I fell in love with Norwegian’s Asian-fusion restaurant, Orchid Backyard, on a cruise I took on the Norwegian Gem. The identical restaurant or comparable will be discovered on most of Norwegian’s ships, however all the time by a special identify.
One of many causes I cherished it’s as a result of it’s one in all Norwegian’s few complimentary specialty eating places, and it’s a pleasant break from the eating room and buffet meals. As a substitute of choosing days to go there, we performed it by ear, checking the eating room menu first to see if there was something there we actually needed, after which going to Orchid Backyard when the menu wasn’t interesting. Because it’s all free, we went again a few occasions to attempt various things.
Orchid Backyard & Sushi Bar on Norwegian Gem (Picture courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line)
Appetizers
For appetizers, we tried the Salt & Pepper Calamari, Harvest Spring Rolls, and Pork Pot Stickers.
The calamari was gentle, crispy, and excellent. The pot stickers will be ordered steamed or fried. We picked fried, however typically didn’t take care of them an excessive amount of.
We had been hesitant to order the spring rolls as a result of they’re crammed with veggies, which I’m not eager on. I made a decision I might attempt them since mushrooms had been additionally listed as an ingredient. They had been superb and I regretted not attempting them sooner.
Entrées
For entrées, we tried the Orange Peel Beef, Candy & Bitter Pork, Lemon Pepper Shrimp, and Peking Type Shrimp & Rooster.
I cherished the Shrimp & Rooster a lot greater than I anticipated, and I did anticipate to love it. All the pieces about it was nice and I particularly preferred the inclusion of mushrooms in it.
The Orange Peel Beef was okay. We didn’t order it once more on future visits. The Jumbo Shrimp was actually good however it was a very small portion. Order not less than two if you would like this to be extra filling.
The Candy & Bitter Pork was a favourite for each of us. It’s the least-healthy merchandise on the menu, however it was very tasty.
Desserts
We tried two of the desserts: the 5 Spice Chocolate Cake and the Crispy Chestnut and Crimson Bean Triangles. I believed I used to be going to like the chocolate cake after I noticed it on another person’s desk, and I ordered it despite the fact that I used to be actually full. I really didn’t find yourself liking it although.
We didn’t just like the Crispy Triangles both. It was my husband’s thought to organize them. The inexperienced tea ice cream is admittedly good, and I ought to have simply tried to order it with out the triangles.
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Sushi Bar
One more reason I cherished Orchid Backyard was due to its proximity to the sushi bar. Sushi prices further, however it’s good to have just a few gadgets from the complimentary menu after which choose only one or two gadgets from the sushi menu. The fee ranges from $5 to $8.50 per merchandise, relying on what you order.
I attempt to not spend extra cash on meals after I cruise, however they stroll you proper previous the Sushi Bar with all this contemporary fish within the window, so how might I not?
We might have tried extra from the sushi menu, however after we came upon that our favourite issues had been the bottom price gadgets, we didn’t really feel that compelled to attempt the upper price ones. We tried the Salmon Nigiri, The Two-Timing Tuna Roll, Hawaiian Poke bowl, and Crispy Rice.
The Salmon Nigiri was good, however somewhat small, and so they solely include two per order. Whereas that is my husband’s favourite sushi merchandise, we didn’t order it once more due to the opposite selections we had. This was the one merchandise on the $5 worth level.
The Hawaiian Poke was additionally good, however not well worth the cash as this was one of many greater price gadgets. This is available in at slightly below the best price at $8. The Two-Timing Tuna roll was one in all our favorites and we ordered it once more on different visits. It’s a spicy tuna roll — my favourite — topped with extra tuna! This was one of many decrease price gadgets at $6.
We didn’t know what to anticipate with this one, however the Crispy Rice sushi ended up being our favourite, additionally clocking in at $6. It was crammed with salmon. The sauce the bits of salmon was dipped in is what hit this merchandise out of the park, and the frivolously fried rice patties had been scrumptious.
We went again for the Crispy Rice and the Two-Timing Tuna a few occasions. As soon as with dinner once more at Orchid Backyard, and one final time as an appetizer earlier than our dinner at Teppanyaki. We preferred them that a lot.
Drinks
Let’s not neglect about drinks! There’s additionally a Sake Bar on board, not surprisingly proper subsequent to Orchid Backyard and the Sushi Bar. There are two sorts of sake and two sorts of Japanese beer provided.
We tried each sakes and so they had been each good, however I recommend you break up them as a substitute of attempting to every drink two. The beers are Tsingtao and Sapporo, which type of equal to Budweiser or Coors within the U.S.
Different choices for drinks are the Wasabi Cocktail and Saku-Saku cocktail, however personally I wish to drink prosecco with sushi.
Orchid Backyard is a full-service restaurant and the menu has a superb number of freshly ready noodles and wok-fried dishes to choose from, together with appetizers, fried rice, and desserts.
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