After three nights in our luxurious villa we had gotten a bit bored with the rain and the menu at CALETON VILLAS which was the same in the Palapa on the beach, room service and the very fancy GRILL. We only went to the Caleton Grill on our last night because the manager offered us a complimentary meal due to our problems (you can real Samuel's travel journals to find out about those!). It was a beautiful setting with votives hanging and on the walls and tables placed far apart. Crisp linens, nice crystal (no beetles in them) and excellent service were a treat. Indeed, there were only two tables of 3 (us and the manager!).
We had complained previously about the problem getting Sam something other than the basic children's menu of pizza, chicken fingers, pasta, etc. So they asked us exactly what he wanted and they delivered to a tee. He had a salad of tomato, peppers, croutons, carrots, olives and cucumber (which was pickled here). His entree was Chicken Breast and some veggies and he was a real sport eating it all and then enjoying some tropical sorbet.
I had the FISH SOUP which was quite nice, but gets no awards and Will the CEVICHE which was also quite plain. Will opted for the CHIMICHURRI SKIRT STEAK which we had tasted the first night when we ordered it for Samuel from Room Service. It is a great piece of meat and probably the winning dish on the menu. My PORK CHOPS were way too overcooked and dry, but the sauce helped to mask that.
I had a superb CREME BRULEE Dominican Style (whatever that meant) which was one of the best desserts had on the island, and my notes got lost...so we can't recall what Will had.
We did indeed move to the PARADISUS PALMA REAL "Reserve" about 30 minutes to the north in the central zone of Bavaro here in Punta Cana the next day. It was a great move for Samuel loves the Kids Club, the evening shows and buffets and just having fun. We like it better, although this top of the line all-inclusive does have its issues (like trying to get a reservation at the specialty restaurants!). Last night we went to AQUA which is in the Reserve, a brand new exclusive all-suite section about 1/4 mile down the road from the main complex. AQUA is Mediterranean in style and clearly named for the very dim blue and almost hazy lighting throughout. The tables are mirror-topped and there are mirrors on the walls; I don't need to see myself when I am eating! The chairs are white leather and way to deep for normal people to be comfortable in without pillows, as are the banquettes.
We had their house BARON DE VALLS Spanish white--no vintage or varietal info on the bottle, and it was simply okay. I did ask for a glass of red with my entree, and it never came! The bread was like soft rocks and the breadsticks soggy, as they are throughout the resort; I gather due to the humidity (its like 80% every day). Samuel had a BOLOGNESE LASAGNA with RICOTTA that was indeed a superb pasta preparation, and asked me to make lasagna at home now!
I started with a SAUTEED BEAN SALAD with Olive Oil, Prosciutto Taco and Egg. I was not sure what to expect, and what I got was nothing like the description. This often happens here with the difficult language translation issues, but I would hope a high level resort of this type could get the message across in the menu. The dish was actually a bowl of scrambled eggs with cannoli beans, some chunks of ham (not prosciutto) and a large toasted crostini standing up....was this a taco? It was not bad, just not what I wanted, unless I had been at breakfast, or perhaps brunch.
Will went for the VEGETABLE SALAD with Sauteed SCALLOP in a Roasted Pine Nut Sauce which yielded up one tough scallop and a pile of marinated peppers.
I asked for a small portion of the TAGLIATELLE with GENOESE PESTO, ARTICHOKES and GRILLED SHRIMP and was immediately sorry I had not ordered this as an entree...it was superb. It seems they do get pasta right.
Will had the STEWED CHICKEN BREAST with Sauteed Portobello with Truffle Oil and Natural (does it come in unnatural)Yoghurt Sauce & Mint. The sauce was fine, but the chicken as dry as it gets. My ROAST VEAL on PROSCIUTTO with Grilled Vegetables and White Pepper Sauce again had a fine sauce and the meat fared better, but the piece of meat on the bottom was clearly not the prosicutto we know. It was more akin to thin Canadian Bacon. The vegetables consisted of three tiny slices of carrots and mashed potatoes.
We were tired and Sam was exhausted from a long day with his Kids Club and the heat, so we left after he had a quick bowl of Chocolate Ice Cream.
Tonight we are trying the fusion Asian Bistro in the main hotel....we pray to do better as everyone says it is superb.
