Some of our family members were fortunate enough to have performed Haj this year, and upon their safe return everyone was in the mood for a bit of a celebration. One young pilgrim said that he felt emotionally and spiritually satiated but his physical body was hungry for warm foods, fancy dishes, sweet desserts, and ice cream. After our pilgrims caught up on missed sleep and rested their sore feet, we decided it was time to take them out for an unforgettable dinner. We did some research to find a restaurant with delicious food, a wide variety of dishes, and a relaxed environment to congratulate our pilgrims. We soon found Habsburg, an open buffet restaurant with an international cuisine, on the first floor of the Rosewood Corniche Hotel. What is unique about this buffet is that all the appetizers, salads, and starters are pre-served in small, individual dishes. You can enjoy the popular Syrian/Lebanese dips and salads, such as hummus, eggplant dip, tabouleh, fattoush, and stuffed grape leaves; all attractively served in separate personal white bowls. There are even tiny plates of Japanese sushi, sautéed mushrooms, raw cucumber and carrot sticks, and a tasty Indonesian chicken wrap. This innovative idea ensures that the buffet stays clean, does not get messy, and remains appealing until the last hour at night. It also prevents the bad habit that is common among many diners who overfill their plates with more food than they can eat, which often remains piled up on the plate and then goes to the trash can. You can enjoy either the Moroccan harira soup or the western cream of broccoli soup. The cream of broccoli soup looked too thick and the cream makes the soup high in fat and calories, so we opted for the former one. This tomato based soup is a mixture of lentils, chickpeas, lamb pieces, onions, cilantro, and vermicelli noodles. As a partner to your soup, you can slice your own white or whole grain French bread, or choose a roll or pita bread, or samosa, or fried kibbeh. Habsburg has truly earned its reputation as a superb international buffet because it offers scrumptious dishes home to many different countries from around the world. Our elderly relatives who are common eaters of only traditional Arabic foods, less daring when it comes to trying new foods found the foods, liked the basic, simple yet tasty skewered chicken barbeque pieces, grilled kababs, fried fish, grilled lamb chops, white rice, and steamed vegetables. There was also baked salmon which is a rare delicacy in Saudi Arabia. Members of the middle aged and younger generation enjoyed exquisite foods that pleased their palate and surprised their senses; and an excellent platter at Habsburg was the beef steak with golden brown sauce and mushrooms. Dishes that were exceptionally delicious were Italian duck cooked in an olive oil and grape juice sauce topped with sliced green olives, slivered onions, bay leaves, and whole black pepper seeds. I tried duck for the first time and it was quite pleasant but a bit harder than chicken and also had a stronger pungent flavor. Another Italian dish that was highly praised by everyone at our table was the pasta topped with a creamy sauce, pesto, cooked fresh mushrooms, pine nuts, and grated parmesan cheese. The ingredients for pesto sauce that tastes delightful even on its own over hot, plain noodles are fresh basil leaves, chopped walnuts, crushed garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese; all pureed together in the blender. The shrimp dish was so scrumptious that we pleaded to meet the chef to learn some of the secrets to his cooking. Chef Anas Al-Hamoud who has been professionally cooking for 17 years originally studied culinary arts in Syria. Specialized in Arabic cooking, he has also learned to create authentic European meals. Al-Hamoud explained that this dish combined flavors from the Spanish and Moroccan kitchens. The shrimp was sautéed in olive oil with plenty of onions, green and red bell peppers, sweet corn, and gently simmered in tomato sauce. The dessert buffet was artistically arranged and the sweets tasted just as good as they looked. Again, the desserts were served as tiny tidbits so that diners could savor a bit of every different flavor and try a wider range of sweet treats. In your mouth, the white cake feels as soft, fluffy, and light as a white cloud. Equally delicious were the éclairs, cheesecake, brownies, fruit salad, ice cream, Arabic ma'mool, baklava, and Umm Ali which resembles bread pudding. The only dessert that I do not recommend is the crème brulee. Over all, the dinner at Habsburg is truly worthwhile and you can always head there with your loved ones to celebrate,or perhaps just to enjoy a luxurious meal. Plan to go to Habsburg for lunch or an early dinner to catch the beautiful view of the sunset by the Red Sea as the entire restaurant is lined with large glass windows. From Saturday through Wednesday, the breakfast is priced for SR145, lunch SR160, and dinner SR175 per person. Every Thursday the restaurant holds a seafood night, charging SR195 per person, and on Fridays lunch is also for SR195 per person.
