The Eurodam
Holland America
While I love the Ocean, I have never been a cruiser. However, a trip I recently took to Alaska—only the second time I have traveled on a big ship meant for dining and relaxing—on Holland America Cruise (HAL) gave me time to reflect. It was cozy looking out at the North Pacific from the stateroom balcony, seeing the lights of small Alaskan towns slip away and the land masses of Vancouver Island slide by.
The food also surprised me. The bulk of Holland America’s staff is Asian. Many are from the Philippines as an estimated 10 percent of the population of that country works overseas, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The executive chef Manilal Natarajan on HAL is Indian, from the southern city of Kerala. There are many Indonesians who work on the ship as as well: which is logical as the Dutch once colonized the Netherlands. So, it’s no surprise there is some good Asian food aboard.
Tracking Down the Secrets
While the line has been celebrating the launch of Chef Morimoto’s sustainable fish program since it launched earlier this year, there are other ways to enjoy Asian flavors onboard. After meeting the executive chef in the elevator, I told him I had located Uthappam, a southern Indian flatbread at the buffet and shared my interest as to if other Southern Indian delights might be on offer.
This crunchy Dosa is divine for breakfast.
Liza B. Zimmerman
So, it turns out that a full Asian breakfast is served on board at the full-service dining room. The real deal is only at breakfast so you have to rise and shine early for it. One of the options includes a crunchy dosa, paired with an uthappam, served with potatoes and curry dips. Another offering is the delicious miso that comes along with a nice hunk of salmon for the Japanese breakfast. I didn’t have enough days on the ship to try the congee, but I suspect it would have been delicious I can eat soup every meal of the day. Hey HAL executives can we have these dishes for lunch too?
The Dan Dan noodles at Tamarind.
Holland America
I wish more Asian-style vegetables would have been available on menus throughout the ship: although I did manage to get my bok choy on the penultimate night at Tamarind, the ship’s Asian-influenced restaurant. I also really enjoyed the kebab assortment.
Seafood Finds and Other Gems
Overall, the seafood was very good on the ship: and I am not easy to please on that front. Besides hunks of beautifully prepared salmon, there were crunchy and delicious fried halibut chucks, accompanied by fresh fries on the fish and chip special lunch days.
The fish and chips.
Liza B. Zimmerman
New York, NY, USA – August 30, 2016 : The Nathan’s: The Nathan’s original restaurant at Coney … [+] Island, The original Nathan’s still exists on the same site that it did in 1916.
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The fries at the burger Dive-In burger joint were also incredibly crispy, something that the restaurant staff did not always excel at with other foods. I also confess to loving a good old
Nathan’s Frank—also served at the Dive-In—as I grew up with them in NYC and they still taste almost as good as they used to on the boardwalk at Coney Island.
The Dutch tea service, available most days when we were at sea was also a lot of fun. The curried chicken sandwich was my favorite. The mushroom soup at Pinnacle Grill, the ship’s steakhouse was one of the most divine things I ate. I wish I could have had it every day.
A savory mushroom soup.
Liza B. Zimmerman
The standard wine list on HAL isn’t enourmous. Many of the pairings were focused on wines of the Pacific Northwest: as Oregon and Washington are knocking it out the gate right now. I was sorry not to see some wines from British Columbia as we docked in Victoria—British Columbia—the last night and held close to the shores of Canada throughout the cruise. More wine options are present on the Sommelier Suite list, which offers passengers up to 25 percent off on a mix of more unusual wines, hailing from places such as Austria and Portugal.
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Publish date : 2024-10-15 05:39:00
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