Best of the Maldives: Guacamole – Hard Rock

Hard Rock - mexican restaurant

To add some New World spice, Hard Rock’s “Butterfly and the Elephant” restaurant serves up Mexican fare with the widest selection of guacamole I’ve seen:

  • Clasico (onions, jalapeno chili, coriander, lime)
  • Green (tomatillo, pumpkin seeds, jalapeno chili, lime, coriander)
  • Caribbean (mango, pineapple, red onion, tomoato, serrano chili)
  • Habanero (“Holy Guacamole, This One Is Not For The Faint Hearted!” roasted habanero chili, coriander, roasted shallots, garlic)
  • Crab (chipotle, red onion, jalapeno, jicama, coriander, white crab meat, citrus oil)
  • Pineapple (sweet onion, coriander, serrano chili, pineapple, pomegranate seeds)

There is also a tasting platter option for the culinarily adventurous.

Best of the Maldives: Lagoon Boat Restaurant – Milaidhoo

Milaidhoo - dhoni restaurant 2

You can not only lounge around Milaidhoo’s dhonis, but wine and dine too. They have adapted the dhoni aesthetic to their signature overwater restaurant:

  • “Shaped like three dhonis (wooden sailing boats), our signature restaurant is the only restaurant in the world set on a boat in a lagoon featuring gourmet dishes of inspired island cuisine from the Maldivian Spice Route. Guests dine on the ‘deck’ of the restaurant where, underneath starry night skies, the team of chefs deliver an island influenced menu of locally inspired and sourced dishes. There’s also indoor seating in air-conditioned comfort where you can watch the sea-life below through glass floors. Expect to find seafood and traditional local flavours intelligently reinterpreted for the 21st century.”

Milaidhoo - dhoni restaurant 1

Best of the Maldives: Largest Fans – Anantara Kihavah Villas

Anantarah Kihavah Villas - fan 2

I might be one of the world’s biggest fans *of* the Maldives, but I am not the biggest fan *in* the Maldives. That distinction would go to Anantara Kihavah Villas’ appropriately dubbed “Big Ass Fan” [sic] in its Salt restaurant (“Element” model)…

“Big Ass Fans gently and silently move air throughout dining rooms to ensure customers are consistently comfortable—without fluttering napkins or distracting from table conversation. Big Ass Fans work hand-in-hand with AC systems to provide an additional 10°F (5.6°C) cooling effect and evenly distribute conditioned air throughout the space. Because of the perceived cooling felt by air movement, managers can utilize the energy-efficient fans to maintain occupant comfort with a higher AC set point, saving money without sacrificing comfort.”

Lori growing up in the South (USA), we are big fan fans.  We have ceiling fans in everyone of our bedrooms.  Even on not-so-hot days, they simply stir the air a bit giving it a bit of movement and freshness.

If the nearly 20 blades weren’t enough, the kitchen also largest extraction fan I’ve ever seen (see picture below) as well towering over 30 feet high.

Anantara Kihavah Villas - extraction fan

Anantara Kihavah Villas - fan 1

Best of the Maldives: Buffet Restaurant – Safari Island

Safari Island - main over water restaurant

Most resorts offer a “main restaurant”, which is a large buffet stuck somewhere inside the island as the default option for board packages, and a range of “a la carte” eateries, which are usually a bit more distinctive in menu and location like being over the water. Safari Island puts its main restaurant in the prime location on the resort with a striking design and ambience to match (see above).

The structure is sort of reminiscent of Baros’ “Lighthouse” restaurant, only on a grander scale and Lighthouse is a la carte. It is completely open all around (well, there are storm blinds they put down when it gets too windy). One of my pet peeves with main restaurants is that they often have no view. Even when the ocean is just a few feet away, they never seem to clear the foliage so people can actually enjoy the view. But Safari Island is right over the water.

And you can top and tail your evening with an antipasto aperitif and/or post-prandial potation at their Sundown Bar (See below). We sat on its deck watching only the reef sharks circling in the lagoon shallows below, but a larger shark which we thought was a nurse shark. It turns out it was a lemon shark. So the perfect place for a cocktail with a twist (an turn) of lemon!

Safari Island - tented over water bar