Tamarind Peking Duck

[ithaca gal]

We are currently on the Eurodam and we couldn't wait to try the Peking Duck appetizer. We were very disappointed in this new offering. The duck skin is definitely not crisp as it should be and the crepes are too thick and almost gummy. We were so looking forward to this new addition but will not be ordering this one again.

 

Also, we ordered the vanilla soufflé in the Pinnacle Grill and when we asked for the sauce that usually (always) accompanies a soufflé, we were told that the marble sized piece of chocolate in the top takes the place of the sauce. This might work for chocolate fans, but the last thing I want with my vanilla soufflé is chocolate. We very much missed the sauce! The tomato broth was very tasty, the Caesar salad was nothing special but the bone in ribeye was excellent. Sadly, once again, our server was adequate but not up to specialty restaurant standards. Not even a coffee refill was offered. Think we might be done with PG.

[cruz chic]

Thx for reporting in. Have you tried the lobster dish in the tamarind? I thought it was salty (and I love salt) and the texture was not good.

[Krazy Kruizers]

When we were on the Eurodam in October, our server in the Tamarind warned DH about the duck not being very good when he went to order it.

Of the 14 days we were on board, we ate 7 days in the Tamarind and 7 days in the Pinnacle. We had excellent servers in both restaurants.

I am not a vanilla fan so I never order the vanilla souffle'.

[bcd2010]

Hmm... The Eurodam seems to have food problems everywhere. We were on the 11/15 cruise.

 

• Ate in Tamarind once (free as part of the Dine Around package), first time for us. Glad we tried it but that kind of food doesn't really appeal to us. DS tried the duck but, as said, this was new to us and he had no way of knowing whether it was good, no previous experience with Peking Duck.
  
• Ate in Caneletto once, only because it was part of the Dine Around package. Service was slow, food was okay.
  
• Ate in PG twice, including LeCirque one night (first for us). Enjoyed the food, the service and the experience – it was actually a calm, peaceful, welcoming environment.
  

But the MDR – omigosh! E.g., we both ordered roasted chicken with stuffing. I asked for a little polenta on the side (it was on the menu for a different entrée). We got what looked like chicken marsala (lots of mushrooms which we don't like and so wouldn’t have ordered) and no stuffing - I got the polenta, DS got what appeared to be potato fries. When I ordered Chocolate Caramel cake with crushed honeycomb, I got Chocolate Mousse cake with a sprinkling of chopped walnuts. Another time I ordered something with strawberries and got one raspberry (no strawberries). We ended up just ordering and hoping we got something close enough.

 

On a side note, because we knew we'd be eating in the MDR only 3 times, we tried Open Seating for the first (and last) time - chaotic, noisy, understaffed. Couldn't get whoever was setting up reservations on the first day to understand we wanted the same (2-top) table all 3 nights and ended up in 3 different sections with different stewards each time, at tables meant for 4 but with no tablemates. Actually, at first they told us we didn't need reservations for open seating and were "resistant" to explanations/requests. We ended up with nothing different than if we hadn’t bothered to try. Next time we won't.

[catl331]

Just came home from Eurodam. Had lobster at Tamarind and it was very good.

Also had the bass one day; DH the Wasabi beef. Thought the surf and turf was good--DH raved about the turf. Turkey dinner had every vegetable you could want at a Holiday/winter dinner but in tiny proportions. NO DISHES TO WASH! The roast beef at MDR turned up at the first Gala night. They did turn people away the first night with shorts and casual tees on. Most people dressed up in church clothes for dinner in MDR and a little more dressy at Gala.

 

Not much entertainment but still had trivia and movies which kept me happy. Capt John Scott took time to answer questions one afternoon. Our waiters in MDR deck 2 were great. We made reservations for table 169. Saw more tables for two than usual. Room stewards were great as well as the rest of staff. You can keep tabs on your spending via kiosk near front office or on your PC. We did early expediting and left at 7:30 and jumped right on our van to nearby car park and got home in 3 hrs. Only excursion we took was Key West trolley.

 

This cruse was a little different feeling with families and children but all were well behaved--even the old condgers!!

[Tarpeian Rock]

We are currently on the Eurodam and we couldn't wait to try the Peking Duck appetizer. We were very disappointed in this new offering. The duck skin is definitely not crisp as it should be and the crepes are too thick and almost gummy. We were so looking forward to this new addition but will not be ordering this one again.

 

Also, we ordered the vanilla soufflé in the Pinnacle Grill and when we asked for the sauce that usually (always) accompanies a soufflé, we were told that the marble sized piece of chocolate in the top takes the place of the sauce. This might work for chocolate fans, but the last thing I want with my vanilla soufflé is chocolate. We very much missed the sauce! The tomato broth was very tasty, the Caesar salad was nothing special but the bone in ribeye was excellent. Sadly, once again, our server was adequate but not up to specialty restaurant standards. Not even a coffee refill was offered. Think we might be done with PG.

 

 

 

Somewhere in Seattle there is an accountant whose spreadsheet documents just how much HAL saves by eliminating the soufflé sauce. Kind of scary to think about, especially considering how many other pending or actual cutbacks are on that sheet.

[cruz chic]

Just came home from Eurodam. Had lobster at Tamarind and it was very good.

Also had the bass one day; DH the Wasabi beef. Thought the surf and turf was good--DH raved about the turf. Turkey dinner had every vegetable you could want at a Holiday/winter dinner but in tiny proportions. NO DISHES TO WASH! The roast beef at MDR turned up at the first Gala night. They did turn people away the first night with shorts and casual tees on. Most people dressed up in church clothes for dinner in MDR and a little more dressy at Gala.

 

Not much entertainment but still had trivia and movies which kept me happy. Capt John Scott took time to answer questions one afternoon. Our waiters in MDR deck 2 were great. We made reservations for table 169. Saw more tables for two than usual. Room stewards were great as well as the rest of staff. You can keep tabs on your spending via kiosk near front office or on your PC. We did early expediting and left at 7:30 and jumped right on our van to nearby car park and got home in 3 hrs. Only excursion we took was Key West trolley.

 

This cruse was a little different feeling with families and children but all were well behaved--even the old condgers!!

Thank you for reporting on the lobster. I may try it again.

[ithaca gal]

We are continuing on the Eurodam for another eight days. Mini review:

 

Food and service in MDR very good. Only fail was Linguine Carbonara that had very little flavor. Really enjoyed every other dish at our table of four.

 

As reported before, Peking Duck a big disappointment as well as the duck entree. DH enjoyed the pork belly. The Thai donuts, new to the menu, were great (although I see no relation to anything Thai there.... Lol).

 

Had a comedian one night and he was okay. I don't like blue blue material but do wish there was a G rated show at 8 pm and a mature show at 10. There is a comedian scheduled for tomorrow night which we are looking forward to seeing.

 

All trivia events were fun. Why was the Mega Trivia Event scheduled at 9 pm when late diners couldn't make it? One small complaint: for the Chocolate Trivia Event, the prize is a chocolate martini for each contestant on the winning team. HOWEVER, while ALL trivia events allow maximum number of six players per team, this event limits teams to just TWO members because they only want to give away two drinks, I guess! How chintzy can ya get?! Seriously!!! I don't drink, so this is not a case of sour grapes, it's just an observation of unnecessary cheapness!

 

Sarah, the cruise director, is very nice and is always impeccably dressed.

 

TWO non-smoking nights in casino. And guess what? Lots of people were there!!! Small issue (with me) was the lack of enforcement of the smoking rule in the casino. You must be actively gambling to smoke, but people were ducking in to have a quick smoke while standing or sitting there not playing. One woman lit up next to me, so I left my machine. She moved to my chair just so she could sit next to her hubby while she smoked. When she finished her cigarette, she left the casino.

 

We did not have to get off the ship today for immigration or whatever it is called. We were told to go to the Mainstage 2 at 10 am. By 10:40, FORTY passengers had not shown up!!! I felt so bad for the HAL personnel because those of us waiting were losing patience and it wasn't HAL's fault. As a result of this delay, the process took one hour and ten minutes ..... Most of it being wait time.

 

As always, the front desk staff is doing an AMAZING job of listening to first world problems. I will never understand how they do it!

Edited November 29, 2015 by ithaca gal
Forgot something! Typo too!

[cruz chic]

That is cheap about the drinks. How much could one drink cost them, maybe a $1.

 

Immigration always seems to be an issue. For some reason people don't think that means them. I've found that Hal isn't good about making the announcements for in transit pax either. I'm a rule follower so I'm always there long before I need to be. I left the ship on my b2b on the eurodam.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info. .