Birthday Buffet At Rendezvous Bahrain

I have now turned a year older, and hopefully slimmer. But then the odds are great ,so I might as well keep this same figure with me all the year through. Last January 4, I celebrated my 25th my birthday. It was my second birthday overseas and hopefully not my last one abroad. So I decided to do away with the regular mode of cooking  dishes at home and opted to dine outside. Spending most of my time cooking in the kitchen at home or at work has made me immune to the smell and taste of food that is around me. I rarely dine outside especially in fine dining restaurants due to lack of time and my  preference for simpler dishes over gourmet.

Salads and Appetizers

There is this restaurant somewhere in the Seef Mall Area in Bahrain that caught my attention the last time I was doing my shopping there. The place is located near the foodcourt  area and is literally  packed with a lot of diners. From what I read on the post outside, it was a buffet restaurant offering international dishes ranging from Italian, Indian, Arabic, Oriental and American cuisines. So  I decided that I celebrate my birthday there.

When me and my friends went there, the place was already packed with guests. The waiters were very busy that no one of them  offered us seats. So we took it upon ourselves to look for an available place and luckily, we spotted one near the buffet line.

 Arabic Mezze of sorts

As soon as we got into our seats, we decided to proceed now to the buffet and  help ourselves with the wide array of dishes on display. I begun my meal by taking generous servings of the main course. I went on the left side of the buffet wing and helped myself on to  some servings of Ratatouille, Iberian Chicken, Curry Samosas and Chicken Biryani. This side of the buffet contained mostly Arabic and Indian dishes, so I decided to transfer to the right buffet wing containing most of the familiar items. There was Roast Deef with Demi Glace ( which didnt appear to be roasted at all but boiled), Chinese Chow Mein, Sweet and Sour Shrimps, Chicken Florentine, Fish with Hoisin Sauce and some bland Penne pasta that looked like Bolognese. There were also salads and appetizers of moutabal, tabouleh, fattoush, mustard infused potatoes, assorted salad greens and some hummus with kubus.

Lamb Biryani

My Caricature on a  birthday cake made by a friend

I had three trips on to the buffet table as I wanted to  enjoy the dishes a little at a time. The trick in dining buffet is for one to take small portions of food so as not to make you feel bloated. This way you can appreciate and taste most of the dishes without feeling completely full. Next in line after the main course was dessert, there were hot desserts and cold desserts. There was a juice station and a sundae station. My friend, who is a pastry chef, made me a birthday cake with my caricature on it. I approached the captain waiter and asked her if she can give me a candle so I can blow my cake. She was so nice and even informed her supervisor that I was dining with my friends to celebrate my birthday. She informed me that it was their custom to serenade a guest who celebrates his birthday. So she, her supervisor and some of the wait staff joined us in our table as they sang the happy birthday song of barney in the background. What a  great day  that was.  I truly enjoyed my  birthday dinner together with the serenade and the wish on my funny birthday cake. To tip it off, the bill was just 17 dinars. Not bad, for a meal of four and the memory it gave me, This is a great start for my year.  I am looking forward to having more happy birthdays to come!