Hot pot to hibachi, sushi to steak, the dishes aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s new cruiser will include decidedly Asian flavours.
Following the trend to customise ships for the burgeoning Asian cruise scene, the purpose-built Norwegian Joy will cause plenty of local joy too. An impressive 28 dining venues have now been announced, offering such specialties as Chinese hot pot, fresh Japanese sushi and Korean barbecue.
The 3,900-passenger cruiser will take its place at new homeport Shanghai in June 2017. True to its Breakaway-Plus class, it promises to have many of the successful features of Breakaway-class ships plus a little extra – and that extra seems to be geared to please its new home region.
Traditional dining in the vessel’s Manhattan Room will serve Chinese cuisine, with Western dishes such as steaks and seafood also on the menu. An onboard Shanghai-style noodle bar will feature fresh hand-pulled noodles alongside dim-sum favourites such as potstickers and mango pudding, while twin restaurants Savor and Taste have added a Korean or Japanese accent to their shared menu of Chinese dishes, Western favourites and fusion cuisine.
The cruise line has had great success before with onboard teppanyaki – its specialty Teppanyaki restaurant features onboard most of the fleet, often filling up fast despite the surcharge. Serving up food-juggling chefs, flying eggs and even instructions on how to fold the menu into an origami crane, it promises to be an equally popular addition to the Joy.
The hot pot restaurant, Sakura & Hibiscus, will also sizzle with Korean barbecue available, with diners able to select their own fresh meats and vegetables, or passengers can also enjoy Chinese classics in the Garden Café’s buffet selection for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Relatively new to Norwegian cruise line, premium dining venue Food Republic includes innovative fusion dishes such as Hamachi taquitos, among international specialties that hark from as far as Peru, or as close as Japan.
The Bake Shop is set to serve up sweeter temptations such as cupcakes or pralines, but will be adding Japanese mochi sweets too. For local traditionalists who enjoy the finer things in life, The Grand Tea Room’s menu will have a refined selection of higher-end loose-leaf Chinese teas.
There are new faces among the familiar ones in Norwegian Joy’s dining line-up with a more international flavour, too. American Diner will be serving up on-trend US-style comfort food such as pot pies, meatloaf and fried chicken. With Cagney’s Steakhouse also on board – a regular Norwegian Cruise Line favourite – diners can feast on specialty steaks, premium meats and their somewhat signature truffled French fries.
Signature spots La Cucina, for pasta and handmade gnocchi, and Le Bistro, for fine French dining, join French-style wine bar La Cave to bring a little European finesse to the mix.