Daily Archives: December 28, 2012

More Café’s Friday Brunch at Opera Galleria

friday brunch info

We heard a lot of good things about More Café and specifically about their Friday Brunch (served 11am to 4pm) so we decided to head down to the Opera Galleria this morning to try it out for ourselves. And I’m glad we did!more cafe on 2nd floor

Located on the 2nd floor in the Opera Gallerialeft side of more cafe

This is a pic of the left side of the cafe from the front door.  It’s quite a spacious restaurant!  We arrived at 11:30am and it was quiet with only a few other tables of customers.  Started picking up around 12:30am.  I appreciate the huge spaces between tables so that even when it is busy, it never feels crowded. Fun, vibrant atmosphere.right side of cafe

The right side of the cafe (from the main doors) with the beverage preparation area on the immediate right. Notice my family busily stuffing their faces, haha.salads and more

My wife helping herself to several of the salads that come with the Friday Brunch with the help of one of the chefspot of lentil soup

This pot of lentil soup (3.7 rials on the a la carte menu) was one of my favorite dishes! It was heartier than any lentil soup I’ve ever tried and highly recommended. (A bit salty for mommy but perfect for me!)  Soup (not the pot!) comes with the Friday brunch.  Several options of soup are available.great bread

Just a quick pic of some of the bread available at More Cafe. So delicious!one of my plates

One of my plates to give you an idea of what some of the food is like.  The lamb was so fine and tender.  Actually, all the food at this brunch was of the highest quality (unlike some buffets where you get more “quantity” than “quality”). At one point during this brunch I remember thinking, “If only I were a cow with 4 stomaches.  Then, I could really give this brunch a go!” 😉full table

Just look at the food on our table! The manager wasn’t kidding when he told me we’d need a bigger table as we almost sat down at a regular square table with 4 chairs! Note the cool long table behind ours which seats 14 people.more products

Icecream is one of many products that More Café sells.  We were pleased to hear that icecream comes with the brunch!incredible icecream

The icecream seems almost homemade. They have a special machine that makes it right in the shop for you.  I think there are at least 6 flavors.  My wife had banana and said you could really taste the pure banana in it.  My sister-in-law had vanilla.  The dish pictured here was my awesome chocolate coconut cherry. This was unbelievable icecream!fine art

My favorite artpiece on the wall.  Click here to read “mOre” about More Café’s support for creativity and the fine arts.  The art on the walls is a fine touch to this restaurant.afternoon tea

I’m not sure if you can read the fine details of their “Afternoon Tea” deal running from 3:30pm to 6pm daily.  “Enjoy a delightful selection of cake, mini sandwiches, shortbread and coffee OR tea…”more cafe

Overall, we thought More Café’s Friday brunch was definitely well worth the price they charge.  3 adult buffets (9.5 X 3) + 1.425 OR/Tax for a grand total of 29.925. It basically came to 10 rials each for a total of 30 rials for brunch for 3 adults.  It came with freshly squeezed orange juice and a platter of fruit (watermelon and cantaloupe for us) as well as some fine New Zealand water known as Antipodes.  In addition, I had a regular coffee, my wife had a Cafe Latte and my sister-in-law had a hot chocolate which was all included in the brunch. The service was the best part of the whole buffet.  The staff were extremely helpful and kind especially with our kids and even the Head Chef/Manager, Tyron Lumley, was constantly walking around socializing with customers and making sure everyone was enjoying their food.  This was a very enjoyable experience for us as a family heading out for Friday brunch.  We definitely got “MORE” than we expected at More Café’s Friday Brunch.

BTW, there might not appear to be any “breakfast food” but we were told that you can easily order whatever breakfast dishyou’d like and they’ll cook it up for you. (The regular menu is 16 pages long!)   Have any of you been to More Café?  If so, how was your experience?

Tel.: + 96822022555, Fax.: +96822009622 opera@morecafeoman.com,      Hours: 8am- Midnight, Friday Brunch: 11am – 4pm                                       Website: www.morecafe.biz (including online menu!)

The Nutcracker at Royal Opera House Muscat & First Look at Opera Galleria

opera house dec 27

Dec. 27th, a rainy night at the Royal Opera House Muscat.  Just 2 days after Christmas, it was a great experience watching The Grand Moscow Classical Ballet of Natalya Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasilyov perform “The Nutcracker“!rainy day at opera house

program coverprogrammecastThe performance was something else. Almost impossible to put into words.  I’ll allow some of these pics provided by the Royal Opera House Muscat’s facebook page to tell the tale:68901_501800059865118_2097146076_n

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Not a bad way to spend the last Thursday of 2012! 🙂  Here are other performances coming up in January and February at the Opera House in Muscat:future performances

A few more pics from our night at the Nutcracker:me and wifey at opera house

Nice background at the front door of the Opera House which was popular for pics.chanceliers in opera house

more vertical shot

lantern on ceiling

Candelier and ceiling in the entrance facing Sultan Qaboos Road which is where they now sell snacks on the ground floor.food options

This was the 1st and only performance my wife and I attended this season.  The food selection has changed. Now you order per item rather than in a box set like before.  I noticed that the price of coffees and such has gone done from 1 rial to 500 baizas; probably due to the competition from the nearby coffeeshops available in Opera Galleria.entrance to Opera Galleria

Speaking of the Opera Galleria, we managed to take a walk through for the first time since it recently opened and we are impressed!inside mall

The mall looks fantastic inside.  We thought the lighting and atmosphere inside More Cafe was especially nice and of all people, we managed to talk to the Head Chef, Tyron Lumley, for a moment.  Expect a Friday buffet writeup soon from there! (Only 9 rials/person!)Opera Galleria in light rain

As always, a wonderful evening at Royal Opera House Muscat! Have any of you been inside the Opera Galleria recently?  If so, what do you think of the selection of restaurants/coffeeshops and shops?