St Lucia - NCL Jewel Day 7

We decided this would be the place to take a tour of the island with the Pitons and the volcano/sulfur springs. I'm not sure which it is. They call it both but it seems more accurate to just call it a sulfur spring. This was the most enjoyable of the island stops.

The entire day was spent on tour so we had a big breakfast and no lunch.

Seared Scallops

Grouper and Asparagus

Souffle

Barbados - NCL Jewel Day 6

Barbados appeared to be the wealthiest of the islands we visited. The people were more restrained, and there were very few people begging us to buy this or that.

Lunch:
 Baba Ghanoush. Rating: 6.8

Vichyssoise: 7.3
 Grouper. This was a surprisingly good dish. I forgot what the side was but that was also good. 8.4
  Opera - Chocolate, Vanilla, ? 7.9

Dinner wasn't memorable this night. The below was the only photo I took.

Seafood Cioppino. 8.0

Antigua and Barbuda - NCL Jewel Day 5

I don't remember much of Antigua and Barbuda, much as I don't remember Tortolo. The fondest memory was the food today. It was memorable because we dined at Le Bistro, the specialty restaurant on the ship.
 Gnocchi. Rating 7.9

Grouper. 8.2

Tiramisu. 8.2

Le Bistro is one of the restaurants on board with a $15 cover charge per person. I'll say upfront, it was worth every penny. I would gladly pay this amount for this quality food anywhere on land.

Escargot Barguignonne, Duo de Foie Gras et Patrine de Conard Fume, Seared Sea Scallop. Escargot: the snails were big, buttery, salty, and oh so good. The foie gras was similar to what I've had before but of a moderately more notable quality. Still, my guess is that it wasn't goose liver. I'm no expert on it but it is food that I can either take or leave, at least this grade.

Onion Soup au Gratin, Cream of Mushroom Soup. Both soups were fantastic. Some of the best onion and cream of mushroom soup I've ever had anywhere.

Roquefort Frisee Salad. A very good salad. I would daresay the best salad I had on board.

Cassoulet, Choucroute Garnie al'Ancinne, Roasted Rack of Lamb. The first two are classic French dishes and so had to be ordered. I had a small slice of the duck and it was quite tasty but nothing extraordinary. The Choucroute Garnie was something I had to try because I wanted to make it but it was too much effort to find juniper berries. It was a pretty decent dish but of the three, I had to say this was the letdown. I can say that I've now tried it. The rack of lamb was the best dish of any we had on the cruise. It also ranks in the top 5 best lamb dishes that I've ever had.



Flambe Suzette, Chocolate Napolean, Creme Brulee. The Suzette was OK. It just didn't tickle my fancy. The Chocolate Napolean was the best chocolate dessert I had on the cruise. It was subtle but each ensuing bite got better. The best dish of all was the Creme Brulee. Finally there was a proper version of it served on board. It was light and custardy as brulee should be and the top was carmelized. I wouldn't say it was the best I've ever had but it rated in the top 10. Again, if you're on board, I highly recommend you let go of your scrooge ways, pay the $15 cover and get some great food. Also the service was steps beyond the service in the main dining area (Tsar's).

Tortola, British Virgin Islands - NCL Jewel Day 4

Tortola wasn't the most memorable in terms of what we did but what we saw was quite beautiful. Again, its one of those places where you have to go on an excursion and pay through the nose to truly enjoy.

Some food from the previous day didn't agree with one of us so we cut the visit of this place short.

Ribs, lambshank, and fish for lunch at the Garden Cafe. All were quite delicious. Probably one of the best lunch days at the Cafe.

Dinner Time. Spring Rolls. These can't compare with the real Vietnamese rolls. Rating: 6.0

Avacado Tomatillo soup. Chilled. 7.5


Prime Rib. Ordered medium well, this came well. 7.3

Samana, Dominican Republic - NCL Jewel Day 3

Samana was once considered a destitute area of the Dominican Republic. We had lots of children coming up to us begging us to buy this or that. Food wasn't that extraordinary this day. Lunch was a quick buffet at the Garden Cafe.
 Ribs, lamb shank, fish. This was probably one of the better lunches of the cruise. I pigged out on the ribs and lamb.

Tuna Tartare. Raw tuna tastes so much better than cooked tuna. 8.2

Roasted Monkfish Fillet. It was a pretty tasty dish as a recall. 8.2

Salmon Coulibiac, Chicken Tikka, Cottage Pie, and Orange Flan from the Garden Buffet. I was not enamored with any.

 

At Sea - NCL Jewel Day 2

Day 2 was a full day at sea. I woke up early before most of the crowd and ate breakfast at the Garden Cafe, the buffet dining area.

It opens from 6:30 - 10:30 for breakfast, 11:30 - 2:30 for lunch, and 5:00 - 9:30 for dinner. The breakfast offerings were vast but nothing unusual.

We ate lunch and dinner at Tsar's.



Tsar's is the main dining room for sit down breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

 Oyster Fritter. Not much oyster taste. It was more like a hush puppy. Kind of reminds you of turds, doesn't it? Rating: 6.3

Gumbo Shrimp. Nothing extraordinary. 7.2

Sweet and Sour Grouper. The first decent part of lunch. 8.2

Bread Pudding. Average rendition. 7.1

This was the start of dinner. Asparagus and Scallops. With a little sesame oil. 7.8
 Losbster and Grouper Extravaganza. Good but otherwise small portions. 8.2

Honey Creme Brulee. It was decent but a little starchy. The top was left untorched. 7.6

The Jewel's other restaurants include Azura, Tango, Blue Lagoon, Chin Chin, Teppanyaki, Le Bistro, Mama's, plus a few other lesser restaurants.

Miami, FL - Embark Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) Jewel Day 1

We boarded and the ship took off at 5 PM. The most important thing: Find the FOOD! These were some of the offerings tried on our first night at sea.

Crostata with mushroom. Rating: 6.9

Lamb Provencal. A good offering with a slight gamey taste. A good way to start the cruise. 8.0

Vanilla souffle. Average dessert. 7.0

Creme brulee - starchy texture. No caramelized top. 6.9

Roasted Pig - Tai Hoa BBQ & Bangkok Thai Deli

Tai Hoa BBQ (854 W University Ave, St Paul, MN 55104, 651.298.8480) is a slightly more than a hole in the wall store offering Chinese and Vietnamese foods to go, including the classic roasted duck and roasted pig.

The Scrooges ordered a half pound of decadent roasted pig (heo quay). The pig is roasted until the skin is a crispy crackling shell offering a textural sensation better exceeding any potato chip. Immediately under the skin is a layer of fat which if it is the correct thickness magnifies the decadent experience. Too little fat equals a wretchedly dry equivalent of cardboard and too much fat is an egregious affront. Below the fat is the meat ideally with an attached small rib bone. That describes the perfect piece of roasted pig. Unfortunately this particular batch wasn't perfect. It wasn't cheap at almost $8 per pound but it was still a treat for the taste buds especially dipped in hot chili sauce.

Bangkok Thai Deli (315 University Ave, St Paul, MN, 651.224.4300) is both a sit down restaurant and a deli. Bangkok offers a different slightly different version of roasted pig, which if Scrooge heard correctly they call "Pork Li" ($5).

They take a similar cut of pig minus the rib bones, add some seasonings and deep fry it. It's surprising that despite the fat and the deep frying, it had only a slightly heavy fatty taste, which Scrooge take as a sign of being fried at the proper temperature. It is distinctly different in taste from the Chinese style roast pork and was notably saltier but nevertheless equally decadent. With the amount of fat present, it was incredibly tender and when down the gullet too easy. Scrooge felt his arteries hardening with every swallow.

Roasted pig is one of life's guilty pleasures and one of the world's perfect foods. Both Tai Hoa and Bangkok Thai Deli offer versions worthy of your money. Indulge only every once in a while to keep the cardiologists at bay.