Joy Island also features a home grown ingredient made from milk – mozzarella – used in its extensive Italian station at its buffet restaurant and other outlets.
Best of the Maldives: Coconut Feast – Veligandu
For the complete coconut experience Veligandu welcomed chef Cristian Marino to craft a completely coconut experience to celebrate World Coconut Day this past year.
“To honor this day, Chef Cristian Marino created a special culinary journey for guests at the resort. The menu was simple in concept yet rich in flavor:
- Fresh island salad, where the bite of vegetables met the delicate crunch of grated coconut
- Coconut rice, creamy, fragrant, almost velvety — a dish that carried the perfume of the tropics
- Local fish with coconut sauce, blending sea and tradition in one dish.
- coconut brownies, a nod to comfort food with a Maldivian twist.
The dining room itself joined the celebration. Palms and coconuts were used as decoration, with tropical flowers set between the buffet stations. It was not just a menu but an atmosphere, an experience shaped around one ingredient.”
He talked about his experience in the Maldives on his own blog as well – Experience Sabato Italiano: An Italian Dinner in the Maldives – Cristian Marino.
Best of the Maldives: Coconut Seller – Siyam World
On most islands, landscaping staff will readily find a coconut for you direct from the trees, and some resorts have special stands to serve up free coconut, but at Siyam World guest get their coconut the Maldivian way. Coconut stands are the equivalent of the “water cooler” on local islands where locals gather to chat and hang out. Not only does Siyam World have a typical coconut stand, but they also recruited an actual coconut seller from a nearby island who was lured out of retirement to take his trade to the resort.
World Travel Market London 2025
This week was my annual pseudo-Maldives visit attending the World Travel Market in London where the Maldives tourism board always has a massive presence populated by a range of industry players but mostly the resorts themselves coming to speak to prospective agents and operators. Also, the Siyam group has gotten so prominent, especially in the UK market, that they occupied their very own dedicated area right next to the Maldives. Between the two stands, the Maldives occupied the front to back of the exhibition hall.
The annual event is a chance for me to escape the clocks-going-back, damp dreariness of oncoming British winter and wander among the tropical imagery of our fav tropical destination catching up with friends old and new from there. The show always brings out the true legends of the industry who have been side by side with me promoting the Maldives tourism industry for decades now: Jason Kruse (photo below), Aminath Hudaa, Scott LeRoi. In the past, I often made new acquaintances with the owners and key players in the resort where I could learn about their properties and they were keen to share experience and perspectives. But in recent years, the sector has grown so big and corporate that many of the people there are sales reps based out of HQs in Singapore, Dubai and Bangkok who were just focused on flogging inventory. The highlight of the day was the late afternoon reception hosted by the Siyam group launching its new branding which was packed with enthusiastic fans of the properties.
Best of the Maldives: Pumpkin Mashuni – Siyam
Lori loves her Mashuni on our Maldives trips. But having it every day on our visits can get a bit samey (though different properties and chefs can have fairly different styles of preparation). So she was delighted to come across Pumpkin Mashuni at Sun Siyam Olhuveli (but it turns out that al the Siyam properties serve it). Something to use those leftover jack-o-lanterns for.
Best of the Maldives: Spooky Walk – Siyam World
Especially, as resorts are becoming more and more family-friendly, the Halloween is becoming a bigger and bigger event for special festivities. In many cases, it’s a bit of face-painting and pulling out some decorations. But of Siyam World goes full-on Hollywood thriller this time of year. For the past several years, it has put on an extravagant monster bash themed around a famous horror film (last year it was “Resident Evil, and this year it was “The Conjuring”).
The centerpiece of their celebration is their spooky walk. This bit of theatrics is commonly found in America’s “Haunted Houses” put on by local civic groups to raise money for charity. We did a spooky walk in our English garden when we moved to the UK to keep this Halloween treat alive for our children growing up.
They invest so much in high production values, that they hire the only prosthetic make-up artist in the Maldives to create the most ghastly ghouls
- “Siyam World transforms into a live-action horror film set with an interactive walkthrough inspired by The Conjuring Universe. This isn’t just a simple haunted house; it’s a fully immersive experience where you’ll come face-to-face with characters like Annabelle, The Nun, La Llorona, and the Crooked Man. Brave the walkthrough, and you’ll be rewarded with access to a special dance performance and an electrifying Halloween party with live DJs.”
Best of the Maldives: Mango Chou – Joy Island
When visiting the Maldives, I always a appreciate when the F&B has injected a bit of tropical twist to their often conventional offerings on the buffet spread. I was particularly fond of the Mango Chou at Joy Island featuring my fav tropical fruit.
Best of the Maldives: Michelin Star Quality – Soneva
In the rise of the super-luxury offerings in the Maldives, I’ve often mused when the gourmet outlets might someday reach Michelin star quality. Certainly, a few I’ve sampled seem to have reached that exalted bar, but the Guide simply didn’t cover the Maldives geography. A number of resorts have touted their guest chefs who bring with them Michelin-starred credentials.
Perhaps no one has had more Michelin-star chefs in their kitchens than Soneva. In fact, in partnership with the guide itself, they are hosting an unprecedented series of 10 starred chefs at their properties. Soneva not only has both of its Maldives properties featured in the guide, but they Soneva Jani receives an elite 2 stars and Soneva Fushi receives the coveted highest accolade of 3 stars (well “keys” for hotels) which translates to “worth a special journey”. Indeed, a very special journey!
Best of the Maldives: Sushi Making Class – Sun Siyam Olhuveli
Sun Siyam Olhuveli not only serves up amazing sushi, but also will teach you how to make it yourself at their sushi class. Taught by sushi chef (not to be confused with “sous chef”) Namal, he takes you through the process of making sushi, maki rolls and sashimi. Our son, Chase, once gave me a gift of such a class in London and it was as much fun as it was insightful. So, Lori did the classwork and I concentrated on quality control (to which I can attest she passed with flavourful flying colours). If you want a more pampered way to enjoy sushi, Olhuveli’s “Theo’s Coffee Shop” offers 100 varieties in total including a range of dessert sushi made with fruit.
Best of the Maldives: Lobster Sushi – Sun Siyam Olhuveli
This is not a “Haven’t Seen”, but it should have been. Lobster is the most iconic luxury seafood, and sushi is a delightful, light delicacy for the warm weather. The dish Sun Siyam Olhuveli’s Executive Chef Didi Hassan’s signature specialty. Specifically, it is lobster maki with lobster mousse and cream, topped with tobiko and salmon roe. TripAdvisor Forum Destination Expert Moirad tells me that Raffles also features lobster sushi, but they ae going to have to show me what they have to convince me that it could be more spectacular than this presentation).
