Fresh Fish at Rudi's Sel De Mer?

[AncientWanderer]

I'm looking forward to upcoming cruises in Mexico and Asia, and wondering about recent experiences with Rudi's Sel de Mer. They do have a fresh fish catch of the day on the menu. I understood that chefs would be bringing fresh fish in from ports and serving it at the special Sel de Mer dinners. Our experience has been mixed on this -- sometimes fresh fish, sometimes not; sometimes excellent dinner overall, sometimes not.

 

Any recent experiences with Rudi's Sel de Mer that anyone would care to share? How is this "pop-up" doing these days?

[POPDISPLAY]

I talked with Clifford in HAL customer service. He ashamedly confessed that all of the fish, poultry, seafood (lobster, crab, and shrimp), beef, pork, and lamb that's served in Sel de Mer is frozen and then thawed for dinner. I asked Clifford what guests are supposed to conclude from the menu's "broiled fresh catch of the day"? He replied- well, I guess it was fresh when they caught the fish.

Given the above, an extra $49 per person for frozen fish and frozen broiled maine lobster seems to me to be a pretty big waste of $

[Krazy Kruizers]

There has been a lot of discussion about HAL's fish, etc. -- all frozen.

[kazu]

We have had fresh fish at some Sel de Mer's and others not.

 

It pays to ask before you order.  I will say that our Sel de Mer's on the P'dam were quite good.  

 

While I live in the Maritimes, fresh fish is not always available, especially in the winter.  What is shown at the fish station is usually flash frozen when they catch it at that time of the year - although lobster season is now open is certain areas 😉 

 

If fish is frozen properly and quickly it can taste pretty good.  Not the same as fresh but still pretty tasty 😉. 

[SilvertoGold]

Fresh or frozen the Se's fish is excellent.  Same goes for the Pinnacle's.  I can remember only once or twice not being happy with HAL's fish.  The chefs know how to thaw fish and cook it well.

Edited December 3, 2018 by SilvertoGold

[Despegue]

And remember that your beloved salmon  in even the best sushi restaurants is also always frozen.

frozen does not always mean bad quality.

[Langoustine]

If the sushi has not been frozen, it is illegal to serve it in the United States, and I suspect the ships follow similar guidelines for safety. Food and Drug Administration regulations stipulate that fish to be eaten raw -- whether as sushi, sashimi, seviche, or tartare -- must be frozen first, to kill parasites.

Edited December 4, 2018 by Langoustine

[frankc98376]

I was told by a chef that the fish we had at Sel de Mer pop up was purchased ashore that morning and flash frozen to kill parasites (as required).  Was excellent at dinner and worth every penny

[OlsSalt]

Please can others share what types of fish they like best?

What qualities about them make them special - taste, texture, bones ... etc, preparation.

 

I need to explore this menu item more. Thanks.

Edited December 4, 2018 by OlsSalt

[chengkp75]

On 12/4/2018 at 2:50 AM, Langoustine said:

If the sushi has not been frozen, it is illegal to serve it in the United States, and I suspect the ships follow similar guidelines for safety. Food and Drug Administration regulations stipulate that fish to be eaten raw -- whether as sushi, sashimi, seviche, or tartare -- must be frozen first, to kill parasites.

Actually, the FDA has a list of fish species, notably Tuna, that do not present a parasitic danger, and which do not need to be frozen to be classified as sushi grade.  However, Tuna being generally such a large fish, it is more commonly handled in the distribution chain in frozen state, and since the FDA does recommend that all sushi grade fish be frozen, most suppliers will do so.  Salmon, however, is one of the fish species that does require freezing.

 

Fish does not need to be frozen when supplied to a cruise ship, per the USPH VSP, if intended to be served cooked, if the source is verified, the receiving condition is within temperature guidelines, and there is verification from the supplier that the product has been maintained at safe temperatures at all times.

[Halfmoonfan]

We tend to do a galley tour on most trips.  We have learned that all: seafood, beef, chicken, and lamb is purchased and delivered to the ship frozen, including that used in the Pinnacle Grill.  There is a “thaw room” in the galley.

[chengkp75]

7 hours ago, Halfmoonfan said:

We tend to do a galley tour on most trips.  We have learned that all: seafood, beef, chicken, and lamb is purchased and delivered to the ship frozen, including that used in the Pinnacle Grill.  There is a “thaw room” in the galley.

 

Many ships have separate fish prep and meat prep rooms where the frozen product is thawed and butchered for service.  In some cases, where the cruise line uses a verified supplier, I know that Princess in Alaska does this, they can in fact bring on fresh fish, if the documentation and verification is met.  Molluscan shellfish, naturally comes aboard fresh, and must have the proper verification tags on it, and when serving whole lobster, this comes onboard live as well.

[Halfmoonfan]

5 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Many ships have separate fish prep and meat prep rooms where the frozen product is thawed and butchered for service.  In some cases, where the cruise line uses a verified supplier, I know that Princess in Alaska does this, they can in fact bring on fresh fish, if the documentation and verification is met.  Molluscan shellfish, naturally comes aboard fresh, and must have the proper verification tags on it, and when serving whole lobster, this comes onboard live as well.

You may be right about Princess, I have never sailed them, nor have I ever taken a galley tour on Princess. I only reported the data points I had from HAL, all  protein comes aboard frozen.  I got that information from both the galley manager leading the tour and two different Pinnacle Grill managers.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, as others have said.

[MauiWowie57]

I've only eaten in the Rudi's on Eurodam (which is a pop-up in Pinnacle). I'm looking forward to the stand alone on Koiningsdam this Christmas.

-- I take "catch of the day" with a grain of salt (pun intended). Almost all meats and fish for Carnival Corporation ships are purchased through a commissary system; ordered and loaded on-board frozen. I can imagine that IF it WERE possible to get FRESH fish off the market they would,  and there is an item labeled "Catch of the Day," ...but what day and where? -- now I don't know what's in the waters off Ft Lauderdale, but there's some items that are definitely not indigenous to the Atlantic Coast of Florida, notably Maine Lobster (are they live in a tank on board?).    Flash frozen is better than "fresh caught last week and sitting in the fridge someplace," so if you do go to Rudi's on the last day of a seven day cruise - ? - was someone dangling a line over the side at Half Moon Cay or was it bought at the embarkation port (Lauderdale)? 

-- The enjoyment for me in Rudi's, Pinnacle, etc., was the quality of the service and experience - things like tableside fish boning (an art, to be sure, for a waiter). The food's great, but again, if I 'need' fresh shrimp, I'll head to Joe Patti's in Pensacola. 

There are some sacrifices to be made in order to be out at sea....I spent 98 days underway once in the late '80s...which is long time to live on 'bug juice' and canned beans. Let's not overthink this too much!

Edited December 6, 2018 by MauiWowie57

[SeaBands]

the stand alone Sel is much better than the pop up.  They have a special every night. Not sure how fresh it is since it's pre planned.

[AmazedByCruising]

15 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Molluscan shellfish, naturally comes aboard fresh, and must have the proper verification tags on it, and when serving whole lobster, this comes onboard live as well.

 

I'd eat mussels 5- 10 times per year of varying quality, but the mussels I had in Sel de Mer were mushy and that was new for me. The waiter said they indeed had been frozen. 

[chengkp75]

58 minutes ago, AmazedByCruising said:

 

I'd eat mussels 5- 10 times per year of varying quality, but the mussels I had in Sel de Mer were mushy and that was new for me. The waiter said they indeed had been frozen. 

While I've never heard of, nor seen, frozen molluscs before, I did find that they are sold that way.  The major thing is that before freezing they are partially steamed, and only need a very light steaming, and too much will result in the mushy ones you had.  But, molluscs are allowed to be brought onboard live, and can be kept alive for 24 hours or so.

[AmazedByCruising]

15 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

While I've never heard of, nor seen, frozen molluscs before, I did find that they are sold that way.  The major thing is that before freezing they are partially steamed, and only need a very light steaming, and too much will result in the mushy ones you had.  But, molluscs are allowed to be brought onboard live, and can be kept alive for 24 hours or so.

 

Over here mussels are usually sold in plastic boxes filled with much O2 and CO2 and hardly any N2 (this method was actually succesfully patented), and the mussels are good for consumption for at least a week, a cruise length. Maybe the volume is too small for X or HAL as mussels are only offered in specialty restaurants, but they could offer really nice mussels in MDR for everyone. Cooking them is as easy as boiling soup. Compared to pork the cost is almost nothing. And it's a "festive" meal with rituals like getting the meat out with a smaller mussel, putting the empty shells together,  etc. 

[AmazedByCruising]

56 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

The major thing is that before freezing they are partially steamed, and only need a very light steaming, and too much will result in the mushy ones you had.  

 

I don't think it is the steaming method but the freezing itself that causes unrepairable damage to cells.

[sail7seas]

On 10/2/2018 at 10:37 PM, AncientWanderer said:

I'm looking forward to upcoming cruises in Mexico and Asia, and wondering about recent experiences with Rudi's Sel de Mer. They do have a fresh fish catch of the day on the menu. I understood that chefs would be bringing fresh fish in from ports and serving it at the special Sel de Mer dinners. Our experience has been mixed on this -- sometimes fresh fish, sometimes not; sometimes excellent dinner overall, sometimes not.

 

Any recent experiences with Rudi's Sel de Mer that anyone would care to share? How is this "pop-up" doing these days?

 

With some exception, most fish on cruise ships is previously frozen  ,

 

[SeaBands]

I love mussels but they are too often over cooked and turn orange. When they are properly prepared fresh they should just be cooked with garlic, parsley and white wine and should be plump and a dull grey. The best ones I had recently were  on Prince Edward Island on the New England cruise. When I lived in NY they were always perfect in a French restaurant. You don't want them to shrink and become hard.

Edited December 8, 2018 by SeaBands
added thought

[Roberto256]

On 12/5/2018 at 7:48 AM, chengkp75 said:

Actually, the FDA has a list of fish species, notably Tuna, that do not present a parasitic danger, and which do not need to be frozen to be classified as sushi grade.  However, Tuna being generally such a large fish, it is more commonly handled in the distribution chain in frozen state, and since the FDA does recommend that all sushi grade fish be frozen, most suppliers will do so.  Salmon, however, is one of the fish species that does require freezing.

 

Fish does not need to be frozen when supplied to a cruise ship, per the USPH VSP, if intended to be served cooked, if the source is verified, the receiving condition is within temperature guidelines, and there is verification from the supplier that the product has been maintained at safe temperatures at all times.

As always, thank you for your detailed reply.

 

[BetsyS.]

Last August I was on the Niew Statendam and I ate at Rudi's Sel De Mer. I ordered Dover sole. It was a big piece and the waitress deboned it at the table. It was delicious and I highly recommend it! 😊