The appropriate word is complete freedom. Your mouth will start to water the minute you pick up a plate and experience total freedom in choosing from among the long line of tantalizing displays what to eat from the salad and sandwich bar at The Waves restaurant.
I followed Palau Royal Resort Food & Beverage manager Allan Tuppil in the line, observing as he made a perfect cut from a baguette, lightly buttered both sides to enhance flavor and texture before making a selection on what to put inside the baguette. Not much of a “hearty eater” myself, I pointed to only a few of the fillings which Allan put in my sandwich.
He topped the mixture of fillings with two slabs of cheese, crisscrossed it with tomato catsup and mustard, and presto, it was ready to eat.
The make-your-own-sandwich bar carries an assortment of fillings – from smoked salmon, ham, chicken, cheese, vegetables, onion rings, fresh tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, fresh corn, and okra. You can have a choice of mustard, mayonnaise or tomato catsup to top your sandwich with.
You may stuff your bread with whatever you want to from the selections and either roll them up, or lay them flat on the plates, wherever you prefer.
Aside from the baguette (French bread), you can also use sunflower or rye bread, mixed nuts, onion roll or toast bread.
Better yet, if you can consume it, you can take a whole baguette and fill it up with an assortment of fillings- make it complete and no one would mind.
Sandwiches vary greatly both in their style—how they are put together—and their fillings but at the Waves, feel free to do what you want.
As part of a full meal, sandwiches are traditionally accompanied with such side dishes like salads and desserts.
Tuppil said all in all, a customer can make a selection from at least a dozen salads to concoct and choose from.
Salads range from macaroni salad, Japanese salad (fish flakes mixed with green vegetables), mixed vegetables salad, and seafood salad. Toss your creation with your favorite French dressing, Ravigot, Thousand Island or Ponzu dressing.
One variation is to create your own salad mix and use as filling for the bread.
In addition to this, you will find it hard to resist the lip- smacking assortment of desserts (enough to make you forget you’re on a diet but Tuppil says they are healthy and low in calories) brownies, cheesecake, cream flan, almond cake, croissant pudding, and a local delicacy- tapioca with fruit salad and coconut milk. All these, Tuppil says, are reasonably priced for $12 per person. If you however prefer a full meal including the hot dishes, pay $25 and you will have an eat-all-you-can complete meal that will leave you filled and satisfied.
Published in Island Times, October 5, 2006 issue