A KINGLY FEAST

Breakfast options in Dubai

It is a known fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It helps to begin your morning with a big serving of nourishment, rather than a small one — simply because it keeps you full for longer hours. This is especially beneficial when travelling for business, and when lunch hours are uncertain.

Recently, we were in Dubai for Arabian Travel Market. Having stayed at different properties through the week, my colleagues and I had a chance to sample some of the more elegant spreads in this emirate. Here is a list of five such breakfast buffets you may want to indulge in.

Dunes Cafe

Though Dunes Cafe, at the lobby level of Shangri-La Dubai, is an indoor restaurant, its large windows, plenty of natural light and stone flooring with sand wave pattern make you feel otherwise. I particularly enjoyed the flavoured waters in jugs buried in an island of ice at the breakfast buffet. It was a hot summer morning and this was refreshing to say the least. I took the table by the window that was closest to the dessert counter. Despite my sweet tooth, I enjoyed the savoury dishes here more. The assortment of dim sum — vegetarian and non-vegetarian — is unmissable. Every few minutes, due to popular demand, they arrived piping hot from the kitchen. The rice flour wrapping was thin and almost translucent, letting the taste buds enjoy all flavours of the stuffing. I decided to go for a full-Asian breakfast and ordered a soup at the Chinese noodle station, which was customised by noodle type and a variety of fresh vegetables. The Indian station that is just as popular here includes dosa (savoury rice pancake) and spiced chickpeas — walk past them and you will be hit with a whiff of tempting aromas. Other counters offered cold cuts, seafood, and hot European and Arabic dishes.

Open daily, breakfast timings are 6am-10:30am; the buffet breakfast is priced at AED 145/`2,545;