S+S Honeymoon 2008

Even more cool stuff on Bora Bora...

During our days at the resort we spent a lot of time either at the pool or on the deck of our bungalow. One of our favorite things was to have breakfast or light lunch of all the stuff we bought from the Chin Lee supermarket (in Vaitape) right on our deck. We bought a lot of food, but it's a lot cheaper and we quickly got bored of eating resort food all the time. We're also big "snackers".

Our typical snack lunch was French breads, cheeses (we didn't find Samos cheese but we found Kiri which is the same thing), cured meats, hams, pates, rillettes, fresh fruit, and cup-noodles. They had different brands than in the US, and the ones we had were really tasty, they taste more like what you'd find in Europe and Asia. I also found an iced tea I enjoyed, Volvic Passon The. It's a lot less sweeter than most prepared iced teas, and it was so refreshing in a glass of ice. If we needed things like butter, jam or mustard, we would just take a few jars from breakfast and keep them in our room. Note: the butter they use at the resort is the European style butter which is so much better than butter typically found in the states.

Look how cut my back and arms got from swimming and snorkeling all day. Too bad it's not gonna last after I get back. I am sadly turning back into a pale blob as I write this.

We also used the pool at the Thalasso quite a bit as it was always warm from the sun so it's not cold when you first enter. It is slippery though so be careful when walking in.

We must admit tough as we hang by the pool we usually split a burger, they were really good. It is served with thin cut fries and small jars of ketchup, mayo and mustard.

But nothing really beats having your own overwater bungalow!

Steve really liked to stop and feed the fish each time we passed the Thalasso's man-made lagoon. They keep a basket of stale bread on the bridge so people can feed the fish. For the most part, the Thalasso does not have good snorkeling off the bungalows, you have to swim to the lagoon where the bridge is, closer to the spa. They keep coral there so that the fish will congregate around the area. There was definitely a lot more to see in the lagoon. Note, you should bring water shoes if you're entering the beach area around there as it is fairly rocky.

Polynesian Show

On Friday, we signed up for the buffet dinner and show at the Reef restaurant at the Thalasso. It was pretty pricey at around 80 USD a person. The buffet was ok, some things were better than others. They had lobster, steak, fish, sashimi, tuna tartare, peking duck (without the buns), fried rice, potato gratin, veggies, salad, and a series of fried appetizers as well as a dessert table. I liked the appetizers and raw fish items but the lobster and steak weren't that good. You can notice all the Asian and French influences here. I think they called this the "international buffet." I believe there is another buffet that is Polynesian themed on Mondays. Here are some pictures of the show. The dancers for the most part were good but I think as a whole some of it was a little cheesy.

The dancers strutting their stuff

The top table at Villa Mahana...and who is THAT??

I had made reservations for Saturday night at Villa Mahana, supposedly one of the best fine dining restaurants on the island. I made these reservations about 4 months earlier, pretty much as soon as we booked our honeymoon. Damien Rinaldi Dovio is the chef/owner and he was an amazing chef, very responsive with emails, and cute to boot! Villa Mahana is a beautiful slightly hidden restaurant, it is off the main road on the way from Le Moana to Vaitape, but if you didn't know about the restaurant you wouldn't have known where to look. We took the 7pm ferry to Le Moana, and Villa Mahana had arranged for a pick up from the hotel. We went along with 2 other couples. I believe they do their seatings to coincide with the ferry times at most hotels.

I had booked the top table, and it's a very cute table at the very top of the restaurant, it' has a very open feel and has a view of the courtyard below.

The menus are either prix-fixe tasting or a la carte. We decided to each try a different prix-fixe menu, I got the Epicurean and Steve got the Exotique. Note: the menus for women do not list the prices on them, LOL. The tasting menus are about 125 USD pp, which was comparable to other 5-star tasting menus in NYC.

L to R: Bread basket with coconut bread wraped in banana leaf, shrimp salad, seared tuna tartare (sooo fresh!)

L to R: Mahi Mahi with banana crust, rock lobster with parmesan risotto, seared foie gras

Our dessert: Chocolate lava cake, bananas flambe, we are stuffed!

Not pictured: Our beef filet with vanilla sauce and truffle gnocchi, think we ate that too quickly, but you can see it in the picture below. It was the only dish that the two menus had in common. For the most part, the Epicurean menu is richer and more French, and the Exotique had lighter more tropical flavors. Both were amazingly good. The Epicurean menu had all my favorite things: shrimp, risotto, foie gras, steak...I couldn't go wrong by choosing it!

Halfway through our meal, a young man came up the stairs to use the restrooms which were located on the 2nd floor, one floor below us. It was dark out and the lights were all dimmed and romantic, so I couldn't really see very clearly, but I thought to myself, that guy looks a LOT like Jason Bateman...but what would he be doing in Bora Bora in Villa Mahana when we are on our honeymoon? So I kind of dismissed it as someone that looked like him. It was funny because as he was coming up the stairs, he smiled at me, I guess because I was staring at him so intently. and I could have sworn it was Jason Bateman...

Two seconds later, a squealing girl comes running up the stairs and I hear her telling her friend that Vince Vaughn, Jean Reno, and Jason Bateman were sitting at a table next to her....HA!!! I knew it was him!!! Anyways, you know how I mention we had jet skied past a move set at the St. Regis? Well that was where they were all filming.

Here is a little video that I took of the celebs. I was trying not to be all paparazzi-like. Sorry the video is really bad, but it was super dark and dimly lit. Vince is in the black shirt with his back to us. Vince didn't want any pics taken of him, but Jean and Jason seemed really nice. If you guys don't know, Jean Reno is the guy in Ronin and The Professional. He is a very popular French actor. All the waiters there were going absolutely gaga over him, but they didn't really seem to know who Vince or Jason was. This was so funny running into them on our honeymoon!

As for the food, it was exremely good and comparable to 5-star tasting menus in some of the top restaurants of the world. It is definitely worth it for a romantic dinner. Damien is an extermely talented chef. I can't wait to go back again one day...hmm I wonder who we will see there next time?

(update Nov 17, 2008: the movie they are making is a Jon Favreau feature comedy about a couples retreat. I think Jon was at the dinner although I didn't see him. Apparently Kristen Bell and Kristen Davis were on Bora Bora too)

Next....Our last days in Bora Bora (sniff sniff)

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