Wonderland

So, if I tried different menu items in a familiar restaurant like Izumi, imagine what incredible experience awaited us when we ventured into Wonderland for a completely unique dining experience.

From the moment that you walk into Wonderland, wait let me say even before you walk in, you will notice that it is an unusual venue with quite a different décor. This restaurant has a theme which is based on Lewis Carrol's "Alice in Wonderland" and the décor is not the end of the quirky culinary experience we were about to enjoy.

After being seated we were presented with a frame, but inside the frame it was nothing but a blank image. We were then given paintbrushes and "magic water" to paint on the menu. As we bushed the "magic water" on the menu, the choices began to appear right before our eyes.

The menu was broken down into different elements, Sun, Ice Fire, Sea and Earth.

We let our waiter choose various items for us and we picked our main course. Since there were four of us that night at dinner, we all got to try several different appetizers.

The first series of appetizers was the Tomato Water, Buffalo Chicken Eggs and the Mad Hatter's Purple Potted Shrimp.

The Tomato Water, which was a test tube with some cloudy water topped with a creamy blob on the top was meant to be drunk like a shot. The blob is what they called a "bread foam" and although it looked like it would not have much flavor, it was quite a delicious tomato taste. The Buffalo Chicken Eggs were probably my favorite of the three. They were presented under a glass dome filled with smoke, when the waiter took off the lid, the smoke expanded and dissipated to reveal 4 deviled eggs with blue cheese and hot sauce on a nest made of, what I assume was edible, straw. The third item was a large shrimp wrapped in a coating that I would best describe as having a shredded wheat consistency. Below the shrimp was a light and fluffy dipping sauce that was very delicious.

Next came the Crispy Crab Cones, which were crab with a creamy avocado mousse on the top and a wasabi on the bottom. The waiter suggested that we eat it from the bottom up, since the creamier elements would cool the mouth from the spicier wasabi on the bottom. That was followed by the Liquid Lobster, which was a succulent piece of lobster on a spoon served with bone marrow and caviar. It was a single delicious bite that I enjoyed quite a bit.

For the final appetizer, came the Baby Vegetables in the Garden. The menu states it comes with soil & pebbles. Fortunately, the soil was just crumpled up pumpernickel that, along with various vegetables, was mad to look like a garden. Then the waiter came by and poured a white creamy sauce over the garden before we all enjoyed eating it up.

Then they came with a pallet cleanser, of sorts. It was a lime with a scoop of lemon sorbet on top, but under that was chunks of spicy tuna. It was really good, but not what I had usually used to.

For the main course I ordered the short ribs, which were served on a large glass plate with a variety of pureed vegetables, such as a couple types of potatoes, beets and a tomato. It was a small portion, but it was delicious and with all of the appetizers we had, it was just the right size. My friend had the branzino in crispy bread. Branzino is a Mediterranean sea bass and is was quite flavorful.

For dessert, they brought several choices for us to all share. The first was several types of meringue shaped like whimsical mushrooms. There was something that looked like a bright red shiny apple, but upon slicing it, it was actually a delicious raspberry mousse. The final and my favorite of the desserts came served on a plate. It looked like a big chocolate orb sprinkled with shiny gold dust, but when the waiter poured a chocolate sauce over the top, it melted the orb to reveal a dessert of a peanut butter mousse surrounded by chocolate, caramel and crisp rice. It was the most unique dessert I have ever had.

This is definitely a must do dining experience if you are on the Anthem, or any other Royal Caribbean ships that offer it. It is not the type of restaurant you would want to eat at on a regular basis in your hometown, but when you are on a cruise, I would not miss it!