TBK eats - A Magical Christmas Brunch in Dubai at the Marriott Dubai Harbour Hotel & Suites

Thang welcomes the British Kabayan to the Observatory on the 52nd floor of the Marriott Dubai Harbour Hotel & Suites for Christmas Day Brunch 

Last year Corleen and I had Christmas day lunch at the Bapco club , the year before at Rendezvous restaurant at Wadi Al Sail Mall and in 2019 I cooked a huge Pinoy Christmas lunch for all my friends in my old house in Awali.

 Before my regular readers ask, the Alcoholic package was for Joshua , not me

My friends in the UK , Jane Frost and Phil Gregory told me to spend , spend , spend  now I have retired , and enjoy my life after 44 years working! One of the reasons I came to Dubai for Christmas was that I have many friends in the Hospitality industry in the UAE, and so I knew I would be well looked after. I contacted them all to see who was free on Christmas day and who was working.

Thang had drawn the short straw and Joshua, as Manager now, had the day off! So Brunch was booked at The Observatory and prepaid, Thang organised a table in the window for his former guest at Bahrain's Movenpick hotel, and the server, Ruth, was briefed to look after his friends!

My brother would be impressed by my advance planning, I even took Jeboy for a recce the week before!

We arrived an hour early so had a leisurely cup of tea in the beautiful garden. We loved the dog water and all the birds and especially the pink staff uniforms and seat cushions. I was only sad I had not invited John Jaworski! Ironically I later found from a friend's Facebook he was at The Bapco club- how our lives have reversed. Him working hard and dining at the Bapco club, and me enjoying Brunch at the Marriott Dubai Harbour Hotel & Suites in Dubai!

                  Not sure if John was playing in the band or not??!!

                                          My cameraman Joshua

           This is my favourite photo of me this vacation , thanks Joshua!

                         ( Tee shirt for Brands for Less , Dubai !) 

The hotel was beautifully decorated, well staffed, and they had many procedures in place to protect us from Cov 19 . After coffee we were greeted, taken to the lift where a lady sanitised the buttons before we entered and selected the 52 nd floor. ( I nearly accepted the auto correct which tried to change the s to z in sanitised- which would have caused a corrective email from former English teacher Jaworski!) . On arrival at the Observatory we were checked in, given our boarding passes ( above) and taken to our table by the window with stunning views of Dubai Marina. It was beautifully laid up with a serviette folded to look like a Christmas tree, Santa hats, crackers, and as per the new norm, Sanitiser. 

Our table-  Being scared of heights I sat by the wall and let Joshua sit by the window

Our Waitress, Ruth, was introduced to us and she started Joshua on his alcoholic journey to oblivion with Champagne and then two White Christmas cocktails, while I settled for Sparkling water and , when Thang arrived, Lemon Mint and a Lime and another strange very green drink! Next the starters arrived and we soon realised we needed a larger table! One of the starters was a cheese and cold meat platter ( regular readers will know I love Cheese, but I had never had it as a starter before). Everything was immaculately presented and served. 

Our first course!

 There was a shy little girl on the table next to us who kept coming to say Hello

During the first course Thang arrived for work and came to wish us Happy Christmas, and he visited regularly during the meal to ensure we were enjoying ourselves. I delivered his Christmas present earlier in the week- a bottle of Bourbon ! Ruth came to check if we wanted more time before the next course and to top up Joshua's Champagne and bring more cocktails. We asked her to delay the next course as we still had not finished the starter ( I know, I am getting old and slow!)  . Once she was sure we were ready the team cleared our table and 2 more huge trays arrived with the next course. 

      The first person I thought of when they delivered the Sushi was Anis. 

The main course included sushi and Chines dumplings ( 3 types) and the waiter explained what each dish was as he served it. For my story loving friends when my friend ( " adopted nephew") Anis turned 18 I took him, his then Girlfriend ( now wife) Fatima and his ( then ) little Brother ( he is now married and very big!) Waqas for a celebratory Brunch at the Ritz Carlton in Bahrain. They had Sushi on the buffet and as Anis had never eaten Sushi before he asked whether he should try it. In my usual challenging manner I said:

" Anis, I believe you should try EVERYTHING once and if you don't like it never try it again!"

He tried it, realised it was raw, and spat it out, and neither Anis nor I have eaten Sushi to this day. I sent him a picture of the Marriott Sushi and told Joshua the story of " Anis and the Sushi" and we all had a good laugh in Bahrain and Dubai!

Eventually , with the help of a Mint Cooler from Thang, and another White Christmas cocktail for Joshua , we managed to finish the Main course. The curried vegetables were amazing, some of the meat was a little dry , and once again there was no cranberry sauce or Gravy, which to me are an essential part of Christmas dinner. The plates were cold too. Retail is detail. The booking conformation promised  that we would " dine on a delicious four-course brunch menu serving juicy grills" . At 500 AED ( 50 bd / 100 GBP / 6,810.35 Philippine Peso ) per person it has to be perfect!

A bird's eye view of our main course

One quarter of the restaurant was not used, half was full, and our quarter had us squashed on a table for two between two families with screaming kids who wanted to play with a balloon and run around. I am single at 61 for a reason! As I said to Ruth the meal acted as a marvelous contraceptive, reminding me never to get anyone pregnant and have kids. Ruth asked if I did not like children and I told her I love "other peoples children " because you can give them back!

I would have seated us on a table for 4 in the empty part of the Restaurant so we could have dined in peace and enjoyed the view! Maybe people assumed I wanted to get drunk and shout and scream and play balloon with the kids. If that was the case I would have gone to McDonalds! And while I am on my high horse, and at the risk of sounding like my eldest brother when we stayed at Leeming House many years ago, why send out a dress code and then let people in who do not follow the code ( the man with the screaming daughter was in shorts!) . The email specified :

"The dress code at the restaurant is casual for gentlemen. Tailored shorts are allowed with closed shoes. Please note that trainers, sandals, flip flops, baseball caps and sports attire are not allowed."

If his shorts were tailored , it was by a very bad tailor!

I am sure Anis and Corleen would have loved the tomato ketchup on the turkey! Baliw! This platter was too small and too cold and dry sadly- and for me the Turkey is the star of the Christmas lunch. I think Joshua enjoyed the fish! I loved the kebabs!

I loved these lightly curried vegetables, there was a fusion of so many tastes and textures in the meal, although by the singing and loud noises from the Scottish party in the next room I am sure they would not have tasted a thing. Just as some hotels have smoking and no smoking areas I think hotels in the Middle East should have alcoholic and non alcoholic areas. 

A whole bowl of veg, hot and perfect , and I loved the boiled potatoes and chunky carrots- My congratulations and thanks to the Observatory Chefs- great job!

We had to ask for a spoon for whatever was in the jug as it had solidified, but at last I was served apple sauce with the pork- so many people forget this. The lemon was a great idea too to and some Zing and the crackling was perfect.

Joshua enjoyed the rice- the problem with eating out in Dubai is they try and cater for all nationalities. If I want Indian food I will go to an Indian restaurant. If I want a traditional Christmas lunch .....

I love Cauliflower cheese, but I was surprised there was no Brussel sprouts at the Observatory or at the Ibis on Christmas Eve!

       My very full plate- all it needed was gravy and cranberry sauce!

Another problem with these hotels is that they get greedy. 500 AED a meal and then they give you time limits! 

"Please be informed that we will hold your table for a period of 30 minutes from the actual time of your reservation. Contact the Reservations team on +971 4 319 4000 or email us to hold your table until your arrival. Please note that all tables have a seating time of two hours unless otherwise specified."

A Christmas Brunch should be a leisurely affair.  I expect it is so the alcoholics do not drink all their profit, but why tar everyone with the same brush? I got so fed up of the Jumeirah Janes and drunken expats at the Awali swimming club back n 2016 that I stopped drinking. They say there is nothing worse than an ex smoker ( I stopped smoking in 2004 having started in 1973) and I guess the same applies to ex drinkers ( or was I a reformed Alcoholic- it came close with two stints as Bar Manager!) . As we finished our main course the staff were hovering to clear the plates, serve dessert and throw us out!

Congratulations to the Chefs yet again , they sure saved the best to last! Some will accuse me of being highly critical in my blogs but I hope that they take my feedback and suggestions constructively.

" Feedback is the breakfast of Champions " according to my Guru Ken Blanchard

So here is the feedback on the desserts:

Amazing, delicious, Sarap , BONGALICIOUS! Shukran, Salamat , Thank you.

The Christmas pudding was hot and moist, the Cheesecake was cold and tasty, and the Chocolate Yule log was so tasty and soft and fresh and creamy. 

Finally we could eat no more and we retired to the bar to let them clear the table and set up for dinner. 

You may wonder why everything is so dark inside, it is because it was so bright outside. Next to the food and the staff the best thing about the observatory is the amazing view of Dubai Marina, The Palm, Atlantis, The Tram at Jumeirah Beach Residences ( JBR) , the cruise ships and the dessert beyond. It is such an amazing sight and always reminds me of the wise Leadership of Dubai who , back in the 1980's , created the vision to make Dubai less reliant on Oil and Gas and develop world class hotels, retail and leisure facilities in what was once the dessert.  I will let Joshua's pictures steal the show....

                                               Dubai Marina 52 floors below

 

Looking out into the dessert beyond Dubai

The Dubai Tram crawls between the skyscrapers of JBR 52 floors below like a giant caterpillar

  The tallest big wheel at Ain Dubai, partially obscured by new buildings  already! 

The Cruise ship terminal 

I was going to write about our amazing evening with Lea Salonga but I will save that for another Blog!

Thanks again to Thang, Ruth and the team at the Marriott Dubai Harbour Hotel & Suites. It was certainly a Christmas day to remember. Thanks also to Joshua for taking all the pictures.

Ingat Palagi, Kita kits, Maligiyang Pasko