People ask me all the time, "What's the first thing you do when you get on board a cruise ship?"
Invariably, I head straight to the cabin to dump my hand luggage.
The second thing, if I'm on a P&O ship? Book dinner at Salt Grill.
I don't care if I have to wait a few nights, the fear of missing out on tantalising my tastebuds at Luke Mangan's restaurant at sea is too much to bear.
Having eaten twice at Salt Grill, the first time on the Eden and another time as a guest aboard a ship inspection, I can wholeheartedly say there was NO way I'd pass up another opportunity to guzzle a few bowl-fulls of truffled mashed potatoes. I had gushed about the mash almost non-stop from the day we booked the cruise, my travel buddies were ready to fill my gob with the luxurious side dish just to shut me up.
Anyway, as soon as we had our hand luggage safely stowed, we made a beeline to the lovely staff out on the top deck who were taking Salt bookings. It would have only been 2pm at the latest, and yet we were lucky to get a booking for the Sunday night. Lesson here: Book as SOON as possible. I literally yelled, "Take my money" and thankfully, we secured a late evening booking for the Sunday night.
There was a hum of excitement in our cabin when Sunday night, or night 3 on the Pearl, came around. My friends had not eaten at Salt before, so I was terribly excited for them. We spent a little extra time dolling ourselves up and headed up to dinner.
Now, I had only eaten a green apple all day - not so that I could eat more at dinner - due to suffering from seasickness. Thankfully, the meds kicked in just before dinner and I was able to enjoy the upcoming feast.
If you've read my other review, I described the ambience as you enter Salt as just little bit more luxe than the rest of the eateries on the ship. Once you step inside, the whole atmosphere is different, more elegant, subdued and calmer. It's a refreshing escape from the bustle of a cruise ship. Now, I don't want to compare ships, but due to Eden being a newer ship, the Salt restaurant is a little more swish on her. A few extra finishes, the decor and its position - inside on the lower decks. On the Pearl, Salt is on Deck 12, and where we sat at the back of the restaurant, you could see out onto the pool. Not that any of this bothered me, it just was a little more casual. The other main difference was that I had a clear view of the kitchen, which I actually enjoyed. There's something almost magical for me watching chefs at work - I even asked our waiter if I could get a behind-the-scenes tour of the kitchen. Obviously I couldn't be accommodated, but a girl's gotta try, right?
Talking about the waiters, I could not fault the service. Binu, who waited on us, was the ultimate in professionalism and courtesy. Nothing was too much for him. From taking many photos of us (well, we are four women and it's pretty hard to get a photo we all think we look good in) to suggesting a nice bottle of wine, he was absolutely fantastic and sold the Salt brand perfectly.
But now, the food
We started out meal with the warm, soft bread and dukkah spice dip while we perused the menu. As there were four of us, our waiter said we could order four sides to share with our mains as well as an entree each. After a few minutes, Binu realised it was almost impossible for four women to only choose one entree from the mouthwatering list, so as well as our individual selections, he brought out a few extras for us to sample. My greedy little eyes gleamed with gluttony as it dawned on me I'd be able to sample five different entrees. And while that was utterly indulgent, my main focus was getting the gnocchi all for myself.
Let me tell you about the gnocchi. Forget all your preconceptions about that glue-like stodge you buy at the supermarket or eat at the local bistro. That's not gnocchi. (Try saying that three times). Unless you have a Nonna who makes it fresh for you to wolf down, then you haven't had gnocchi.
Luke's gnocchi can only be described as little pillows of heaven. Panfried simply in butter and tossed with little shoots of asparagus and corn kernels, it was divine. I tried to savour each mouthful, but if truth be told, I inhaled them so quickly, when I looked down at my empty plate, I was a little sad. This dip in mood lasted only a microsecond though as I still had my friends' entrees to sample, plus the extra one in the middle.
Tempura Prawns: I really can't eat deep fried anything, but these huge prawns were coated in a delicious batter that was far from oily. The delicate meat was perfectly seasoned and accompanied well with a little spicy rocket salad and wasabi dressing.
Prawn Toast: Topped with smoked corn salsa, this dish certainly packs a punch. Again, not oily and quite a sizeable entree. Maybe there was so much as we were brought out two plates?
Grilled Arrow Squid: with pickled celery, apple and black olives was imaginative and original. The lemon aioli was charmingly zingy.
With entree over, my one-track mind was, again, on the truffled mash. Will it live up to my friends' expectations? Has the memory clouded my judgement? I mean, what if they didn't taste as good as the first time? The buildup was almost insufferable.
Our mains were placed before us (I had the lamb, my dinner companions chose the tenderloin, sirloin and scotch) and our many sides along with them. With a wink from our waiter, my mash was set before me. There was enough truffle oil to make any girl happy (I think Binu made sure there was an extra swoosh of oil just for me). With the first mouthful, everything around me dissolved into a blur. Okay, I know I sound just a tad over-dramatic, but if you've had these pureed spuds, you'll know what I'm talking about.
Truffle and Parmesan French Fries: Utterly addictive with just the right amount of crunch.
Crushed Peas with Mint: Vibrant, fresh, creamy and a nice balance to the heavy meat.
Roast Curried Pumpkin, Feta and Coriander: Big, bold flavours. Not my favourite as I found the texture of the pumpkin a little too mushy.
Tomato salad, Basil and Feta: Juicy, ripe, sweet and cleansing.
At this point, I have to make a confession.
You're not going to like it, but I have to get it off my chest. Not one of us finished our mains. Nor our sides. Unfortunately, our 8 eyes were bigger than our 4 stomachs. While we all can't stand food going to waste, we sheepishly looked at each other - even tried to force each other to try some off our own plates - and quietly and apologetically told Binu to clear the table. The next day, as we discussed what we were preparing our kids for dinner, we lamented our failure to finish our Salt meal.
And then there was dessert
Hardly able to take a breath, let alone another mouthful, they arrived. But who can say no to a sweet ending? Now, at the beginning of the meal, I had opened my big fat gob and told Binu while I MUST order the Gooey Chocolate Tart, I hadn't ever tried the cheesecake. So, being the generous, hospitable host, he brought this fat piggy TWO desserts. My guilt had now reached its peak.
Floating Island: Described as "absolutely perfect" the Frangelico anglaise was the crowning glory to this whimsical dessert.
Luke's Liquorice Parfait with Lime Syrup: Tangy, sweet, bright, a mix of flavours that shouldn't work, but magically complement each other delightfully. A must try.
Strawberry Cheesecake: With disks of jelly, sorbet and freeze dried strawberries, this was the most playful dessert. Sprinkles of popping candy were scattered on the plate, there was some gold leaf and the mini meringues melted in the mouth. I'm always wary of strawberry anything as the artificial flavours usually used are not nice. But the concentrated strawberry flavours were flawless. The cheesecake texture creamy and left a full-mouth feel without being heavy.
Chocolate Tart: Delectably decadent, it is the perfect chocolate dessert. The caramelisation on the bananas had a slight bitter taste which worked well with the caramel ice cream and sweetness of the honeycomb. My only criticism is that the serving is too big. Sadly, I could only get through half.
To say it was difficult to move after our marathon eat-fest is an understatement. Maybe we shouldn't have ordered so much, but it was an absolute treat to enjoy such an incredible dinner, and even more so to share the experience with my beautiful friends. These three mothers, who just like me, are rarely given a night off and even more rarely enjoy such an extravagant meal. As much as I loved the food, to see my friends happy, relaxed and content gave me even more pleasure.
Thank you Luke, the amazing waitstaff and all chefs for creating a night we will always remember.
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