Farewell Flo Flo! A Goodbye Brunch at Saffron.

In the transient town of Dubai we tend to say hello and goodbye a lot.  People move here, others move away, jobs changes, babies are born, opportunities crop up here and elsewhere so generally everyone is either coming or going.  It's pretty hard to sit still here!

That said, because none of us can sit still in the first place, we like to make sure we mark every occasion.  In Dubai there is a reason to celebrate everyday, we just have to figure out what it is!  First day of Summer, Vietnamese New Year, a sale at Dubai Mall, humidity less than 40% are all very good reasons to have a party.  This past week, our friend Florian - the resident German - gave us a good reason to fete him.  With just a few weeks left before he leaves Dubai in search of a new spiritual path - when asked of his plans he responds that he is off to write the male version of Eat, Pray, Love - we held a Florianfest at the Saffron brunch in the Atlantis Hotel.

A great group of friends came together to reminisce about the good times with Florian and nail down specifics on where in the world we would see him next.  My guess is giving an interview on the Today Show about his adventures in lederhosen.  Stay tuned!  

 Since Bon Voyage cakes aren't the norm, we just pretended it was his birthday.  Always room for cake!

There are two things I've see at this brunch that I've never see before.  The first was two rather unpleasant food fights - yeah you heard me - that shocked most patrons.  I regret that I don't have pictures of the girl who was in the ladies room running her head under the sink as half her face had been pushed into the chocolate fountain.  This was topped off by the table next to us engaging in full scale cake smashing on each others backs.  Come on Atlantis, get it together!

The second was the delightful chance to see how naan bread is made.  If I had a last meal, it might be garlic naan.  This Indian flat bread is both chewy and doughy, yet crispy and flavorful.  I love it.  Even in a modern hotel brunch, they were preserving the traditional way of making this bread.

 

If you are nerds like Matt and I, feel free to educate yourself on the finer points of making naan with these two expertly shot videos:

 

I'm smiling because I just found the soft pretzel station!

 

The ladies love Florian...

Glück Florian!