Dinner Buffet at Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope is a much famous restaurant in the Palm Atlantis. I had been introduced to this place through the entertainer app 2018. So, I decided to give it a go on a birthday and while I made reservations through a phone call, their team was extremely co-operative and kind. They promised me a birthday cake on the house and helped me understand the dress code as well.

IMG-8313

The moment you enter Palm Atlantis, that feeling of grandness and larger than life is on your mind. Loved their Christmas decor, cleanliness, system management and security. I slowly walked to the restaurant because I was wearing high heels that day. We were frequently asked to disclose any allergies so the staff may assist us in choosing the food options. We were seated at quite the far end from the buffet, and happily walked every time we wanted to explore the menu.IMG-8362

Selection of salad, lettuce and vegetables:

They have wide variety of fresh salad including boiled eggs, butter lettuce, iceberg lettuce, sweet corn. cucumber, beans, broccoli and many more ready made ones like Tuna salad, spicy beef salad, ceaser salad, greek salad, chicken and waldorf salad, quinoa and roasted pumpkin salad. The best part was the several salad dressings you can pick from.

IMG-8324

Selection of Sushi Rolls:

They’ve got Salmon, crab, unagi, nigri with tuna, you name it! also the various condiments such as wasabi, soya sauce, pickle ginger.

IMG-8323

 Nachos station:

This one was a bit disappointing for me as there were no tacos but hey! the nachos were crispy and fresh, there were various salsa options to go with it like tomato salsa, corn and black bean salsa, guacamole, spring onion salsa and even carrot and egg plant salsa.

Cheese Board:

The cheese board was aesthetically pleasing with brie, gorgonzola, gouda, emental, edam, fontina and many more to enjoy with mixed nuts, dry fruits, fresh grapes, peach, water crackers, crostini and even figs and plum chutneys. Now that’s some variety.

Italian dishes:

I think its fair to tell you that this is the main area where I was roaming around mainly due to the fresh exotic pasta dishes including cochiggli pasta with meat sauce and meat lasagne. They also had carbonara, balongnese, alfredo, pesto and arrabiata on made to order. But my heart was really set on their pizza corner as it had four cheese pizza, margarita and the cheese bianca pizza. *Drooling while I write this*

Soup of the day:

I didn’t try any of the soups that day but they looked pretty amazing. There was lentil soup, cream potato and leek and cream of mushroom soups that day.

Rotisserie:

Atlantis beef and roasted chicken were the most loved items as there was a high influx of people on that table. I would really like to praise the pepper sauce here that was kept as a condiment. It paired so well with the chicken.

Main course:

The most amazing thing about this buffet was the Tandoor and Indian curry station as it had so much variety that your’e going to read this twice. (or maybe thrice?) Ok, I’ll name the dishes for you and then you be the judge ok? let’s do this:

For the vegetarians there were: Zeera pulao, daal tadka, beans sabzi, chana masala, aaloo shimla, dahi kadi, paneer makkini, tandoori potato and tindli masala, aaloo tikki and vegetable pakora too.

While for the non-vegeterians: Fish tikka, chicken tandoori, mutton rohan josh and chicken goan curry. Then there were various Indian breads and chutneys made from the freshest ingredients.

Dim Sums:

The dim sum station was lit with chicken bun, prawn sew mai, lo makai, hakau prawn dim sum, vegetable dumpling, fish dumpling and mushroom dumpling.

IMG-8291

Arabic station:

I can not explain how delicious were there mix grilled items especially the lamb kebabs. They were juicy and cooked to perfection. The cheese rolls and lamb kibbeh were amazing too.

Sweet endings:

Loved their exotic selection of pastry display, chocolate fountain, date chocolate tower, orange rice pudding, praline eclair, oreo cheese cake, pineapple and coconut tart, vanilla eggless cake and fried cinnamon sticks.

I would like to suggest the management to add mini cocktail shots to one of the stations, I know there was a rhubarb drink but I didn’t like it that much. Also. I missed crispy fried prawns.

Kaleidoscope - Atlantis The Palm Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Al Mawal Deck Lunch at GhayaGrand Hotel

IMG_3163

It is no secret that everyone enjoys deck lunch especially when the temperature drops in Dubai, sipping on some chilled lemonade while relaxing solo or having a romantic date or a celebration with friends. The idea of nibbling food under clear skies gets everyone excited and so with such excitement I walked into GhayaGrand (Al Mawal deck) for lunch where I was greeted with such warm smiles and friendly staff.

I was given tour of the deck lunch stations and then we seated comfortably at a round table. My baby was greeted with love too and the staff brought a nice clean high chair for him.

IMG_3153IMG_3155

As I started wandering my way through all the stations, I couldn’t help but go after the Mexican corner where there were nachos, taco shells and several condiments to go with it. So I made myself a giant taco with chicken marinara, slaw, liquid cheese, beef with peppers and guacamole stuffed in it. I quickly munched into it and realize that the taco shells were brittle and did not taste well. Then I looked at the Mexican corner and observed how the taco shells were out in  the open (uncovered) which was not right. Taco shells have some fat in them when they are fried, by keeping them out in exposure to oxygen; that fat can go rancid. Rancidity affects smell and taste but it isn’t unhealthy.

IMG_3148IMG_3150

Next, I grabbed some aqua lemonade from lemonade corner that was so cheerful and made me really happy. I tried different flavors and liked them all. There was aqua lemonade, mango and strawberry.

Then I made my way to the pasta section where there was so much variety that I was really amused. I took one portion of each kind of pasta and did not like any because of the texture. I think the windy weather made it cold quickly and it was so hard to chew into it, it felt rubbery and not good at all.

IMG_3207

20181110_142948

Then, I went to the burger station with high hopes where they grilled a piece of chicken on my request in front of me for the burger. The chicken was overcooked and did not taste well in the burger.

IMG_3158

There was a shawarma station right beside the burger one so I opted for it and thankfully it was great. I really liked it!

IMG_3151

By now, I was a little disappointed and “a lot” hungry so I made my way to the salad corner and there were several boxes lined up with different salads and numerous dressings to go with it. I got a macaroni salad and added yogurt dressing to it. It was average and not that bad.

IMG_3175

I also had some salty rice that were really good along with the chicken skewers that I can’t complain about because they were very nice.

IMG_3189

I would suggest the management to either use a shed of some sort for food so that it doesn’t get cold (from the time we get it on the plate and walk to our seating areas). Secondly, the temperature of food was originally not very hot so that added to the trouble. I agree that it was a windy day and there was sand storm everywhere but the food was a major let down. There were no flavors/spices in the sauces, meals. The bread station was so deserted that no one was even batting an eye over there.

Desserts:

The dessert section was my favorite as every item over there was an absolute hit. Loved the profiterole and milk cake. I tried one of everything.

IMG_3204

I would like to thank GhayaGrand Hotel for their wonderful hospitality and amazing service. Their staff was on the toes to help and offer us support throughout the time I dined in there.

 Al Mawal - Ghaya Grand Hotel Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Start a Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑