Ever since we started eating healthier, we have not gone to any brunches at all. It’s both easy and difficult. The three of us prefer simple things and, after re-introducing proper food into our diet, we now prefer a good meal rather than the smorgasbord of everything that’s not good for us. It’s difficult to avoid, however, because Dubai has 101 brunches happening on any given weekend. Okay, so maybe it’s not 101 but I bet you if you include the rest of the UAE, there are probably a hundred brunch events in total. Can you imagine all that food being prepared and consumed every weekend?! And that’s not including buffet theme nights at most hotels either.

Anyway, so we did brunch for the first time in a long time. It was from one of those Cobone offers which are really hard to resist because they are such good value. This one is for a lunch buffet at the Grand BelleVue in TECOM http://www.bellevue-hotels.com/en/hotels/1 including pool and gym access on the same day. Needless to say, it was the pool access that won my son over!

We arrived at a little after 10am on a Saturday which meant it was dead quiet. Just how we like it. But wait, the menfolk have a separate pool and gym from the ladies. Not exactly odd considering the hotel chain is Saudi-owned, but odd because it’s in Dubai. I didn’t stay long anyway because the pool was up on the rooftop and I didn’t fancy getting more colour on me. So I packed up and sat in the lobby with my knitting.

Patrick took this photo of me and Bernie. he had to take a few because he is not familiar with the 85mm lens. I should have taken my glasses off as that glare does not look good.

Me and my baby. After just under two hours in the pool/sun, he got a lot darker! I’m glad I didn’t stay out there longer than I did!

It doesn’t show but by this time, they were starving! The restaurant had not opened for lunch yet but we could see them arranging the platters of salads and the rest of the dishes. The salads, by the way, were the highlight of the buffet, specially the prawn salad. I pretty much stuck to the salad and the soup.

It was a good day. Parking was no hassle. The other hotel guests were still sleeping the previous night off so we had the pools to ourselves. The restaurant was very pleasant and the food was good. Every now and then, there are still little gems like this in Dubai if you looked closely enough.