Food Advice for an Idiot

[Clay Clayton]

7 hours ago, KBs mum said:

Clay, help a brit out, what do you say to order the eggs fried like that? In the UK a fried egg is as pictured, the sunny side up/easy/over easy is a bit of American I can't seem to get the hang of.

It's bacon that is multiple choice in the UK. (American style bacon is thin cut streaky, very crispy here)

 

Sunny side up!

[KBs mum]

12 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Sunny side up!

Thank you! Hopefully we can now have eggs for breakfast on board. Have had to resort to poached previously. Which are good for benedict, bad with hash browns, sausage and bacon🙂🥓🥓

KBs Dad is keen to give your lamb chop ploy a try, though. 

[Clay Clayton]

13 hours ago, KBs mum said:

Thank you! Hopefully we can now have eggs for breakfast on board. Have had to resort to poached previously. Which are good for benedict, bad with hash browns, sausage and bacon🙂🥓🥓

KBs Dad is keen to give your lamb chop ploy a try, though. 

The chops are delicious-Medium rare please.  My Scottish friend Lady McGrath requests her eggs basted which gives a similar runny yolk and you never end up with crispy edges. Next time I’m onboard I am going to try ordering my eggs like that since sometimes they are overdone on the edges. 

[Heidi13]

31 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

The chops are delicious-Medium rare please.  My Scottish friend Lady McGrath requests her eggs basted which gives a similar runny yolk and you never end up with crispy edges. Next time I’m onboard I am going to try ordering my eggs like that since sometimes they are overdone on the edges. 

 

When having the chops from breaky that's what I order - medium rare on the chops and basted on the eggs. It's also how I cook eggs at home.😁

[KBs mum]

2 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

The chops are delicious-Medium rare please.  My Scottish friend Lady McGrath requests her eggs basted which gives a similar runny yolk and you never end up with crispy edges. Next time I’m onboard I am going to try ordering my eggs like that since sometimes they are overdone on the edges. 

Basted is best, but I can never be bothered at home, they go In a pan with the bread and black pudding if a fry up is underway😊

 

[Eggtuary]

I learned something new:  basted eggs!  Sounds like the solution for what I don’t like about fried eggs. I will have to try them while on board!

[Let Me Travel!]

Ok, ok…screw the pre-cruise diet! You all are making me hungry…I fell in love with the Eggs Benedict on our last cruise…photo of the pistachio bun did me in… I can’t wait!

[molymoo]

On 2/8/2022 at 9:53 AM, lackcreativity said:

To get a half hamburger at the Pool Grill you do need a companion willing to share. Lucky for me, my husband is willing to do so, even if he has a tendency to be a little uneven in cutting it in "half".  Soo good!  😊

My daughter and I love the Pool Grill and always split the burgers!  We tell them that we are splitting it and they present us with two equal halves on two separate  plates with french fries and whatever accompaniments come with the selection.  It's nice that we don't have to cut it ourselves (always a messy proposition!) and we don't have to share the fries or cole slaw (which are almost as good as the burgers, by the way!  We always split waffles at Mamsen's too!  

[Twitchly]

6 hours ago, molymoo said:

We always split waffles at Mamsen's too! 

Nobody touches my Mamsen’s waffle without losing a finger. I’m just saying.

[fudgbug]

On 2/8/2022 at 10:05 AM, CCWineLover said:

Agreed Lorna!

we also felt the WC was easier to eat light.  Manfredis was tougher.  We tell them to remove the bread basket.

 

as for Pool Grill. We might have 1 burger a cruise as a treat.  But we love the 4 oz grilled Ahi steak.  No bread no fries, and just add a small green salad. The waiters got to know us and would ask if we wanted our usual Ahi, since very few people order it.  Hot dog and burgers with fries and onion rings are most passengers choices.

The grilled Ahi at the Pool Grill is a treat for the taste buds and a perfect size with a small salad.

[Clay Clayton]

2 hours ago, fudgbug said:

The grilled Ahi at the Pool Grill is a treat for the taste buds and a perfect size with a small salad.

That’s our usual lunch!

[deec]

perfect LUNCH!!

[longterm]

On 2/7/2022 at 10:41 PM, Eggtuary said:

Just to be clear, the idiot I’m referring to in the thread title is me. 😀

 

I have a tendency to overeat.  I’m currently getting my weight under control.  I know that one of the great things about cruises is the opportunity to try lots of delicious foods.  And since a big reason to go on vacation is to relax, I do not plan to be uptight about calorie counting when I go on my first Viking cruise next month. 

 

That being said, I don’t want to be stupid about it.  So I’m wondering:  Is it possible to ask for half-portions of less healthy food options?  Because I’m one of these folks who hates to waste food, so I either eat the whole thing or feel guilty for wasting.  I know that food is completely included in the price of the cruise, so it’s not a matter of worrying about wasting my money.  I just genuinely hate for something to get thrown out that someone else could have enjoyed. 

 

I think I read somewhere that Manfredi’s offers half portions?  That’s perfect for me, because my wife and I both like to try a variety of things.  So if we could both do a number of half portions, that would be awesome.  But I’d like to know if I can do that elsewhere, especially in terms of sweets.  As much as I want to try Success Cake, I’d prefer not to get a whole slice. Especially because my wife doesn’t care for sweets, which means it does no good to ask her to split them with me. 
 

I realize the whole premise of this question may seem silly to some. Perhaps I just have a hang-up I need to overcome. But I am curious how others approach this. 
 

Thanks!

 

I just order double portions and only eat half... 🙂

But seriously, I'm sure you can ask your server to have the kitchen serve half-portions and they'll gladly accommodate you. I do know that they're great with providing appropriate meals for vegans, because a couple we met on the last cruise had special meals each time they went into The Restaurant (not sure about the other 2); he said after the first night, the manager would personally come to the table and say hello, and that they were provided great vegan meals.

I, on the other hand, am decidedly carnivore.

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, longterm said:

I just order double portions and only eat half... 🙂

But seriously, I'm sure you can ask your server to have the kitchen serve half-portions and they'll gladly accommodate you. I do know that they're great with providing appropriate meals for vegans, because a couple we met on the last cruise had special meals each time they went into The Restaurant (not sure about the other 2); he said after the first night, the manager would personally come to the table and say hello, and that they were provided great vegan meals.

I, on the other hand, am decidedly carnivore.

 

Affirmative, the galley will plate 1/2 portions upon request.

[deec]

Manfredi's is where I always order 1/2 portion or  2 bites of pasta of the day because it is usually a bit different and good!

[Maximillian45]

Y’all have made me feel so much better about the food selections. I have a digestive disease and can only eat very small portions at a time and I have worried about looking rude by leaving so much food on my plate. At the same time I really want to try as many unique (to me) dishes as I can. I am glad to know that they will serve smaller portions when asked and if I can’t finish all of that I’m sure my DH will help!

[Geosez]

For those with eating issues here’s another vote for the World Cafe - aka WC - no, not the other WC. 😁

Dishes on offer in the Restaurant are also served there.  You can compare menus on your cabin TV ahead of time.  So there’s your chance to try new things in a suitable amount for you without having to explain to a waiter.  You’ll also appreciate that the food is presented in smaller dishes -  smaller than your 13X9 lasagne casserole - consequently are changed out frequently - much fresher than standard buffets.

Like others on this board, the WC is our restaurant of choice.  We like the broad choice of options and the informality. 

[Cadodge]

Anyone know if Viking offers sugar-free syrup? Peanut butter?

[KBs mum]

34 minutes ago, Cadodge said:

Anyone know if Viking offers sugar-free syrup? Peanut butter?

The main component of syrup is sugar in various forms, how can it be sugar free?

Can't remember seeing peanut butter, but probably available

[JeriGail]

4 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

The main component of syrup is sugar in various forms, how can it be sugar free?

Can't remember seeing peanut butter, but probably available

Sugar free (sweetened with sorbitol or other non-calorie sweeteners) are available in most restaurants, but I don't know about Viking.

[KBs mum]

17 minutes ago, JeriGail said:

Sugar free (sweetened with sorbitol or other non-calorie sweeteners) are available in most restaurants, but I don't know about Viking.

Accepted, but those are not syrups, the sugar free sweeteners are different. There are sugar substitutes for tea and coffee available

[CCWineLover]

6 hours ago, Geosez said:

For those with eating issues here’s another vote for the World Cafe - aka WC - no, not the other WC. 😁

Dishes on offer in the Restaurant are also served there.  You can compare menus on your cabin TV ahead of time.  So there’s your chance to try new things in a suitable amount for you without having to explain to a waiter.  You’ll also appreciate that the food is presented in smaller dishes -  smaller than your 13X9 lasagne casserole - consequently are changed out frequently - much fresher than standard buffets.

Like others on this board, the WC is our restaurant of choice.  We like the broad choice of options and the informality. 

 

Geosez - we are also quite big fans of the World Cafe (and will soon be on our 8th Viking Ocean).  I think the WC is the Rodney Dangerfield of the restaurants.  It doesn't seem to get much respect - but there is a decent contingent of us who are faithful fans!!  For many of the reasons you described.  Calling it a buffet is probably a slight misnomer, only since it conjures up those images of the old Cruise Buffets that frankly were not very good.

On our recent TA cruise in December, quite often the WC was relatively uncrowded at dinner time.  The waiters told us often that the various restaurants were quite crowded and even they couldn't understand why more people didn't come to the WC.   Everyone has their reasons.  It is just nice to have a choice!

Oh - the final big reason - WC has the BEST view to eat dinner on the ship - and when it is warm and nice, going outside makes it a wonderful eating experience!

[Squawkman]

1 hour ago, KBs mum said:

Accepted, but those are not syrups, the sugar free sweeteners are different. There are sugar substitutes for tea and coffee available

Sugar-free syrup was available last time I was on Viking Ocean. Can’t speak for the UK, but there are several brands of sugar-free maple flavor syrups available in supermarkets. And they are syrups 😊

[Cadodge]

1 hour ago, KBs mum said:

Accepted, but those are not syrups, the sugar free sweeteners are different. There are sugar substitutes for tea and coffee available

If you Google "sugar-free syrup" you will see about 35 brands for sale. At least here in the U.S. Regardless, people with medical or weight conditions like to put it on waffles, pancakes and other items instead of fruit or regular syrup. Just wondered if Viking ocean provided anything like that, or should we pack our own? Same with peanut butter. 

[Geosez]

CC:  re calling the WC a “buffet”.  In the same way I call our Viking voyages a “trip on a ship” instead of a cruise because that conjures up wet t-shirt contests and umbrella drinks.  😉