Bali High - A Special Dinner at the Samaya

One of the many reasons that I liked our stay at the Samaya in Seminyak, Bali was because of the excellent food. Part of the Honeymoon Package we decided to get there included a wonderful multi-course meal that was in a special part of the main beach area right off of the restaurant.

It was like having our own little island in the middle of the resort's main pool area. Sadly, it wasn't more private (everyone sitting in the main lounge area could technically see us), but it was our little special space for the evening.

There was a small bridge leading to our tented seating area. The Samaya made me fall in love with frangipani flowers, since they used it everywhere. I absolutely love the smell.

The area near our "tent" was strewn with flowers...more frangipani!

Two glasses of champagne were included in the meal. Wine is so expensive in Bali, and we were actually missing it at this point in the trip.

The Samaya even gave me my own bouquet.

Oh yeah...we did eat. A LOT. My goodness I think we were stuffed half way through the meal.

First out was an amuse bouche of a small potato pancake with smoked salmon. Anything with smoked salmon cannot be bad.

A yellow fin tuna salad with tomato confit, cucumber a little balsamic thrown in. There was a foam on there I am not remembering as well as pumpkin seeds. The totally fresh tuna was amazing. Although there was some gelatinous green stuff on the plate that did nothing for the rest of the dish. I could have done without it.

Gazpacho with avocado and tiger prawns. This was one of my favorite parts of the meal. The gazpacho was perfectly seasoned with a great tomato flavor. The large chunks of avocado were melded well with everything. I think I had too much gazpacho actually. :(

Wagyu beef sirloin with twice baked potato (with some crab in there somewhere) and asparagus. While I was practically stuffed, I ate the sirloin, which was perfectly cooked, juicy and tender. It made me believe in beef eating again (which I have been a lot more of lately).

Yep. I was close to stuffed, but there was MORE to eat! This is what a stuffed person looks like.

A palate cleansing guava sorbet with lemon fizz

Cannelloni with white chocolate, strawberries and basil

I wanted to like this more, but it was still a nice ending to the meal. The cannelloni was a little chewy but I loved the flavor of it as it was enhanced by the vanilla mousse. Yum!

This meal is by far the most well-executed meal that I've ever had at a hotel. I know people often don't like "hotel" food, but between the high quality of the meal and the romantic environment, I was in heaven.

Have you ever had a memorable meal at hotel?