Maia Resort, The Seychelles

On the island of Mahe in the Seychelles (3 hours off the coast of Kenya) there is a magical, secluded resort called Maia, and we were lucky enough to spend the last bit of our African vacation there. We could have easily spent the entire time in our villa, lounging in the pool and being waited on by the butler but, being the foodies we are, we made sure to make our way to the restaurant for dinner every day. At the very least, it gave us a chance to interact with the chefs and thank them for all the amazing vegan food they'd been creating for us. Speaking of which, here are some examples of their offerings:

On our first night, we were asked what kind of food we like. We had already spied the hookah in the beachside bar, so we decided to request an Arabic feast before retiring to the bar. Little did we know that we'd be given some of the most delicious food EVER. First up was the mezes platter of hummus, fattoush salad, baba ganoush, muhammara, dolmas, and pastry filled with veggies that you see above. All were SO SO SO good. Along with that we had a veggie kabob platter with jasmine rice, a rich tomato sauce, and a sweet balsamic reduction. Perfect first meal!

On a day that we were craving some good old American food, we asked for veggie burgers and fries (If you haven't guessed by now, this was a create-your-own-menu-ask-for-whatever-you-want-and-the-chef-can't-say-no type place) and we were delivered the above for our lunch.
The burgers were made of veggies and tofu and were superb (especially considering the chef had never made veggie burgers before) and the fries were crazy good - light, crispy, and perfectly salty.

Most impressive to us, however, was the night we requested an Italian feast. Even the specially made hazelnut rolls with grassy olive oil (above) were fantastic, but it just got better from there.

This salad with balsamic dressing was fresh and crispy and wonderful. 'Nuff said.

Pasta primavera is always a favorite of mine, but the fact that the chefs spent an afternoon figuring out how to make fresh vegan pasta made it that much better. Well, that and the awesome caramelized onions and smokey eggplant. Heavenly. And for dessert? We had the same thing we ate EVERY night we were at Maia:

The mango sorbet they made there was the best I've ever had. By far. It tasted just like the most sweet, ripe mango on the planet - only cold, refreshing, and with a little teeny sprig of mint for extra incredibleness. I miss it.

I miss our whole vacation of course. I mean, it was the trip of a lifetime! Luckily, there's good food here in SF too. I promise to finally get around that pizza place I mentioned in the last post, and soon I'll be on the east coast eating at some great places from Boston to Florida. This particular trip of a lifetime may be over, but there's still plenty to look forward to, good meals included. Stay tuned!