Anantara’s Sea.Fire.Salt.Sky Dining Complex
We ate SO well during our stay at Anantara Kihavah Villas in the Maldives. A few more days there and we would have needed to start taking a daily swim around Kihavah Huravalhi Island to work off all the amazing food. We were pleasantly surprised at the variety of dining options available to keep breakfast, lunch, and dinner interesting. And we tried them all!
With views like this, why not dine right on your deck?
In-Villa Dining
We arrived shortly before lunchtime off an overnight flight and relished an afternoon in our amazing overwater pool villa (more on that soon!). We called up Mausool, our villa host, to order in-villa dining for lunch. In no time, he was unpacking a hot lunch of burgers and pizza margherita on our deck. I swam up to our deck just as picked up the silver domes with a flourish. Who needs a swim-up bar when swim-up dining is available right in your villa?
Fresh coconut juice? Why, yes please!
Plates
Breakfast was quite literally the only time of day when we were distinctly aware we weren’t alone on the island. Everyone would converge from their villas for the amazing breakfast buffet served in Plates. There was so much variety you could eat for a week and not have the same thing twice! Curry potatoes along side a cooked-to-order omelet, a yogurt topped with various fruit and granola from the toppings bar, and fresh fruit became some of the delicious ways I started each day. Each morning a different freshly squeezed juice was offered; Tim even tried the coconut juice. It was SO fresh, it was served right in the coconut!
Tip: If you need your daily dose of the news with breakfast, iPads are available for reading with breakfast.
Wagyu Beef Burger at Manzaru
Manzaru Poolbar and Restaurant
After returning from our snorkeling excursion, we were starved! We stopped by Manzaru and had a leisurely lunch poolside. The description alone of the Wagyu beef burger had our mouths watering. It arrived with four homemade sauces and perfect portion of fries.
Our specially prepared meal by Chef Umberto
In the evening Manzaru turns into a fine Italian dining restaurant with Chef Umberto hailing from Bergamo, Italy. We were invited to a private dinner with a group of French journalists and Chef Umberto cooked us up a very special meal. We even had the opportunity to help make the homemade pasta! We all laughed over amazing food like an ahi tuna tartar, proscuitto in a creamy cheese sauce, and fresh pasta with truffles. Of course, there was also wine which even Chef Umberto and the sous chefs helped us drink.
Tip: Cooking classes can be arranged during your stay.
Taking in the sunset with drinks at Sky
Sea.Fire.Salt.Sky
Sea.Fire.Salt.Sky is Anantara’s signature dining complex of four very unique restaurants. Sky was under renovation during our stay, but we did get to enjoy our very first Maldivian sunset with drinks and sushi appetizers at Sky’s rooftop lounge.
Maldivian beetle leaf wraps at Salt
At Salt, it’s all about salt. Food is served on Himalayan salt blocks and in Himalayan salt bowls. There is even a salt sommelier that brings various salts to enhance the flavors of each course! Our 5-course feast at Salt was one of my favorite meals. From the skewered chicken served with a yogurt dipping sauce to the Wagyu beef that was cooked and served on a Himalayan salt brick, each course was more delicious than the last. I also really loved the beetle leaf wraps. Take a beetle leaf and sprinkle a little diced onion, lemon, and ginger. Add a chili pepper (just one; they’re spicy!) a little dried coconut, and some shrimp nuts. Spoon a little of the Thai sauce over it all, fold, and enjoy!
Lobster lunch at Sea
Sea was magical. Sea is quite literally under the sea and we dined on a 3-course lobster lunch of lobster spring rolls, lobster bisque with lobster fritters on asparagus sticks, and grilled lobster as sharks, Maldivian reef fish, and turtles swam all around. A decadent molten chocolate brownie with caramelized bananas was a sweet end to a meal that left me wanting to sing “Under the sea. Under the sea. Darling it’s better down where it’s wetter. Take it from meeee!”
Teppanyaki at Fire
Fire is Anantara’s seaside teppanyaki lounge. The chefs dazzled us with their culinary acrobatic skills as scallops and wagyu beef flew under the thatched roof designed to look like a Samurai Edo helmet.
There was only one dining option we didn’t try. Anantara Kihavah offers Dining By Design where you can choose to dine privately on the beach, in one of the palm groves, or even on Anantara’s private island. Simply select your dream location for a romantic meal and Anantara’s chefs take care of the rest.
Where on the island would you most like to dine?
Thank you to Anantara Kihavah Villas for hosting us during our stay in the Maldives. As always, all opinions are entirely our own.
Jennifer Dombrowski
Jennifer Dombrowski is a location independent globe trotter and bases herself in Prata di Pordenone, Italy. She works as a social media and innovation strategist in higher education and is a regular contributor on johnnyjet.com. Her website, jdombstravels.com, is the 2012 Destinology Travel Bloggy Best Newcomer award winner. Google+
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We’re Jennifer and Tim and we love traveling! We are just one ordinary couple who have found that travel brought us closer together, taught us patience, the art of compromise, and how to truly appreciate the diversity of this extraordinary world. So far, we've visited 37 countries, lived in the United States and Italy, and Tim has lived in Korea. And we do it all while both holding down full time jobs. 
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Andi of My Beautiful Adventures
February 5, 2013 at 3:14 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
I seriously can’t believe that view, wow!!!!! And that food! Talk about a Paradise.
Andi of My Beautiful Adventures recently posted..Buenos Aires, Argentina: Parque Tres De Febrero
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at 11:21 pm
I never wanted to leave our villa, Andi! It was just beyond incredible and still feels like it was a dream.
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Mausool Abdullah
February 5, 2013 at 6:07 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
Nice ,,, one,,
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Jdomb's Travels Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 1:42 am
Thanks Mausool! We were glad to have you take such good care of us during our stay. Hope you are well!
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Mausool Abdullah Reply:
February 11th, 2013 at 9:33 am
nice to hear from you yes m all good and its my pleasure to serve you …
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Mausool Abdullah Reply:
February 11th, 2013 at 9:33 am
hope you are fine too and enjoy …
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Ali
February 5, 2013 at 9:23 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
Looks amazing and delicious! I learned from my time in Bora Bora that if you’re going someplace ultra luxurious like this, you have to just go all out to get the full experience. I think you did good!
Ali recently posted..How to Pick Carry-on Only Luggage
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at 11:25 pm
The food was all so delicious! We were seriously impressed seeing how just about everything has to be boated in each day. The chefs did have a small garden on the island where they grow herbs.
There is definitely enough variety to not get bored with the food selection.
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Andrea
February 7, 2013 at 1:49 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
This all looks amazing! I love island food
Andrea recently posted..A Walk In the West Village
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
February 7th, 2013 at 9:07 pm
Lobster is one of my favorite foods and it seems to go hand in hand with islands!
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D.J. - The World of Deej
February 8, 2013 at 1:23 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
Yum indeed…awesome view from your deck by the way:)
D.J. – The World of Deej recently posted..Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island – Picture of the Week
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
February 9th, 2013 at 5:25 pm
Our deck was amazing! The food was definitely delicious and I was truly impressed with the variety. Every restaurant (except Sea) has a show kitchen, so dinner was always an experience and not just a meal.
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