12 July, 2012

Cancun Palace Cuisine

A vacation is like love – anticipated with pleasure, experienced with discomfort, and remembered with nostalgia.

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While in Cancun I mentioned that I divided my time between the beach and the spa, but I forgot to tell you the best part…the food! Forgoing my favorite Mexican pastime of drinking, I chose to eat my calories instead of drink them this year. The day usually began with breakfast overlooking the ocean. OMG!

With at least four courses at every meal, boy oh boy did I eat. A typical meal, at the restaurants, started with some bread on the table with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan cheese.

While devouring the bread, they would bring out our salad of choice. I was over the moon when I saw my favorite Caprese Salad on the menu.

I did dabble in the Caesar Salad option too. The presentation was exquisite with long romaine lettuce leaf base.

Chris would usually forgo the salad, favoring a plate of meat. Beef Carpaccio is something I could never eat. Raw meat makes my stomach roll just thinking about it.

Usually you pick soup or salad, but that’s not the case in Mexico. Next up would be a delicious bowl of soup, and since we were so close to the ocean, most options were loaded with seafood like the Bouillabaisse Soup.

By the time the main course arrived, I would be praying that I ordered something light so I could still enjoy dessert. The Salmon Au Dill was the perfect proportion with a side of provencal asparagus.

The night I ordered the Ricotta Gnocchi Tricolore was painful. It was such a dense meal, I was asleep 20 minutes later.

The most over the top entree served was the Lobster with Risotto Nero Di Seppia E Gamberoni. All I know is that it involved calamari-inked sauce, so I stayed as far away as possible.

The desserts were my favorite part, so I always hoped I had saved enough room to squeeze them in. I was not about to pass up the Mascarpone Cheese Tiramisu.

With Chocolate Lasagna on the menu, you made room for dessert. I’m talking about chocolate crepe stuffed with dark and white chocolate mousse with toasted almond essence.

You would think that in Cancun that the Mexican food would stand out above the rest, but Chris and I tend to gravitate towards the Asian fare because that boy loves him some sushi.

He orders the craziest things like the Octopus Nigiris. If there are tentacles showing, get it away from me!

I prefer the greener items like Edemame. They served the most amazing edemame I have ever eaten. The flavors from the grill were out of this world.

If duck was on the menu, Chris ordered it. The Pekin Duck came laced with honey and spices.

I chose more traditional items like the Kung Pao Chicken.

The Asian Zen restaurant also featured hibachi grills with the most remarkable fried rice I have ever laid my eyes on.

We even were able to squeeze our whole party around the grill.

I have neglected to tell you about the best part of the whole restaurant, and the trip for that matter. The Banana Tempura has topped my list as my favorite dessert of all times. It’s hard to even describe it brilliance, but I’ll let you know it is like a warm version of a banana split with strawberry syrup dripping in each bite.