The Saigon Social at Blue Jade is a delightful way to celebrate the beginning of the weekend. This Friday night brunch at Dubai’s Ritz Carlton, JBR is picture perfect from arrival to the last sip.
I am swept away before we even get to Blue Jade. Arriving at this spectacular five star hotel, the Ritz Carlton at JBR is understated elegance personified.
Blue Jade
Likewise the restaurant has picture perfect interiors and views from the terrace to match. We are seated outside with spectacular views across the gardens to the beach and beyond.
Cocktails are promptly served. Charlotte selects the fruity Trai Cam, green apple, basil and lime with a vodka base. I can’t resist the Sake Mắn, Blue Jade’s take on the classic Negroni. Both delicious we cheers to our Friday night views.
One thing I particularly love about a brunch is not having to decide. Blue Jade’s Saigon Social brunch means that we are not just about to indulge in some wonderful Vietnamese food and those incredible Asian flavors but that I can try a little bit of everything. Bring on entrée!
Entrée
The entrée menu consists of a selection of five dishes. Rice paper rolls, savory pancakes and banana blossom salad feature in the spread. The flavors are fresh and vibrant, with lemongrass, lime, coriander and crispy fried shallots bringing out the best in each dish.
The Bắnh Xeo are particularly good. The delicately flavored toppings compliment the rice flour pancake base for a taste of the Orient right here in Dubai.
Main
Our exceedingly professional wait staff leave a perfectly polite pause in between the courses. After topping up our glasses of Prosecco, mains are served with a flourish.
The spread includes ginger lotus sea bass, grilled marinated chicken with lime leaves, stir fried beef tenderloin and is accompanied by sautéed water spinach with garlic and pineapple seafood fried rice.
Whilst we are savoring each of the dishes, the cocktail cart arrives with special syrups prepared to mix and create a bespoke drink to order. Charlotte selects the ‘spice’ and I request the ginger and our mixologist extraordinaire starts working his magic.
The resultant cocktails are magical. My ginger and gin concoction is has a delightful bite to it while the spice mix is perhaps on the more fragrant side. Both are remarkable.
The main dishes are equally remarkable with the Bò Lúc Lắc along with the sautéed water spinach as stand outs. The evening unfolds with some enjoyable conversation as I hear about Charlotte’s recent trip to Laos and Thailand. We also catch up on the usual trifecta of work, family and friends.
Dessert
After another suitable pause the deserts are presented. Our tropical fruit platter with mochi ice cream wows with it swirls of dry ice emanating from the centre. It lends a theatrical feel to the already attractively staged event. It really does feel more like an event as ‘meal’ doesn’t seem to do justice to Saigon Social.
We also have crispy banana spring rolls and pandan sticky rice with coconut ice cream. The sticky rice and coconut ice cream are the stand outs of the dessert course although, to be fair, we do not neglect the other dishes.
The sticky rice is just really good while the coconut ice cream is impressively creamy. Luscious.
What a delightful surprise finding yet another amazing offering right on our doorstep. Dubai really is a hub for incredible dining experiences and this is yet another one.
Good To Know
Blue Jade runs Saigon Social every Friday night. Packages are priced at AED249 inclusive of soft beverages and AED398 inclusive of cocktails, spirits, beer, wine and sparkling.
Check out other amazing brunches in Dubai:
Would I Return?
Yes.
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