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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Best of the Maldives: Jungle Treehouse Restaurant – Sun Island

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Sun Island jungle restaurant 2

The Maldives is turning out to be an eight-year old boy’s paradise with all of the treehouses going up, up, up. The Sun Island rendition graces its ‘Zero’ restaurant set in a plush copse of dense tropical jungle. I’m so used to the dappled blues of the ubiquitous ocean, that I was struck by the shifted palette of greens of all shades and hues backdropping this exotic dining venue. Appropriately, the restaurant specialises in ‘greens’, especially salads freshly picked from its adjacent hydroponic garden.

Very Swiss Family Robinson chic.

Sun Island jungle restaurant 1

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Best of the Maldives: Beach Treehouse Restaurant – Viceroy

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Viceroy Treehouse

 

Things are looking up in the Maldives.

Another newcomer, Viceroy Maldives, introduces an elevated aesthetic to their resort (eg. Soneva Fushi) with the height of culinary distinction at their Treehouse restaurant…

“Our Treehouse is an Arabic lounge; perfect venue for pre or post dinner drinks, serving Shisha, Arabic sweets and traditional Arabic cuisine mezze style. It has a distinctive middle east feel at atmosphere, Arabic music plays in the evenings and the lounge seating is decorated with multiple cushions in a traditional Arabic way. The Treehouse lures guests with its exotic flavors of the Middle East and features a selection of hot or cold mezzes from the region. The Treehouse has an ideal location at the island's southernmost tip; generous cushions and loungers are artfully placed to allow guests to choose an intimate or livelier setting. While some will sip drinks before dinner during the drama of a Maldives sunset, others may choose to climb up for a more scenic seating overlooking the lagoon for an unparalleled view of the starry sky. The Treehouse is the perfect spot for pre and post dinner drinks, smoking a shisha, and savoring some sweet delights.”

Given more resorts offering this raised perspectives, I’ve gotten a bit more granular in my distinctions. They all seem worthy of mentions and all vary in some manner. Viceroy’s treehouse is located right near the water offering lovely views across the lagoon (see below). And it is a true tree-‘house’ with a sun (and elements) shielding roof.

 

Viceroy Treehouse perspective

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Best of the Maldives: Bread Dip – Mirihi

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Mirihi bread dip

One of my favourite mixes I have ever had in the Maldives wasn’t alcoholic. In fact, it wasn’t even a drink. It was Mirihi’s “Dukka” bread dip.

A mixture of crushed Macadamia nuts, Haelnuts, Pumpkin seeds, Sun Flower Seeds, Coriander seeds, Cumin seeds, Fennel seeds, Sesame seeds, Black Pepper Corn, Cinnamon, Cayenne, Bread crumbs and sea salt. It was served with virgin olive oil and freshly baked bread. It was the first time my wife and I have asked for a recipe (though we did clone a dish of mango chicken salad we adored at Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhi). When we asked for it, it was all printed out for us by the end of our meal.

One of the subtle touches that distinguishes different star categories is the ‘treats’, specifically, (a) the bar accompaniments, and (b) the Welcome treat. But, I would add the pre-dinner treats to the list. Any 5-star worthy of the grade needs to offer some sort of curious and tasty amuse bouche. But just as important is to treat the obligatory bread basket as a delicacy and not an after-thought. This over sight was one I experienced at the otherwise distinctive, Michelin-starred ‘Mistral’ restaurant at the hotel Serbelloni in Bellagio, Italy. Creative and remarkable dishes introduced with a pedestrian table ornament of lacklustre bread. 5-stars really need to have fresh, warm bread, but the super-premiums (5+*) really need to add some sort of equally appetising accompaniment like a tasty tapenade…or Mirihi’s special dip.

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Best of the Maldives: 24 Hour Restaurant – Holiday Island

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Holiday Island restaurant

 

 

From every space dimension to every point on the time dimension. One of Holiday Island’s restaurants is open 24 hours. Many resorts will offer 24 hour room service, but proper dining establishments are quite rarely open round the clock. Kept open so you can stroll in on a late night, wee hours whim and dine at a proper table in the open air.

All of Holiday Island’s sister ‘Villa’ resorts also offer a 24 hour café, but Holiday Island’s impressed for a few added reasons. Despite being dubbed the ‘Coffee Shop’, it offers a proper full menu, not just café nibbles. You can even have Lobster Thermidor ($79). It’s also good value for money. You can get a plate of chips for those midnight munchies and it will only cost $4.

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