Let’s start the week right with some food talk! Warning: mainly photos of really delicious and beautiful food!
Dubai is home to crazy fancy restaurants and dining experiences. You know I’m more of a cheap local food kind of girl, so I was really looking forward to the Indian food in my neighborhood. But I knew that I wanted to experience one thing: one of Dubai’s fabulous brunches.
I’ve heard from Andrea about fancy brunches in Dubai and how they’d last hours with endless wine. Friday brunch is a huge thing. In the UAE, the weekend days are Friday (which is a prayer day) and Saturday. What better way to kick off a weekend than with a large fancy meal?
Andrea found a good-valued brunch for us at Mövenpick Bur Dubai hotel, at “just” 249 AED with a voucher online (regular price is 309 AED). The discounted price equals to about $70 USD, and believe it or not, is considered a “cheap” one! A ton of brunches go for 500 AED or more, which is not in either of our budgets. This one comes with bottomless wine, which was good enough for us!
So we bought our vouchers, and planned to meet at the Movenpick on Friday at noon, when brunch begins. We were to meet Emma and Chin, one of Andrea’s friends from back home (who happened to be in town to visit), and their mutual friend.
In my eagerness for brunch, I arrived before everyone else. The staff was still setting up, so this was a perfect time for some photos!
The lobby of the Mövenpick hotel is bright and airy, elegant and clean. The first thing you see is the huge dessert spread at foot of the grand staircase. My favorite part of any meal! I got really excited when I spotted it.
the staff still setting it up when I arrived
And now for a closer look:
Yummmmm… I only wish I’d have enough stomach space by the end of the meal to sample one of everything.
The seating area is off to the left. It’s not too large, which is perfect because it means that there won’t be too many people fighting for food. :D
this is about half of the dining area
Then it was 12 pm, and the rest of our party arrived and it was time to eat! I asked Andrea how long we get to eat, and she said food is served until 4 pm, but you can stay to finish eating/drinking/chatting afterwards. Wow! Now, I’ve been to some nice buffets in Las Vegas, but you always feel a little rushed because of all the people waiting in line. Here, there’s just one group of people the entire time so you can enjoy for as long as you want.
I couldn’t wait to dig in. The bread and cheese display looked amaaaazing:
As did the appetizers:
The food they serve here is a mix of local flavors and international cuisine. I don’t even know what some of these are.
This was chicken patê with guava:
Shrimp cocktails with mango salsa:
Hummus with pomegranate. So beautifully presented.
I wanted to load up my plate with everything, but I had to be a little choosy since this was only Round #1.
I loved everything, especially the red pepper dip/spread (called muhummara, made with red peppers, walnuts, and garlic) you see in the front.
Oh, we all got a round of a sparkling red wine to start.
After the appetizers, I went back for Round #2: the meats. I didn’t get a photo of all the meats as they were in individual pots. But there were a roast beef carving station, five-spice short ribs, Thai prawns in green curry, lamb tagine with couscous, and a few more.
But the most exciting to me was the cured meats station!
Cured meats!! I always say this is one of my favorite food groups. And I was so excited because it is really hard to find pork products in Muslim countries, especially if you go out to eat. All the “pepperoni” and “bacon” and “salami” are beef, which practically have no flavor.
Here’s my meat plate:
After that, I went for the sushi station, which I didn’t get a photo of either. There’s not a ton of choices here, so I just got a few pieces of salmon rolls and sashimi (Round #3).
I forgot to mention that by then, we had switched over to mojitos and white wine.
I was ready for dessert at this point, but I wanted more of the appetizers and cured meats, cheese, and bread first. So I went back and got myself another small plate (Round #4; not photographed). I’m one of those people who MUST have dessert absolutely last. I cannot go back and forth from eating savory food, and then dessert, and back to savory. Gross. I want the sweet dessert to be the last taste in my mouth.
Ok, enough rambling. I was finally ready for dessert, my favorite course (it’s probably a toss up between dessert and cured meat/cheese actually). When I went back to survey the dessert table properly, I found myself having a really hard time deciding how to make the best use of my almost non-existent stomach space now.
Some of the desserts:
the most beautiful Oreo cheesecake!
There was also a crepes station (which I was hoping to have room for at the end, but didn’t) and Movenpick ice cream (which I also really wanted, but the idea of rich diary mixed with alcohol made me feel sick).
After a lot of indecision, here’s what I ended up getting (Round #5):
Chocolate mousse cake, blueberry mousse cake, chocolate raspberry pudding, coconut mango pudding, and this mystery tart that tasted a little bit like eggnog. I liked just about everything I picked, but the standouts were the mousse cakes. I also had bites of Andrea’s mango sticky rice (not so good) and tiramisu in a coffee mug (delicious!).
Actually I’m quite disappointed in myself. Looking at the photos, it didn’t seem like I ate that much. But I was stuffed to the point of barely being able to move. I wish I had eaten more of the desserts!
By this time, believe it or not, it was almost 4 pm – last call for food and drinks. Andrea knows how to do this right. She put in 3 orders for gin and tonics for her and Emma each (I got a rum and pineapple), so we’d have enough for last us for the rest of the time.
For another 2 hours, we sat there, chatted, and finished our drinks. We also grabbed the last bit of grapes, cheese, and crackers to munch on. After all the drinks were gone and we were all stuffed sick, we finally rolled out of there at 6 pm (and the staff NEVER hurried us or hinted that we needed to go).
It was the best food and the best Friday I had had in a long time. Worth every single penny.
Practical Information:
- Where: Mövenpick Bur Dubai hotel | website (19th Street, Oud Metha Area)
- When: Fridays 12 pm – 4 pm
- Cost: We bought online vouchers for 249 AED (regular price: 309 AED) for the option with wine and cocktails. 209 AED (regular price) for the option with soft drinks.
Here’s an article of other popular brunches in Dubai. Looking at the list, I think this one is definitely a GREAT value!
Have you ever had a great brunch experience? Where? This was so worth my money that I think I should treat myself once in a while!
ANNA!! Oh my, this seriously looks and sounds beyond incredible. I loveeee breakfast buffets and this brunch one, just looks divine. I love all of the dainty presentation and the colours… and that cheesecake. Drooling!!
I know!! This was the best buffet I’ve ever been to… so worth it! I just wish I had more room for desserts! And I’m still thinking about it everyday too!
Buffet in Movenpick?! OMG! <3 The pictures are just so tempting, and I know my friend would so die to dine in Movenpick again
Oh it was so amazing! Which Movenpick did your friend eat in? I’m so impressed with the hotel now and will definitely take notice of it in the future.
Oh, both of them ate in the Adelaide, South Australian branch of Movenpick and used to spam me with pics of the ice cream.
I didn’t even get any of the ice cream, though it looked so good! I felt sick and felt like eating diary would push it over the top! :’D
Haha, did we seriously not leave until 6pm?! That has to be some kind of record :) Aww man, that was a fun day.
Yeah! It was around 6, because we got to our next place around 6:30 and tried to go to that rooftop bar at 7, lol. I don’t know why I have such a good memory for time and details. That was really fun! I wish brunch buffets were more of a thing in other countries.
wow. Foods are so delicious. I really like desserts, Specially, chocolate cake seem tasty and sweet.
I loooove desserts too :). And yes, I love anything chocolatey!
Wow what a brunch! And how civilised to sit there all afternoon and enjoy at a leisurely pace. I might have needed to lie on a cushion on the floor at the end! I don’t often see red sparkling wine so that’s a nice change to prosecco. If I ever go to Dubai I will definitely be doing the brunch! #WanderfulWednesday
Yes, it’s such an experience and I felt like it was so worth it! This was one of the things on my “must-do” list in Dubai. And I feel like it’s something you can’t do in other places!
Omg. Sushi AND meats AND cakes?? Heaven.
I know, right?! That dessert spread is heaven to me!
Wow! That looks like an amazing brunch. All the desserts look delicious. #wanderfulwednesday
It was sooooo good. I wish I had the space for more desserts!
Omg, so much yummy-looking food!! It certainly sounds expensive even with the discounted price but I guess you don’t need any more food for the rest of the day after having had such an elaborate brunch :D I’d love to visit Dubai just for this alone!!
Yep we didn’t eat at all for the rest of the day (and half the day after) :). I think Friday brunch is a very worthwhile experience in Dubai, because you don’t get it everywhere else!
Brunch is my favourite meal, and this is like the brunches I have but on steroids! My mouth is watering! I would love to try this just once.
You must if you get the chance! I would love to do this again too!
That warning at the start was definitely needed! How on earth did you decide what to choose? Though it does sound like you managed to sample quite a lot..! Also they have an interesting concept of brunch… sounds more like an all day feast!
I know, I love this concept! Because most other buffet brunches I know have a turnover of tables. So I love that you can just sit for the entire time here and just keep on eating!
Okay, I’ve done a lot of brunches in my day, but this is one EXTRAVAGANT brunch! $70 does seem like a lot of money, but that’s pretty standard these days in the North East of the US for a bottomless brunch, which is why it’s a treat and not something you can do all the time. This would definitely be worth it for a once-in-a-lifetime experience in Dubai though. I’m drooling looking at all those food pics. And that OREO CHEESECAKE!!! YUM!
$70 is definitely a lot more than I would spend on one meal, but it was so worth it! I feel like a lot of the food and dessert here is better than buffet brunches I’ve had in the US too. And you really do have to experience this in Dubai!
I. AM. DROOLING! $70 to hang out there for 4-6 hours is so worth it. Such a treat!
Teesh || Adventures of Cupcake Girl
I thought so too! It’s definitely a worthy experience and the food was soooo good!
Wow this looks so good! Also, I totally stayed at the Mövenpick in Doha! So fancy!
Really!! That’s so awesome!! I bet their rooms are amazing! I think there was another Indian restaurant in there that I really wanted to go to, but didn’t get the chance..
Wow that is weirdest sounding brunch I have ever seen (more like lunch) but damn, it looks so good! I am heading to Vegas with my boyfriend’s extended family to celebrate his cousin’s 40th and although Vegas is not my scene – I am so looking forward to the Buffets!
Oh my goodness this looks amazing. As a brunch fiend this would be right up my alley! I would definitely have to go very hungry and would no doubt still suffer from food FOMO haha.