When we first laid eyes on the menu for dinner #4, we weren’t overly impressed. We came this close to paying money to eat at either Caneletto or The Pinnacle Grill. However, we already did a lunch at Pinnacle and although we enjoyed our last visit to Caneletto aboard the MS Veendam, it wasn’t “special” enough to warrant the extra $15 surcharge per person. So we decided to stick with the main dining room anyways (like the night before).
So we ended up going with the only 2 appealing appetizers on the menu which were the Fusion Crab Cakes and Seafood Deviled Eggs. Unfortunately, the crab cakes were mealy and way overdone. The classic fluffy crab texture was absent and replaced with a dense dry mixture. It was crispy outside though and the flavours in the mango slaw were tropical with coconut, cilantro, ginger and lime with some curry and Indian-spiced tomato chutney. Exhibiting a touch of smoked salmon on one half and crab on the other, the deviled eggs were really just plain deviled eggs. With that being said, the eggs were on point with tender whites and creamy yolks with an appealing amount of mustard.
We also got 2 soups including the Sweet Corn Soup with basil olive oil. This was lightly creamy and plenty sweet. The addition of basil olive oil added a bright aromaticness. Unlike the corn soup the night before, the corn was actually plump and sweet. Unfortunately, the soup was barely lukewarm which meant it wasn’t that pleasant to eat. The same could be said about the French Onion Soup with short rib. It was bordering on ice cold. Hence, the flavors and aromatics were not activated. Instead, it was somewhat one note and the short rib was a bit chewy.
For our entrees, I decided on the Blackened Ahi Tuna Oaxaca-Style served with creamed jalapeno corn, sautéed green beans and chipotle rice. Okay, there is no way in saying this nicely, but the tuna was terrible. What a waste of ahi tuna when it was cooked all-the-way-through. It was inedible as it was a solid piece of denseness. I did like the creamed corn though as it was sweet and creamy. Luckily for me, I got another dish in the Carne Asada featuring grilled steak, steamed rice, black beans, guacamole and warm flour tortilla. Nothing on the plate was that great, but the steak was on point being well-seasoned and nicely tender.
Viv had probably the best of the bunch with the Grilled Duck Salad with dried sour cherries. Despite not sporting rendered skin, the duck itself was tender and just barely cooked-through. It was well-seasoned and was accented nicely by the tart dried cherries and the sour cherry vinaigrette spiked with plenty of sesame oil. On the other hand, there was a bit too much dressing for the greens though.
For dessert, I stayed away from the crisp due to my stone-cold one from the night before. Rather, I had the Warm Espresso-Date Pudding which was not as sweet as it sounded. It was purposefully dense, yet moist at the same time. There was a deep sweetness from the dates and a light coffee background taste. It was accompanied by a sweet zabaglione and whipped cream. Viv went for the Coconut Mile Feuille which was pretty good. The coconut pudding in between the slightly dry pastry was lightly sweet and silky. The passionfruit sauce added the necessary acidty and sweetness. Compared to the night before, this dinner had similar issues with food temperature and protein execution. Was this going to be a trend?
Holland America MS Westerdam Vista Dining Room Night #4
Posted by
Sherman Chan
on Thursday, June 1, 2017
Labels:
Cruise
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