A Night with the Four Course

In my previous post, I talked about the Cedar Room and its unique wood structure exterior and interior characteristics on our little excursion to Tigh Na Mara Resort on Vancouver Island. It is however the fabulous seafood that attracted people from all over the world.

It was the Sunday night during the Easter long weekend. We just came from a wedding in Victoria, and were rather looking forward to having a nice quiet meal. The menu was simple, just a couple pages. I have always preferred dining establishments that have a simplistic menu, based on my opinion that if a restaurant claim to do well in too many things, then they really can’t excel in anything. Nick ordered a simple Steak off the menu, straight up rare. I ordered their four course menu, which came highly recommended by the server. I am a seafood fan, and every item on this four course meal except the desert are all seafood oriented. The first course was fresh steamed clam from a local cove, cooked in fresh garlic, cracked pepper, parsley and white wine. It set a high standard for the rest of the meal, as it was done in perfection with just the right amount and mix of spices and alcohol to induce a flavor so intoxicating that it left us anxious to see what coming up could possibly outshine this first course. We were certainly not disappointed by the second course, sautéed warm tiger prawn salad. I have had seafood salad before, in Thailand. This dish was quite different from the Thai dish, for it had a sweet and sour foundation that was derived from the watercress and spicy chili garlic vinaigrette. Once we had our appetite teased, it was finally time for the main course, Fresh local halibut baked with Dungeness Crab Mascarpone and Basil, wild rice and Pea Saute. There is nothing quite as enticing as seafood caught the same day, and it was baked to perfection and artfully garnished by the chef. We topped the meal off with a little In-House made raspberry cheesecake, which completed a wonderful meal that left us with a new appreciation for not just the abundance of our local seafood source, but the creativity and dedication of the local kitchens that literally made us craving for more.

The Cedar Room

When thinking of a refreshing getaway at a resort, Parksville is usually not the place that pops to mind. Make no mistake though; this little town located in the middle of Vancouver Island, just north of Victoria, has captured the imagination of the many pleasantly surprised visitors, much like yours truly. This time we made a weekend trip to Tigh-Na-Mara Resort, a well known spa resort on Vancouver Island.


It was a typical west coast April evening, rainy and cool. After we checked in late afternoon, we went to the Cedar Room, a fine dining establishment that has a reputation as one of the most authentic seafood restaurant on the island. The exterior of the dining room is rather unassuming, except a huge piece of cedar plaque that bears the name of the restaurant. Once inside though, the center of the focus is on the wine cellar through the glass walls. The hotel lobby adjacent to the restaurant is featured by a gas fireplace and a river rock covered pillar surrounded by a network of cedar beams hanging over the dining area.

The photo above outlines the well lit hotel lobby. Stay tuned on our stay and dining experience at Tigh-Na-Mara Resort.

Lunch at Bengal Lounge

I've mentioned the Fairmont Empress Hotel in my previous posts. It's classified as 5-star hotel; however, there's been a mixed review on tripAdvisor.com. Based on individual travelers' reviews from TripAdvirsor, the 5-star Fairmont Empress is more like an average hotel, rated 3.5 out of 5 taking into consideration of room, service, value, cleanness, and pool. While some were very happy with their stays, others weren't very enthusiastic about it.


I've never had the opportunity to stay there, so I cannot really comment on the hotel in those aspects. However, I was impressed by the Bengal Lounge where we enjoyed a traditional Indian curry lunch buffet. The setting was adults oriented, suitable for business meetings, romantic dinners, and even semi-formal family and friends gatherings. One feels just as comfortable, dressed up in business attire, reading the paper and drinking martini at the bar, or taking your family out (at least the grown up ones) for a Sunday brunch.


We learned from our server that most decors in the restaurant were originally imported from India. I was particularly impressed with the majestic pillars and the wall mounted Bengal tiger skin seen in the photo above. They remind me of a British colonial style dining room from a time long past. Overall, it was an unique and fun experience, and I gave it a high rating for. However, I would definitely take the English "High Tea" at the Empress next time, served with an amazing variety of fancy and fattening pantries. Probably a better fit for the English style city, eh?

Afternoon Tea at Fairmont Empress

Fairmont Empress in Victoria often dominates travelers' photo composition, but it's most known for its British style afternoon tea. It is a tradition that has lasted almost a century, and is popular among the locals. It'll be an unique experience for you to take home.

This year they're featuring once-in-a-lifetime package, Dine & Discover - The Titanic Exhibition. The whole package includes one night accommodation at the Empress and two tickets to the special exhibition at Royal BC Museum. It's only available for the next six months up until October 14th. You can book the whole package right here. So if you are planning to visit Victoria this summer, be sure to check it out.

Adara Whistler Hotel

After spending the New Year's Eve at Whistler Blackcomb and enjoying every minute of it, Nick suggested that we celebrate my big birthday up there. He found a great accommodation deal with Adara Hotel on Last Minute Hotel Deals provided by Whistler Blackcomb. If you are traveling to the ski hills next few weeks, and planning to stay there for a few days, be sure to check out those deals. You never know what hidden treasures you may find there.

We checked in this little boutique hotel after a day of snowboarding on Whistler. Adara is the first designer boutique hotel at Whistler. The hotel itself isn't large, but is "supremely comfortable and elegantly sculpted into a bold, contemporary design" - Small Luxury Hotels of the World. I particularly loved the warm and rustic design elements in the hotel lobby. The designer red lounge chairs with the live gas fireplace and big river rocks make you feel homey and at ease instantly.

A View From A Seaside Lounge

This picture captures the very spirit of Racha Island, the sense of exclusiveness, comfort and playful luxury. This is the outdoor lounge situated right on the beach near the main lobby. The maple wood structure provided the perfect photo frame. The cloudless blue sky blends right into the layers of the sea down below, just the perfect back drop for the inviting wood and wicker furnitures.

Karona Resort and Spa, Karon, Phuket

We had many choices when choosing our lodging arrangement for the Thailand trip for it was during the tail end of the low tourist season. October doesn’t offer the ideal weather condition, but as we found out, except for some sudden but short lasting rain storms, it was actually pretty much hot and sunny.

We decided to stay at Karon beach seen above, the second largest beach on Phuket island. It's a more couple oriented setting than a night life oriented at Patong beach. And in case if you really want to get some action from the hustling and busting, it's only 20 min away. This photo was taken from a nearby hill top hotel, outlining the whole beach.


We found Karona Resort & Spa from one of the Phuket tourism board web sites on a last minute deal. The hotel driver picked us up from the airport in a caravan, after a 45 minute ride south bound on the island roadway, we finally arrived at what was to be our little island oasis for the next couple of weeks. The hotel is perched up on a small hill right across the street from Karon beach. Almost all of the hotel guest rooms had an ocean view, ours was no exception, high up on the third floor with beautiful sea view from our suite. We instantly found comfort and ease at this little resort, and throughout our stay took full advantage of all the amenities and services it provides.


The swimming pool is situated just above the lobby and the restaurant, surrounded beautifully among lush tropical plants and coconut trees. There are miniature clay women with fresh flowers tucked behind their ears placed all around the pool, which adds to the ambiance a touch of color and liveliness. I call them the bare naked ladies.


Our favorite place was the spa located on the ground floor of the guest room building. We were frequent visitors there. We were greeted by the gracious host as soon as we entered the spa every time. After a treat of locally grown Chai tea, we would be led into a quite room with wooden spa bed and wonderfully smelling burning scented candles. We would slip into traditional Thai clothing and just let the spa staff took away all our stress. There are of course spa treatment readily available almost on every street corner, but if you want to be served only by certified professional staff, in a clean and well established environment, your best bets are usually the spa at your hotel. The photo shown was taken right after we had a Thai Massage, and let me tell you, it’s a must do while you are in Thailand.


After a traditional Siam massage and an exotic facial treatment with fresh fruits exact, we truly felt rejuvenated, and ready to get some more sunbathing again.

Racha Video from Vanessa's Memories

Vanessa from Singapore just got back from visiting Racha Island. She well documented her unique experience there in a video. If photos from my blog do not intrigue you, check out her blog. It was well done.

The Racha Resort, Racha Island, Thailand

We didn’t know about the Racha resort when we first researched our honeymoon destination earlier this year. In fact, if it wasn’t for a lack of availability at our original selection, Coral Island, off the coast of Phuket, Thailand, we would probably never have discovered this jewel hidden on the idyllic Racha Island, also just a short speed boat cruise away from Phuket.

Having been to Phuket before the Tsunami, and fallen in love with the island and its very hospitable people, it was an easy decision for us to go there for our honeymoon. Most of our 3-week trip was to be spent on Phuket Island, but we wanted to experience a romantic getaway to one of the many surrounding islands of Phuket. When a stay to Coral Island was not possible, we researched and found a little known resort called the Racha. By looking at the pictures posted on their website, we were completely captivated by its natural beauty.

We left Chalong Bay pier at the southern tip of Phuket for our 3-night short stay at the Racha. The resort staff greeted us at their tastefully decorated reception office located near Chalong Bay. As we would later experience, and indeed expect, everything was thoughtfully taken care of for us, down to the every small detail. Each and every staff at the resort accommodated us with such warm care and thoughtfulness that we truly felt welcome and at home.

Contrasting sharply from the hustling and bustling of the busy beaches of Phuket, Racha Island is a private beach with only one resort operator. No matter where you are on the island, you get the feeling that you are in paradise and the whole island is yours only to explore.

The resort is billed as a premier deluxe resort, offering a variety of activities accommodating a wide range of interests. Among all the available adventures, snorkeling off Siam Bay, northeast of the island was the most memorable. Unlike any beaches off Phuket, water off the coast of Racha is calm, crystal clear and full of breathtaking colorful tropical fish and exotic marine life. Just imagine swimming lazily in the warm Indian Ocean water, with hundreds of fish covering all spectrums of color moving elegantly all around you, some of them gently stroking your skin.


After a hard day of lounging around the magnificently situated swimming pool, snorkeling, diving or canoeing or even sailing, there are just as many services at the Racha to refresh and relax you. We took advantage of most of those services, including spa, fitness center and yoga.

One unique feature of this resort is its seamless integration with the island’s natural habitat. In fact, when the resort was being designed, the architect tried to save as many coconut trees as possible; all structures were designed to coexist with existing plants. Throughout our stay, we constantly came upon manmade structures with unconventional shapes to accommodate the native plants and vegetations. Like the picture seen here, holes were cut in the roof in order to keep the trees.

Any discussion of a Thai resort without mentioning its fine dining experience would do it grave injustice. The Racha, even though remote in location, somehow manages to churn out in its 3 restaurants some of the most authentic and mouth-watering food I have ever tasted. The daily brunch combines Thai, Chinese, Japanese, and French cuisine to overwhelm the guests with an amazing selection. To pick a favorite item off the brunch menu would be difficult, but we were blown away by the thin sliced assorted smoked meats, the cheese varieties and the fresh mango juice. Thailand is not known particularly for its coffee, but the Racha offers a dark, full bodied blend that left us wonder how we were ever going to get used to anything else after that.


We dined at each of the three restaurants at the Racha. Fire Grill is the most formal of the three. If you decide to go there, make sure to try the halibut wrapped in baked potato.

Earth Café has a romantic and comfortable setting. We had the most authentic Thai dishes there, and enjoyed the unforgettable performance by their lounge singers.

Sunset Beach restaurant is located at Ter Bay. It features daily fresh catch from local fishermen, and if you love seafood like me, you will not want to miss its famous seafood platter.

If quiet majestic beaches and first class services sound attractive, you simply must make a visit to this special island among the “Jewels of the Andaman Sea”. It will be an unforgettable experience.