Best of the Maldives: Buffet – Soneva Fushi

Soneva Fushi buffet 1

Soneva Fushi turns the buffet into a smorgasbord.

Buffets are one of the resort world’s staples. They can be a simplified logistics way to cater to large numbers and diverse tastes without a massive outlay of service staff or preparation staff. As such, the focus tends to be on diversity and efficiency than gastronomic excellence. Of course, there are exceptions – Bellagio in Las Vegas, Porcao in Rio de Janeiro, Queen Mary all over the place. Soneva is one of those exceptional buffets.

No quality seems to have been spared in the sheer quantity of delectable offerings. The sushi is better than most places in London (I love the fish egg garnish and the pieces weren’t dry as can be the case with many pre-prepared sushi offerings).

Part of Soneva’s secret is taking the notion of a “station” to a whole new level with specialty “rooms” catering to special foods. There a cheese room, cereal/bread & pastry room and of course its infamous ice cream room.

Soneva themselves describe their culinary cornucopia…

“We aim to anticipate our guests’ desires. In the words of Oscar Wilde, ‘Nothing succeeds like excess.’ In that spirit we have gone delightfully overboard for you at the culinary heart of our island. Mihiree Mitha means ‘Here it is’, and almost any dish you crave is here. The day begins with a bounty of just-baked goodies, two dozen imported cheeses, eggs any way you like, a treasure chest of homemade jams and fresh fruits… luscious mango, papaya, passion fruits. For lunch or dinner, choose from the freshest sushi and sashimi, organic salads, wood-fired pizzas, grilled fish, delectable tandoori. For a sweet finish, more than 60 homemade ice creams and sorbets await, including unexpected flavours like honeycomb and rosemary, piña colada and chocolate-lemongrass.”

Soneva Fushi buffet pizza oven

Best of the Maldives: Salt – Anantara Kihavah

Anantara Kihavah Villas - salt trolley

Salt” is not just a thematic name to Anantara Kihavah Villas’ signature over-the-ocean restaurant, also its star attraction. Sort of the Thelma Ritter of the dinner table – a record 6 Academy Award nominations for “Best Supporting Actress”. ‘Salt’ restaurant is sort of salt’s “New Girl in Town” (the lead stage role for which she won the Tony Award).

The restaurant is part of the Sea, Fire, Salt, Sky is a dining concept at Kihvah providing a distinctive perspective on the Maldivian world from the elevated “Sky” roof deck down to the underwater “Sea” spectacle.

When we ate, we were presented the salt range by resident “Salt Guru” Julius (see photo above) on their “salt trolley”. They also have a Himalayan heated pink salt bowl for certain preparation. Out of the 16 varieties from all over the world – Tasmania, USA, Croatia, France – we chose the wild porcini mushroom salt…

  • Himalayan Pink
  • Jalapeno Pepper
  • Szechuan Pepper
  • Hiwa Kai-Hawaiian Sea
  • Alea-Hawaiian Sea
  • Porcini Mushroom
  • Salish Smoked Pacific Sea
  • Kala Namak
  • Lime Fresco
  • Murray River Pink
  • Thai Ginger
  • Cyprus Black Lava
  • Sel Gris
  • Vintage Merlot
  • Bali Coconut and Lime
  • Espresso Brava
  • Vanilla Bean

You can also buy the salts to take home (see below). They make great gifts that are unusual and more useful than trinkets or t-shirts (everyone loves a dash of salt on their food and if you are worried about your blood pressure eating here, check out this latest report “Pour on the Salt”).

Worth its salt.

Anantara Kihavah Villas - salt for sale

Best of the Maldives: Wood Apple – Chaaya Island Dhonveli

Chaaya Island Dhonveli - wood apple juice

Over the 10 days of Tour #5, I did uncover 143 new Best of the Maldives candidates, and over the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing the first of these for each resort visited in the order of the tour. These selections are not necessarily the most stunning or dramatic, but just ones I picked out that I was especially fond of. The others will be posted over the coming months.

The first island up was Chaaya Island…Chaaya Island Dhonveli. After 55 resorts, I’m always a bit surprised to see something I’ve never seen before. Living in a culinary capital of the world (London) and travelling extensively, I especially surprised to find something on a menu I haven’t seen or tried before. Well, at breakfast at Dhonveli, the array of exotic fruit juices included a something I not only hadn’t tried, I hadn’t even heard of it – Wood Apple.

“Wood apple” is one of the most apt names for a fruit since “Orange”. It looks like an apple…encased in wood. In fact, you have to whack it with a spoon to crack the hard exterior. It comes from Sri Lanka, but can be found in the Maldives.

The juice isn’t your typical reddish or orangey colour of most fruit juices, but a rather earthy brown. And not in a golden “apple juice” kind of way. Imagine the pulpiest, mocha-est apple juice. Supposedly extremely good for digestion.

Dhonveli will serve you wood apple on its own (see below), but it is VERY tart (much like rhubarb). So it is typically served with honey or sugar on top.

Chaaya Island Dhoniveli - wood apple serving

Chaaya Island Dhonveli - wood apple breakfast

Best of the Maldives: Pain Perdu – One & Only Reethi Rah

One and Only Reethi Rah french toast

 

 

Let them eat eggy bread! A toast to Bastille Day today.

I’m a bit of a breakfast aficionado. Most important meal of the day. My tastes range from the refined (eg. Eggs Benedict) to the profane (eg. grits with maple syrup). Lori makes a superb version with cinnamon and vanilla. Most resorts will have variation on ‘French Toast’ on their menu or buffet. But One & Only Reethi Rah’s was truly sublime. Coconut Banana Pain Perdu sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with whipped butter and a fruit coulis.

Magnifique!

Best of the Maldives: Outdoor Teppanyaki – One & Only Reethi Rah

One and Only Reethi Rah Tapasake

Not every al fresco meal has to be toes-in-sand table to provide a charming moon lit meal. One and Only Reethi Rah’s Tapasake restaurant is one of the best outdoor restaurants we have seen. Most resorts have an outdoor ‘feel’ being situated in areas open on all four sides, but full out-in-the-open rather than just open-air is much rarer (for the sensible reason that you do get no protection from the occasional precipitation and strong breeze limiting it usage during those times).

“Out on Tapasake’s open deck are the new Teppanyaki stations – perched above the waters edge where delectable smells of sizzling fresh fish and seafood drift through the Maldivian air. Cocktails are served at a semi-circular bar, which overlooks a vast expanse of the Indian Ocean and offers one of the best sunset views on the island.”

Best of the Maldives: Main Dining Al Fresco – Nika

Nika outdoor dining

There is little that beats the literal atmosphere of dining outside in the perfect temperature surrounded by a chorus of nature’s sounds under a canopy of stars.

When we first started coming to the Maldives, the notion of dining on the beach was relatively novel. Most of the resorts had designated sheltered dining areas. We would typically ask the waiter if we could move our table out to the water’s edge and in most cases they were more than happy to do so. Now, beach dining is featured prevalently both as a special supplement experience and as regular dining areas.

Nika has given al fresco dining a fresh setting inspired by the island’s Italianate heritage and character. It has situated its main dining area (with a backup inside area for unfavourable weather) in an area that resembles some Mediterranean avenue. It features wrought-iron lamp posts which evokes a sandy Cinque Terra boulevard with people dining on gamberti and chianti late into the evening.

Buon appetito

Best of the Maldives: Cold Sorbet – Iru Fushi

Coco Palm Dhuni Kholu sorbet

One of the few things you do want kept freezing cold on your Maldives holiday is your ice cream dessert. A challenge to savouring ice cream is to enjoy it in hot weather when it is more “ice” than “cream”. Iru Fushi finesses this with their own dive into the cold

The sorbet is served in a double cup (glass).. a round one with ice cubes to keep the temperature and a small conic one fitting in.” (thanks Paola)

Best of the Maldives: In Ocean Dining – Angsana Ihuru

Angsana Ihuru in ocean dining

If you fancy a private soak, then Angsana Ihuru offers a step beyond beach-side dining with in-ocean dining.

“The sandbank dining is set on a private sandbank which is located just 15 minutes ride away by speedboat. You may enjoy a breakfast, lunch or a dinner.”

And if the wrasses show up, you might get fish pedicure as a bonus.