New salad bar format: what is your favorite combo?

[OlsSalt]

Enjoyed the new salad bar format on our last Zuiderdam cruise - four co-equal stations, so this new delivery system required little waiting. Noticed lots of the large salad bowls being enjoyed throughout the Lido, so this change appears to be a great success.

 

My combo was: all three types of greens, red peppers, broccoli, carrots, Parmasen cheese, olives with Asian dressing.

 

What are others putting together?

[Scrapnana]

My favorite is a classic Chef's Salad. Wish I had one right now!:D

[Cruising-along]

Enjoyed the new salad bar format on our last Zuiderdam cruise - four co-equal stations, so this new delivery system required little waiting. Noticed lots of the large salad bowls being enjoyed throughout the Lido, so this change appears to be a great success.

 

My combo was: all three types of greens, red peppers, broccoli, carrots, Parmasen cheese, olives with Asian dressing.

 

What are others putting together?

 

I love a good salad bar. On our last cruise (April-May) we didn't have 4 co-equal stations, not sure how that works? I like so many different things, does this mean you have to go to 4 different stations to get what you want?

 

I usually get spinach leaves, cucumbers, sprouts, tomatoes, ham, peppers, carrots, and lots of toppings. :p

 

Ours was not self-serve, one server and everyone lined up. It worked quickly though and hardly any waiting.

[OlsSalt]

Could be the size of the ship that creates the number of salad bars. This was a Vista ship - Zuiderdam.

 

While technically it had two salad bars - one on each side of the Lido, it had two lines coming in from both ends of the station, which made this collectively having "four" independently serving salad bars. Lines went quickly.

 

Each salad bar had the same offerings and yes, they were composed by the attendant per each person's requests. I was used to the old self-serve format but found this system worked very well.

 

Though I did miss the marinated meat/vegetables toppings in the old stations. And I think they did not have potatoes- but can't remember. I like to add those too.

 

Do love their Asian dressing.

[Lovely other]

I eat salad everyday for lunch ... My favourite combo was green leaves, cucumber, peppers, mandarins and feta topped with a sprinkling of seeds ... I was disappointed that when I asked there was no fat free dressing available though ...

[gigianne]

I loved the new salad bar - enjoyed a salad most days - the Asian dressing is the best!

[OlsSalt]

I eat salad everyday for lunch ... My favourite combo was green leaves, cucumber, peppers, mandarins and feta topped with a sprinkling of seeds ... I was disappointed that when I asked there was no fat free dressing available though ...

 

On one Rotterdam cruise they had bottles of the Indonesian ABC Katsup Manis out in the Lido or at the Asian station. Basically a sweetened soy syrup - I used that alone on my salads on that ship and loved it - though also added a tiny bit of olive oil but it could stand alone, used in very sparing amounts.

 

The deep bowls lets one toss things up really well for a good coating of even minimal amounts of dressing.

 

I like the sound of your combo.

[Cruising-along]

Could be the size of the ship that creates the number of salad bars. This was a Vista ship - Zuiderdam.

 

While technically it had two salad bars - one on each side of the Lido, it had two lines coming in from both ends of the station, which made this collectively having "four" independently serving salad bars. Lines went quickly.

 

Each salad bar had the same offerings and yes, they were composed by the attendant per each person's requests. I was used to the old self-serve format but found this system worked very well.

 

Though I did miss the marinated meat/vegetables toppings in the old stations. And I think they did not have potatoes- but can't remember. I like to add those too.

 

Do love their Asian dressing.

 

Interesting, thanks for explaining. Yes, we were on the Veendam, not nearly as big as the Zuiderdam :)

[OlsSalt]

The Zuiderdam also had a crepe maker with various toppings too, but apparently at the loss of the Eggs Benedict station.

 

My favorite combo for the crepe was merely butter, the coarse sugar in the packets and squeezes of lemon that I picked up just around the corner at the coffee/tea bar. Yum.

[HELENPSL]

In Jan. 2016 the Zuiderdam had both crepes and Eggs Benedict. Have they changed it?

[Kathyfromstl]

Can anyone tell me if HAL has packets of Equal in the Lido and MDR for tea, cereal, etc? My husband is diabetic and prefers Equal (blue packets) over the pink and yellow ones.

 

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

[sherryf]

Are the salad bars on all HAL ships like this now? I usually have just a little salad on the side with my lunch when I eat at the buffet, out of obligation to eat something healthy. I don't want a big bowl of salad, just a little bit. If the salad bar is like this on Westerdam, I'm likely to just skip eating salad entirely rather than hassle with standing in a long line to get just a little salad. So much for eating healthy. :rolleyes:

[OlsSalt]

Are the salad bars on all HAL ships like this now? I usually have just a little salad on the side with my lunch when I eat at the buffet, out of obligation to eat something healthy. I don't want a big bowl of salad, just a little bit. If the salad bar is like this on Westerdam, I'm likely to just skip eating salad entirely rather than hassle with standing in a long line to get just a little salad. So much for eating healthy. :rolleyes:

 

There were no long lines. Hopefully, that was the point i was trying to make. If the Westerdam has this same set-up with the four serving lines, even getting something added to your plate should not be a problem You could also easily get a small dish and have them fill that up as well, besides using the larger bowls.

 

They also had small composed plates of cold appetizers that could also be called "healthy". (Tomato/mozzarella, marinated quinoa-veggie combos, etc)

 

They had something they called "eggs something" (kept changing the name - used bacon instead of canadian bacon) but were not the same array of choices in the old dedicated eggs benedict bar.

 

DH passed on this option after his first attempt as he loves the dish in the classic version and looked forward to his old favorite.

[taxmantoo]

Are the salad bars on all HAL ships like this now? I usually have just a little salad on the side with my lunch when I eat at the buffet, out of obligation to eat something healthy. I don't want a big bowl of salad, just a little bit. If the salad bar is like this on Westerdam, I'm likely to just skip eating salad entirely rather than hassle with standing in a long line to get just a little salad. So much for eating healthy. :rolleyes:

 

That "long line" usually consisted of 3 or 4 people even at the busiest times. ;)

[Harry1954]

this thread was fun to read .. now I am drooling .. miss the salad bars!

harry

[RuthC]

Can anyone tell me if HAL has packets of Equal in the Lido and MDR for tea, cereal, etc?

Yes, plenty of blue packets (along with pink, yellow, white, and brown). They're found over near the coffee lane.

[Lovely other]

Nothing I love better than a good chat about food ... I've travelled a lot and lived in many places and my memories always seem to revolve around food. No wonder I struggle to lose weight :p

[OlsSalt]

Nothing I love better than a good chat about food ... I've travelled a lot and lived in many places and my memories always seem to revolve around food. No wonder I struggle to lose weight :p

 

Here is my new game plan: I "stop" eating for the same amount of days head of time, and "stop" eating for the same amount of days after a cruise and it should all come out okay, right?

 

This time was so port intensive with heavy walking and we even went on the super strenuous Pulpit Rock hike in Norway that it almost came out calorie neutral.

 

Plus I learned to order only the large main course dinner salad on days that have been more indulgent in port or onboard breakfast and lunch. (And tea)

[gigianne]

OlsSalt are you posting a review of your cruise - we are doing the same one in 2017.

[sherryf]

A line of 3-4 people seems long when you are used to grabbing what you want without a wait, and you only want a bit of lettuce and a few toppings. The pre-plated tomato and mozzarella that someone mentioned will do quite nicely, though, and will be much quicker. :)

[OlsSalt]

A line of 3-4 people seems long when you are used to grabbing what you want without a wait, and you only want a bit of lettuce and a few toppings. The pre-plated tomato and mozzarella that someone mentioned will do quite nicely, though, and will be much quicker. :)

 

The small pre-plated offerings also included one with hummus, babaganush, olives and a few bites of pita. A small cheese plate, small sliced fruit plate, a small grilled Italian veggie plate but with an olive oil dressing, a small salami, cold cut plate, waldorf salad and other small bite items varying from day to day. This was a very welcome new addition to the Lido offerings since it was quick, satisfying, varied and small bite size.

 

The veggie-quinoa offering was really, really good. But I only saw it once.

 

I rarely had more than one or two people in line ahead of me in the salad line and they moved very quickly. But who knows, the more popular this new delivery system becomes it may start appealing to more people.

 

And of course it definitely depends upon the time or arrival. It was part of the buffet offerings that was kept open quite later than the other main Lido lines too.

[alwaysfrantic]

Do they have small cups for dressing on the side?

[OlsSalt]

Do they have small cups for dressing on the side?

 

You can control the amount when the server is adding your choice. I am sure they can provide you with a small additional amount in a separate container. HAL staffers seem always very eager to accommodate special requests. They always seem to appear they are happy when you like their food offerings and want more.

Edited June 14, 2016 by OlsSalt

[OlsSalt]

OlsSalt are you posting a review of your cruise - we are doing the same one in 2017.

 

I just posted my review of our Norway-Stavenger Pulpit Rock hike on this site, but have not yet done a longer review. It was a pretty port intensive cruise and every port had plenty to enjoy.

 

Also the kind of a cruise where I need to look at our photos to remember what we saw! Plus as the credit card charges are now coming in, it brings back specific memories too, that got lost in the haze of so many new and different ports each day.

 

Very low key and bucolic on the first half (the Highlands) then urban intensive for the Baltics part.

 

One couple we met actually repeated one of the legs and did this as three part cruise instead of a two-part cruise.

[Lovely other]

Here is my new game plan: I "stop" eating for the same amount of days head of time, and "stop" eating for the same amount of days after a cruise and it should all come out okay, right?

 

This time was so port intensive with heavy walking and we even went on the super strenuous Pulpit Rock hike in Norway that it almost came out calorie neutral.

 

Plus I learned to order only the large main course dinner salad on days that have been more indulgent in port or onboard breakfast and lunch. (And tea)

 

Interestingly it is while I am on the cruise that I lose weight ...I walk everywhere so that helps. Well done on the pulpit rock hike ...I did it a few years ago and it was pretty tough going, especially on the knees coming down.