Food Trail: Part 3 - Voyagers Of The Seas

The six-days-cruise was from Hong kong to Okinawa and back. We had our family reunion at ‘Voyagers of the Seas’. The day we reached Okinawa, it was on Tuesday, I am strictly vegetarian on Tuesdays. There was no veg-food of my liking for me in the city of Okinawa. I did not eat anything on that day, except bread and butter and some fresh fruits. But on the other days, while on the ship, I had excellent food.

We were sailing on a beautiful ‘Royal Carribean Voyagers Of the Sea’ 

There are many restaurants on the ship like Portifino (Italian), Johnny Rockets (burgers and fries), Giovanni’s Table (traditionally Tuscany flavors), Chop’s grille (American steak house) Izumi (freshly rolled Sushis). My family members moved in smaller groups (everybody had their own company as per interests) and visited these restaurants at their own pace to enjoy their favorite meals for a fee. But there were three main restaurants that are complimentary on the ship.

Café Promenade on deck 5 used to be our main meeting point whenever we emerged from our own private cabins.

This is a sidewalk café where we could munch on sandwiches, pastries, and pizza while watching people walk by. There used to be live shows and big giant Shrek walking and entertaining kids on the promenade.

Everybody ate at their own timings whenever they felt hungry or whenever they were free from other activities. 

At The Windjammer Café on deck 11, we could have meals at all hours of the day from their buffet eatery.

The Windjammer Café  offers a great panaromic view of the sea through its large glass windows. There is great variety of food available at different food stations. With the exception of certain made-to-order stations for omelets and stir fries, the buffet is self service.

Since we were the big family of forty-two members, it was difficult to rope in all the members during the day (most of them were involved in different leisure activities that cruise offered at their indoor and outdoor decks) but it was mandatory that we have dinner together. 

Every day at 8pm, we dressed up for the evening and met for formal dinner at Sapphire.

Sapphire is the elegant three deck restaurant named for famous operas – Carmen, La Boheme and Magic flute and features lavish opera costumes, a crystal chandeliers and a grand staircase. The staff of the restaurants come down the staircase during the meals and perform live music and dance creating a vibrant ambience.

We had to choose from their menu of selected cuisine cooked at that hour. Food styling and taste was the high point of this restaurant. Few dishes are complimentary. whereas exotic dishes come with a price.  Some of the dishes that I really enjoyed were

The Salmon Salad

Ricotta and Spinach Quiche

 Garlic Tiger Shrimps

Mango Pudding

I am still drooling while I write this.

There is room service available too around the clock that offers a range of snacks and sandwiches. Many of my family members would order breakfast in their room. I skipped breakfast everyday, I preferred to sit in the balcony with just sky, sea and me and to munch on dry fruits. But those who ordered, said that they ordered Continental Breakfast that was complimentary.

Also Read

Food Trail: Part 1 - HongKong

Food Trail: Part 2 - Jakarta

Food Trail: Part Two – Jakarta

My trip to Jakarta was a spontaneous decision. One moment I was lying on bed, lazing around and next moment my tickets to Mumbai was posponed to another date and my tickets to Jakarta were booked instantly. Never made any such hasty decision in my life. Well there is always first time and I am glad that I went because I had a very good time.

My food trail started the minute I landed in Jakarta. My family who came to fetch me from the airport drove me directly to an Indian Restaurant called ‘Queen’s Tandoor’ that serves fusion Indian food. There were street food like Pani puri, sev puri and then their were those indian desserts like falooda and kulfi. But the most interesting was this Rumali Roti roll that tasted like a frankie. Rumali roti was stuffed with egg omelet and chicken and was tightly rolled. When cut into slices , each slice seemed liked a Swiss roll.

The best thing about visiting a new place is to try the local food and know their culture. We went to a huge mall called ITC Mangga Dua that had rows and rows of shops selling almost everything. It looked like a street market and is the biggest wholesale market in Jakarta. On one of the floors, there were only street food stalls. 

"Look at her grinding stone" said my cousin " See its so large and look at its shape, lets watch them work."

We stopped at  Soto Betawi Pinangsia, there were four women churning out delicious dishes. They had a huge concave stone in which they made peanut chutney. It was interesting to watch them work.

When in Jakarta, eating Satay in Kecap Manis sauce is a must.

Eating sea food at 212 Wiro Sableng was quite an experience. The strong fragrance of the grilled fish instantly tickled my taste buds and I couldn’t wait to get inside. I watched the man grill the fish on an open fire outside the restaurant, each time he brushed the fish with copious amount of sauces,  the dark orange flames came alive again. Thick smoke floated in the air almost blinding me.

The interior had just wooden tables and plastic chairs, a very humble restaurant, but when the food arrived, nothing mattered, just seafood…..crabs, shells, fish, jumbo prawns, and those spicy sauces. While I write this..I am drooling all over again…..

Imperial Shanghai Lamian Xiao long Boa is a popular Chinese restaurant known for its fresh noodles made instantly in the open kitchen behind the serving console. It was interesting to watch the chef roll out the dough, stretching it with his fingers to make into long noodles in minutes.

For every order, the noodles were made instantly and served. They tasted good in a soups and stir fries. Loved all the dishes that we ordered, they were authentic Chinese dishes. Its no wonder then that there was a serpentine queue outside this restaurant, all waiting for their turn to get in.

The singing artist crooned an Indian Bollywood number 

‘Kyu ki tum hi ho, tum hi ho, zindagi meri’ 

and many people at their tables swung to the melodious music. Hearing Indian music in Jakarta has different kind of pleasure. The place was packed with people scattered everywhere in a food hub called Sableng Kelapa Gading

There was street seafood again at Sari21 most delicious sea food, similar to the one I had at Wiro Sableng. Enjoyed the crabs though.

Padang cuisine is one of the most popular cuisine in Indonesia. The most interesting fact about this restaurant called Medang Baru was that there was no menu card to choose the dishes. Whatever was cooked in their kitchen was brought to our tables.

 "We cannot eat so much food" I protested. 

 "Eat what you can." informed my cousins.  

The dishes that lay untouched on the tables were taken back and we were charged only for what we ate. The food was excellent with bold flavors and their rich use of spices. Every dish tasted differently and we hogged like there was no another day.

Our last evening was spent at Fountain Lounge of Grand Hyatt, closer to large glass windows that offered great view of the Plaza Indonesia and the live music played inside. We came to spend an relaxing evening with continental food like sandwiches, cheese rolls, fish cutlets and drinks.

Jakarta is truly a great place to enjoy street food with its’ fragrance of spices always hung in the air.

Also Read
Food trail Part one - Hong Kong
Food trail part three. Voyagers of the seas

Food Trail: Part One- Hong Kong

I belong to a fun loving family. Going for sight seeing, museums, beaches and gardens and parks are done only if there are children to entertain (been there, done that). Other wise its just food or shop. Last month we had family reunion where my family from different parts of the world (Bangkok, Chicago, Dubai, Los Angeles and Pune) met at Hong Kong. We took seven days cruise from Hong Kong to Okinawa, and then also went to Macau and Jakarta for few days. There was big party all the time.

The party started on the first day itself. We hadn’t even finished unpacking that we met for lunch at a huge Paramount Banquet hall. Inspite of having more than 40 dining tables, the restaurant was full…the food was excellent. We had Chinese. 

I specially loved the Tender Fish Heads and Peking Duck (my favourite)

One afternoon we spent at the Repulse Bay (Hong Long side). While the children and their parents swam at the beach or played at the park outside the restaurant, we spent our time at WTF that had great many restaurants. We dined at Amaltifina Artisan Pizza Bar, that served oven fresh pizzas and sandwiches. One dish I particularly liked was the starter that looked like a dessert. The taste was awesome. Loved the presentation of them serving it in the cylindric shape that fell apart as soon as I touched it with a spoon. It was a nice tangy dish of Tomatoes Avocado and Buffalo Cheese With Sweet Sauce

Some evenings were spent at WoolooMooloo, a restaurant bar at 21^st floor with a beautiful view. There was a narrow balcony on one side of the restaurant, where we could sit and enjoy the laser play of lights on skyscrapers. We had pizzas, sandwiches, coffee, drinks  and of course Smoked Salmon

Chao Yang was another restaurant where we could enjoy the view from 27^th floor. There is a beautiful view of the harbour with calm waters and large boats. On a clear day, view is fantastic. Since many members of my family are vegetarian, we enjoy when there is variety of food for all. This restaurant had great selection of vegetarian meal specially Mushrooms and Tofu was enjoyed by all while others ate Chicken and other Chinese dishes.

When in Hong Kong, one visit to Korean restaurant is a must. The fun is at cooking on the tables with a small burner in the centre of the table. Marinated meat with assorted sauces, crispies and chopped spring onions are served. While we roasted the meat, we enjoyed the plateful of Shrimp Tempuras  in the bed of deep-fried noodles at Arirang Korean Restaurant

Golden Bull , a French Vietnamese restaurant has a beautiful décor with large painting on the walls. The shelves have beautiful antique vases and other decorative pieces. we can feast on artistic ambience till the food arrives.  It is pricey but nice. When in Vietnamese restaurant, Spring Rolls with Mint leaves and Soya Chili Vinegar is a must

A nice Tappanyaki  Japanese restaurant atShangrila hotel is Nadaman that serves set meals. we ordered Set Meal that included a starter, a salad, a rice dish and a dessert. The food was great and I loved the soft, melt-in-the-mouth Sea food with horse radish Wasabi that gives an instant kick as its strong tangy flavour escape through nose like burning fumes. 

Cali-Mex Taqueria, a Mexican restaurant is interesting because it had a beer taps at every table. There are high chairs and sofas and one can just help themselves with unlimited amount of beer from the taps. We enjoyed Tacos at Cali-Mex Taqueria

Early morning, my cousins went to Chee Kei for breakfast and came back saying that they have had the best Wanton Mei in Hong Kong. Curiosity got the better of me and so we did go to try after some days.  Loved the wantons noodles at this stop

Macau Restaurant is known for their spicy crabs, it’s a small place but serves good street food. The crabs were not available that day so we ordered Wanton Noodles Soup

Everyday there was a visit to a different restaurant and trying of different cuisine. Everywhere the food is delicious, be it Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Mexican. And no, I did not visit any Indian restaurant in Hong kong, although I was told that Indian club have very good Indian food. But then why would I have Indian unless I am eating at home?

to be continued....

Food trail at Cruise 'Voyagers of the Seas' and in Jakarta coming up soon....