We enjoyed a very nice meal at Moby Dick’s Restaurant. We joined some good friends, took a table upstairs, and proceeded to feast. Moby Dick’s is located at the Paseo Herencia Mall in the high-rise hotel area near Aruba’s famous Palm Beach.
They have a very nice bar there as well as indoor and outdoor seating on two levels. The lower level is shown in the next photo.
Staff here are very friendly and well trained. The decor is nautical as you would expect, complete with these illuminated, etched glass dividers.
As for the food, well, it is very good. We started with Pomodori Soup (think tomato soup with a little extra garlic). Very tasty and not so much that I didn’t have room for the main course. Moving on, my wife ordered the grouper and can be seen in the next photo.
I’m not a fish eater so I didn’t taste it but she said it was delicious and cooked perfectly. Speaking of cooked perfectly, I went with a simple NY Strip steak, ordered well-done. It was perfectly well-done, something some restaurants are afraid to do out of fear that it will be over-cooked. Moby Dick’s got it just the way I like it and you can see it here.
I didn’t photo graph the food our friends ordered. They both said that it was great. We finished up with chocolate ice-cream for dessert, no explanation necessary. I’d like to stress that the service here was very good. Everyone from the hostess to the busboy did a solid job. Moby Dick’s will be on my list of Aruba stops. You might want to give it a try when you’re here on the island.
I’ve eaten out a little too much lately. It’s time to get cooking at home again. Nonetheless, stay tuned for more zany Aruba posts here at The Bent Page.
Bon dia from Aruba.
You go inside where you tell the nice lady behind the bar that you would like the Sunday BBQ. You pay her and get a ticket like the one in the photo here.
This ticket you take outside, past the smokers which are doing a great job of cooking up those chickens and ribs as you can see here.
That guy there swings a Chinese cleaver the way Paul Bunyan swung and ax. He whacks a rack of ribs into three parts, a half chicken into four more and then puts them atop a pile of fried rice and cole slaw. A small piece of corn on the cob is added for color and good effect. At this point, most people tote their meal home for a feast. I prefer to dine at such establishments as the characters who appear are nothing short of incredible. Thus, I trot back into the bar, ask for utensils, and proceed to mow down everything you see here.
That’s right, all that food (1/2 a chicken, rack of ribs, about 3 cups of fried rice, 1/2 cup cole slaw and corn on the cob) cost 15 florins, call it an eight and a half dollar bill. Beverages are extra. I enjoy this kind of meal once in a while, especially in this setting. No franchise uniforms, no pre-programmed patter from the staff, no flavorless items found the world over. You’ll see various BBQ’s like this around Aruba, but each one is different. Give one a try; your heart surgeon will love you for it!
My mother had the chicken lemongrass as seen below.
And I had the lobster/shrimp eggrolls with sweet/spicy dip.
Entrees were very inventive as you will soon see. My mother and father both ordered the Marco Polo, which is a small lobster tail, shrimp, and small filet over pasta in a delicious sauce. Here’s a photo of the dish.
My wife choose the Japanese Sea Bass with asparagus, also excellent and here is a photo.
Finally, I choose the Hunan Beef, which was very good and seen below.
Every dish is presented as a work of art and the waiters take pride in their service. The prices are at the upper limit of my budget, but I felt that all things considered the meal was a good value. When next in Aruba, give Japengo a try. You’ll love it.
There are tables inside and outside. Most of the trade is take out, however. The way things work here is you select a base for your dish, such as rice, noodles, or vegetable mix. Then, you pick and choose items to add: chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, as well as broccoli, bamboo shoots and so on. Finally you choose a sauce: black bean, oyster, sweet and sour, curry and coconut, or terayaki. The guy then makes your meal before your very eyes. Here’s a view of the menu.
One order easily feeds two people, especially if you add lots of good things into the mix. This is a great place for that evening take-out when you’re not in the mood for all the trouble of a sit down meal. Enjoy and bon dia from Aruba.
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