Friday Easter Brunch at Mokha Cafe at Grand Hyatt Muscat – WOW!

If you’ve never been to Mokha Cafe at the Grand Hyatt Muscat, you really should give it a try!  We were thrilled to be invited to their Easter Brunch on Friday, April 19th.  Egg painting was one of several activities for the kids at the brunch. They had some painted eggs decorating the restaurant as you can see here.  My favorite was this Omani easter egg:Plenty of egg painting materials for the kids.  It really was a well organized and fun day!My wife and I had the pleasure of meeting up with Kate Ginn from Y-Magazine.  She was in charge of the Easter egg camel cookie hunt for the kids at 12:30. Up for grabs at the 12:30pm Y Easter camel cookie hunt was a hamper full of Easter goodies.  Let the games begin!Mommy and Gershom hunting for cookies. They were hidden in the bushes and even on the sides of the palm trees.  Mommy Our son managed to find 11 cookies!Jakob was the big winner with 15 camel cookies! Here he is pictured with his family and Kate Ginn. She hesitated getting in this photo, but I thought she should definitely get in there as she organized the whole event so well! 🙂Looking down on Mokha Cafe from the top of the stairsHere are just a few pics of the incredible food that was available at the buffet. Our son Gershom’s favorite – the “Y-Magazine cookies”. Be sure to check out the latest Y-Magazine (Issue 316) which includes a home recipe for these delicious cookies.Nice to see Hot Cross Buns at the buffet! 🙂Our friend Don joined us for the buffet. He is another fan of the Grand Hyatt as he has stayed here on numerous occasions.  Our son, Gershom, really loved his time with all the fun kid activities and didn’t want to leave, so Don and I enjoyed a coffee in the lounge until our son tired himself out. I could get used to this “getting served on a silver platter” lifestyle. 😉A truly fun day out for our son. Here he is pictured with the horse rider monument in the main lounge. It was only during the recent Social Media Competition that I learned (from Maurizio’s blog) that this bronze monument of a Arabian falconer on a horse actually rotates slowly and makes a complete 360 degree turn every 60 minutes. If you ever make it to the Grand Hyatt Muscat, watch the back foot of the horse and you’ll slowly see it moving if you look close enough!Gershom at home showing off one of the eggs Mommy helped him paint. Even today (Sat. 20th) Gersom said, “I want to go back to the place from yesterday!”  Easter Brunches come but once a year my son!  When the Hyatt has a promotion like this (and many others) in the future, you don’t want to miss out.  Stay tuned because apparently there’s another big prize give-away from the Hyatt to be announced and I heard that it’s far more impressive than a free one-night stay for 2 on the weekend…

Thanks to the Hyatt and Y-Magazine for such a fantastic experience during the Easter Friday Brunch!

The Always Inviting Bandar Hotel, Shangri-La’s Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa

 Nothing quite says “Welcome!” in Oman like a dish of Omani dates and a free serving of qawha (Arabic coffee). 🙂The “golden pearl ceiling” at Al Bandar Hotel is a real eye-catcher!The Arabian lanterns near the elevators are so picturesque.Bandar Hotel is a gorgeous place to walk around and take in the sights.  There’s no better reason to go check it out than to attend the upcoming 2nd Full Moon Beach Buffet (on April 15th). “Happening once every month, we invite you to a spectacular dining experience at al Bandar’s sandy beach.  Savour the signature buffet spread including barbeque grills and freshest seafood coupled with free-flowing beers, wines and soft drinks.  The live band will elevate your evening experience.” (Dress Code: Resort Casual) For pics from our incredible evening at their 1st Full Moon Beach buffet, click here.

 

The Friday “Beverly Hills Brunch” at Grand Hyatt!

  I posted this image more than a week ago (along with 2 other events advertised) after it was sent to me from Grand Hyatt Muscat.  They wisely send out such promotions to those in media, including simple bloggers like myself.  I hit the reply button and asked them to book us some seats for the launch of the buffet on Friday, April 19th and I’m glad we went as it was one of the best Friday brunches we’ve ever experienced in Muscat!  I’ll let the pics do the talking!  The General Manager of Grand Hyatt Muscat, Garry Friend with guest of honor, Matthew vanKan, who performed at a sold-out concert the same evening at the Muscat Jazz Club (aka Copacabana).  If you do go for the brunch + alcohol deal, you should realize that alcohol is not served until 2pm on Fridays.  We were more than satisfied with the brunch + unlimited soft drinks for 22 rials (all inclusive).  Carl the friendly DJ! Musicians are also part of the live music offered during this special brunch.  Probably my favorite pic from the brunch! 🙂 The incredible Grand Hyatt chefs take a short pause for a group pic.  Just one of several plates I enjoyed… Eat today and diet tomorrow! 😉   Plenty of desserts!  Anyone familar with Mocha Cafe might realize from this pic that tables have been cleared away to make way for all the extra food provided in their Friday brunch!  We were very impressed with this new Friday “Beverly Hills Brunch” at Grand Hyatt Muscat! The best part was when we asked for the bill and the waitress came back to tell us that “the bill has been completely taken care of”!  WOW! What a pleasant surprise! That had to be Nicole! 😉 We were more than ready to pay 22 rials (tax and unlimited soft drinks included) each for the buffet as the food was so delicious.  I was especially impressed with the sushi, lobster and steak.  The waitress informed me that the Beverly Hills Brunch will run until May 11th and then close due to the summer heat.  I really hope that this brunch becomes a norm at the Hyatt as it really is a fantastic option for family dining on Fridays!  You’ve got 3 weeks to try this buffet out before they close shop for the summer…I’d definitely make a reservation if you’re planning on attending as they were quite busy even on the first week of this promotion. (Tel: +968-2464-1234)

Al Tanoor’s Thursday Evening Seafood Buffet (at Shangri La)

I knew exactly where to take my honey on our recent “datenight” when I saw this smaller ad for Al Tanoor as part of a larger “Shangri La Happenings” advertisment in one of the free weekly English papers.

Al Tanoor is located in Al Bander, one of the three hotels at Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort just outside Muscat past Wadi Kabir and on the way to Yiti.

Al Bandar is a beautiful 5-star hotel and we enjoyed walking around, looking at the fine architecture and artwork located throughout the hotel.

Al Tanoor is located on the groundfloor of Al Bandar Hotel.  It has a lovely Arabian atmosphere and is softly lit, giving it a more romantic setting. 

Plenty of bread choices at the buffet but my honey didn’t want to “waste space on bread”.  🙂  That’s my wife!

All kinds of cheese and salads

 

The soup last Thursday was Seafood Gumbo.  Fantastic!  It would be nice if they had a second choice for soup like maybe a clear soup.

All types of seafood appetizers.  Unfortunately I was too busy stuffing my face to get the exact names of these dishes, haha.

Oysters, prawns, raw salmon, fresh tuna…Mmm!

Our table for 2 was right next to this Indian cuisine cooking station. (Great spot for couples, BTW, as you’re quite far from other tables!)  The buffet consists of many of these “open culinary stations”.

 

The pasta station

Seafood grilling station!  One of the best places to fill your plate at the Al Tanoor seafood buffet!  The lobster was incredibly good especially with the sauce they provide.  The lobster alone is worth the price of the buffet!

 Most a la carte menus I’ve seen in Muscat have lobster at a price of 16 or 18 rials, so a 20-rial buffet which includes lobster is an incredible deal in my books!

My wife took a break and came up for air so I could take this quick photo!  😉

The pizza station

And to finish it all off, the dessert station.  You might want to order yourself a coffee to go along with dessert (not part of the buffet! coffee-1.8 OR)

Sitting outdoors is very popular at al Tanoor.  BTW, the seafood buffet is proving to be quite popular and some people had to wait for a table.  Despite that, the man on the phone said “no need” when I tried reserving a table!  I highly recommend calling to reserve a table and insist that they do so!  (Tel:2477-6666)

 Final word: One of the best buffets we’ve had so far in Muscat.  The only other buffet we remember enjoying this much was Samba which also happens to be located at Shangri-La. 

2 seafood buffet (40 rials) + large Oasis water (2 OR) + a coke (1.5 OR) + freshly brewed coffee (1.8 OR) + service charge/tax (7.7 OR) for a grand total of 53 rials.  Not exactly cheap but what do you expect to pay for such high-quality?!  Anyone else been to the Al Tanoor Seafood Buffet? If so, how was your experience?  Someday we hope to enjoy their Friday brunch for only 15.5 rials.  If anyone reading this tries it out, let us know what you thought of the food selection and quality of the Al Tanoor Friday brunch food.

Thursday Night Sushi Bar Buffet @ Jade Garden

Imagine a place in Muscat where it’s “all-you-can-eat sushi”!  Seems too good to be true, right?! Well there is such a place!  Jade Garden has Thursday Sushi Night for only 10 rials per person!

Jade Garden is Qurum Resort’s restaurant right next door to Jawharat Plaza, the little shopping mall by the sea near the Intercon. (Tel: 24605945)

Love the miso soup!

If you like caviar, it’s part of the sushi buffet!

You can sit inside (closer to the buffet table! 🙂 ) or outside now that the weather is awesome in Oman!

Dessert!

We tried the Wednesday buffet 6 months ago.  It was pretty good. Click here to read the review.  We were very pleased with the Thursday Sushi Buffet.  Definitely worth the low price they charge.  2 sushi buffets X 2 = 20 rials + 1.2 rials for a large water + 1 rial for a coke + 3.865 (17% tax) for a grand total of 26.065 rials.  Anyone else try the Sushi buffet at Jade Garden.  If so, what did you think?