dinner at the lost horizon

Remember my Best Picture of 2009?

Shot with my Vivitar Ultra Wide film camera.

Guess where we had dinner the other night?

A bonfire at the entrance of Solana Bar at Shangri-la's Boracay Resort & Spa.

It's just as beautiful and dramatic at night.

Actually, Hot Tuna booked a table for us at Sirena, Shangri-la's seafood restaurant on top of a cliff. But when we got there, there was a cliffside table available at Solana. Of course, we staked our claim right away.

Shangri-la's private beach behind Hot Tuna, and their ginormous swimming pool behind Canned Tuna.

After the waiter took our orders, he set the table for us.

I wanted to take home that light thingy. So that my Sun Jar would have a friend.

They served us this amuse bouche. A little too salty, but what the hey-- free food.

Cream of asparagus in cute little cups. If I had brought a bigger bag...

We ordered the Sirena trio, which was a sampler of three soups. So we had four soups.

Lobster bisque, tomato soup and mushroom cappucino. Not as salty as the cream of asparagus.

The salad of local arugula was excellent. The greens were not too bitter, and went really well with the sun-dried tomatoes and shaved Parmesan cheese. The light drizzle of Balsamic vinaigrette was just the right amount of dressing.

I wonder where they buy their "local" arugula.

Hot Tuna had some mussels Rockefeller. Tasty and not rubbery. Yez! (Hate rubbery food.)

I've never had mussels cooked this way before. Usually oysters.

Canned Tuna had the crab cakes. I was too busy taking pictures and forgot to taste.

G, please leave a comment below. Did you like your crab cakes?

We all shared the seafood platter. We were told that it was good for two, but the four of us still struggled to finish it. What's happening to us, guys? How come we're not eating as much?

Baby lobster, fish & chips, salmon, chili crab, grilled squid and prawns, served with a side salad.

Everything was cooked perfectly. We were just too stuffed to eat it all.

And then it started to rain, so they moved us indoors. Indoors not too shabby, either!

 Such a relaxing space. Great for romantic dinners or hanging out with family and friends.

Each of the fishies on the wall had a different pattern.

Even the ceiling details were impressive.

Thanks for a lovely dinner.

Two sleepy heads who had just been tortured by Ofelia.

Verdict: As I said before, compared to other resorts and restaurants on Boracay, Shangri-la is in a different universe. Except for the (free) asparagus soup, I enjoyed all the dishes. Not outstanding, but adequate and consistent enough that they made the whole experience, together with the wonderful ambience and the great service, memorable and thoroughly pleasurable. I would definitely recommend Sirena/ Solana to celebrate any occasion-- birthdays, Valentine's, reunions, daytime, nighttime. It's all good. James Hilton would approve.

My other posts about Shangri-la's Boracay Resort & Spa:

The resort grounds and loft villa
The one-bedroom villa
Breakfast at Vintana
Breakfast at Vintana again