Oasis of the Seas MDR Food Porn, March 9, 2013 sailing

[Jsim2011]

This is one of the best food porn threads I have seen - thank you for sharing.

[cmash95]

thanks so much for the pictures. It's always nice to get a glimpse of what is onboard before you cruise. I wish there were pictures of food in windjammer as well as snacks available elsewhere onboard.

[Melozone]

I love your post and photos! I am looking for a new camera before our E. Med cruise in June. I did notice your technique of not taking an over head shot of the plates. I had a photographer share that with me when they saw me taking pics of my food. Yours are just beautiful! Now I'm hungry, wish I had room service here at my house.

[Russ Lomas]

I love your post and photos! I am looking for a new camera before our E. Med cruise in June. I did notice your technique of not taking an over head shot of the plates. I had a photographer share that with me when they saw me taking pics of my food. Yours are just beautiful! Now I'm hungry, wish I had room service here at my house.

Thanks for the compliments on the photos. I love it as a hobby (but not as much as cruising). I never thought about taking a picture of the plate from above since I find the 3/4 perspective view much more interesting. Also, since I was using a fixed 60mm lens for the shots, I could not zoom in and out, I had to move my body to fill the picture frame. My DW put up with me taking the food photos (barely), but if I had stood on the dining room chair to take each shot, or I put the food on the floor and stood above it, she would of killed me. Off to take my DD to karate now, so I will post today's pictures when I return in a few hours.

[bren61]

Can you use the Choice Dinning for lunch?

We love traditional dinning even more after the food porn!

 

You may be able to do Giovannis and Izumi but I think that Chops and Samba are only open in the evening.

[Russ Lomas]

To start off...the menu for the evening.

 

The eldest DD ordered the Summer Fruit Medley to start the evening. Pineapple, papaya, mango, kiwi, strawberry, coconut with pistachio yogurt. It looks fantastic and she really enjoyed it.

 

My DW and I both ordered the Crab Cake. It was not as pretty as my DD's appetizer, but still tasted pretty darned good. I especially liked the snow peas slaw served with it.

 

Being around dear old dad, the habit of ordering two appetizers must have rubbed off on her. She ordered the Chilled Honeydew Melon Soup. She loves melon, so she really enjoyed this. I had some and it was nice, but not my favourite. It looks a bit like pea soup, but definitely tastes much better than that however.

 

It sounds boring, but I tried it any way....the Cream of Mushroom Soup. It did not look like the best, but actually it was one of my favourite two soups of the entire trip. I would recommend trying it.

 

A table mate ordered the Arugula and Bosc Pear Salad. They said it was ok, but the greens were a bit on the strong side. Having ordered Arugula before, that is why I avoided trying it this time. It is a bit too bitter for me (plus I hate blue cheese, which is also on the item).

[Russ Lomas]

My 9 year-old DD tried the Chicken Cordon Bleu since she usually likes it at home. She enjoyed the taste of it. The presentation of the dish was not all that exciting however.

 

I had read previously about how good the Braised Beef Duo was. I would not have normally ordered it, but I was very glad I did. The beef shoulder melted in my mouth. I seriously thought about ordering a second helping of it. In fact, I think I may have. The meat was so tender. It was one of my favourite meals of the entire week. I enjoyed the mushy stuff under the meat as well. After asking my waiter what they were, he replied, "Grits". I was shocked. I would have never thought I would enjoy grits, but I did.

[Russ Lomas]

I believe this picture is of the Jaffa Cake. I do not remember much about it, but I think I enjoyed it. I do like the way that it was presented on the plate.

Very nicely plated.

 

My DD ordered the Cherries Jubilee. She liked it, but was too full to finish it. I couldn't let good food go to waste, so being the good father I am, I finished it for her. It was nice.

 

The waiter recommended the Rum Baba. I had heard good things about this online before my cruise, so I had high expectations for it. I was disappointed a bit. Not that is was not good, but I had expected more after reading about it.

 

Tomorrow, I will post both the MDR Day 5 dining room meal photos as well as some photos from the MDR lunch menu. See you then.

[haraujo]

Thanks for sharing those beautiful photos... Looking forward our cruise in exactly 30 days from today!

[Texlahoma]

Thank you for taking the time to post your pictures. It's really helping us plan our menu choices for our upcoming Indy cruise!

[Kimahri]

I really do appreciate you posting these pictures. I probably wouldn't have tried a lot of these items if I had not seen how delicious they look.

A big thank you:D

[Russ Lomas]

I am told that the Oasis offers 3 different lunch menus, depending which day you dine in the MDR (all sea days since it is closed on port days). When we were on the Liberty last year, there was one single lunch menu that was repeated every day. So, already lunch on the MDR on the Oasis had a leg up on the one on the Liberty in my mind.

 

I must apologize in advance. I did not take photos of the lunch menu on the day we went, so I do not remember the exact dishes in the photos. My dinner ones for later this day will be much more accurate.

 

Chicken on some type of slaw! The chicken was so tender and moist. The slaw was very nice in my opinion as well. I shared it with two others at the table and they agreed that my meal was the best of the ones ordered.

 

Seafood Crepe. A table mate had it and liked it. I had it on the Liberty last year and was going to get it again this year. I tried the chicken instead and was glad I did. Crepe...good. Chicken....better.

 

Seafood Risotto. My DW ordered it and enjoyed it. Normally, I would have ordered this since I love seafood. I chose not to since I knew tonight was LOBSTER night! I finished my DW's Risotto when she said she was full. It was pretty good, but I found the risotto too firm for my liking and the dish was a bit heavier than I would have liked for a lunch meal.

 

Some sort of crepes for dessert (berry, cherry, something like that). Definitely good and worth ordering.

 

The most bizarre tasting dessert of the week, and I have no clue what it was called. My wife said it tasted like a Ferrero Rocher and she was exactly right. It tasted just like one, right down to the texture and flavour. If you like Ferrero Rocher, you will like this dessert.

[pittnh]

I was debating whether to get the braised beef duo; I opted for the pasta that night which was very good. But the pictures of the beef look outstanding, regretting now not ordering both!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Russ Lomas]

One more lunch dessert photo I forgot to include in my last post...

Once again, I cannot remember what it was.

[Russ Lomas]

Today's menu...

 

The Royal Seafood Salad. Very nice, but not too much meat in the crab. I would recommend ordering one.

 

Of course, you don't just order one appetizer. The Creamed Wild Mushrooms were fantastic as well.

 

One Roasted Peach Soup to wash down your appetizers with...I forget who had this, but it was likely my DD who loves the cold soups. I do remember that whoever had it did enjoy it.

[Russ Lomas]

Our DDs wanted to go to the kids' program tonight. This created all sorts of issues with our dining room service because our waiter tried to serve our kids first before any of us even ordered. It took 45 minutes before we even got a menu and another 20 minutes before we even ordered our appetizers. We had a show to catch, so this was very annoying. I realize that we should have spoken up, but we are polite Canadians;), so we said nothing. The head waiter did notice us however and mentioned the issue to our waiter after about an hour. It was for this reason that I missed the diving show, which I am still a bit annoyed at. I guess I will have to book another cruise on the Oasis to catch the show.

 

On to our dinner menu. The first item brought out was my DD's Three-Cheese Tortelloni. She LOVES pasta and declared this the best pasta dish she had EVER eaten. We were unsure if she would like it because it had sauteed mushrooms and mascarpone cream. She usually doesn't enjoy new foods and picks mushrooms out of her pizza and other foods. She let me try one and it was delicious. Probably one of the best pastas I have had. The portion was relatively small, and she would not let have a second one.

 

Somebody had to order the Premium Angus Beef Sliders since they are served nightly. My eldest DD finally ordered them so I could see them and take a photo. She enjoyed one, but found two to be too much for her. Too full on the cold soups I guess.

 

Prime Rib was back on the menu again tonight (it was on the 1st night as well). My table mates ordered it and enjoyed it. They got it cooked well, so this picture is of it cooked well as opposed to the photo I posted on day 1 of the medium rare one. Different vegetables tonight too.

 

My DW and I both look forward to this meal the most of the week...the Fisherman's Plate. It looked gorgeous. The size of the lobster tail is significantly bigger than it used to be a year ago. Unfortunately, I found the meat to be a tougher and dryer than it should have been. The shrimps were nice however. A bit of a let down...(sad to say).

 

Now for the surprise of the cruise. When there is prime rib and lobster on the menu, the last thing I am going to order is chicken! However, I do enjoy curry, so tonight I threw caution into the wind and ordered the Thai Chicken Breast. The description sounded intriguing...mild red curry, edamame and shiitake sauce. THIS CHICKEN WAS THE BEST MEAL I HAD THE ENTIRE WEEK ON THE CRUISE. That is right. Chicken was better than lobster and beef. The chicken was the most tender I have ever tasted and the sauce was to die for. I left the vegetables and rice because the lobster was on its way, but the chicken was delicious. I assume that RCCL does not serve this to many passengers because of what else is on the menu that night and some people do not like curry. My suggestion, order what you want, but order one of these to try it out as well.

Edited March 29, 2013 by Russ Lomas
wrong day on the title

[Russ Lomas]

A beautiful shot of the day of the shot of the day to begin dessert.

 

The first time I clued in and actually photographed the dessert menu.

 

My DD liked the Baked Alaska, but it melted so fast that by the 3rd bite, it was a puddle of mush in her bowl and she did not finish it.

 

A Grand Marnier Souffle for myself. It was nice, but still not as good as Princess Cruises souffles.

 

The Ivory Chocolate Mousse was very light and I would recommend it over the souffle on this night.

 

I think this was the sugar-free Coconut and Lychee Gateaux, but I do not remember who ordered this or what they thought about it.

 

See you again tomorrow for the day 6 menus.

[Russ Lomas]

Sorry about one small error in the posts today...

The appetizers were listed as Day 4 appetizers. In fact, this was day five of the cruise.

[sunnygirl1975]

I am drooling right now. We leave June 1 on the Oasis of the Seas, and I have been checking this post every night. This makes me very impatient to start my cruise.

[Terre]

Thanks so much for the food porn! We will be on the Oasis in May and now I know exactly what I'm going to eat! Keep those photos coming!

Edited March 29, 2013 by Terre

[rykaydad]

I'm getting hungry looking at all these photos!

[Russ Lomas]

I think I may have gotten the last couple of days in my post titles wrong. Since today is Friday, that would have been the last set of new menus, so this should be my last set of menus for this thread. I will do the appetizers now and get to the entrees and desserts later tonight.

 

 

The Pomodoro Menu...

The French Onion Soup was ok, but as others have posted earlier, it was really lacking in the amount of cheese on it. I think I would take a pass on it next cruise.

 

Here is the Eggplant and Kalamata Olive Tartar (I think). I don't remember who had this or what they thought of it. It looks pretty, but sounded unappealing to me since I hate olives and am not a big hummus fan.

 

The Chilled Pineapple and Lychee Soup was nice. Not the best chilled soup of the week, but decent. I did not taste much pineapple, but it had a strong lychee taste. The texture is where I noticed the pineapple.

 

The Pan-Seared Sea Scallops and Chorizo was the winner of the night for appetizers in my mind. Two huge scallops, but only two. I would order two of these dishes next time.

 

The entrees and desserts will be posted around 10pm tonight. See you all later.

[Russ Lomas]

The DDs love pasta, so they got the Rigatoni Pasta with prosciutto and a Chardonnay wine sauce. They liked the pasta, but not the prosciutto on top. I think that it was more likely because it was new to them, so they did not like that meat. They enjoyed the pasta, but compared to the previous ravioli a previous night, it failed in comparison.

 

I would never order turkey on a cruise because there are so many other better choices in my opinion. A table mate was not excited by any other choices tonight, so they ordered the Roasted Turkey. They enjoyed it.

 

My DW and I ordered the Fish, Seafood and Mash containing battered cod, sea scallops and shrimp. The fish was ok, but the rest was very nice.

 

Just after finishing our entrees, the table beside us got the Rosemary Lamb Shank. I had had a similar dish on the Liberty of the Seas last year and found the meat to be quite fatty and too tough. For this reason, I did not order it this year. However, when I saw it on the next table, I regretted not ordering it. It looked HUGE and delicious. I cannot speak as to the taste, but will try it next time if it is still on the menu. Sorry I did not get a photo of it since I thought it would be rude to go to another table to ask to photograph their food, and I did not want to order one for myself because I was full from gorging myself all week long.

[Russ Lomas]

The dessert menu for the final day...

 

I was really full, so nothing was really appealing to me by this point for dessert. I am not a huge chocolate fan, so I had avoided the Chocolate Sensation that is on the menu daily. The girls at the table finally ordered this one. They liked it overall and said it was quite rich.

 

I ordered the Key Lime Pie. It was not the best one I have ever tasted, but it was nice and light, so it was a good finishing taste to a meal when you are stuffed.

 

My table mate ordered the Williams Pear Chocolate Crisp. It did not look anything like I expected it to look. It was probably one of the most unique looking desserts all week. He really enjoyed it and my DW, who does not usually like pear flavour, tried a bite and enjoyed it too. I had a bite and thought it was only ok. The pear taste was mild, but I did not like the pear mixed with the other ingredients. To each his, or her, own...

 

He also ordered the Frozen Strawberry Souffle. He said it was very light, but not what he expected out of a souffle. He only finished half of it I believe, but he too was getting very full by this point.

 

Overall, while not comparable to a 5 star NY city dining experience, which I never expected for the price of a cruise, I was extremely happy with the new menus and the food on the Oasis compared to a year ago on the Liberty. I only hope the food is this good on the Independence of the Seas when I sail on her next March.

 

And so comes to a conclusion of all of the MDR food photos I took for the week. I would be more than happy to answer any questions anybody has and I love comments on what is posted. My goal was to get 10,000 views on this thread that I started, and I am almost there now.

 

Cheers, and congratulations to RCCL on improving their MDR offerings over what they were a year ago. Definitely a step in the right direction.

 

I hope you have enjoyed the photos and I will be posting a review of the other features of the cruise, minus the food photos and comments, shortly. If you have enjoyed these photos, you will likely enjoy what is to come in my cruise review, when I get around to it in the next few days.