same time, it can be a great place for a hit-and-run meal. And the wonderful thing is you DON’T have to wait for 30 minutes to get your order of PAELLA. And when you DO get your Paella, its got that homemade taste that only a mother can capture. It’s because the recipes Enteng Rodriguez uses are ALL from his Mom who is one of the best paella-makers in Davao City.
Tiny Kitchen offers 3 kinds of paella flavors in different sizes
Tiny Kitchen now offers three different kinds of Paellas – Valencia (which has chicken), Marisco (which is all seafood) and Negro (which is slathered with squid ink). Look at the menu card on the right to see prices and sizes as well as Tiny Kitchen’s Pasta and Salad secetions.
Also on the Tiny Kitchen menu: Sandwiches like Grilled Foccacia with Balsamic (P65) and the Sirloin Burger Pounder (P159) and meal plates like Tapa Bao, Eggs and Garlic Rice (P120); Tiny’s Chicken Frito Gravy (P125) and Fish & Fries with Dip (P220).
Another Tiny Kitchen favorite are their Pizzas! The Pepato Cheese in Thick Crust (P180) uses Pepato, an Italian gourmet cheese made of sheep milk and studded with peppercorns. And there’s also Ming’s Blush Chorizo (P220) and Cheese Anchovy Pizza (P200).
Are you hungry yet?
Tiny Kitchen's Paella Negra is my FAVORITE!!! I am a squid ink FAN!
My husband and I (and our Edge Media team) HAD to try ALL three Paellas and while I did enjoy the Valencia and Mariscos flavors, the best one for me was the Paella Negra – squid ink rice studded with seafood morsels like clams, diced fish, crab and squid bites.
Now the Honey Lemon Salad was tops. It had sliced grilled zucchini lying on salad greens with a mild honey lemon dressing that felt light in the belly.
We also ordered the Chicken with Rosemary Garlic (P215) and after the chicken was decimated by the Edge Media staff, my husband Ron wiped out all the leftover sauce with some Foccacia bread. You can’t let something good go to waste, can you?
Tiny Kitchen' Chicken Rosemary with Garlic - served with a generous slice of Foccacia bread!
See the Zucchini on top of the salad? This is worth ordering just for THAT!
Tiny Kitchen's Balbacoa Knuckles BEFORE it suddenly disappeared!
Since I do not eat pork or beef I was unable to try the two other dishes our team ordered: Beef Balbacoa Knuckles with Rice (P120) and Caldereta Espanol (P170). But after witnessing both dishes disappear in a matter of minutes, I easily determined that they must have been good!
Well, it better be good; Enteng is the head chef himself and he spends around 14 hours a day, 6 days a week, cooking for his Tiny Kitchen clientele.
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I can’t do a proper Foody Queen Review of Tiny Kitchen without telling you a little bit about their pastries and breads:
After our delicious gourmet meal, Donna sent out something called “Square Indulgence” that Enteng said was DEADLY. But not too deadly for Owie Burns, one of our Edge teammates, who somehow grazed through 3 slices of the thick chocolate/vanilla mousse, meringue and glaze cake without a struggle. I, on the other hand, had to deal with my slice of Square Indulgence verrry slowly – it was chocolate heaven for my mouth but caloric hell for my diet.
This is JUST one slice of the Square Indulgence Cake from Tiny Kitchen
Owie Burns wipes out THREE slices of Square Indulgence!
Aside from Square Indulgence (P79/slice) Tiny Kitchen’s other sinful delights include:
Sans Rival (P59/slice) which boasts of having LESS sugar and more cashews;
The Mango Sans Rival (P65);
The Concorde Cake (P68/slice), a chocolate meringue and mousse creation;
The Frozen Mango Brazo (P70/slice) which has ice cream in it, YUM!
The Frozen Choco Brazo (P70/slice) – can’t have enough BRAZO!
Lemon Walnut Torte (P70/slice)
and Silvanas (P39/piece) which come in three flavors – plain, Mocha and Chocolate!
For orders call Tiny Kitchen at 305.9232 or visit them at Mabini corner Torres Streets in Davao City.
All cakes are baked by Donna herself. She has a small staff of bakers but rarely does she let them bake without her supervision. This kind of dedication is evident when you bite into any of Tiny Kitchen’s creations.
And now for the BREADS and cookies!!!
As I type this post, I happen to be enjoying some of Tiny Kitchen’s Sourdough bread with some Colby cheese. Donna was sweet enough to send me back to Manila with a couple boxes of her bread selections. Her Sourdough has that classic sourdough bite and the Wheat Raisin Rolls are mouth-watering when served hot with a pat of butter – ooooooh, I think I’m going to have ANOTHER roll!!!
Storing Bread Tip from Donna and Enteng:
“The best way to store bread is to freeze it. When you want some for a meal just bring out the frozen bread, slice or break off the amount you need and put it straight into a toaster. Don’t thaw it because that will make it soggy.”
Some bread selections from Tiny Kitchen
Tiny Kitchen also offers cookies and brownies and I had the pleasure of meeting and eating the Chocolate Oatmeal cookie chips which are perfect with a cup of steaming brewed coffee. I regret not sampling her other cookies but my stomach could only stretch so much 
. But now, I have something to look forward to the next time I visit Davao City.
Congratulations to Donna and Enteng Rodriguez for giving food-lovers in Davao thier best homemade cooking. May your Tiny Kitchen continue to grow and produce BIG and HAPPY bellies!
Tiny Kitchen is on Mabini corner Torres Streets in Davao City. Call them at 305.9232 for orders.
Tiny Kitchen's Lenguas de Gato
Dulce Vida Oatmeal Cookies
The Edge Media Team with Big Bellies courtesy of Tiny Kitchen!!
How did you celebrate your 17th bday (when is it nga pala? Alam ko lang, it’s in January)?
