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Call it what you want - taking one for the team or just plain poor judgement - I convinced everyone (including my parents) to try the Asian-inspired East Meets West aboard the Pride of America. The likelihood of finding good Chinese food at this place was on par with starving aboard a cruise ship. But we needed some variety and I gotta give NCL props for at least trying. Then again, as Yoda once said, "do or do not, there is no try"...
We began with one each of the Steamed and Fried Dumplings (only fried pictured). I found the skin on the steamed ones a bit dry and dense, but decently thin. The filling was a good combination of cabbage and ground pork. It was moist and well-balanced in flavor. Crispy and completely deep-fried, the other dumplings ate much more hearty. Accompanying both was a sweet soy that had a slight kick. With large tentacle portions, the Fried Squid was both good and bad. The rings were terrible being chewy and dry while the tentacles were buttery and appealingly chewy. Both were properly seasoned.
Moving onto the main dishes, we ordered nearly all of the available options including the Orange Peel Beef. It featured severely overcooked slices of beef that were subject to a syrupy glaze. It did exhibit a good amount of bitter orange peel though, but it was by no means appealing in taste. Ultimately, the sugar content overwhelmed everything. The same could be said about the Sweet & Sour Pork which was served strangely in slices as well. Chewy and not crispy at all, the pork was coated in a sweet sauce that was crying out for acidity. Furthermore, the dish was just too wet in texture, which wasn't particularly appetizing.
Strangely salty, the Kung Pao Chicken was not spicy and vinegary like it should’ve been. Rather, it was not only salty, the dreaded sugary glaze reared its ugly head again. Worst of all, the chunks of chicken were hard and dry which made them difficult to eat. I guess my expectations should've been lowered at this point. Surprisingly and thankfully, the Lemon Pepper Shrimp was pretty good. Despite being a touch greasy, the prawns were meaty and exhibited a nice crunch. Furthermore, the sweetness of the sauce was interrupted by a noticeable pepperiness.
Also dry and slightly hard was the Steamed Mahi-Mahi in a ginger sauce. With that being said, this was one of the lighter dishes that did not suffer from being overseasoned. On that note, Mahi-Mahi was not a good choice for steaming as the leaner meat didn't have a chance in being moist (unless it was prepared in a different manner). Surprisingly, the Special Fried Rice was decent with a bevy of ingredients including BBQ pork, beef, shrimp, snow peas, napa cabbage and carrots. It wasn’t exactly dry, but did exhibit a nuttiness from the stir-fry. There was nearly as much filling as rice itself.
Seeing how we were in need of soup noodle therapy (we need this every trip), we decided to try the BBQ Pork Rice Noodles. Bad decision as the pork itself was too lean and featured a very unnatural shade of red. It was also rather bland too. As for the noodles, they were a bit too soft and the broth was very mild. On the other hand, the Beef Chow Fun was the best of the bunch featuring chewy rice noodles that weren’t too greasy. The beef was like the other dishes being dry and salty, but the rest of the stir fry featured crunchy veggies. Hence, it was passable.
The last noodle, Peking Style Shrimp & Chicken atop wok fried lo mein noodles, was just plain weird. It featured dry chalky noodles (not lo mein!) topped with overcooked chicken and shrimp that was also quite salty. It was as if they just dumped ingredients on top of under cooked noodles. At the very least, they were able to keep the veggies crisp (which was consistent with the rest of the dishes).
For dessert, we tried the Coconut Tapioca Pudding with spiced mango and orange syrup. It had the right consistency being but was far too sweet. The addition of the syrup merely compounded the problem. They should've just stuck to a regular tapioca pudding without the bells and whistles. Next up was the Crispy Chestnut & Red Bean Triangles with green tea ice cream and caramel sauce. In actuality, this was all about the green tea ice cream with a side of dry phyllo triangles that didn't taste like anything due to the lack of filling. When we did get a bite of filling, it was dense and chalky, but not too sweet. Okay, this was a predictable end to a fairly predictable meal. We give NCL props for trying, but ultimately, it didn't work (even for Americanized fare). However, with a few tweaks (maybe proper consultation), there is potential here.
The Good:
- Veggies were on point
- Decent wok heat for a cruise ship
- They tried
The Bad:
- Sub-par, even for Americanized Chinese food
- Salty
3 days into our cruise and we finally hit up one of the three alternative dining venues as part of our package. Similar to the one found on RCCL, Cagney’s Steakhouse would have cost $29.95 per person if booked by itself. Would this surcharge be worth it? Well, that is a common question amongst cruisers on many of the different mainstream cruise lines. There once was a time where people dined at fixed times in the main dining room and that was it. Now, there are premium options that cost extra. This started over a decade ago and seems to be picking up momentum.
For me personally, I enjoy the variety of restaurants aboard the larger, more modern ships. As for the surcharge, I don't mind shelling out the extra coin if the experience is ultimately worth it. For this meal, I started the meal with the Chicken Drumsticks dressed in a syrupy and sweet BBQ sauce that made everything quite wet. In fact, the skin was not crispy nor rendered. Hence, it was fatty and not appealing. The meat was succulent and juicy though. I also got the Iceberg Wedge in a poor attempt to add greens to my diet. This was exemplified by the obscene amount of blue cheese dressing on top. However, I did enjoy the crisp iceberg, crunchy bacon and fresh tomatoes.
Viv inexplicably had the Wagyu Sliders with apple/celery slaw and caramelized red onions. These 2 fairly large burgers were a meal in itself. I wasn't sure how she could finish her meal after this. Sadly, the meat was dry and somewhat chewy even though it was still pink inside. On the other hand, the meat did taste good with natural flavours which were accented by the sweet onions. My son ended up with the Beef Short Rib Confit with hummus and smoked bell pepper and pine nut dip. He devoured this as the meat was tender and moist while lightly seasoned. Naturally, he ignored everything else on the plate, but I got to sample it and I liked the puree as it was sweet with a nice aroma. The hummus was pretty bland though.
My dad opted for the Lump Crab Salad with red pepper coulis and arugula which consisted mostly of crab. It was lightly dressed where the fluffy and moist crab wasn’t overwhelmed. The sweetness of the crab did come through while the other items on the plate added the necessary color. My mom and daughter both had the Baked Potato Soup and it was thick, starchy and rich. It was surprisingly not too salty and did really taste like a baked potato with sour cream, crispy bacon and scallions. She also had the Shrimp Cocktail which was good, but kinda skimpy with only 3 shrimp.
For my main, I had to get the 32oz Certified Angus Beef Porterhouse Steak (even though there was another $9.95 surcharge). This monstrosity was indeed 32 ounces or more as it was pretty thick. Despite this, it was prepared medium-rare as requested. This was quite impressive for not only a cruise ship, but any land-based restaurant as the meat on both sides of the T-bone was medium-rare (although the filet was a bit more so). The meat was tender and well-seasoned. It didn’t need the side of salty peppercorn sauce. My son had the 5 oz Filet Mignon and it was also a beautiful medium-rare. He requested it to be prepared with garlic butter and accompanied by Bearnaise sauce. His side of Mac n' Cheese was dry while still quite cheesy from all the cheddar.
Both my daughter and my dad had the Grilled Sea Bass with lobster saffron broth, champagne foam, spring onion, fennel and radish. It was buttery soft while barely seasoned. Hence, the fish itself was not very flavorful. However, the broth did exhibit enough saltiness to correct that issue. Although there was both lobster and saffron essence present, it wasn't particularly impactful. My mom and Viv both had the Lobster Tail and Shrimp Linguine and it was pretty much on point. The lobster was buttery with a rebound texture while the shrimp were flavorful with an elasticity. Although the pasta was a bit past al dente, it wasn't soft and flavored nicely by essence of lobster.
We ended up ordering almost every side dish that was available including Green Beans, Onion Rings, Roasted Mushrooms, Creamed Corn, Grilled Beetroot and Shallots, Steamed Broccoli and Cagney's Fries with white truffle oil and Parm. The one that really stood out was the creamed corn as it was sweet and actually creamy. The pop of the sweet niblets was the best part. We universally thought the beets were far too greasy and unappealing. It would've been better off being just as they were without the shallots and oil. As much as the fries were crispy and nicely seasoned by the Parm, the overwhelming amount of truffle oil made it difficult to finish.
For dessert, I had the Citrus Fruit Salad with Grand Marnier and mint sauce. This was a refreshing dessert that was spiked with plenty of booze and just a background hint of mint. I thought it was less sweet due to the Grand Marnier. The maceration did create a lot of excess moisture though. Viv had the Raspberry Creme Brulee with Florentine crunch and white chocolate twist. Appealingly caramelized, it featured a nicely seared sugar topping. It was firm and cracked nicely. Unfortunately, the custard itself was pretty sweet and super dense.
My son had to get the Chocolate Fudge Brownie with caramel sauce and brittle. The brownie was more cake-like than anything else, but it was dense and chocolaty though. The brittle was a bit wet and sticky. We would've prefered something crunchier. It was almost overkill to have the chocolate ice cream and caramel sauce as everything was sweet enough already. My mom went for the Oreo Cheescake with balsamic reduction, strawberry and lemon zest. We found it to be pretty smooth and cheesy. It wasn’t as sweet as we feared though. The tart strawberries and bitter lemon zest probably had something to do about that.
My dad went for the Warm Apple Cardamom Crisp with port wine reduction, crisp phyllo tuile and vanilla ice cream. This was pretty filling and moderately sweet with a crunchy topping. Of course the large scoop of melting ice cream did amp up the sugar content. The cardamom was kept to a minimum so it didn't overwhelm the crisp. Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Cagney's, but weren't sure if it was worth the extra $29.95 cover charge. Sure, beef prices are high these days, but the meal didn't wow us. However, we do have to remember this was on a cruise ship and the kitchen is pumping out hundreds of dishes at once. The fact they got the doneness of our proteins right was an achievement in itself.
The Good:
- On point proteins
- Better service than the main dining room
The Bad:
- Weak sides
Pulling into port at Nawillilli, Kauai, we were greeted with torrential rain that led to the cancellation of many of the tours. We weren’t part of any, but had rented a car for the purposes of exploring the island. Part of the itinerary was to visit Hamura’s Saimin as we enjoyed it the last time we were in Kauai. Well, all that went down the toilet as we cancelled our rental car. Hence, we visited a nearby food truck instead called Kikuchi’s that specializes in bao and sushi wraps.
We decided to get 3 items to share including the Smoked Pulled Pork Bao with a spicy sweet chili sauce. The large bun was actually a folded fluffy bao with a mound of slightly dry pork. It was somewhat smoky and mildy spiced. The side of fries were pretty standard stuff, but were crispy and dressed in seasoning salt. My son had the Ginger Chicken Karaage Bao with honey mustard dressing. The pieces of chicken tenders were crunchy with a firm batter. I thought the chicken could’ve been more juicy, but they were not dry. They were nicely seasoned with a definite ginger hit while accented by the sweet dressing.
Viv wanted something lighter and opted for the Ahi Tuna Wrap with wasabi mayo and soy. This was essentially a large sushi roll featuring chewy seasoned rice. Although the rice was on the wetter side, it wasn't mushy which bode well for the buttery tuna. Hidden inside the roll was wasabi mayo that made itself heard with each bite. In the end, we were pretty satisfied with the eats from Kikuchi's despite missing out on some saimin. Ironically, the weather did a full 180 being sunny and hot for the rest of the day (as Hawaiian weather can often be like).
The Good:
- Won't leave hungry
- Nice people
The Bad:
- My wish is that their proteins were more moist
Breakfast can be akin to a mob on a witch hunt aboard a cruise ship. It seems that the majority of the passengers are all trying to get their fill at the buffet. Therefore, the smart thing to do is to avoid the buffet altogether. Hence, we headed over to the 50’s themed Cadillac Diner tucked away mid ship on deck 6. Much like the rest of their menu, the breakfast options were limited. Even with that, there were enough offerings to satisfy us all.
Interestingly, my daughter was the one to order the biggest meal which was the Full Breakfast consisting of eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, baked beans, tomato and mushroom. Other than the eggs, she practically dusted the whole thing off. There was good and bad on the plate which saw the bacon and sausage being decently prepared (although the bacon could’ve been crispier). Hash browns were crispy in some spots while the baked beans were rather sweet. The mushrooms tasted like they forgot to season them. However, the eggs were the worst thing on the plate being stiff and very dense. The same could be said about the eggs on the Express Breakfast. Bacon was okay though and the toast was well, toast.
For myself, I went for a cheese, smoked salmon and mushroom Omelet which featured; you guessed it, very overcooked eggs. In fact, the exterior of the omelet was pretty crispy and brown. As a result, the smoked salmon was pretty much destroyed where it was akin to salmon jerky. I would have to say this breakfast was pretty sub par and I often say that breakfast is probably the simplest thing to prepare. Maybe we should've hit up the main dining room or maybe suffered the mobs at the buffet instead.
We never did get a chance to visit Cadillac for lunch or dinner, but we did go to the Wipeout Cafe for some "afternoon" snacking. Essentially a "serve-yourself" spot, it featured various salads, burgers and hot dogs. My son once again went for the basic Cheeseburger with a side of fries. The well-charred patty was decently moist and meaty while the fries were pretty generic, albeit crispy. Viv went for the Chili Dog and it was pretty average, but the chili was rather meaty and only marginally spicy.
For myself, I had the Pulled Pork Burger with cheddar and BBQ sauce. It was nice to see a selection of "specialty" burgers as it offered up something different than the usual. Similar to my son's cheeseburger, the meat was not dried out while evenly charred. The pulled pork was fairly moist while the BBQ sauce was mostly sweet. On another day, I tried the Portabella with blue cheese. As expected, this one was impactful with the earthiness of the mushroom and sharpness from the cheese. Again, it was a nice departure from a plain burger. Of course none of the stuff was going to set the culinary world on fire, but it served its purpose with a few surprises.
The Good:
- Less busy than the buffet (Cadillac)
- Surprisingly decent burgers (Wipeout)
The Bad:
- Sub-par eats (Cadillac Breaky)
Ever since our first cruise over 15 years ago, Viv and I have never felt the need to eat at the buffet much other than the initial lunch and for breakfast. However, we finally hit up the Aloha Cafe for both lunch and dinner just because we wanted variety. Oh and yes, the kids had something to do with it. It just gives them more options. There were the usual stations which included hot entrees, Asian food, made-to-order pasta, pizza, burgers, hot dogs, steak, chicken, sandwiches, fruit and dessert.
For lunch, the highlight of my first plate of food was the actually the Steak as it was a perfect medium-rare. Although the exterior was a little grey rather than the classic sear, the meat ate well. As much as fish can be horrible in a buffet, the Apricot Tilapia was actually flaky and moist while only mildly seasoned with the benefit of toasted coconut on top. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Veal as it was dry and one note in flavour. The same could be said about the Cottage Pie as the meat was dry while the mashed potato topping was dense and stiff.
My next plate consisted of the Shrimp Fried Rice, Mushrooms in Teriyaki Sauce, Bean Poriyal and some curly fries (I just wanted curly fries...). Well, the rice was pretty mushy due to the fact they were using induction burners to cook it. That wasn’t nearly enough wok heat to prepare the dish. With that being said, it did taste good though with a certain smoky savouriness. Consequently, the mushrooms suffered the same fate as they were watery. Surprisingly, the bean poriyal was pretty good with crunchy green beans and an aromatic coconut curry that was a bit spicy.
The best thing we ate at the buffet by a country mile was the Pecan Buttermilk Fried Chicken. It was so good, I had seconds. No joke! The boneless chicken thighs were well-brined so that they were succulent and flavourful. The batter on the outside was firmly crunchy and slightly sweet while not greasy at all. I got some fruit to keep my plate balanced as well as some cheesy cauliflower (well, it was still a vegetable!).
Okay, with an overnight in Maui during our NCL cruise, it would seem like a good idea to take advantage of that by heading out for dinner right? Well, after a long day in nearly 100 degree temperatures, we just didn’t have it in us to go out again. In fact, we couldn’t even be bothered with any full-service restaurant aboard the ship. We resorted to eating at the Aloha Cafe for their buffet dinner.
The main item for the night was their Roast Whole Turkey which looked quite good. In fact and surprisingly, it was moist and tender, even the breast meat. For me, it was all about the thigh and it was tasty on its own, but the salty gravy with onions helped things along. I found the side of yam stuffing to be overly mushy and wet, but it did taste good though with a hit of starchy sweetness. The brussel sprouts with cranberries was actually decent being just cooked enough that it still was firm inside. The same could be said about the cauliflower and asparagus. With cubes of potato retaining their texture and shape, the cheesy potatoes were definitely creamy where it benefited from the addition of leeks.
My second plate of food included the Laikai Koftka which tasted decent with the usual curry flavours while slightly spicy. The balls themselves were rather soft and mealy though. Surprisingly, the Fried Noodles with Pork was okay for non-authentic whatever it was supposed to be. It was balanced in flavor without being reliant on salt where the noodles were still toothsome and the meat was well-seasoned. I wasn’t too sure of the Pork, Beans and Cranberries as it was rather weird tasting and dry. The same could be said about the Cottage Pie too. On the same theme, the Blackened Mahi Mahi and Moroccan Chicken needed moisture and impact too.
Of all the things that could’ve been eaten, my son went for his standby which was the Cheeseburger and Curly Fries. Not a whole lot to talk about here other than the burger patty was aggressively grilled where it was pretty dry. Fries were good though being crispy. Overall, the buffet was acceptable and served its purpose. There was the usual duds to go with some surprising items. I wouldn't say that this buffet was any better or worse than the other cruises we've been on.
The Good:
- Edible and sometimes decent
- Food was refilled fast
- Separate cute little kid's buffet
The Bad:
- Fairly average selection of eats
- Not the most spacious of setups
- Staff tried, but dropped things constantly
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Call it what you want - taking one for the team or just plain poor judgement - I convinced everyone (including my parents) to try the Asian-inspired East Meets West aboard the Pride of America. The likelihood of finding good Chinese food at this place was on par with starving aboard a cruise ship. But we needed some variety and I gotta give NCL props for at least trying. Then again, as Yoda once said, "do or do not, there is no try"... 
We began with one each of the Steamed and Fried Dumplings (only fried pictured). I found the skin on the steamed ones a bit dry and dense, but decently thin. The filling was a good combination of cabbage and ground pork. It was moist and well-balanced in flavor. Crispy and completely deep-fried, the other dumplings ate much more hearty. Accompanying both was a sweet soy that had a slight kick. With large tentacle portions, the Fried Squid was both good and bad. The rings were terrible being chewy and dry while the tentacles were buttery and appealingly chewy. Both were properly seasoned.
Moving onto the main dishes, we ordered nearly all of the available options including the Orange Peel Beef. It featured severely overcooked slices of beef that were subject to a syrupy glaze. It did exhibit a good amount of bitter orange peel though, but it was by no means appealing in taste. Ultimately, the sugar content overwhelmed everything. The same could be said about the Sweet & Sour Pork which was served strangely in slices as well. Chewy and not crispy at all, the pork was coated in a sweet sauce that was crying out for acidity. Furthermore, the dish was just too wet in texture, which wasn't particularly appetizing.
Strangely salty, the Kung Pao Chicken was not spicy and vinegary like it should’ve been. Rather, it was not only salty, the dreaded sugary glaze reared its ugly head again. Worst of all, the chunks of chicken were hard and dry which made them difficult to eat. I guess my expectations should've been lowered at this point. Surprisingly and thankfully, the Lemon Pepper Shrimp was pretty good. Despite being a touch greasy, the prawns were meaty and exhibited a nice crunch. Furthermore, the sweetness of the sauce was interrupted by a noticeable pepperiness.
Also dry and slightly hard was the Steamed Mahi-Mahi in a ginger sauce. With that being said, this was one of the lighter dishes that did not suffer from being overseasoned. On that note, Mahi-Mahi was not a good choice for steaming as the leaner meat didn't have a chance in being moist (unless it was prepared in a different manner). Surprisingly, the Special Fried Rice was decent with a bevy of ingredients including BBQ pork, beef, shrimp, snow peas, napa cabbage and carrots. It wasn’t exactly dry, but did exhibit a nuttiness from the stir-fry. There was nearly as much filling as rice itself.
Seeing how we were in need of soup noodle therapy (we need this every trip), we decided to try the BBQ Pork Rice Noodles. Bad decision as the pork itself was too lean and featured a very unnatural shade of red. It was also rather bland too. As for the noodles, they were a bit too soft and the broth was very mild. On the other hand, the Beef Chow Fun was the best of the bunch featuring chewy rice noodles that weren’t too greasy. The beef was like the other dishes being dry and salty, but the rest of the stir fry featured crunchy veggies. Hence, it was passable.
The last noodle, Peking Style Shrimp & Chicken atop wok fried lo mein noodles, was just plain weird. It featured dry chalky noodles (not lo mein!) topped with overcooked chicken and shrimp that was also quite salty. It was as if they just dumped ingredients on top of under cooked noodles. At the very least, they were able to keep the veggies crisp (which was consistent with the rest of the dishes).
For dessert, we tried the Coconut Tapioca Pudding with spiced mango and orange syrup. It had the right consistency being but was far too sweet. The addition of the syrup merely compounded the problem. They should've just stuck to a regular tapioca pudding without the bells and whistles. Next up was the Crispy Chestnut & Red Bean Triangles with green tea ice cream and caramel sauce. In actuality, this was all about the green tea ice cream with a side of dry phyllo triangles that didn't taste like anything due to the lack of filling. When we did get a bite of filling, it was dense and chalky, but not too sweet. Okay, this was a predictable end to a fairly predictable meal. We give NCL props for trying, but ultimately, it didn't work (even for Americanized fare). However, with a few tweaks (maybe proper consultation), there is potential here.
