Thursday, 23 January 2014

Saffron - The Atlantis Hotel, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai


Head to the top of the palm and there you will find the mighty Atlantis Hotel. One of the many restaurants housed inside the hallow halls is Saffron, an Asian themed all day buffet. After hearing many good things about Saffron Brunch I was seriously excited about being taken there for dinner, however when I first entered the restaurant I must admit I was a little disappointed.. Instead of the swanky joint I was expecting, Saffron resembled a canteen?! I was confused.. However I was promptly told that ‘this is what all restaurants look like in Hong Kong’… !



For a Monday night the place was booming (mostly full of Chinese who im guessing were on holiday to celebrate the Chinese New Year), and I was pleased that the waiter sat us on a quiet table in the corner. Our host was great, firstly talking us through what Saffron is about and then secondly giving us a tour around the restaurant to show all the different stations.


Asia is a big place and this is definitely shown in the size of the buffet – it was huge! I had never seen so much food on display at one time. Hosting 20 different theatrical cooking stations, they were definitely making sure they offered a taste from every region. First stop – sushi central. A mass of nigiri, sashimi, and maki rolls were on offer with all the trimmings. We then moved over to the soup, and dimsum section where you could pick your own coloured noodles and elements to make the perfect soup! Following on from that there was a international section (boring!), Chinese, Indian, a bread section, salad bars, Thai and then pudding.. a huge selection of cheese, mousses and cakes as well as sweets, ice cream and a chocolate fountain, all of which is very easy to navigate and I never felt like I was squashed when trying to pick what to put on my plate. To add to this, there was also a superb selection of sake and wine to complement the many moods and flavors of the cuisine.








My eyes being larger than my stomach, I overexcitedly over piled by first plate of food – spilling over the sides with sushi, dim sum, salads and deli meats.. far too much. After finishing off plate one, the waiter produced a plate full of spicy jumbo prawns in cooked spicy tomatoes.. I mean how could I say no?! So I ploughed on, adding on to my already full belly. Round 2… Indian. Struggling to walk, I waddled over to the Indian station to put together a small selection of curries.. yum. Not the most flavorsome I had ever had but did the job, however standing was now becoming difficult. My already tightly fitted dress felt like it might burst, and it was definitely now time to stop eating.. however, Grandpa, who only really eats desert,  produced a mountain of ice cream and pudding willing me to at least ‘try’ a few things. Finally it was over, but I was now thinking how I was going to get from the restaurant to the car… it felt like someone might have to roll me out. After a 10minute sit down and ‘rest’ I managed to slowly make my way through the hotel and back to the car. Thank god!









Saffron will definitely be a place I will never forget, it’s a great place to go to feed the fussiest of people and a perfect fit for a family feast. It still baffles me though how people can go for brunch and drink as well as eat at the place like Saffron, I have a feeling I will be sticking to one or the other if I come again! 

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