Pay P1,200 for a food tour of Bohol at night

CHEF Rafael of Amorita, doing a cooking demo. Photo by Kenneth M. del Rosario

Bohol is known for many things-mainly for its unique culture and unbelievable natural wonders. Surprisingly, though, this island province in the Visayan region is less often associated with gastronomic wonders.

With the aim of fostering more interest in the exciting food finds in Bohol, while giving travelers more interesting things to do, a resort hotel has started offering a signature program that takes its participants in a special food tour they’ll never find anywhere else in Bohol.

The “Bohol by Night” food tour is a project spearheaded by Amorita Resort, a 1.7-hectare development in Panglao, a town located some 13 kilometers from the capital city of Tagbilaran. It charges P1,200 per head for the tour for a minimum of six persons. The resort provides the vehicle.

“This signature food tour will allow us to showcase another side of Bohol. For visitors, especially food lovers, this shall make their stay a lot more fun,” says James San Diego, Amorita’s resort manager.

DESIGNER piece accents the resort. Photo by Kenneth M. del Rosario

“Bohol by Night” is a two-hour food tour that gives foodies the chance to have a sampling of five restaurants-mostly European with foreigner chefs at the helm-in one night. It’s basically hopping from one gastronomic venue to another.

“Panglao is like Little Europe. Many people don’t know that there’s a wide variety of food and restaurants they can find here. Our resto partners were so into this program that they gave their full support from the very beginning,” San Diego says.

The tour starts, fittingly, at Amorita with a serving of amuse-bouche (a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre).  Participants are then taken to L’Elephant Bleu, a French restaurant, where participants are treated to sumptuous appetizer (and a very cozy and inviting ambiance).

The tour heads to Jugalis, a Spanish restaurant, for the main course (and a chat with the lively chef if they’re lucky). For dessert, the tour moves on to C.U. Restaurant, a German resto, which is just about heaven for sweet-toothed individuals.

After a relaxed night of exciting dining, the tour wraps up, yet again, in Amorita where the after party takes place, made more fun with free flowing alcohol. The partner restaurants are mere minutes away from each other, which makes going from one place to another hassle-free.

“This signature food tour is a way for us to set ourselves apart from the rest of the resorts in the area. We’re the only one in Alona Beach that offers this kind of food tour,” the resort manager says.

MORE than just a place to rest in, visitors, especially food lovers, can have fun. Photo by Kenneth M. del Rosario

While the food tour is impressive, it is but icing on the cake. On its own, Amorita Resort is a destination on its own. It boasts of 36 rooms, six of which are ocean villas that give guests a view of the pristine Alona Beach unmatched by no other.

“In our little way, we’d like to help Bohol be known as Bohol and not as ’the Bali of the Philippines.’ The place has its own charm and distinct personality, as well as architecture, and we’d like to capture that in the programs we launch,” San Diego says.

“Bohol by Night” can only mean good news for Amorita, which is already posting very high occupancy rates. Today, Amorita’s guests are composed of mostly European and American. However, the Asian visitors (such as Korean and Japanese) have been increasing in number as of late.

Photo by Kenneth M. del Rosario

According to San Diego, the signature food tour is but one way for them to reinvent themselves to keep their guests coming back and first-time visitors as satisfied and delighted as possible.

Already, response to the food tour has been overwhelmingly positive so an expanded version of the food tour shouldn’t come as a surprise in the near future.

San Diego says: “Amorita has been here for seven years so the challenge is not only reinventing the look of the hotel but the way we approach service. We’re proud of our warm and courteous staff. It’s to our advantage that the resort is as professionally run as it is.”