Third Time's the Charm

It's funny how we have so many sayings about numbers in life, like "two's a party, three's a crowd", "sweet sixteen", "sixth sense", and the likes.

But these aren't just a play on words - sometimes, they actually carry predictive meaning.

On our last night at the resort, we decided to have our last dinner at Amber. The first two times, if you recall, ended not-so-spectacularly. So we thought that third time has got to be the charm, and decided to venture again into the unknown space of fine dining.

We decided to sit on the outside terrace this time overlooking the cenote, because I'd noticed that couples outside tend to be louder than the elderly couples inside. Or perhaps it's because of these round balls of decorations that make it more festive.

We noticed a lot of new face that evening. I noticed that the tourist turnover rate at the hotel is about a week. By Friday of every week there tends to be more and more new faces, like our fresh, untanned faces a Friday ago when we'd first arrived there. Sitting beside us was a couple from Montreal who probably have a few drinks too many before coming in. 

Amber's menu pretty much remains consistent throughout the week, with daily specials now and then. They usually put the daily specials at the beginning of the menus so you can see right away what is new and different.

Our waiter was ironically the same waiter who'd served us earlier that day at Ceviche when we grabbed some late-afternoon snacks. He told us that they change shifts in the afternoon, working at multiple locations around the resort. 

By now we'd recognized all the service people's faces, and it was kind of sad to think that we'd leave their warm tutelage soon. 

  

After perusing the drinks menu, we settled and this and this:

 

Yea I know what you're thinking, "Boring!" Trust me, we'd get booze if we could, because the entire drink menu is dedicated to the fine art of well, getting drunk. But we decided to be good-two-shoes and drink "healthier" options instead. I got the guavapple drink and Hubby his usual lemon water. Speaking of lemon water, I like how the waiters come around with a plate of lemons, limes and cucumber to ask you which one you'd like in your drink.

The meal started with some seared tuna croquette, which was dainty yet refreshing. I was worried that the tuna was raw, but when we bit into it (yea I know, I probably should have asked first), it was surprisingly warm. 

Since this was the last dinner here, Hubby told me to go without reservations and order whatever I wanted. I got this red bell pepper cream soup as my appetizer.

Red Bell Pepper Cream Soup

It was pretty creamy, so much so that I couldn't finish it. I had to dip my entire bread in it to dampen the flavor. Hubby chided me for being picky with my food, so I had to shove more of it into my mouth.

Surprisingly, the more spoonfuls I ate, the less heavy it became. I managed to finish all of it, albeit with some help of course.

Hubby on the other hand got the endives salad with grapefruits, which was surprisingly light but flavorful.

For my main, I got the shrimp breaded with coconuts with a side or rice served in a cute dim sum basket with a plantain chip. Not sure why I didn't get this earlier, because not only did it look positively charming, it was delicious as well. Here's a closer look at that dim sum basket of rice-y goodness:

I really couldn't get how they managed to make the shrimp so crispy yet tender. It was the perfect combination in terms of texture and taste. I actually managed to polish off the whole thing.

Hubby got the beef flank sad with chimichurri, beet puree, and grilled eggplant. I'm not sure why he didn't get it earlier either, because this was so flavorful and tender, even though he'd ordered it well-done.

I also liked the pieces of eggplant and carrot on the side, because this time it was actually grilled to an edible state, unlike last time when it was still semi-raw.

We thought we'd go all out with dessert as well. I got the chocolate torino with carmel sauce and vanilla ice cream, while hubby got passion fruit gelee.

While the passionfruit looked positively radiant in its presentation, it was devoid of much flavor, putting it on the bland side. Again, the only "good" part was the fig.

The chocolate torino on the other hand was overwhelmingly sweet, but it worked with a cup of dark Americano. The ice cream? Nothing but divine.

So after that long and filling meal, we lingered around, listening to the laughter and watching the (obese) chef cook up a storm with the guests who were pouring in (it was around 9pm already, but hey they operate on vacation-time there).

You know it funny how we remember things - our memories have a place not only in our minds, but also in our heart. I know I'll remember this meal for a long time to come.

Brunch by the Ocean

One of the best things you can do at the beach is to sit by the lounge chairs, sipping a beverage of your choice, reading or staring into space, and then order food when you feel like it.

At our resort, that practice is common - in fact, so common that no one even bothers to swim anymore. The regular routine for most the guests is to have to breakfast by the ocean, grab a beach chair and lounge around until it's dinnertime. Amazing and awfully fattening, right?

On this lovely day we decided to do the same. Believe it or not, we actually didn't "hit the beach" until our third day here, because neither of us were avid swimmers, so we were too scared of the ocean, especially what happened last time we went to the ocean.

One thing you have to remember here is that everyone, and I mean everyone, requires a tip. It's best if you can exchange a bunch of $1 bills (around 100 of them if you're here for a week), so that you can tip the golf cart driver, the waiters, the concierge, the list goes on and on. Or you can exchange some pesos when you get here, with the best exchange rate being 15 peso:$1 with the locals in town.

Their bill kind of resembles the plastic Canadian bills that won't get damaged even if you put it through the washer.

So we grabbed two lounge chairs, got our magazines ready, and started to bathe under the warm (sometimes overly so) sunlight. I actually really wanted to venture into the waters, and I did try, but there were patches of really rough stones in the water. So I borrowed a life jacket and some duck feet shoes and tried again, except it was really hard to walk in the duck feet shoes. I ended up returning both without swimming at all.

By the time it was lunch we ordered a storm from Ceviche, the tapas restaurant - one because we were hungry and two because we were cheap and didn't want to double tip.

For starters, I got the fruit plate with a drizzle of honey.

 

And some jalapeño cheese bits, which were super delish and hit the spot with the sweet and savory fillings. It's also not as spicy as the name suggests, and you can dip it in the berry sauce it came with.

 

Hubby went all healthy and ordered a strawberry walnut salad, which tasted nutty and crunchy, probably the best salad I've tasted so far.

We went all out with the nachos and guacamole. On our way over, I read in the in-flight magazine that guacamoles have become somewhat of a rarity, even though it is so easy to grow in Mexico, most of the land is owned by the cartels, so it's hard to get irrigation to grow it. Now they're called blood guacs, kind of like the blood diamonds in Africa. I think the guacs at the resort were probably imported from California, because they taste exactly like the Haas kind back home.

To finish I got the lemon pie, which we had before and really liked, especially the crunchy caramel topping.

I ordered an ice coffee, and they over-delivered with a chocolate drizzled frappucino, which I really enjoyed, since you can actually taste the cocao in the chocolate sauce.

Hubby got a mango slushie, which hit the right spot to go with this quick and delish meal.

Romantic Disappointing Dinner at Amber

On our second night, we decided to dine at Amber, the most upscale restaurant at the resort. It's only open for dinner, and dress code is pants for guys, which is saying a lot since the standard attire are beach shorts and sandals.

 

 

Hubby and I hopped on a golf/taxi cart and went on our way along the serpentine road to Amber. The ambiance there is what you'd expect from upscale New York jazz bar, with dim lighting and a live one-person saxophone band to set the mood.

 



I started off with a guavapple mocktail, and hubby got another apple-ly cocktail as well. His was just grenadine with some apple slices, whereas mine was actually a cocktail with guava and apple juices. The waiters must have been pretty puzzled at 1. Our non-preference towards alcohol, because he kept on asking us if we wanted something to drink, and 2. At our age, because he kept on asking us if we were graduates or newlyweds (neither of which we were).

Every meal starts with an on-the-house one-bite appetizer. I honestly don't remember what this was, but it probably tasted as good as it looks in the picture.

And of course some house bread. Here I had some whole-wheat bread with paprika butter, which tastes an awful like regular butter.

Every evening there is a daily special menu. We got the house special salad of the day, garnished with a mostly inedible cheesestick. I must say that although the presentation is excellent throughout the resort, the taste is a bit lacking at Amber.

 Octopus Carpaccio

Next came the octopus carpaccio with pepper oil and coal crumbles, whatever that is. It tasted excellent, the soft tenderness of the octopus complementing its savory crunchy garnishes, and Hubby agreed it's probably the best octopus anything he's ever had.

 Cauliflower Soup

I think I double-upped on the appetizers, getting a cauliflower soup with marjoram and truffle essence. It was served in another smaller container at first, and the waiter poured it over the bowl and drizzled it with truffle essence. The result was a happy face on my bowl, which pretty much summarized the experience. Here's another look:

The soup was creamy, but not overpoweringly so. The truffle oil added a nice smoky texture to the creaminess, which I thought was nice because otherwise it would have been flat.

The best part while waiting for your meal is watching the chefs scurry around in the kitchen. Since we don't drink, we spent most of our time commentating on their every move like a sports game. "He gets the order, he grabs the order and bam he's heats up the grill!"

Quail Risotto

For my main, I got the quail risotto, which despite its lovely presentation was way too salt-laden. I almost couldn't finish it because each bite had enough sodium to garnish a truckload of McDonald fries.

 

Grouper Fillet

Hubby got the grouper with citrics buerre blanc and cardamom sweet peas. Again, lovely presentation but the grouper was so tough that every bite became a struggle. The only edible thing on his plate was probably the rice and asparagus.

 

 



 

Thankfully dessert came to the rescue. I got the hazelnut opera cake, and despite my best efforts to convince Hubby to get something, he didn't want to gain the extra pound (or two).

I really liked the UN Chair-style presentation on the opera cake. The white chocolate was lovely as the chair backing, while the cake was lusciously rich. But what I liked the best was figs that added a nice kick on the side. The cake works well with a cup of strong coffee to wash it down.

All and all, our first experience at Amber was not the best, but presentation and service-wise it was pretty much at the top 1% of all of our dining experiences.