Captain's Dinner onboard the Wind Surf

PHOTO: Captain's Dinner Wednesday night in AmphorA Restaurant onboard the Wind Surf (c) Sery Kim

Wednesday was my first full day onboard the Wind Surf so I finally had a chance to check out one of the many restaurants onboard. Stella Bistro (French), Candles (upscale American), Compass Rose (steakhouse) plus the various lounge bars, as well as AmphorA (what I like to call Continental fare) offer, essentially, all-day dining as does the in-room dining service. That's what I did my first night onboard, order room service, Tuesday night because I was still lamely a bit jet-lagged -- honestly, I blame it on the jet-lag but I just wanted to eat a burger and fries! haha.

The captain onboard Ricardo Pinzon from Panama was kind enough to offer a few of us a chance to eat dinner with him. Ricardo's official title is "Master of the Vessel," overseeing the entire yacht operations. He took over for the actual captain of the Wind Surf Captain Pedro Pinto who was called away last minute for a family emergency.

PHOTO: Salmon amuse bouche at AmphorA Restaurant (c) Sery Kim

A table of three couples, another journalist, Ricardo and myself sat down for dinner. The menu in AmphorA is not a laundry list of choices but rather a carefully curated list of options covering everything from fresh seafood like cod to more traditional favorites like Beef Wellington. Actually, I was quite surprised to see one of my favorite dishes, aka the Beef Wellington, as an offering. There is nothing quite like a well cooked sliver of meat encased in a puff pastry, with sides of mashed potatoes and vegetables, to turn my taste buds into happiness!

The table gamely discussed all the options before we ordered. Thankfully the other journalist was also a huge fan of french fries, and even though I promised myself I would cut down on fries to drop a few pounds before summer's dreaded swimsuit season, we ordered not just one but two different kinds of fries: the truffle fries as well as the sweet potato fries. Both were good, however, I actually prefer the light yet powerfully flavor salmon amuse bouche. So tasty!!

PHOTO: Shrimp cocktail at AmphorA Restaurant (c) Sery Kim

I wasn't sure what I would order as an appetizer. I thought I should probably get a salad of some sort since I ate burger and fries the night before. Our waiter helpfully suggested that the Shrimp Cocktail was actually his favorite appetizer so I went with his choice. Typically, when I go to a new restaurant, I do always ask the service staff what their favorite is since, inevitably, they have eaten everything on the menu. About 70% of the time their recommendations are equal to my expectations. This time the Shrimp Cocktail actually exceeded my expectations. Not only was the shrimp powerfully fresh, as if the crew had literally gone fishing earlier in the day for shrimp, but the accompanying sauce was the right blend of sweet and savory. Delicious. I know it was only my first night and I have many other restaurants to try, still I believe I will be having this appetizer many more times.

PHOTO: Palate cleanser (c) Sery Kim

We had a light palate cleanser before my Beef Wellington arrived. I didn't ask for the Chef's choice in temperature but it arrived at a nice medium/medium rare. I know you are supposed to have meat like steak cooked at medium rare so you can fully engage the sensation of how the meat was raised, as well as subsequently cooked, but I don't actually like medium rare. I prefer a medium well yet I had no complaint in how the Beef Wellington was produced. Quite tasty! Those who ordered cod and various other dishes looked at my order with desire so I couldn't help but egg them on a bit in my honesty, "so good!"

Still, even if there was jealousy in my dish, the cheerful table of conversation feel deadly silent when the entrees arrived. This is always the utmost compliment to the chef: when happy people fall silent to focus on eating.

PHOTO: AmphorA Restaurant's Beef Wellington (c) Sery Kim

Though I was quite stuffed after 2 1/2 hours of eating and drinking -- the wine menu is perfectly acceptable -- I did order dessert. Ricardo recommended the vanilla ice cream so I ordered one scoop with some fudge and almond slivers. Again, quite tasty, bordering on gluttonous.

Overall such a fun meal. I enjoyed the company immensely yet it was the food which really drove the conversation. For a ship meal, after my horrible eating experience onboard my last cruise, the Uniworld Cruise to Bordeaux, I was relieved to enjoy all the food -- do not cruise Uniworld as their food is the absolute worst though their french fries (which I ate every day instead of the actual food) are awesome.