Best of the Maldives: Maldivian Ice Cream – Kuramathi

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Kuramathi screw pine ice cream

‘Screw pine’ ice news PR (anagram there for you…)

July is ice cream month. And the ice cream with the truly Maldivian flavour is made on Kuramathi – “Screw Pine Ice Cream”. “Screw Pines” are those surreal trees so defined by their adventitious roots that they also have the nickname “Walking Pines”. They are most commonly found in the Maldives. The notes from the resort’s botanic walk describes…

“Maakashikeyo, Pandanus odoratissimus. Abundant plant, growing along beaches with numerous pro roots originating from the base of the trunk. It can grow to a height of 15 m, stems are hollow. Male and female flowers are in separate trees. The fruits on the female tree are pineapple like and become red when ripe. Use: the red portion of the fruit is eaten raw or cooked with rice, for soups or to make sweets and juice. On Kuramathi, we also make screw pine ice cream. You can try this at Palm!”

 

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Best of the Maldives: Lobster – Mirihi

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Mirihi lobster dinner

Happy (or should I say “Yummy”) Lobster Day!

Lobster dinners are becoming as much table stakes for the ever more luxurious Maldives as hot stone massages and artistic water features.

So much so that I have added a “Lobster” tag to the blog. And I have not been shy to sample the many crustacean cuisines as I am a serious aficionado. I grew up in New England with many summer trips to Maine. Maine lobster is still the worldwide gold standard for sweetness and tenderness so I have been spoiled by the best. Lobster bisque is my favourite starter by far and I will always order it out of principle if it is on the menu (I prefer the lighter cognac-cut style to the heavy creamy version).

We will also venture to some of the more renowned lobster establishments when in the vicinity. The high bar there is definitely the House of Elliott in Ghent, Belgium (a stunning creation of lobster cooked 6 ways in an artistically quirky setting by the Lys River). Mirihi provides a lobster experience that rivals it. Also waterside (or ‘water-over’) at its Murka restaurant, coincidentally both Muraka and House of Elliott had two of our most memorable bread accompaniments (House of Elliot cooked their fresh loaves in little flower pots). Muraka’s lobster in champagne and truffle sauce was prepared to near perfection.

The lobster distinction goes deep at Mirihi. From over water restaurant to underwater dive/snorkel sight. Mihiri features its own “Lobster Cave” widely regarded as one of the most striking places to see lobsters around. As Spammie reviews in her TripAdvisor Maldives Forum post…

“Mirihi corner is a named dive spot…yes it is at the far end of the reef , marked by an awesome wall and a lobster cave in just under 30 meters. as a (very) experienced diver, you can dive inside .. in pairs or max 3 people at a time and see lots of lobsters hanging out on shelf formations inside. very very amazing. the tricky part is to make it through a tight little tunnel single file without ruining visibility by finning up sediment.. it takes a little nerve and very calm fins. not for newbies or the faint of heart but worth it.”

 

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Best of the Maldives: Fresh Lobster – Kandooma

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Kandooma lobsters

Luxury + Seaside = Lobster

Wherever you place luxury next to the seaside, at the top of the restaurant hierarchy will always be lobster. It pretty much defines the pinnacle of seafood cuisine. Today being Lobster Day, perhaps a few of you with be donning the plastic bib and wielding the nutcrackers and silver picks.

So no surprise that lobster dinners are pervasive throughout the Maldives. Especially since they do live in profusion just metres away and just about any diving or snorkelling excursion will stumble upon one or more hiding under a crevice. But if you don’t want to get wet checking out these crustaceans in their native environment, then check out Kandooma’s lobster pen. Set in the resort’s lagoon by their pier, they have set underwater fencing in an area about the size of a pretty ample swimming pool and they keep their lobsters there. No piles of lobsters crammed on top of each other in a restaurant lobby fish tank. Their final days awaiting their dining table fate is spent in a spacious and natural home environment.

It also means that you can get some pretty big boys into the pen. The specimen in the photo above is about as big as my thigh (and my thigh is not small). And the number to choose form is just as large as we counted several dozen when we sat observing them crawling about.

I’ve never found any variety of lobster to be as tender and sweet as the famous Maine Lobster from where I grew up, so I don’t splurge for these delicacies very often in the Maldives. The most tempting preparations are those dishes prepared with a bit of local and gourmet flair that bring something extra to this exquisite ingredient. Kandooma’s luxury restaurant specialises in lobster dishes offering a broad range as well as a very tempting Lobster Gourmand Menu. It also offers a number of lobster dishes as part of its ‘Fishermans Market’ event held every Wednesday.

Free range lobster!

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Best of the Maldives: Chef’s Table – Kandooma

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Kandooma chefs table

For those who like to get close to the cooking in action, but without actually getting their hands dirty, the ‘Chef’s Table’ is an intimate way to savour the smells and action of a vibrant kitchen operation. Increasingly, top restaurants are exposing their kitchens rather than sequestering them out in some back room separated from diners with some swinging doors made for comedy collisions. Now, expansive set-up counters expose the chopping, a stirring and flame-fired cooking a short glance away from your table.

Kandooma has an actual proper Chef’s Table set in the kitchen itself. It’s not just a front-row, court-side seat, but the whole ambience of the meal changes. You are less of a spectator and more of a participant (but without the hustling and dirty work). The chef’s come over and chat and sometimes show or share something they are working on.

I didn’t get to do the Chef’s Table during our visit, but I did have the treat of one at Gordon Ramsay’s at Claridges Hotel a few years back and it was a whole different dining experience. Kandooma can seat up to 14 and like most chef’s table, the menu is quite customised to your particular interests.

 

Kandooma chefs table 2

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Best of the Maldives: Ice Cream Carts – LUX* Maldives

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LUX Maldives ICI ice crean cart 2

For kids, there is no song so sweet, no sound so pure, no music so adrenalin stimulating as that of the chimes of the ice cream man coming down the street. LUX* Maldives treats all the kids at heart visiting their island with the hot weather joys of the ice cream truck coming down the road with free ICI ice cream cones.

Ring, ring…

LUX Maldives ICI ice crean cart 1

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Best of the Maldives: Chinese Fondue – Vilamendhoo

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Vilamendhoo chinese fondue 2

Happy Chinese New Year!

Chinese cuisine is right up there with Maldivian and Indian curries as a common cuilinary feature of Maldive restaurants. In fact, it’s hard to go anywhere in the world without a Chinese dining establishment. I’ve eaten in many and I’ve not yet come across a specialty featured at Vilamendhoo of a ‘Chinese Fondue’…

“Seafood, beef, chicken and vegetables which you will cook in a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of your table. Truly delicious! Choice of chicken, vegetable, tom yam or miso soup. $40.00 Per person.”

Chinese expression for ‘bon appetit’ is ??? (mànmàn ch?!) which translates as ‘eat slowly’ which is easy to do with a relaxed fondue preparing each item individually.

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Best of the Maldives: Gelato – Vakarufalhi

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Vakarufalhi gelato 1

“There’s always room for gelato!”

That’s one of the Lynn family catch phrases from our many visits to Italy. We always end up eating sumptuous feasts (especially when our friends host us for meals). But no matter how much pasta and pizza we have consumed, we always find a way to squeeze in a little (or more than a little) gelato.

The Italians certainly do have a flair for ice cream. My favourite ice cream parlour of all time is Toscanini’s in Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts with creative flavours like ‘GrapeNut Raisin’ and ‘Ginger Snap Molasses’.

The award-winning Italian chef Rizzoli Riccardo at Vakarufalhi plies a similar passion for creative creamy concoctions like the ‘Green Tea’ gelato (photo above). Other innovative flavours include ‘Sri Lankan Cinnamon’, as well as ‘Porcini Wakame’ ice cream with honey and ginger.

Always room for that!

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Best of the Maldives: Honey – Gili Lankanfushi

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Gili Lankanfushi - honey 1

“Oh, bother. Empty again. Only the sticky part’s left.” – Winnie the Pooh

Today is Winnie the Pooh’s birthday. Well, A.A. Milne’s, Winnie’s creator. Winnie, of course, notorious for his never-ending search for more honey. If he’s looking for a Maldives holiday, then he should make Gili Lankanfushi his first stop.

Gili serves it both fresh from the honey comb (see below) as well as a range a varieties (photo above) for the most discerning of melicionados.

Honey is more than a tasty spread and for many has Pooh-like sacred properties. In Hinduism, honey (Madhu) is one of the five elixirs of immortality (Panchamrita). In temples, honey is poured over the deities in a ritual called Madhu abhisheka. The Vedas and other ancient literature mention the use of honey as a great medicinal and health food. In Islam, there is an entire Surah in the Qur’an called al-Nahl (the Honey Bee). According to hadith, Prophet Muhammad strongly recommended honey for healing purposes.  The Qur’an promotes honey as a nutritious and healthy food…

“And your Lord inspired the bee(s), saying: ‘Take your habitations in the mountains and in the trees and in what they erect. Then, eat of all fruits, and follow the ways of your Lord made easy (for you).’ There comes forth from their bellies, a drink of varying colour wherein is healing for mankind. Verily, in this is indeed a sign for people who think.”

Let’s hope that every ‘little black rain cloud’ hovering over Gili is just a hungry teddy bear in disguise.

Gili Lankanfushi - honey 2

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Best of the Maldives: Backpack Lunch – LUX* Maldives

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LUX Maldives picnic

High or low, near or far, you can find you own ideal eating spot with LUX* Maldives gourmet picnic hamper. On some of the other resorts, Lori and I would sometimes order room service and then take the tray out to to the beach for an ocean-side meal. But LUX* makes such a mini-adventure a standard offering…

“Fancy a change of scenery? How about settling down somewhere secluded with a picnic basket brimming with tasty snacks and chilled drinks for a leisure lunch in plein air. Seek out your own private spot or ask directions for to a hidden corner and we’ll take care of everything else. Unfold a straw beach mat and enjoy a variety of plates showcasing local ingredients, fresh breads, crisp salads, hot and cold courses, wines from both old world and new, indulgent desserts and fresh fruit.”

LUX Maldives picnic 2

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Best of the Maldives: Top Table – Soneva Fushi

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Soneva Fushi restaurant table 2

No collection of tree top vistas would be complete without one of the first, Soneva Fushi’s ‘Fresh in the Garden’ restaurant. Sort of Sun Island ‘Zero’ on steroids. And in the open air. Instead of a canopy of tropical plants, you get a canopy of sparkling stars. And if any provoke your curiosity in particular, the Soneva Fushi observatory is conveniently attached by an elevated walkway.

Soneva Fushi restaurant table

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