TBK Gives some alcoholic cheer to the reopening of Dam Dam's in Port Barton

 

Back in 2017 a young waiter from El Nido Cove set up a restaurant in Port Barton. His name was Adam and the restaurant was called Dam Dam Place. It had a relaxing vibe, great menu, freshly cooked food, lovely staff and I used to eat there when I stayed at the adjoining Eashanti's place: (https://www.facebook.com/eashantisplace.portbarton ) , run by his aunt, Ate Rose. 

In the following years ( 2018/2019) business boomed in Port Barton and Adam reinvested the money in Cottages which he rented out. 

                           Dam Dam cottages, prior to COV 19

With the customers from Eashanti's and his own cottages coming for breakfast daily , as well as locals and people visiting Port Barton he was doing well.

Eashanti's place run by Ate Rose- they built a path at the back to link Eashanti and Dam Dam place!

Then , like for so many others around the world, disaster struck in the form of COV19. The Philippine Government closed its borders and even Domestic tourism was made difficult and so Dam Dam Place and Eashanti's Place closed. I even had a message on Facebook asking if I wanted to buy some vans as Recaro Transport ( owned by the same family as Eashanti's) was having a tough time and was having to cut some of it's routes. However I was stuck in the Middle East at the time as I could not get a Visa to enter the Philippines so I declined the offer!

Sadly with no one to look after the place the grass and vegetation grew long at Dam Dam Place but as there were no guests there was no money to pay for the upkeep.

    Adam sent me this picture taken on one of his trips to check on his business

Towards the end of 2021 I heard rumours that the Philippines would open its borders to tourists in 2022 and suggested to Adam that he go back to Port Barton and get the place ready so he would be one of the first to receive tourists. However on December 17 Typhoon Odette hit the Philippines. Port Barton was badly affected and Dam Dam Place was destroyed as it was at the end of a line of properties with lots of trees that toppled on the cottages and the restaurant in the high winds.

                       Dam Dam Place after Typhoon Odette passed by

As you can imagine Adam , like so many others, was devastated by the effect of the Typhoon, and having been closed for a year he had no money to rebuild. Many other properties were in the same situation and there was a lack of Building materials and suitable labour in Palawan. I set about raising awareness of the  situation through my Blog ( https://thebritishkabayan.blogspot.com/2021/12/an-appeal-for-help-from-my-kabayan-in.html ) and donated some money to Adam for building materials to get him started again.

Towards the end of 2022 , one year after the second disaster struck , he told me he was nearly ready to reopen and sent me pictures of the new cottages and restaurant and asked if I would like to stay in January to cover the event in my Blog and Vlog. I happily agreed and cleared a weekend in my schedule but he later informed me of various delays . Finally I read on Facebook that he was reopening on March 3rd.

                 Dam Dam Place has new key tags and tee shirts and bags!

They say "Third time lucky" but for Adam it was not. Having recovered from COV 19 and Typhoon Odette he suffered a more personal tragedy early in 2023 , just as everything else was coming together. I have fond memories of my visits to Port Barton before I retired here and taking Adam's beautiful Golden Retriever , Bailey , for long walks and he loved swimming with the local kids.

              Adam and Bailey with a beautiful Port Barton sunset

So I decided to go to the opening and pay tribute to Bailey and all Adam's hard work to rebuild his business, against all odds.

I asked Adam if he wanted me to bring anything - flowers, chocolates , champagne or his favourite Red Horse beer- and he told me he just needed the ingredients for the opening night cocktail. 

             My pleasure Adam, this one is on me! TBK gives alcoholic cheer

So how does the place look now- my friend Kevin and I went to take a look. After getting the booze at Robinsons and collecting Kevin we set off on the three hour drive (158 km) from Puerto Princessa to Port Barton.

Once you leave Puerto the road is quite fast until you turn off to Port Barton. I first did this route on my own in 2018 then again with Kuya Ran in 2019 before returning just before Easter in 2022. That time it poured with rain and the local electricity company cut off the power for a week! I hoped things would go better this weekend!

The road takes you north from Puerto , on the east coast, before you turn off before Roxas and climb over the mountains that run up the middle of Palawan. Then you drop down into Port Barton on the West coast. In spite of the devastation caused by Typhoon Odette on 17.12.21 the views are stunning. Especially when you have lived in the flat brown dessert that is the Middle East for 12 years!

We packed a picnic lunch ( Baguettes and Prawn and Mango salad) and stopped off on the way to eat ( I cannot do long drives any more and there are no Starbucks, Little Chefs or even Mc Donald's on this route!).

So this is how Dam Dam Place looks now- amazing eh! Hats off to Adam and the team for overcoming all odds to emerge stronger and better than before:

We delivered our Tequila, Gin and Orange juice after we finally arrived in Port Barton ( Google Maps took us to the wrong place causing an hour detour down a rough track)and then went in search of food at Besaga on the beach.

           TBK Gives some alcoholic cheer for the reopening of Dam Dam Place

 

    Kevin's watermelon juice at Besaga, as the sun started to set on Port Barton

After a shower we walked back to Dam Dam Place at 6 pm for the grand opening and were met by Erwin ( who used to work with Dam at El Nido Cove and now works across the road from Dam Dam Place at Fat Cat) . We were Adam's first customers and he took our order personally.

                                     

                      Adam personally takes our order- his first customers!

They say that being a waiter is like riding a bike ( you never forget how to when you have done it once) and Dam took the order, apologised that the Seafood was on the way but had not yet arrived, and then repeated the order back. The thick creamy Mango and Pineapple shakes were cold and delicious and we shared Lumpia and Fries.

                            Our Lumpia, hot and beautifully presented

The musicians set up on stage and sang some Coldplay numbers and asked if we had any requests. Slowly Adam’s friends arrived and the barman was kept busy dispensing drinks. Sadly I could not persuade Erwin or Kevin to try anything else on the Dam Dam Menu ( apart from the beer) so I tried the Pork Adobo which was hot and delicious.

                                      Dam Dam Baboy Adobo- Sarap

By 8 pm ever seat was taken as the musicians changed over and we had some Bob Marley.

          The new Dam Dam Place starts to fill on it's opening night

By then Chester was asleep under the table so we paid up and walked back to Eshanti’s for a few hours sleep before we returned to Dam Dam place as his first Breakfast customers! Sadly we were two early and they were still cleaning up from the night before and Adam was asleep. We went to Fat Cat instead which you can read about in our " Chester Goes to Port Barton" blog here:

" Chester Goes to Port Barton"

By the time we got back to Puerto around noon there was a message from Adam thanking us for being there for the opening- we would not have missed it for the world!

All that remains is to wish Adam and his team every success for the future and ask all our readers- if you are in Port Barton go visit or stay at Dam Dam Place.

You can contact Adam through Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/damdamplace

Finally thanks to Kevin for taking all the pictures.