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Food and Dining at Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives

April 12, 2014 by Jean Holy Smithereens 2 Comments

One thing you must know when planning a trip to Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa: You will be very, very WELL FED.

We are so happy with the food and beverage at the resort, that I feel it deserves a post of its own.

There are 3 main restaurants in the resort, and 1 main outdoor bar.

M-Lounge

Sunset Cocktails at M Lounge, Shangrila's Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives
Sunset Cocktails at M Lounge, Shangrila’s Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives

First, there’s M-Lounge, an outdoor, contemporary bar. This is perfect for winding down and listening to the live band while the sun sets, with a cool drink.

When the sun completely sets, there’s a Boduberu performance (traditional Maldivian dance and song) that’s very lively and gathered abit of audience participation.

Sunset and Boduberu performance at Shangri-la's Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives
Sunset and Boduberu performance at Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives

JAVVU

Javvu Restaurant at Shangri-la's Villingili Resort & Spa
Javvu Restaurant at Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa

Javvu is the main restaurant that I’m sure most guests will be familiar with. This place is open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. This is also where guests have breakfast. There is a wonderful buffet that serves a very intercontinental and wide array of dishes.

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Buffet Breakfast in Javvu at Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives
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Buffet Breakfast in Javvu at Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives
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Buffet Breakfast for Kids in Javvu at Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives

Not only did they have noodle and omelette stations, they also have a special buffet just for the kids! (left)

I’m normally not a breakfast person, but while staying at Shangri-la, I was awake with gusto every morning, looking forward to breakfast.

If you love Asian food, you will definitely be happy over their breakfasts. That’s not to say that there were no western/ continental breafasts. There’s quite a massive selection of pastries. omelettes and others. It was just us who went frenzy over Oriental food for breakfast 🙂

Here are our happy breakfast plates over the course of our stay:

our breakfasts in Javvu, Shangrila's Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives
our breakfasts in Javvu, Shangrila’s Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives

DR ALI’S

Dr Ali's for dinner at Shangri-la's Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives
Dr Ali’s for dinner at Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives

This is my favourite restaurant in Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort Maldives. Dr Ali’s serves South East Asian, Middle Eastern, and Indian dishes.

Open only for dinner, the restaurant is located at the far east coast of the resort, facing the ocean.

Interior of Dr Ali's at Shangri-la's Villingili Resort & Spa, Maldives
Interior of Dr Ali’s at Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa, Maldives photo from Shangri-la

It offers both indoor and outdoor dining. It was a balmy evening the night we ate there so we opted for an outdoor setting.

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outdoor dining at Dr Ali’s Shangrila Villingili Resort Maldives

With a live band playing Maldivian music, we had a curry degustation menu:

curry degustation meal at Dr Ali's. Shangrila Villingili Resort Maldives
curry degustation meal at Dr Ali’s. Shangrila Villingili Resort Maldives

I loved the combination of fish and chicken curries we chose. We had Indian, Sri Lankan and Maldivian curries with Naan and rice. It was one of my most memorable meals in the Maldives for sure.

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spice rack at Dr Ali’s

FASHALA

Fashala. Fine dining at Shangri-la's Villingili Resort & Spa
Fashala. Fine dining at Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa

Fashala is Shangri-la Maldives’ formal dining restaurant that is open only for dinner on selected days. Located at the Northern tip of the island, Fashala specialises in seafood (woot!) and serves fine dining cuisine featuring local produce from the surrounding waters and neighbouring farms.

Fashala fine dining at Shangri-la's Villingili Resort & Spa
Fashala fine dining at Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa
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Fashala fine dining at Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa

I was mesmerised by the interiors of Fashala. All made from natural wood , high ceilings, and dim lights, yet located next to the shore, it also has a lot of open spaces, making it very airy and lots of natural breeze.

Here’s what we had for the night. Lots of scallops, lobsters, reef fish and crab. My kind of dinner! 🙂

My kind of dinner at Fashala, fine dining at Shangri-la's Villingii Resort & Spa
My kind of dinner at Fashala, fine dining at Shangri-la’s Villingii Resort & Spa

ROOM SERVICE

There was one afternoon that rained, and with the gloomy weather, we thought we’d just order in for late lunch/ snack.

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For a rainy afternoon, have pizza in your room ! 🙂 Deluxe Pool villa at Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort Maldives

It’s one of those blissful moments, when you’re lazily idling by the sundeck chair of the villa’s private pool and slowly munching on a pizza.

TALLY ME BANANA

Addu Atoll Bananas. Served everyday at Shangri-la's Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives
Addu Atoll Bananas. Served everyday at Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives

I can’t really pinpoint for sure what it is about these Addu Atoll Bananas that made me finish almost a bunch in one day! These bananas are refilled and delivered fresh in the villas every day. They are small, petitie and packed with flavour.

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Considering the location of Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort in Gan , which is the southernmost island of Maldives, it’s very impressive how they can organise such logistics in terms of food and beverage. Maintaining high standards and quality, and supplying food for a huge number of guests.

We were able to speak briefly with Mr. Fayaz Samsudeen, the Food & Beverage Director of Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives. And from that interaction we can see that he is truly passionate about what he does, and this in turn gets carried down to his staff, and I am certain it is felt by all other guests, not just us.

Some of the best hotel and resort experiences are wherein you feel welcomed by the staff and service. This was definitely a first for us – where the warm welcome was felt and tasted in the food as well.

CLICK HERE for the full review of Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives

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Shangri-la’s Villingili Resort & Spa Maldives

Villingili Island, Addu Atoll, Republic of Maldives

 

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Filed Under: Hotels, Luxury Travel, Maldives, Resort, Travel Reviews

About Jean Holy Smithereens

Jean is a lover of luxury travel and adventure, always looking for that "Holy Smithereens"-inducing moment on her travels. Follow the blog and other social media pages of Holy Smithereens to get the ultimate travel ideas for the luxurious adventurer!

Comments

  1. Candice - Desert to Jungle says

    April 12, 2014 at 9:51 pm

    I love Shangri La as a brand and absolutely adore this resort. I had a short break there a couple of ago in an amazing and totally private pool villa. As you say, the food is great and quite an achievement given the location. We took out the crewed private yacht one day and the chef provided wonderful food for us to lunch and snack on throughout the day.

    Reply
    • Jean Holy Smithereens says

      April 12, 2014 at 11:45 pm

      Hi Candice! I agree, the Shangri-la brand is really consistent throughout. The private yacht experience sounds wonderful. We only did the Dolphin Cruise and Scuba Diving. It’s a place we’d love to go back to 🙂

      Reply

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