DOT's Kain Na!’ 2019 Goes Mindanao

Kain Na!, a food and travel festival by the Department of Tourism (DOT), aims to promote the Philippines as center of food and gastronomy as well the country's farm tourism. It was organized in partnership with the Ayala Malls which held in various cities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

I was fortunate to be invited in the 4th installment of DOT's 'Kain Na!' 2019 held at the Ayala Centrio Mall in Cagayan De Oro City. The food festival was joined by members of the press, staff from several DOT Regional Offices, government officials of Cagayan De Oro City and hundreds of international and domestic food enthusiasts.

Kain Na! (Tagalog words which mean “let’s eat!”) features mouth-watering delicacies from Cagayan De Oro City, Zamboanga City, South Cotabato, Lanao Del Norte and from other provinces of Caraga Administrative Region, Northen Mindanao, SOCCSKSARGEN (formerly known as Central Mindanao) and Zamboanga Peninsula.

During the event, we were treated with lots of mouth-watering native food. I tried to eat the fresh raw tuna fish and it tasted good. The taste was light and clean and there's no fishy smell. The giant tuna fish became the center of attraction. Government officials also tried the raw fish and they liked it as well.

There's also cooking demonstrations featuring well known chefs, showcasing their skills and expertise in cooking. Tribes from different regions also showed their traditional dance, national costumes and musical instruments. Free tasting was also the crowd's favorite during the event.

Kain Na! is truly a great a event to showcase local food from different provinces in the Philippines. It's also a great venue for business-to-business meetings in the Filipino and Farm Tourism Exchange.

The next Kain Na! edition will be conducted on December 6-8 at Ayala Malls, The Strip, Iloilo City, with Region 6 (Western Visayas) taking the spotlight.