Her mother came into the room and opened up the curtains, letting in an ungodly amount of light. Yes it was almost 12 in the afternoon, but it was the first day of the holidays and she'd been lagging behind on sleep ever since class started. She was pulling her blanket over her face when her mother told her that they (her mother and her aunt) were going to IHOP. She immediately jumped out of bed and got dressed. She'd actually never been to IHOP, but it's reputation transcends it. She had seen it on the vlogs of her favourite youtubers and was dying to try a bite of its yummy goodness.
All set they headed to the Dubai mall branch of the restaurant and was seated in a cozy little corner. The place was homely and welcoming, filled with the chatter of happy customers. There was a faint sound of top 40 hits playing in the background, something familiar to keep your feet tapping. Their server was absolutely delightful and kind. She was overwhelmed when handed the menu. So many things she wanted to eat, yet so little place in her stomach. How she wished she could get a sampler menu. This was a problem faced by everyone at the table, they wanted everything but could only have a limited number.
She couldn't choose just one dish so she ordered two, Nutella crepes served with a plate of sausages bacon and eggs and an egg and ham griddle melt with a hash brown. Her mother went with sirloin tips and eggs And her aunt, a veteran of the joint, ordered her usual original french toast with bacon, hash brown and eggs. They also ordered a volcano shrimp, just to kick off their taste buds.
The shrimp arrived on a bed of fresh crunchy lettuce. They were a pastel orange colour, compared to the fiery orange on the menu. But the lack of colour was made up in taste. It was a perfect combination of tang and spice with the right amount of crunch. It truly did wake up their taste buds, Even her slightly burnt taste buds were tingling.
Then came the food, true to it's "americaness" the portions were substantial. The plates looked very 50's diner chic, true comfort food. She first dug into her sandwich which was delicious. It looked perfectly toasted. There was enough heat to have oozy melted cheese but cool enough not to further burn her mouth. The sourdough bread was fluffy and cloud like and in no way overpowered the filling. The filling being soft scrambled eggs with sliced ham and Swiss and American cheeses. The flavours melted in her mouth and the cheeses elevated the melt in a way that was heavenly. It also came with a hash brown, but sadly the hash was slightly burnt on top and it was too crispy. But nonetheless, if you removed the burnt bits, it too was quite tasty.
Next she moved on the her crepe and it's accompaniments. The veal sausages had become dry and hard. It tasted a lot like cardboard. And the bacon too had become cold and tough. It was chewy and not crispy and even maple syrup couldn't save it. She was too disappointed too even try the scrambled eggs with looked like it was dry and had been slightly overcooked. But as soon as she moved on to the main attraction the Nutella crepes all her disappointment was washed away in a wave of sweet goodness. It was topped with macerated strawberries and a generous dollop of whipped cream. She was not the biggest fan of whipped cream so she moved it away and dug into the bulging crepes. They were lathered with Nutella and had pieces of banana in it. the crepes were thick enough to hold its weight and thin enough to well qualify as a crepe. The syrup from the strawberries had seeped into the crepes and gave it yet another dimension of flavour. It was ooey gooey decadence.
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Her mother's dish was quite the crowd pleaser, Steak and eggs with pancakes, what more could one want. The steak tips were rich,perfectly cooked (medium rare) with caramelized onions. The eggs were ordered sunny side up and they were a sight to behold. Perfectly cooked whites with crisp edges and bright yellow yolks just waiting to be broke open so they can run wild. Along with that there were their signature buttermilk pancakes made in the kitchens of heaven themselves. Delicious, exquisite and absolutely beautiful.
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Her aunt ordered the classic French toast, it too came with the usual amount of sides. By the looks of her aunts clean plate were delectable too, The French toast was moist and not too sweet, a perfect French toast.
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The experience was overall pretty great, the total bill came up to Dh 292/- but it was worth it. And hey, this must be the only place where you can have insanely good breakfast for lunch, she thought as she left the place.
All set they headed to the Dubai mall branch of the restaurant and was seated in a cozy little corner. The place was homely and welcoming, filled with the chatter of happy customers. There was a faint sound of top 40 hits playing in the background, something familiar to keep your feet tapping. Their server was absolutely delightful and kind. She was overwhelmed when handed the menu. So many things she wanted to eat, yet so little place in her stomach. How she wished she could get a sampler menu. This was a problem faced by everyone at the table, they wanted everything but could only have a limited number.
She couldn't choose just one dish so she ordered two, Nutella crepes served with a plate of sausages bacon and eggs and an egg and ham griddle melt with a hash brown. Her mother went with sirloin tips and eggs And her aunt, a veteran of the joint, ordered her usual original french toast with bacon, hash brown and eggs. They also ordered a volcano shrimp, just to kick off their taste buds.
The shrimp arrived on a bed of fresh crunchy lettuce. They were a pastel orange colour, compared to the fiery orange on the menu. But the lack of colour was made up in taste. It was a perfect combination of tang and spice with the right amount of crunch. It truly did wake up their taste buds, Even her slightly burnt taste buds were tingling.
Then came the food, true to it's "americaness" the portions were substantial. The plates looked very 50's diner chic, true comfort food. She first dug into her sandwich which was delicious. It looked perfectly toasted. There was enough heat to have oozy melted cheese but cool enough not to further burn her mouth. The sourdough bread was fluffy and cloud like and in no way overpowered the filling. The filling being soft scrambled eggs with sliced ham and Swiss and American cheeses. The flavours melted in her mouth and the cheeses elevated the melt in a way that was heavenly. It also came with a hash brown, but sadly the hash was slightly burnt on top and it was too crispy. But nonetheless, if you removed the burnt bits, it too was quite tasty.
Next she moved on the her crepe and it's accompaniments. The veal sausages had become dry and hard. It tasted a lot like cardboard. And the bacon too had become cold and tough. It was chewy and not crispy and even maple syrup couldn't save it. She was too disappointed too even try the scrambled eggs with looked like it was dry and had been slightly overcooked. But as soon as she moved on to the main attraction the Nutella crepes all her disappointment was washed away in a wave of sweet goodness. It was topped with macerated strawberries and a generous dollop of whipped cream. She was not the biggest fan of whipped cream so she moved it away and dug into the bulging crepes. They were lathered with Nutella and had pieces of banana in it. the crepes were thick enough to hold its weight and thin enough to well qualify as a crepe. The syrup from the strawberries had seeped into the crepes and gave it yet another dimension of flavour. It was ooey gooey decadence.
Her mother's dish was quite the crowd pleaser, Steak and eggs with pancakes, what more could one want. The steak tips were rich,perfectly cooked (medium rare) with caramelized onions. The eggs were ordered sunny side up and they were a sight to behold. Perfectly cooked whites with crisp edges and bright yellow yolks just waiting to be broke open so they can run wild. Along with that there were their signature buttermilk pancakes made in the kitchens of heaven themselves. Delicious, exquisite and absolutely beautiful.
Her aunt ordered the classic French toast, it too came with the usual amount of sides. By the looks of her aunts clean plate were delectable too, The French toast was moist and not too sweet, a perfect French toast.
