It’s 7:45 in the morning. I come early as Café Alfresco opens at 8am. There’s virtually no one around and I have the place to myself.

I sit down at a corner table, under the skylight, earphones plugged in, listening to music to set the mood.

The ambiance is just right. Customers slowly come in. I am here today because Café Alfresco recently expanded its breakfast menu to include more traditional Maldivian cuisine.

I choose ‘baraboa mas-huni’, a type of salad made from mixing pumpkin, spice and of course fish which is the staple Maldivian diet.

The Alfresco breakfast package comes with a Sunquick orange drink and a Nescafe’ coffee.

I quite enjoyed the pumpkin mas-huni because the mixing of ingredients was excellent. I particularly liked the fact that sun-dried chili were put into the mix to give a truly traditional local taste.

After downing the breakfast, I sit listening to more music while sipping my black coffee at a leisurely pace. But soon it will be 9am and I would have to head off for work.

I would gladly return for a second round of pumpkin mas-huni: The atypical restaurant will “specialize” in giving something unique to the customer and that’s what sets a place apart from others. Alfresco has done just that, ensuring that customers get to repeat a truly exceptional gastronomical experience.

-Isse-

Tags: breakfast, maldivian, pumpkin