The Buik had decided that he would be treating me to a weeks trip to Dubai for my 30th Birthday last year. We have friends that have lived in Dubai for donkey's years (and the Buik is Godfather to one of their sons) so we always try and head over there once in a while to catch up with them. We usually stay at their house but he wanted to spoil me over my birthday so I booked the Grosvenor House hotel for 3 nights. Now aswell as being an I.T Consultant by day, Chef Extraordinaire and general housewife by night, I hold the lofty position of 'The Travel Agent' amongst friends and family. I love searching for holidays and am bloody good at getting something expensive on the cheap. Dont get me wrong, I dont want something for nothing, I dont mind paying for the good things in life, but if I can get them discounted, then that is even better :) For some bizarre reason, I had managed to acquire a 1 bedroomed suite at the Grosvenor for 300 Euros a night last December. Which is dirt cheap. The Buik didnt even believe me when I told him and I half expected our reservation to be lost when we got there. But it wasnt. We arrived in the morning at the Grosvenor and was greeted with more staff than you can shake a stick at. At the reception desk, we were handed 2 welcoming cocktails (non alcoholic I am afraid) and some hot towels. Very nice start to the proceedings that was.
They found our reservation and congratulated me on my birthday which was lovely :) We got shown up to our suite, which was in a seperate part of the hotel with its own reception. I dont know if there are enough superlatives to describe what awaited us. The suite was huge. It had its own living and dining room and a kitchen that was bigger and better than ours at home!!!!!! Aside from that, the bedroom was luxuriously decorated and absolutely spotless. Aswell as having a seperate toilet - there was a magnificent marbelled bathroom, a bath you could get lost in and seperate shower that could easily have accomodated multiple guests ;) It was lusher than a lush thing. The lady informed us that we would be presented with 5 snacks throughout the day and cocktails would be complimentary. I had heard enough. I was selling my house in Amsterdam and coming to live here instead.

After unpacking and taking in the scenery of the mountains, succulent lush grass, sorry, I got carried away there, the cranes I mean, which seem to be a permanent feature of Dubai life, we headed on down to 'Sloanes' which hosts a buffet lunch daily. Now Blondie and the Buik dont do 'buffets' generally. I can think of nothing more horrendous than queueing for food along with people that are intent on getting their money's worth. But after seeing the food on offer, we were more than happy to eat there. There was a sushi station with finely crafted sushi and sashima and other Asian delicacies. I was in full stodge mode and opted for a plateful of hummous and other mediteranean dips to start with. For main course I feasted on just about everything else. Pasta, meat, sushi, cheese. They even had a French patisserie section where I ate my body weight in delicate French cakes. Both of us ate like King's. We also drank like King's too with a fabulous bottle of Argentinian Malbec, which put me to sleep nicely later that day.
Well fed, we tottered back to our room and had a 3 hour siesta. The Buik had reserved a table at Gary Rhodes's restaurant 'Mezzanine' for my birthday dinner so I was supposed to be staying sober and hungry for that. Oh well :)

After getting my hair done in the beauty salon downstairs, we donned our glad rags to eat at Mezzanine. We were given a table on the outskirts of the room (The Buik never ever eats in the middle of a restaurant room) and we had the best Kir Royale's of our life. I asked them what champagne they used and it was the Louis Roederer Brut - which is my favourite 'every day' sort of champagne. It was really mega. And so it should have been for 25 Euros a pop. We decided to have the tasting menu, which are smaller portions of the main courses. That definately appeals to my gluttonous side. Amuse bouches of Foie Gras, whipped Gouda between delicate slices of pastry, a white tomato soup which was heavenly and smoked eel croquette were all absolutely spectacular.
For main courses I took the following. Seabass with caramelised red cabbage, loin of lamb with potato hash, lamb gravy and mint jelly. Pasta with a sauce of white truffle (SWOOOON), cream, white wine and white truffels grated on top (DOUBLE SWOOOON). The Buik had Steak and Kidney pie, pork belly with greens and some sort of brie whipped in a salad with the devils work, fruit, in. I know all that lot sounds just ridiculous to eat between two, but the portions were very small and every single one was out of this world. I dont think I have eaten food like this for years. Every single part of it was perfect. The service was impeccable and the Sommelier teamed excellent red and whites with our food. They even crumbed down, which I find rather subservient but it's my birthday and I like subserviance once in a while :) We had cheese trolley for dessert, by this stage, you had to crane me out of my chair and I cant remember what cheese I ate. Suffice to say it was British and as fabulous as the food before it. The Buik had arranged a surprise for me, a dessert of home made scones, jam and clotted cream with a plate that said 'Happy Birthday Blondie' on it. That was so cute :) and was the best afternoon tea I've ever eaten.
The olympic style dinner was coming to an end and Blondie was chair lifted back to her room whilst The Buik picked up the cheque. It didnt come cheap this meal, but you ignore the noughts on the cheque if it means you can eat and drink in this fabulous restaurant. Gordon Ramsay, be afraid, be very, very afraid.

Dubai will be continued....................