The Shangri-La hosted us a private dinner whilst we were in the Maldives. It was originally meant to be a forest dinner – a table set up in the forest, complete with flowing canopy above and under a massive tree, with dozens of candles everywhere. It would have been the most enchanting and magical dinner ever, but unfortunately it seemed like it would rain, and they didn’t want to take their chances.

So we decided we would have the private dinner in our water villa instead, since the outdoor deck was sheltered in case it rain (by the way, it never did!!!). Chris was a huge fan of this idea as he wanted to be in our water villa as much as humanly possible, and he was also paranoid about mosquitoes in the forest (even though they said they have anti-repellent coils there).

There’s no other way to describe the private dining experience other than – it was like being a celebrity, or socialite.

Our waiter came and set up the table and candles for us.. transforming our deck into a glimmering dining experience – flickering candlelight and sound of waves lapping beneath. He popped open a bottle of champagne and we toasted our newly married status 🙂

The appetizers were an array of assorted breads, potato salad, green salad, assorted grilled vegetables and mushrooms. I actually filled myself up on the entrees alone! The waiter left after he served us the entrees, so we could have peace and quiet with each other. A very nice touch 🙂

20 mins later, he came back when we had finished, and was bearing a large tray laden with about 8 dishes. They were our mains. EIGHT dishes?! Yep.. you got that right! Because we didn’t have a menu to select from, the chef decided to cook up just about every meat and seafood they had, just to make sure we had something we liked, *LOL*!! Chris adored the lamb chops and wolfed them all done happily, whilst I was a huge fan of the massive tiger prawns – cooked to perfection. We obviously didn’t finish all 8 dishes, but we came verrrrry close to it – scary but true!

Half an hour later, the waiter came back to clear our dishes and came with our dessert. It was cheesecake! I normally don’t order cheesecake when I’m out, because I’m fussy with my cheesecakes. I don’t know how they figured it out, but they gave me the EXACT cheesecake that I love – soft buttery biscuit base, and very light fluffy cheesecake (don’t like the heavy/dense super cheesy type). It was like a cross between a Japanese cheesecake and an American NYC cheesecake – totally divine. We actually polished off our dessert, despite the state of our distended bellies 😉

Couples spend a lot of time together, but not often REALLY together – paying complete, undevoted attention to each other… talking about everything and laughing together with zero distraction. And that was why the dinner was so amazing… being able to feast on fine food, yet in total privacy so we could talk and laugh together under the stars. Even now, my skin feels all tingly when I think about that special dinner. How blissful we were. How happy, how content and how perfect it all was. The most perfect night to celebrate the last night of our honeymoon 🙂

Looking out at our deck

Taken from the other angle, as the waiter was still busy setting up

Happiness!

It was tres romantic 🙂

Tucking into our entrees

Yes, I actually had a salad 😉

Absolutely delicious cheesecake for dessert

Towards the end of our meal, our villa host snuck in to the bathroom (the villa is so huge that it’s at the other end and separated by 2 more doors, so we still had privacy during our dinner) and set up a “Romance bath ritual” for us. Masses of frothy bubbles in the massive stand-alone tub in the middle of the room.. and covered with roses. They lit candles all around the room and turned down the lights, so when we walked in, it just took my breath away. It was like something you see in the movies, not something you’d expect to see or have in real life!

Only one photo of the below… because the latter ones are not appropriate for public consumption. Bwahaahha 😉