ingredients

saturday brunch - love edition at ingredients - anantara

it was our first time to try and it was fabulous. a very spacious, relaxed and laid back brunch. there’s a lovely live singer and the place was filled with valentines decor.

food was delicious. they have pad thai, pizza, turkey, salmon wellington, lamb.

they can also grill for you as per your request. sushi station, and epic cocktails drinks of your choice.

i love the vibes plus you get to enjoy themangrovesview.

exceptional customer experience is relative to what the customer's baseline and expectations are. 

the same exact experience could be truly exceptional to one customer, while more or less average to another customer who might have different previous experiences. 

and, so the same applies to me as a customer. i have dined in restaurants a lot in the past few years, and some of my outings, especially when it's a big group, could end-up in a buffet. i know that buffets are even more popular during the month of ramadan, where practically everyone gets to eat at the same exact time. 

this week, i was part of a work workshop, which also happened to be in a hotel, anantara easternmangrovesabu dhabi. 

we had lunch there in a place called ingredients, and the restaurant offered a buffet lunch.
my experience was a bit different than the buffets i have been used to. i was at some point surprised, pleasantly surprised, and so i want to walk you through my thought process, as a customer for my restaurant customer experience with ingredients.

---

step 1: discovering  

i have been practically living in abu dhabi during the week for the past 3–4 months, and so i wasn't staying in "downtown" or the more trendy places such as yas island. i was staying in an area that some could argue that it's in the middle of nowhere. 

i was staying close to adnec, abu dhabi national exhibition centre. that area is pure business and a bunch of hotels, and so the dining options that are nearby are limited. i knew a few places, one of them the easternmangrovesarea, as well as, the restaurants close to the ritz carlton. other than that you will have to drive 20–25 minutes to have dinner, and while that is a reasonable time to travel for dinner, it's not really convenient to do it on a daily basis. 

i was always on the "look-out" for new places, but the one thing that i never caught, was the restaurants available anantara easternmangrovesabu dhabi, where it was practically 7 minutes away from where i was staying. 

the moment i was in ingredients and witnessed this incredible view, i thought to myself, how did i not find the place? 

according to the manager of the restaurant…

one customer told him he has been living in abu dhabi for 9 years and just found out about this place. 

now that he knows it, he will come more often. 

incredible. right? i haven't spoken yet about the experience, but you will gauge from what i just mentioned how awesome that place is, and hey did you see that view? 

step 2: sitting in the seating area

i can't mention enough how i fell in love with that view, and so that brings me to the seating area. 

i actually dined twice in this place, in two consecutive days. the first day i wasn't able to sit outside and enjoy the view because it was already booked. i guess this is something to take note of. always book outside, especially with the chill-out weather of abu dhabi in december. 

i was disappointed that i didn't get to enjoy the view on my first day, but hey i still sat next to the food. not a bad option. 

step 3: ordering the food or rather getting the food
since this is a buffet-based restaurant, then instead of 'ordering', we serve ourselves and get our own food. 

my strategy is first to skim the buffet. the last thing i want to do is put something on the plate only to find out later, that there is something better i would have liked to try. 

and so, i skimmed. there was a variety of options and cuisines, which i loved. i also knew that i had to go back to work, so i knew i wanted to get something light and not go crazy with stuffing my mouth. 

step 4: dining 

usually, when i go to buffets, there is some kind of hecticness in the process, especially if it was very busy. cluttery, glasses, and water are placed on the tables, but sometimes, there would be some missing items. if they were missing you either get them yourself, you ask the waiter or the waiter would notice it and get them for you. 

when it came to ingredients, everything was in place. in fact, when you go to get yourself some dessert, you come back to find the waiter sharing with you a small spoon for the dessert.
the waiter would bring you water and ask you if you want to have some juice.

but hey, enough talking about the service, because if the food isn't good, then what's the point anyways? 

there were multiple cuisines. in fact, there were 7 cuisines, some were better than others. the variety could cater to most people and whether you are a vegetarian as well. 

overall, the food was exquisite. i was surprised to find that even if the buffet preparing large portions of food and multiple cuisines, the food was actually very tasty!

step 5: paying the bill

since it was a work workshop lunch, i didn't really pay the bill, which made me intrigued to know how much this actually costs. 
lunch starts from 195 aed.
dinner starts from 150 aed. 

other than that, there is nothing else i could add.

step 6: telling my friends

one of the best things about this place is actually the view. when it comes to dining, many places are indoor, but this one, you can just sit and indulge at the moment. 

and if you are super hungry and don't want to wait to order, then this buffet is totally worth it. the quality of the food is really great. i'd be careful though, i usually overeat and stuff my face with food when it's a buffet. not so great for my scale.

---

my restaurant customer experience with ingredients was based on a buffet setting for work lunch. it was perfect for that, others come for friday brunches, and dinner buffets as well. i am betting the vibes are totally different.

the one thing that i would improve though is the discoverability of this place. it's incredible, and not so many people know about it!

go sushi promotion that is currently running daily from 7.00 – 11.00 pm, offering guests a wide selection of signature rolls for aed 99 net/person and 199aed with wine at ingredients, anantara easternmangrovesabu dhabi hotel. the ambiance is really nice and the staff is very welcoming and accommodating. i love the interior of the restaurant, very spacious , its a family friendly restaurant and perfect for having a good dinner with friends.

we enjoyed eating at ingredients thoroughly. it was a part of our visit to easternmangrovesanantara. the buffet breakfast was full of options ranging from fruits and cereals to asian veg options like parantha and curry and rice with vegetables and arabic options like manakish etc. they have multiple options for coffee and grind their own coffee. the staff is professional and very helpful. i would highly recommend the place.

perfect buffet. from the variety of appetizers to the variations in the cuisines served and ends with the delicious desserts, this place has the best buffet in town. not only the food caught me but also the view of themangrovesthe moment you step outside the restaurant is beautiful. so well done ingredients keep the yummy food coming.

you have got to love this restaurant. even though the whole thing is a bit confusing when you enter from themangrovespromenade - we had to search for 5 minutes before we found someone to show us the way to the restaurant. the food is delicious - hereby i mean the food in the asian part of the restaurant. you can literally feel the ingredients, so the restaurant undoubtedly lives up to its name! the service is very gentle, too! the chef came to introduce himself after we were done eating - this had never happened before in abu dhabi and was very much appreciated. we'll be back!

this is a cool breakfast outlet located in the anantara hotel of eastern mangroves. the outside seating here totally does justice to the location!

we went here for breakfast during our stay. this restaurant is only open in the morning, so perhaps they should keep the buffet open till a bit late. we sat outside on a table facing themangrovesand creek. the breakfast spread was good. eggs like you want, yoghurts, fruits, cold cuts of salmon & turkey, assorted breads, thai & chinese variants is just some of the items. my most favorite were the waffles and more so the syrup options to go with it. the service was good too.

i have had better breakfast buffets in terms of spreads, but this one has it's own charm mainly because of the location. do try!

last week i was able to enjoy a lovely lunch at the easternmangroveshotel restaurant, named ingredients. we were a large group of over 40 ladies, since it was a weekday lunch, there were little to no other parties in the restaurant. the staff was kind enough to guide us from our conference room to the ingredients restaurant. once we arrived, i felt like i had to seat myself and no direction was really given on which tables were reserved for our party.

after we got settled in our table, mark and i started to check the buffet spread. the desserts section, strategically located just right after the entrance of the restaurant, was a perfect concept as it allures guests to crave more for what the big brunch has to offer.

it's as if the choices are endless. there's a wide selection of desserts from candies, chocolates, and cakes, to macarons, chocolate fondue, and traditional pastries and sweets. the kid in me got overjoyed upon seeing this sweet exhibition!

the big brunch features international flavors from five show kitchens specializing in thai, chinese, arabic, and italian cuisine. guests can start off with a selection of freshly baked breads, and a variety of cheese and wines, then explore the wide range of organic salads and antipasti. guests may also choose to devour the freshness of food at the live sushi station before delving into an assortment of roasts at the carvery station. there's also a section where you can choose fresh meat and seafood and have them cooked according to the chef's specialties.

the lamb shank was divine! it was succulent and fork-tender. it's bursting with flavors in every bite. the lamb chop didn't pale into comparison. the tarts and chocolates were heavenly!

i've been to a number of restaurants serving buffets, but this has got to be the best and the most extensive buffet spread that i have ever seen and experienced. the big brunch wasn't just called 'big' for nothing! it is indeed the best place for an awesome degustation. and i must say that all other buffets will have a hard time in dethroning the big brunch at easternmangrovesin my top buffet list!

i was surprise when i saw ingredients popping up as the list of restaurants that i have rated but not written a review on coz i remember clearly writing a very detailed review on ingredients right after i visited them (which is now months back). i have no clue how it got deleted from zomato! however, since ingredients is one of those rare places which gives you lifelong memories, it isn’t hard to rake my head to write about them again.

i have had the pleasure to stay at anatara easternmangrovesa couple of times. i would recommend this hotel to anyone who is interested for a getaway in uae as more than the ambiance (which is out of this world offcourse), the staff here treat you like royalty. the rooms are huge, the pool is amazing, the staff perfect and ingredients? just the best. i should admit that ingredients was one of the major reasons my stay at easternmangroveshits a 100 on 100!

i don’t know if i should call their breakfast spread as just breakfast or brunch. when i entered the restaurant for my breakfast i was pleasantly surprised at the spread. there were counters everywhere. i know what one would say – that’s how a breakfast spread looks at any star hotel. but let me correct you right there – you couldn’t be more wrong. their spread was unlike any i have seen before! they had counters for asian (which had a wide variety of noodles, dimsums, and rice including sticky rice), sushi, arabic breakfast, cold cuts, hot appetizers, cheese counters, seafood section, salads, a pancakes & waffles station, an egg station along with the droolworthy dessert station to top the fruits and juice bars. it was a food paradise. a special mention has to be made on the food quality here too because quantity can never beat quality – the pancakes were soft and delicious, the sushi perfect, the eggs fluffy and every dish i tasted topped the previous one. love!

the restaurant is very spacious and this helps in creating an air of freshness around you. it overlooks themangrovesand this makes your breakfast experience even more special.

i would recommend ingredients and easternmangrovesfor anyone who is looking for a change from the usual crowded hotels. the staff is extremely friendly, the ambiance great and food spectacular.

we were taken away for a surprise – lets leave dubai for a while – valentines weekend trip last week and ended up staying at the beautiful anantara hotel resorts and spa, in abu dhabi. as we heard so many positive things about the hotel before, we were excited to check in and start our weekend trip.

up on arrival we were greeted friendly, welcomed with cold, scented towels and an iced date juice. one of us was asked to show the passport and to fill out the forms before we were escorted to out beautiful room at the second floor, overlooking themangrovesof abu dhabi.

as it was quite late already, and we were hungry we ordered a small snack with room service and went to bed, looking forward to the breakfast next morning.

the breakfast was served at ingredients, the all day dining restaurant of the hotel. being located on the ground floor of the hotel, it was easy to find and one could smell the scent of freshly brewed coffee, pastries and eggs already when exiting the elevator.

the restaurant is huge, and most probably can be filled up with around 250 guests at a time inside as well as outside on the terrace. we were welcomed by a friendly hostess who asked for our room number and if we preferred to sit inside our outside.

given the opportunity to get a bit closer to mother nature, observing the mangrove’s wild live and being kissed by the sun, we chose to sit outside, left our keys and mobiles there and went back inside to discover the buffet.

while helping ourselves with the freshly squeezed juices and pastries, a asian looking gentleman approached us to ask if we wanted any kind of eggs for breakfast.

we ordered scrambled eggs with him and continued to storm through the buffet.

when our plates were filled up and we went back to the table, we found our coffees as well as the eggs waiting for us already, and linh, a gentleman from vietnam, pulled the chair for us to sit down, while wishing us a good morning and a nice breakfast.

not only linh, but all of his colleagues had something special about them.

from the check in – to the check out – everyone, and we mean everyone was super friendly, assertive, paid attention to details, acted pro-active instead of waiting for guests to ask for them and one could actually feel that everyone working in this hotel enjoys the job.

it happened many times that we checked in somewhere or went for dinner and one or two of the service staff was either smiling or generally good with guests, but everyone in the entire hotel, that was something new and impressive.

we also went to the spa and for dinner on this day, but keep our experience and stories to ourselves until being revealed through another review.

keep exploring,

seb

i had the pleasure of checking out the ingredients restaurant for lunch a couple of days back as i attended a conference and i had a great time. i had the feeling of spaciousness when i entered the hotel lobby as it was not "cluttered" looking as any other hotel lobby with their fixtures quite minimal - which gave the hotel of a very relaxed ambiance. the little "falls" as i call it smack at the center of the waiting area with beautiful flowers adorning it is just very calming with the soft trickle of water being heard. the big glass windows that lets you glimpse themangroveson the other side, the bright blue skies and the calm water is just a picture perfect for relaxation.

ingredients is a kitchen packed with a lot of choices and flavor. upon entering the restaurant, it would be the beverage section where bottled water of your liking is there, then a few steps from it will be sweets section which is strategically placed as it is the first thing you see and you just want to jump to dessert immediately. across the room is the little japanese section - with a few choices of sushi and maki, which i hope they could have like an "order station" where you can ask whatever roll you might want (i, for one, was looking for a dragon and firecracker roll which sadly they do not have). that corner also has the oyster and mussles as well as big shrimps and crab legs for those who might want to have a challenge. :)

moving along, they have this one area where they have all kinds of sea salt on display and i think this area is the arabic section - which sadly i did not have the time to taste any.

of course, no buffet is without the chinese/asian cuisine, which is at this time flocked by dimsum and noodle lovers. their soups are fantastic - as you get to almost create your own with their chicken broth and their choices of noodles, mushroom, spring onion, fried garlic to combine it with. the staple of manchurian chicken, sweet and sour fish and some other favorite chinese goodies are there which i all loved. their dimsums are also fantastic as they just steam them when you get to order them - or maybe yet i was the last in line and have to wait for mine to be steamed. then again, the dough is soft, the fillings are tasty enough and big enough to satisfy that craving. they have this skewered seafood too and other meat that you could ask to be grilled on the spot.

the dining space is cool enough - but what made this cooler is that they those tables prepped outside for that al fresco dining overlooking themangrovesand the brightly colored kayaks against the blue waters. with the great weather now, eating outside with that fantastic background just makes the dining her fantabulous.