Belize it or not...Bear & Em in Belize!
  • BeBelize Blog
  • How we got here (2010)
    • Work
    • Play
  • Construction
  • July 2-8, 2011
  • July 9-16, 2011

Opening Day Lunch at Aji

11/20/2011

3 Comments

 
Picture
Today we had a delicious lunch at Aji (http://ajitapabar.com/), just a hop, skip, and a jump (if that far) from our Chico Caribe condo.  It was their grand-opening day for the high season, and we've been anticipating this day for quite some time, as dining options on our part of the island are limited.  We had 12:00 reservations, but the sky was looking very threatening as it grew close to time to leave.  We had already been soaked to the skin in a passing heavy rain band during a bike ride earlier this morning (Barry actually got soaked twice as he started before me), so we were hoping that was all for the day for bad weather.  However, as we started the short walk up to the open-air restaurant, the sky was spitting rain once again, and by the time we got there, we had to make a run for the palapa over the bar to avoid getting drenched!  

We were fortunate to nab primo seats at the bar, as all the current diners had to hustle over from their tables to the palapa as well.  We ended up sitting at the bar for our meal instead of at a table, as everything outside was wet for quite some time even after the rain stopped.

Victoria, who runs Aji with her husband Hugo, the chef, kept things running smoothly, setting up a huge table in the palapa for the guests currently eating, and getting them settled.  She was simultaneously training new staff, taking orders, and making drinks.  I can't imagine how difficult running a restaurant must be, especially on opening day, but she carried it all off with nary a sign of stress. Very impressive! 

They offered a lovely three-course menu for just $25 BZD ($12.50 US) for opening day.  They also had drink specials all day.  I had been missing my daily glass of wine it is so expensive here on the island I haven't been able to justify buying a bottle when local beer and rum are so much more budget friendly, so I thoroughly enjoyed a couple of glasses of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc for just $10 BZD ($5 US) per glass.  Barry had a couple of local rum and pineapple juices for just $3 BZD ($1.50 US).  Can't beat those deals!  

For our meal, we got to choose an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert off the special opening day menu.  We both chose the seafood fritters for our appetizer, which were piping hot and absolutely delicious, with a spicy aioli dipping sauce.  For entrees, Barry had vegetable pasta, and I had the grouper with steamed veggies and rice.  Everything was delicious.  We got one of each dessert, Caye Lime pie and Chocolate Flan cake, both scrumptious as well.  

We enjoyed chatting with other folks at the bar as well as Dov and Laura Magy, who were just finishing up their desserts wen we arrived.  Unfortunately, we forgot to take our camera, a serious oversight, so we have no food photos to share, but Barry ran back and nabbed a few photos of the restaurant later.  I am sure we'll be visiting frequently in the coming months, since it is so close and so good!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Aji Bar
3 Comments
Dov
11/20/2011 08:40:58 am

Great to see you guys again! It was a fantastic time!

Reply
JP
12/19/2013 04:01:34 am

Love your blog! I happened upon it when researching for an upcoming trip to Belize. Love that you guys are active retirees and you're runners too! 23 and change is a pretty nice time for a 5K. I will have to read more later. For now I'm mentally marking that I left off with Oct. 2011. Thanks for your insights! Read the Guatamalla sail and that was great!

Reply
BeBelize Emily
12/19/2013 07:32:35 am

JP ~ Thanks so much for your nice comments and glad you're enjoying the blog! Although we are no longer in Belize, we hope our posts are still helpful and inspiring to those who want to visit the fascinating and beautiful country. Our memories will always be with us.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    UPDATE!
    Traveling Twosome

    If you're interested in following along on our post-Belize travels, please visit our blog:
    http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/

    Subscribe

    RSS Feed

    living in Belize

    Emily & Barry

    We're an adventurous couple, married 27 years, who decided to move to Ambergris Caye, Belize from Chapel Hill, North Carolina for retirement.  We built a condo on the beach  north of San Pedro Town and moved in with our Boston Terrier Paisley in August 2011 and lived there until March 2013.  Ultimately, we decided to return to the US, but we have no regrets and MANY good memories of our time in Belize.  We hope our blog might prove helpful to anyone interested in this lovely country.

    Archives      

    March 2014
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011

    ©2013 by Barry & Emily. All rights reserved.       

    Categories  

    All
    Airline
    Architecture
    Beach
    Beer
    Belize City
    Bikes
    Biking
    Birding
    Birds
    Birthday
    Boating
    Boats
    Bridge
    Budget
    Bugs
    Caving
    Caye Caulker
    Celebration
    Chetumal
    Christmas
    Churches
    Cleanup
    Coconuts
    Color
    Cooking
    Cook-off
    Crime
    Curtains
    Daily Living
    Dinner
    Doctor
    Dog
    Dogs
    Expenses
    Ferry
    Film
    Flowers
    Food
    Friends
    Fruit
    Fun
    Fundraiser
    Guatemala
    Haircut
    Health
    Health Issues
    Healthy Eating
    Hiking
    History
    Holiday
    Holidays
    Home Improvement
    Home Improvements
    Hopkins
    Independence Day
    Insects
    Kayaking
    Lamanai
    Library
    Living In Belize
    Logging
    Maya
    Medical
    Mexico
    Moon
    Movie
    Moving In
    Music
    Nature
    Paisley
    Palapa Bar
    Parade
    Parks
    Parties
    Pets
    Photos
    Placencia
    Pool
    Pool Time
    Projects
    Punta Gorda
    Race
    Rain
    Rainbows
    Rainy Season
    Recipes
    Reef
    Restaurant
    Restaurants
    Road
    Running
    Saga
    Sailing
    San Ignacio
    Shipping To Belize
    Shopping
    Storms
    Sunset
    Thanksgiving
    Tourist Visa
    Traffic
    Transportation
    Travel
    Vendors
    Walks
    Waterfalls
    Water Taxi
    Weather
    Wildlife
    Yoga

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.