True blue

Blue Elephant: Al Bustan Rotana Hotel, Dubai

When I was a poor intern living in Paris, a trip to the Blue Elephant outpost there was a real treat - saved for very special birthdays and anniversaries.

Tucked away as it was in a low building in the dingier streets of the Bastille, it was a delight to stoop under the door and be greeted by graceful purple-clad girls brandishing orchids (another luxury for me). It reminded me of commercials for those Asian airlines on which you can expect to be treated like royalty.

I expect it was also something to do with the fact that after regular dealings with indifferent French waiters, the service (and smiles) at Blue Elephant were a welcome surprise.

And cold-hearted as I can be towards ridiculous interior design, I was even seduced by the indoor rainforest.
But as is the case with many things, once we grow up and move to Dubai, things that once were magical seem, well, banal.

Charms

Blue Elephant Dubai has some of the charms of the Paris restaurant, although it can't avoid that depressing airport-hotel feel, being planted at one end of the Al Bustan's lobby. The scent of fish sauce greets you as you cross the threshold and enter - surprise - what appears to be a small tropical village in the heart of the city, complete with rivers and bridges (put to comical use later when a clumsy move sent my sunglasses to the bottom of the stream. An obliging waitress was fishing them out before I could even make a contribution to my swear jar.)

We went for the Saturday brunch buffet, a concept introduced recently by the restaurant. "Street stalls" groaning under fruit, dim sum and cooking stations flanked the walk to our table, perched above a sparkling pond. It's a great place to be a kid, I imagine, especially on a quiet Saturday at noon when there are few other patrons to annoy. I guess an open-minded parent would also use the buffet as a chance to introduce the rugrat to new flavours, as I saw some parents doing that day.

Fresh

But to be frank, why would you go to the brunch on a Saturday and eat food that has been sitting on a steam table that you could have had made fresh and a la carte later that day?

The Blue Elephant dishes are good - I've been a fan of the lamb massaman for years and I had my first tom yam there - and executed with consistent quality. But even the best pad thai (fried noodles) will deteriorate if not eaten pronto.
So the pad thai was a little gluey, but the lamb (in a rich cashew-laden curry sauce, a hit with my fellow diners that day too) could be left to sit happily for while.

Feeling a little confused at being in a Thai restaurant so early in the day, I headed for the comfort of tom yam - that slightly creamy, zingy and searingly hot soup. Pungent fish sauce, shrimp and coriander might not sound like the perfect start to the day, but this soup is strangely soothing. Duck noodle soup was a little lacking in flavour, but warming nonetheless.

Full-flavoured

Another full-flavoured Thai favourite, green papaya salad, beckoned from a food stall, where it was prepared in sight, with shreds of translucent papaya, shallots, carrot, sweet cherry tomatoes and a tangy dressing, all topped with the requisite peanuts. Also on the food stall was Thai spaghetti, where noodles and beansprouts nestled under a red-hot sauce.

Doughy parcels of shrimp and chicken formed the cursory dim sum selection, with a vegetarian option in the form of crisp mini spring rolls.

A real winner, however, was probably the simplest dish on offer - a steamed side of salmon served with a chilli-lime sauce, which cut through the oily fish juices perfectly. The flesh was still succulent and light, a dream to eat.

The other steam tray offerings - such as green curry, lamb curry, seafood in ginger sauce, sticky rice and noodles - were the good old Blue Elephant standards, but didn't benefit from sitting around or having other diners fish around for their favourite bits before you get there.

I was intrigued by hard-boiled eggs in oyster sauce, which were a tasty surprise. My favourite, however, was the ginger seafood, an eye-popping burst of shellfish, with even some small crabs, and a fresh ginger kick.

Fruity end

By now we were craving a little relief from being beaten over the head with coriander, chilli and lemongrass, and the fruit table, glowing with all the colours of the rainbow, seemed a natural place to quench our searing palates.

Dragonfruit, lychee, mango and papaya are all very interesting, but first prize for bizarre dish of the day went to a bowl of frog spawn dressed up as a fruit. None of the wait staff could actually identify the fruit, but we were told it is "good for dieters," as many inedible things often are.

Drizzled with spoonfuls of sweetened condensed milk (definitely not good for dieters, but heavenly for everyone else) and a shocking-pink fruit syrup, the healthy fruit became a deliciously naughty and creamy end to our meal.

One qualm we had was concerning the drinks, which were supposedly inclusive. For those wishing to drive home after the brunch, the selection of soft drinks included is a little restrictive, and the staff seem surprised when we requested juice. A broader beverage selection would be appreciated.