I am not a breakfast person. I am the type who when I'm working, dashes to the office hoping to get a cup of coffee before I sit on my chair or I'll just forget the most important meal of the day, altogether! BAD. When I'm not working, I'll prepare kids breakfast, have my coffee and do all the chores under the sun just with caffeine in my system. SUPER BAD.

Don't get me wrong, I love breakfast but if I will prepare it for myself, I'd rather not have one. I have quite a diva taste when it comes to breakfast and I can't even impressed me. I feel like everything is the same. Eggs, sausage, roasted tomatoes, toast, jams, pastries. Sure they taste yum if done right but personally? I'm bored with the concept. Sure I can prepare them with flair (have you not seen my awesomeness oozing from those selfie narcissistic shots of me kicking a$$ in the kitchen?) but I want someone else's flair on my plate! Then came Nathalie's Brunch.

Brunch at Nathalie's is like a meal with your favourite Grandma (oh don't deny it, you have a favourite for sure!). It's healthy, filling and made with lots and lots of love. I say, I felt the warmth on every bite. 

If they are located in Dubai, I and the whole fambam will be a regular. The prices are great, I tasted the quality ingredients they used on every single morsel of the dishes I dove into. Everything's done meticulously. I really can't find any fault. From the warm farmhouse décor or the Disneyland-like-smiling staff to the happy-tummy food. I am just bowled over. 
 
What makes them special? Nathalie. She's the kick-ass founder of leading Nutrition and Catering Provider, Rite Bite. 

Okay, nutrition, healthy, natural, almost organic, that sounds clinical and boring to the majority (I, included). In my head was The BLAND band singing "bland, bland, bland". Yup, you guessed it, I'm not a healthy eater. I'm the fluke of nature who just won't gain weight. I yoyo between barely right weight to under-rexic-scary-weight. I stress eat, don't get me wrong, and a lot of things stress the bejesus out of me... but my body mass gets stress double time too so it doesn't matter if I eat a lot. And the bad in me won't stop reaching for that unhealthy over-processed salty or sweet food. I. Have. Very. Weak. Will. Power. Sue me! Okay, maybe don't.

Stepping into Nathalie's with sis and may two boys in tow, I felt like a sinner stepping into a place of worship. My heart was getting the sizzling sensation from the glare of clean food. Right there and then I felt my weight departing. I was getting stressed that I will be eating healthy food! It's a great thing that their decor is so inviting and warm, I thought... "pretty sure this is what Hansel and Gretel felt" wondered what kind of sorcery was involved? Still skeptical, I sat my skinny behind down. My two buggers (sons) happily distanced themselves from shutter addicts group, and settled at the next table. Smart boys, learned from experience, wanna eat in peace, stay away from MOM!

Then the array of carefully selected dishes wiped the smug off my face. They tasted light and clean but filling and oozing with awesomeness. Gorgeous. Beautiful. Think symphony of flavours playing in an arena built on real meadow. Not the CGI edited meadow "Bella and vampire Edward" shot the scene on. Nathalie's dishes are the real thing honest to goodness tasty. Can almost hear "Doug! They're in it to win it!" AI Jackson pointing it out loud

Dishes so real, it confused me. It was supposed to taste bland but I have not eaten any from them that is remotely bland. The bad in me was utterly disappointed that it can't manage to feel sad about eating healthy.

From the supposed to be naughty muffins to the normally oily omelettes, up to the sweet surrender which I had to their coffee. The whole thing was an experience, a very good one. Without a doubt, we left on a high.

The best part, my sons' fave breakfast are poached eggs and toast from a certain Meilleur Ouvrier de France, French Bakery in Media City. They both just won't stop telling me how great Nathalie's version is that it now made it to their top list, kicking the French Bakery to second place. 

How about that? Nathalie's just made my life a little difficult. A visit to my parents, I used to only need to remember Sanine's Shawarma on our way home at night... now have to remember Nathalie's on our way over in the morning.

Their Saturday Brunch is so good, I might just make an excuse to drive down to Abu Dhabi. Plus I want to see more of Nathalie's cute touches like this mini garden cans and those messages all over the cafe, like a hidden treasure... adore!

Thanks Nathalie's for proving me wrong. 

Granted that it's not an original concept, the execution I think is up there with the great ones. There are a lot of places who market their businesses as healthy and delicious but most than not, only delivers one of the two. This is the first time I really am impressed to witness both on a plate. 

Curious of WHAT I WORE TODAY? http://wiwt.com/outfits/70063/

Enjoyed this post? Subscribe to Reviews for updates!

Helio Lounge is a new hip place in town where you can literally just turn up, dine in and hang out... 

The atmosphere is so chill, the view is great, has a valet parking, what else should one need to relax?

Hubby and I chose to go al fresco a few weeks back since the weather was perfect. Helio does not have a slice of the marina view.... they have a PANORAMIC VIEW of the gorgeous skyscrapers and marina. Unobstructed beauty. We just sat there, smoked shisha while we chatted the night away with the buzzing crowd around us, a mellow music in the background, the yachts and dhow cruises going back and forth, makes you think, "what a wonderful life to just be there, stress free."

I used to be a heavy smoker but I stopped a year ago (yey to me!), and so I was hesitant to try shisha since some of the flavours are a bit strong for me. Luckily, hubby's there to the rescue and got me a mint shisha... light and pretty. I love it and I enjoyed it a lot!

The night was filled with canapés and drinks (non-alcoholic ones) which we enjoyed quite a bit. The fruit slices and cheeses are combinations that will always go down well. 

Helio actually offers contemporary Egyptian Cuisine, updated to suit Dubai's discerning palate without losing that Egyptian flare. Honestly? I have not yet tried it. I did eat Fiteerssssssssssssssssss the following day, yum!

I'll just have to make it a point to come back and try some special Helio dishes and update this blog, watch this space then!

Chef Joe Barza, region's Celebrity Chef conducted Fiteer-making master class. Let me rephrase that, explained what the Fiteer expert was doing on each stage. I'm sure he can do it himself but he's wise enough to give the table to someone who's been doing it day-in-day-out for years. Honestly, he can do it with his eyes close, me thinks.

We watched in awe as he knead, rolled and stretched them pastries to just the right thinness and filled it with so many mouth watering gorgeousness. There were dessicated coconut and sugar combo, Sojouk Feta, Beef and Beans, Minced Beef and Labna and Choco Halawa. They have a total of eleven mouth watering fillings, a choice between Savoury or Sweet Helios for you to choose from. . 

We couldn't wait to taste them, I literally burned my hand when I bit on a piece and greedy me won't let the fillings drop to the plate.

Fiteers were just beautiful. So delicious that I ended up taking home Coconut and sugar filled and Meat,,, BUT, when I opened the pack, it was half the size of what we saw made in the master class session. I was sorely disappointed to be honest. I wish it was the same size given the price.

It's AED 45 for one log, basically makes 6 good bite-sizes. A thin Fiteer is not what I was expecting. For the actual size that I took home, the price is pretty steep. I'm sure it was as delicious as the ones in the master class but I lost appetite when I saw it. Even my kids and hubby weren't interested to try them. Aside from it's really small, it was already cold when I reached home, so that's partially my fault.

I will still buy them when I go back to Helio but will definitely eat it at the venue. Fiteer are best eaten freshly baked. 

Hubby is already planning to go back to Helio with his office colleagues. Shisha lovers, amazing view, relaxing ambiance and super friendly crew. I'm sure they'll enjoy.

UPDATE: On May 22, hubby and his team had dinner at Helios. He was a bit disappointed (so was I) that shisha was unforch not available that night because of some renovations but highly and happily informed me that the meal they had which were grilled meats and other side dishes were so tasty that he's been bugging me to go back and try it myself. 

My husband is a primadonna (believe me!) when it comes to food and service and Helio seemed to won him over! Well,,, hats up to you Helio team, you just impressed a difficult paying customer without even a puff of shisha :)

And this is us! We got papped again...
Curious of WHAT I WORE TODAY? http://wiwt.com/user/AcousticChef/67378/

Did you enjoy this Review? Subscribe to Reviews for regular updates