June 2017 www.womanthismonth.com showcase 58 While most of the eateries on American Alley were still recovering from the previous night’s revelry, Lanterns restaurant seemed to be abuzz serving breakfast on the famous ‘eat street’. We landed up there, my dining companion and I, all bright eyed and bushy tailed on a warm Saturday morning, hungry after the seven-hour night fast. The first meal of the day is our favourite, so we were raring to go. Walking in was a familiar feeling – this outlet echoes the ethnic Indian vibe of its sister branches. Those opting for the buffet can start at the cold counter – fruit salad, vine leaves, boiled eggs and a number of dips and sauces. Further on is a great variety of Arabic staples, Danish pastries and breads with a notable selection of marmalades and jams to furnish the sweet section of the buffet. There’s also French toast, sausages and turkey bacon, baked beans and hash browns to accompany the eggs made to order at the adjacent live cooking station, all to be washed down with flavoured water, or good old orange juice for more conventional early birds. The buffet’s constituents change every day and it’s priced at BD3.900 per person, inclusive of taxes. After a generous cuppa of Indian tea, we decided to go à la carte, starting with my order of the English breakfast combo. My plate proved that the experts in the kitchen know how to make a mean omelette. If you prefer Behnaz Sanjana sampled the new breakfast menu at this Juffair favourite and came away fully satiated. LANTERNS FIT FOR A KING slightly more than a smidgen of spice to get your day going, choose the masala version. For those who prefer to steer clear of any heat in the mornings, I highly recommend the cheese omelette. Grilled mushroom, hash brown, toast, beef bacon and sausages make for apt accomplices to the fluffy yellow parcel on the plate. Turkey bacon and chicken sausages are an option for those who want to eat lean. Although I was quite pleased with my choice, I also had my eye on what my partner was merrily wolfing down. In front of him was a bowl of aromatic aloo subji (a viscous potato curry) flanked with fresh parantha (Indian stuffed bread) and piping hot puris (deep fried bread) that let off steam when their golden puffs were punctured. There’s yogurt to cool down your palate and tangy pickle if you’d like to crank up the pungency a notch. Dinesh, the genial restaurant manager, told us that the subji recipe comes from a traditional Delhi household. We nodded distractedly, our minds lost in the captivating flavours. The restaurant also serves up an Arabic Combo – foul madames, balaleet, eggs and tomato and crunchy falafel along with Lebanese bread, olives, feta and hummous. As a sweet rounding out of our lavish breakfast, we were served a stack of pillowy pancakes drizzled with maple syrup, topped with berries and crème fraiche, as well as whipped cream-crowned waffles made more magnificent with the accompanying caramel sauce. Decadent! There’s also French toast, for those who like syrup-coated crusty brown slices that give way to cushy white interiors. A dedicated team of highly skilled chefs serve up this hearty breakfast menu between 6-11am every day at the restaurant. I saw families, young couples, as well as morning work-out buddies digging in to mouthwatering fare to start a laid-back (or busy) Saturday with nothing less than the very best at Lanterns. With its convenient location and easily available parking spots around this time of the day, it’s a winning breakfast option to kickoff your weekdays on the right note as well. Call 17 666-517.
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