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Luke and Obi-Wan were enjoying a plate full of sushi specials at the The Crowne Plaza Bahrain’s Absolutely Fabulous Friday Brunch and kept spilling the rolls of spicy rice all over the table opposite us.
Finally, Obi-Wan said: ‘use the forks, Luke’.
He was lucky he wasn’t spotted by Darth Vader and Kylo Ren who were busy patrolling The Patio at the time as we tackled the fabulous fare in the La Mosaique Restaurant, as others partied in true Star Wars-style inside Harvesters with a band and dancers and at the Cappuccino Café.
Friday’s affair was simply out of this world as the four outlets combined to stage the hotel’s first-ever themed event with aplomb and plenty of enthusiasm.
Many female guests threw on their Princess Leia-style frocks to enjoy the fun and members of the serving team equally took to the spirit of the occasion by sporting specially-printed Star Wars T-shirts.
I don’t want to sound racist, but do all stormtroopers look the same to you too?
French Executive Chef David Miras cut a splendid figure plating slices of roast beef saying he often fought a weekly battle with the meat but always came out top-side.
He’s sharp … and may the force be forever with him.
The night before, we’d had a few friends over for a BBQ. I had a Wookie burger. It tasted alright but the meat was a bit Chewie.
I knew that would not be the case at the Crowne Plaza. Chef David’s team did not disappoint. In fact, the chefs and creative kitchen assistants were on impressive form, capturing the theme with impressive carved food artworks featuring characters from the hit movies displayed decoratively around the buffet aisles as well as the live cooking stations.
The Crowne Plaza’s Friday brunch is legendary on the island for its party atmosphere and the fare produced under the guidance of one of my favourite chefs on the island is helping to add a glow as powerful as a lightsaber to the scene.
The salad dishes were as sharp, crunchy and crispy as ever and accompanied my helping of smoked salmon superbly. The Prawn & Pineapple and the Thai Calamari salad delights were particularly outstanding.
The beef casserole, chicken musallam, seafood thermidor and kindo chicken proved popular but once again I headed for the fresh fish counter and ordered a fabulous fasker, chunk of baby shark, alongside a mini steak, having enjoyed a recent surf and turf lunch date at the same venue and still rave about the experience.
The choice of cuisine is impressive with several live cooking stations featuring pasta, pancakes and even soups and Thai and Mongolian-inspired concoctions.
The good lady wife, Kathryn, and her father, Brian, who is visiting with his brother, David, enjoyed helpings of traditional British-style roast beef with all the trimmings.
The desserts were a delight too. The apple tart, in particular, went down a treat with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
We all left just a little room to enjoy the selection of cheeses from blue to brie, cheddar to a magnificent manchego, with biscuits. Sometimes you really do have to force it down, it’s too good to ignore.
* The Absolutely Fabulous Friday Brunch, which costs BD35 net and BD12.750 net for children aged seven to 12, is set to stage a themed brunch every month so keep checking GulfWeekly’s Leisure Guide or call 17531122 for more information and to book a table.
