Just in case you've been kept in the dark, here's an aerial view of the Palm Jumeirah. Essentially a man-made island created using land reclaimation by Nakheel, a Dubai government owned company. Offering exclusive waterfront luxury properties, the Palms are considered hot property ;obviously only amongst the rich and powerful.
photo courtest of outnext.com
So without much further ado, these are some photos from my walkabout the Atlantis, the focal point of the Palm Jumeirah. The Atlantis is a resort that offers almost every activity and accomodation imaginable, including a landmark hotel, an on-site water theme park (with crazily expensive entrance fees), world class cuisine and cosmopolitan boutiques, all under one roof.
Another photo as testimonial of the Arab people's love for giant aquariums. And when I say giant, I mean colossal, gargantuan and of mammoth proportions! *flipping through the thesaurus furiously* Apparently, this massive tank was home to Sammy the whale shark, a 4m long creature rescued off the coast of Jebel Ali and placed in the Atlantis Aquarium. Well, good news to all those naturalist and animal rights advocates out there, Sammy has just been tagged and released safely back into the ocean not long ago! Three cheers for that!
The wide array of fishes who call this lagoon aquarium their home. I must say that I hate the fish bowl effect caused by the magnifying glass panels though. Makes photographing the fishes up close a pain.
More photos of the Atlantis, quickly.. before I jump the gun to our sweet indulgences over at Rostang, the French brasserie ALSO located under the same roof.
The brainchild of two michelin starred chef Michel Rostang, this french brasserie brings all the old world charms of Paris to Dubai. Perforated with inklets of old school bistro styling, teak bar and chalkboard writing, the atmosphere was somewhat stained by the odd playlist consisting of the occasional bossa nova and new generation fusion. Much to my disdain of course, further pushed to its boundaries by the vacant nature of the restaurant despite a Friday night.
Our crepe suzette took an amazingly long time to prepare despite most of the work being conducted on the forefront on a pushcart over a methylated spirit burner with the trusty fork and spoon.With a slight flick of his wrists pouring in a generous amount of grand marnier, he tilts the pan slightly to allow the licking flames a taste of the rich liquor. And with a cinematic burst of flames, it was over.
Though the crepes were done perfectly, I cringed at the overdosage of orange (who was i kidding.. it's a crepe suzette after all right?), flakes of orange rind leaving remanant traces in my mouth. Guess I harbor an aversity to desserts with orange in them; despite the fact that I would happily munch down on my sunkists.
More photos of the pish-posh hallways of the Atlantis, just because I can't resist it. hehe.
No comments:
Post a Comment