Banana Beach: Gastronomic Feast at Tagum City

Do you want to satisfy your palate and enjoy recreation and relaxation at the same time? Visit Banana Beach in Tagum City and experience the perfect combination of food and fun. This post will be dedicated to the FOOD part.  Read my FUN post about Banana Beach here.

Grilled Tuna Belly

The grilled tuna belly was cooked just right. The meat was not overcooked, it was tender, juicy, and lightly seasoned. It came with some slices of singkamas (turnip) and a soy sauce dip. One serving is good for 2 persons.

Cafe Palace

Cafe Palace is located at Golden Palace Hotel, Tagum City. If you're a frequent traveler to Tagum (or in the neighboring districts), you will pass by this hotel while going to the Tagum bus terminal.

The background shows a long buffet table. It's for the breakfast buffet available every morning for the hotel guests. The room we booked includes breakfast for 2.

This is supposed to be a blueberry boston cheesecake. I don't know how much blueberry this cake contains but I swear it tastes sooo chocolatey good! I think this costs around P90 per slice.

Sizzling sisig, anyone? The sisig is tasty and it wasn't dry, wasn't too oily, either.

The pork liempo was crispy and tasty, I like the vinegar dip, too.

Each viand above costs around P100+. It was unfortunate that I was not able to take photos of the breakfast buffet that we had. Cafe Palace had a lot of selections for breakfast and I think that this is the hotel's best assets. The food are tasty, well-cooked, and the number of selections would suit everyone's palate.

Tagum City: Banana Beach

Welcome to Banana Beach: The only beach resort in a banana plantation.

It's weird having a beach resort in a banana plantation. Stories about Banana Beach, both good and bad, have already passed through my ears so I basically know what to expect. But I haven't really seen photos of the resort before we went there on a cool Sunday morning so I was in the mood to discover what Banana Beach has to offer.

The Tourist Center greeted us with a bang. You can arrange everything here: the length of your stay, the package/s you wish to avail, payments, etc. The lounge area has this really huge and comfortable sofa and I was thinking that the rest of the resort would have the same relaxing atmosphere as the Tourist Center.

Of course, Banana Beach wouldn't be called as such if they didn't have..... bananas!

You can eat as many as you want for free!

Although a lot of water sports such as banana boat, water trampoline, and skimboarding are also available, those activities weren't allowed during our visit due to the Amihan season. The resort staff have high regard for the guests' safety. You wouldn't get bored, though, because you can still have a lot of interesting things to do at Banana Beach.

One of the main attractions of the resort is the swimming pool. The beach isn't as lovely as expected.

The supposedly infinite view was interrupted by trees.

But I love how the trees provided shade.

 

At the back is the main restaurant

A view of the Kiddie Pool

 Below are the shots we took while we roamed around Banana Beach:

A jar of hope?

I was puzzled why there is always a big jar outside each hut, with a peeking banana to boot! I satisfied my curiosity and found out that the jar is actually filled with water and that peeking banana is the handle for a dipper. Beau explained that it could be used to wash the sand off the guests' feet before entering the cottage.

If you're in the mood for fishing, you may do so at their Fishing Spot (The Spot). You can have your catch cooked for an additional fee.

Since the sea is inaccessible for water sports, we availed of what's not prohibited: river kayaking! Though it took us only 30 minutes to kayak (you may also choose to do it for an hour), it was really exhausting. It gave us a good view of the peaceful river and it kinda reminded me of Bohol's Loboc River Tour, although this time, kayaking through the river is much more personal since I'm also doing the rowing.

Our guide took this photo. =)

We spent P750 per person for this day tour. The package is consumable for food and includes unlimited use of the swimming pool, and also consumable for other resort activities. Kayaking rates vary, with the lowest at P250 good for 2 persons for 30 minutes. It would have also been nice to avail of their Forest Tour where you might (or might not) see animals such as wild pig and monkeys.

Banana Beach is a good place to visit with your family. It's a place where relaxation and recreation collide. I'd recommend this if you're touring Tagum City.