Kuda Villingili puts Chinese cuisine at heart of Golden Week celebrations
Kuda Villingili Resort Maldives will mark Chinese Golden Week with an eight-day culinary programme featuring a Dragon Buffet, Chinese roast duck, interactive hot pot, Teppanyaki and specially created beverages from 1 to 8 October 2026.
Coinciding with China’s National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival period, the programme will use food as one of the principal ways of bringing elements of Chinese tradition to the North Malé Atoll resort.
At the centre of the celebrations will be the Dragon Buffet at The Restaurant on 3 October, bringing together a selection of Chinese dishes with live entertainment in a family-oriented dining format.
The resort will also serve its signature Chinese Roast Duck at East, providing another connection to Chinese culinary tradition during the week.
For Kuda Villingili’s culinary team, the Golden Week programme extends beyond adding individual Chinese dishes to existing menus. Different dining formats across the resort will be used to create a broader Asian culinary journey, ranging from communal hot pot to chef-led Teppanyaki.
Hot pot brings communal dining to the table
East will host the resort’s interactive Wan Suk Hot Pot Experience, putting shared cooking at the centre of the meal.
Hot pot has a particularly strong connection with communal dining, with guests gathering around simmering broth and cooking ingredients at the table. For restaurant teams, the format requires careful preparation of broths, proteins, seafood, vegetables, condiments and accompaniments while allowing diners to control the progression of their own meal.
Its inclusion during Golden Week also supports the programme’s wider emphasis on family and togetherness.
East specialises in Chinese and wider Asian cuisine, allowing the resort to build the seasonal programme around an existing culinary identity rather than treating Chinese food solely as a temporary festive addition.
Teppanyaki and Nikkei flavours at Mar-Umi
The programme will also extend to Mar-Umi, where guests can experience oceanfront Teppanyaki alongside the restaurant’s Japanese-Peruvian cuisine.
Teppanyaki introduces another interactive style of service, placing chefs directly in front of diners and making cooking technique part of the experience. Timing, heat management, knife skills and guest interaction become as important as preparation when delivering the format.
The resort’s Japanese-Peruvian offering adds another dimension to the Asian-led culinary programme, giving diners access to Nikkei influences alongside the Chinese experiences taking place elsewhere on the island.
The beverage team will participate in the celebrations through special Golden Week cocktails and mocktails, available at selected dining venues. These drinks will complement the food programme and provide another opportunity for bartenders to interpret the seasonal theme.
Private destination dining on the beach will also remain available, alongside Kuda Villingili’s wider collection of international restaurants.
Culinary experiences for younger guests
Food will also feature in the eight-day programme at Kuda Fiyo Kids Club, where younger guests will participate in culinary activities alongside workshops, games and experiences inspired by Chinese culture.
Introducing practical food activities into children’s programming gives resort chefs another avenue for guest interaction beyond conventional restaurant service. It can also provide younger diners with a more direct understanding of ingredients, preparation and the traditions associated with particular foods.
The wider Golden Week calendar includes cultural and recreational activities for families, but dining remains one of its principal components.
“Golden Week is a special time for families to come together, and we wanted to create a celebration that feels both familiar and distinctly Maldivian,” said Amjad Thaufeeg, Commercial Director at Kuda Villingili Resort Maldives.
“From shared dining experiences and cultural activities to simply having time together by the ocean, our programme is designed to allow families to celebrate traditions while creating new memories at Kuda Villingili.”
For culinary and F&B teams in the Maldives, seasonal programmes such as Golden Week demonstrate the importance of understanding the food traditions of major tourism markets. Rather than relying on a single themed dinner, Kuda Villingili is spreading the culinary component across eight days and several venues, using roast duck, hot pot, buffets, Teppanyaki and beverages to provide different interpretations of the celebration.
The approach also illustrates how resort kitchens can combine cultural familiarity with the Maldives’ destination dining environment, adapting traditional and contemporary Asian food experiences for an international resort setting.
