We arrived yesterday at the far reaches of the west coast of Provo down a
several mile dirt road which is about 20-30 minutes from the airport (we got
stuck behind a construction truck). Here lies AMANYARA, the luxury resort from
the Asian team that has brought us so many exquisite Aman Resorts around the
world; a small nest of some 40 villas and pavilions on the beach and small ponds
nearby where you seem to never see another guest. Okay--it's a small world as
just after we arrived and headed to the Bar for what is called "tea" we met a
couple who knew my brother-in-law's sister-in-law (yes, always one degree of
separation!).
Later on we headed to The Restaurant, which is the only dining spot here
(except the Beach Restaurant which is open only one or two nights a week--we
will dine there tonight most likely). Indeed, if you choose to head off
property, save for Da Conch Shack (where we'll try lunch tomorrow) on a beach 20
minutes away on the other side of the island, your only options are indeed all
over 30 minutes away...down that long, curvy and steep dirt road (not worth
risking if you have a couple of beers or some wine!).
Much of the staff here hails from the Philippines and our server Emma was a
gem, as are all the locals as well, who are some of the nicest folks I have ever
met in the entire Caribbean! The Executive Chef hails from Switzerland, but he
is off on vacation (sound familiar), so executive sous chef Patricio from Spain
is in charge. We met him and he explained many of the dishes helping us to
decide. We ordered a bottle of Matanzas Creek 2010 Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma
which has always been a favorite over the years. I have to say, it took a while
for the sticker shock to fade, as the wine prices here are more than double the
other side of the island (the $70 bottle we had on Monday was $140 here, which
means it costs about $20-25 on the shelf at home!); the average starter was
$20-25 and average main course was $40-55....enough said.
An amuse of small shrimp cocktail with mayo sauce and tomato was nice and
refreshing, but I was not wowed.
Sam started with the Chicken Dumpling Soup loaded with mushrooms (which he
left), bok choy, bamboo shoots and fried dumplings, as opposed to the softer
wonton type. As I progress you will notice the Asian leaning of many of the
dishes due to the origins of Aman and they even have a Vietnamese chef to
oversee these dishes in the kitchen.
My starter was the most "chemical" I have seen here on the island and was
deconstructed Cured Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon with Stone Fruits and an
Idiazabal (Spanish cheese) cream. There was also a brittle, which I never did
find out what it was, but it was yummy. The fish had a soft texture and almost
melted as it had been cured sous-vide; an odd choice of cooking/smoking I have
to say.
Will went Asian with the Tom Yung Goong-a sour shrimp soup which he said
was lame as it had only four medium size shrimp. I have to agree that the
portions needs to be a bit bigger when they are charging $25.
We moved on to a superb Nickel and Nickel 2012 Napa Chardonnay made with
Truchard grapes and we have always adored the Truchard family and their wines.
At $190 it was not a steal, but one of the least expensive chardonnays on the
menu! Imagine that!
Will stayed Asian for his main with the Roti Jim Geng Kiaw Warn Neva-a
yummy beef curry with roti, but he asked for it medium to spicy and it arrived
bland....so he sent it back for a complete replacement, which was far superior.
He felt the only thing the dish lacked was a bowl of rice, which would have made
it go much further and be great for the sauce as well.
Samuel chose the Baby Chicken with Bok Choy and Sesame and enjoyed that
fairly well, but the hit of the night was my Butter Poached South Caicos Lobster
with roasted veggies and potatoes. You should understand that each year the
lobster season starts here each year on a set date, and that was yesterday. WHAT
LUCK! This was indeed the best Caribbean lobster ever, and divine with the
wine.
There was a live musician sitting across the elegant pools that dissect the
area where you dine and he was very good on his electric-like sax. There was a
beautiful breeze and we indeed felt o so comfortable, which has not been the
norm on most nights. My silk shirt did not melt!
The one thing that sorely needs fixing is the lighting on the path to the
elegant rest room where it seems they clean up after each person leaves (are
they watching us on closed circuit tv?) because there is never a dirty cloth in
the bin or even a stray dirty Kleenex in the trash!
After dinner we headed to The Bar, where we are already friends with the
bartender, Aldwin, who makes Sam the most awesome iced tea with guava juice as
sweetener. I had a yummy cosmo-ish martini and Will had vodka-based drink loaded
with basil juice and lemon which he adored, and so he should have for $20 a pop!
Well, you only live once, and boy are loving living here like this.
