Dining

Best Indonesian cuisine in St. Maarten, in the Caribbean

The doors of gastronomic wonder are open at the Wayang Doll Rijsttafel. This restaurant, a virtual St. Maarten institution, has a new address: Royal Village, 85 Welfare Road, Simpson Bay (Tel. 544.2255). Once you enter your vista is the historic and picturesque Simpson Bay Lagoon.

The facts are deliriously delicious: The only authentic Indonesian rijsttafel restaurant in St. Maarten since 1982 (some think the best in the Caribbean and, a blasphemous thought, able to compete with only the best as far as Suriname … and beyond). The Wayang Doll is the place for an excellent Rijsttafel prepared by an Indonesian chef for almost 25 years. Your are cordially invited to select from 14 dishes-rijsttafel.

If you can remember, after or during your exquisite Pacific course of spicy delectableness, do ask your host to regale you with the origins of how the rijsttafel was “gathered” ages ago from the Indonesian archipelago as a virtual diplomatic “setting.” Well, the rijsttafel tale, involving the Dutch, may be more fancy than fact … but the Wayang Doll Rijsttafel is the one and only authentic Indonesian rijsttafel restaurant at your service in St. Maarten/St. Martin, the undisputed restaurant capital of the Caribbean.

New Copter Service from Grand Case

Get a bird’s eye view of St. Maarten/St. Martin or hop to neighboring Anguilla or St. Barths in the safe, modern and quieter Eurocopter EC 120-B Colibri of Heli St. Martin, the island’s new and only commercial helicopter service, which began operations from the Grand Case airport in August. Heli St. Martin also offers special services such as aerial photography, video and filmography, honeymoon champagne tours, while other special projects can be considered.

The official launching of the service is planned for the beginning of November, when an additional pilot would have been added to facilitate a seven-day a week operation.
Heli St. Martin has obtained all the necessary permits and certifications to comply fully with the rules and regulations of the relevant international and local authorities. It is also insured at Lloyd’s of London.

Due to the make of the helicopter, passenger and cargo weight and other limitations apply. The Eurocopter EC 120-B Colibri can only fly certain distances over water. Applicable aviation regulations do not permit it to fly to Saba and St. Eustatius.

However, the company’s expansion plans include the acquisition of a second helicopter within a year and a half, which would offer more options. The new helicopter would most probably have a twin turbine engine (unlike the present single engine one) that would allow it to commercially fly longer distances.

Fete de la Cuisine to sizzle for a week

Being known as the “Culinary Capital of the Caribbean” is one thing, maintaining and living up to that moniker is another. With outstanding performances at the “Taste of the Caribbean” regional contest, St. Maarten is definitely not about to rest on its laurels where food is concerned. The island’s 2nd Annual Fete de la Cuisine - a festival of foods that will attract no less than six Michelin Award winning chefs from France, Belgium and The Netherlands - will be held from October 31st to November 7th.

Jean Jacques Menanteau, Noel Neckebroek, Gerrit Greveling, Dick Middelweerd, Gerard Wollerich and Andres Delpeut, all renowned chefs members of the “Alliance Gastronomique,” (Gastronomic Alliance) arrive Princess Juliana International Airport on October 31st. The next day, November 1st, they will participate in a ceremony dubbed “Fete des Restaurateurs” at La Samanna Resort.

Then they will take their gastronomic savoir faire to various restaurants on the island on November 2nd and 3rd respectively. On November 2nd, the visiting chefs, joined by members of the Dutch Wine and Food organisation and the Gault Millau group,
will conduct a series of cooking demonstrations and workshops.

The Fete goes outdoors on November 3 when a St. Maarten Food Market will stretch along the Great Bay beach promenade (The Boardwalk). Dishes made of conch, crab, goat meat and lobster will be on sale. Participants from both halves of the island will compete for the titles of The best Guavaberry and potato pudding (pie) makers of 2006. The plans also include a calypso competition for a new song on Guavaberry and potato pudding pie.

Fete de la Cuisine will be amply covered by reporters from the culinary and travel press from the Caribbean, the U.S.A. and Europe. Organised by Henri Brookson in close cooperation with the Tourism Offices of St. Maarten and St. Martin and the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), partners from abroad include the Alliance Gastronomique, the Dutch Wine and Food Organisation, Gault Millau, KLM and the Mondriaan Hotel School in The Hague.

Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands to open
new airport terminal

The ultra-modern new terminal of the Princess Juliana International Airport is expected to be officially opened by Her Royal Majesty, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands during her royal visit to the island in November this year.

The US$87 million project is slightly behind schedule, but is expected to be fully operational by the time of Her Majesty’s visit.

Dubbed Phase II of the Princess Juliana International Airport N.V. Master Plan, the new terminal is a fully air-conditioned, four-level facility with a spacious check-in area featuring 46 check-in positions, six passenger security screening points, and 100% hold baggage screening system with explosives detection capability.

President of PJIAE, the operating company of the airport, drs. Eugene Holiday calls it “a modern facility with Caribbean charm.”

The new terminal will double the size of the current terminal building and increase the airport’s carrying capacity to 2.5 million passengers per year, much more than the 1,646,065 passengers it handled in 2004. And with a 2,815m2 mall offering a large selection of local and international brand name stores, passengers will be able to ‘shop till they board.’