Dinner at Di Roza at Hyatt Ziva

Di Rosa is the Italian restaurant at the Hyatt Zilara and Ziva Rose Hall in Montego Bay Jamaica.  The dishes didn't disappoint.   

Started with beef carpaccio.  

We were asked how we wanted the beef prepared.  I have never been asked that before for a carpaccio since it is always raw/rare beef.  But maybe they have some guests who wanted it cooked more. In any case, we ordered it rare and it came out as ordered.   Thin medallions which melted in your mouth.  Topped with some callaloo for crunch and a mustard vinaigrette.  The vinaigrette was tasty but there was simply too much of it. 

Next was a mini pizza.   They have many types to choose from and I loved that you could get a small four inch pizza or a larger twelve inch. We went with the smaller four inch (probably closer to six) of the mushroom pizza.  

Thin crust with slightly sweet sauce and savory mushrooms.  Plenty of cheese also. 

Next was lasagna.  

Under all that creamy sauce were delicate layers of pasta, cheese and ground beef.  Some flash fried basil on top for crunch and extra flavor.  Some of the best lasagna I have ever had.  

Also tried the shrimp Alfredo with fettuccine.  

Well cooked shrimp in a delicate velvety sauce.  

And also tried the truffle campanelle

I was a bit nervous about ordering this one since sometimes a restaurant will use truffle oil which can be overly perfumed.  Not in this case.  There was a great earthy flavor from the truffle which went well with the Alfredo.  

Finished off the night with some olive oil cake.  

This was like a moist pound cake.  Full of vanilla flavor.  The slightly sour passion fruit sauce on the plate helped balance the sweetness.  

Dinner at RootZ Jamaican at Hyatt Zilara

RootZ is a Jamaican-themed restaurant at Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall just outside of Montego Bay Jamaica. Many authentic dishes in this open air restaurant.  

Tried several appetizers including the pumpkin soup, vegetable summer rolls, chicken tenders with passion fruit BBW sauce, jerk chicken Caesar salad and the codfish poppers.  

Mains were Coffee BBQ ribs and oxtail with rice and peas.  

Desserts were the smoked pimento cheesecake and mango sorbet.   

Dinner at Petit PariZ at Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall

Tried the French restaurant for our first night at Zilara Rose Hall.  Some wonderful dishes.  Started with the scallop St Jaques. 

These were small bay scallops in a creamy rich sauce topped with gruyere cheese.  Then broiled in the oven.  Very tasty, especially the bits of melted cheese.  

Also tried the French onion soup. 

This was a thinner broth than many onion soups I have had but it didn't lack flavor.  It focused more on onions than the traditional beefy flavor.  I didn't care for the soggy bread, but the melted cheese more than made up for it. 

Next was a nicoise salad with seared tuna.   

Wonderfully rare tuna with fresh greens and hard boiled egg.  At first I thought there wasn't any dressing. However the chef was clever.  The salad was served on top of the mustardy vinegrette.  Perfectly balanced with the tuna and creamy egg. 

Also tried the goat cheese salad which had a chocolate vinegrette.  That sounded so odd that we had to try it.  And it was wonderful.  Really would have been better to call it a cocoa vinegrette since they smarly avoided the sweetness of milk chocolate and celebrated the delicious bitter notes of cocoa beans which went well with the creamy cheese.  

For main dishes we had the beef medallions and grilled salmon.  

I usually avoid getting beef at an all inclusive since you often can't get it cooked anyway except medium or medium well.  Not here.  I ordered them medium rare and it was perfect.  Really more like a tenderloin. Tender but still beefy.  And served with some creamy bearnaise sauce and Al dente asparagus.   

Salmon is another main that often gets overcooked at restaurants.  If you have a nice piece of salmon, it is a shame to see them overcook it so it is dry and tasteless.  We prefer salmon cooked medium rare.  And surprisingly this was cooked to our preference.  

There are so many other restaurants to try at the resort.  Based on how this meal was, makes me hopeful for more great meals.  

Lunch at HorizonZ at Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall

Trying out Frontier's new non stop to MBJ  from TPA. As long as you clearly follow their ticketing and boarding rules, you will have a great experience. 

Lunch time at the resort.    What would you have?  

We went with shrimp crustini, fried chicken, beet salad, curry fettuccine with vegetables and snapper sandwich.  The shrimp crustini was my favorite.  A nice heat from the scotch bonnet pepper. Served on a thin piece of garlicly bread.    A perfect bite of food.  

The snapper sandwich came with the best sweet potato fries I have ever had.  Often sweet potato are either soggy or crispy and dry.  Somehow they reached a balance here where the outside was super crispy yet the inside still has the consistency and sweetness.   Well done.  

Second place was the fried chicken.  Moist and flavorful served with a mild jerk sauce.   Served on a callaloo stir fry with red peppers and a sweet potato mash.  A very well composed plate.

Dinner at Rocca Tampa

Really great dinner at a relatively new place in the Heights district in Tampa.  Their signature feature is a mozzarella cart where they make a tableside caprese salad. They take mozzarella curds in a bowl, add hot water and then hand stretch at the table.  Served with sliced  heirloom tomatoes, a drizzle of 10-year aged balsamic and basil. So good!!   I don't think I will be able to order any other caprese salad again.  Having the cheese freshly made and still warm gave it so much flavor.  

Also tried the Ravioli Del Plin which were plump sage ravioli filled with Berkshire pork on a demi glace.  Such a delicious filling. The demi glace was slightly overreduced so it got a bit salty towards the end.  

My favorite dish was the Tagliolini Al Ragu.  This was closer to a Bolognese than a true Ragu but so delicious!   The Parmigiano added just enough saltiness.  And such delicate, eggy noodles.  I could order this again and again. 

For dessert we went to the nearby Jeni's ice cream and tried Strawberry Buttermilk, Buttermint and one called Everything Bagel.  The bagel one was my favorite.  Bits of bagel and then hints of salt, garlic and sesame all nestled in a cream cheese ice cream.  It was like having an everything bagel. So well balanced.

QUICK BITE: Post Cruise Breakfast

Good Morning from YVR!!  Time for breakfast after disembarking the ship.  Smoked Meat Hash with poached eggs and Mixed Berry French Toast. Both super satisfying.  Especially the hash with thin layers of meat in a vinegary sauce over sliced peppers and crisp potato wedges, topped with poached eggs.

Harmony Restaurant on Majestic Princess

We tried Harmony last night and it greatly exceeded my expectations. This is a unique restaurant. Other ships in this class have Princess' signature Italian restaurant called Sabatini's in this space. Because this ship was designed to spend most of its time in Asia, this restaurant is one of those influences.  

They have a very approachable menu with both familiar dishes and some more interesting.  

All has great flavors.  Especially the hot and sour soup, Peking duck salad and diced salty fish fried rice.  

The soup was a delicious broth which had just enough heat to keep you going back for more, without being overpowering.  They had also added some scrambled egg white which gives the broth a richer texture.  Some.flavorful and tender pork as well as crunchy bamboo shoots put this soup over the top.  My favorite hot and sour soup I have ever had.  

The salad had several slices of flavorful duck tossed with crunchy romaine, tomatoes and citrus. The dressing had hints of sesame oil and citrus. And there was some bite sized sesame crackers for crunch.  

Also tried the crab Rangoon. 

In most restaurants, this starter is heavy on the cream cheese and light on the crab.  That was completely reveesed for this dish. It has so much delicious crab with just enough cream cheese to keep it together without overwhelming the delicate flavor.  Well done!!

Also tried the Mongolian beef and General Tso's chicken.  Both had such great flavor and just enough heat to keep it interesting. 

Desserts were sake marinated fruit and green tea cheesecake.  

Both desserts were excellent.  They were familiar yet had interesting Asian twist.  The cheesecake had two layers. The bottom had the savory quality of green tea - almost like matcha.  And the top was a more traditional cheese cake consistency.  Definitely "Easy meets West".  

The sake marinated fruit was so refreshing with the lemony quality and the tea biscuit. 

It is $29/person.  We used a complimentary specialty dining coupon we had from a promo.  I wish they had some option "to go" since I would definitely get more of that soup and rice.