A new take on Oriental Asian at Barfly by Buddha Bar

To mark the last dinner before the onset of Ramadan, we drove over to the capital at the elegant property of Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal and decided to dine at one of the many gems at the picturesque Venetian Village. Located right next to the canal, it offers stunning views of the glittering capital while keeping it secluded from the hustle and bustle of the city. We chose to give in to our Asian food cravings and picked Barfly by Buddha Bar to spend our relaxing evening at.

Read on to take a look at everything we tried at this wonderful restaurant.

While we were greeted with a very welcoming vibe, what amazed us the most is this beautiful oriental decor which the restaurant had put up a mere two hours before we arrived.

A part of their Ramadan theme, the interiors fuse perfectly with their Asian Arabian look and make the perfect setting for the season.

Spicy Edamame

What could be more better than the combination of tasty and healthy? These Spicy Edamame are the perfect answer.

Perfect as bar bites, we started our dining journey at Barfly by Buddha Bar with these spicy soy beans. I loved how they were coated with a spicy mix of togarashi. Plus they are irresistible and you will keep wanting to have one after the other. The good thing, however, is that they are healthy so it won’t leave you feeling guilty, and the whole process of breaking the pod and finding the hidden young soy beans inside makes it so much fun.

Soon enough we were surprised with a section of the best appetizers at Barfly by Buddha Bar. Each of these came with a unique concept backing it up.

Crispy Shrimp Tempura

The Crispy Shrimp Tempura featured my favorite seafood pieces rolled in tempura flour in addition to kunafa dough to give it an angel hair effect. These were topped with coriander and chillies, and served with a spicy chilli mayo aioli. Don’t miss that soy based eel sauce to the right.

Blow Torch

The Blow Torch, one of their signature sushi rolls were surprisingly not raw. They were, in fact one of the highly recommended rolls off their menu. With a mix of salmon, tuna and sea bass within, rolled with rice in nori, these sushi pieces were coated with tempura flour and deep fried after. While serving, they were topped with Japanese mayo and chives for a slightly creamy twist.

Chinese Chicken Salad

The Chinese Chicken Salad has always been a Buddha Bar classic and came with so many interesting ingredients. According to our server, it could be eaten as a salad or as a meal. Chicken thighs, marinated in the Chinese 5 spice mix made for the proteins, combined with two kinds of cabbage and black and white sesame seeds. To this, they added fried wonton strips which not only gave a contrasting element to the salad, but also balanced it with a touch of crispiness.

Calamari Rings

The last ones were the Calamari Rings. Deep fried in a manner that made them extremely crispy and not at all chewy, these were given a slightly spicy finish with a dusting of sriracha pepper. Plus there was a sweet chili sauce on the side to fill any condiment gaps.

My favorite off the lot had to be the tempura shrimps, followed closely by the chicken salad.

Specialty Drinks

Barfly by Buddha Bar has a glamorous bar, which is completely in line with the Buddha Bar concept. Their bartenders are pros at creating the perfect concoctions, just by using your preferred flavors as reference.

We tried their specialty mocktails which are categorized under one of their four drink styles – Liquid in the street, Smoked in the wood, Frozen in the mountain, and Foam in the nature.

The Iced Tiki Milkshake on the left, was a sweet and refreshing iced blend of passionfruit, coconut, pineapple and vanilla, combining all my favorites in one glass. The chilled Rainbow Iced Tea on the right brought together muddled orange juice, lemon chunks and peach jam. This fruity drink gets its tea fix with hibiscus infused black tea, topped with soda for a little fizz.

Here is the very interesting Fly Old Fashioned. This drink used Japanese flavors mixed with their take on brown sugar, soda and bitters for a strong touch. The concoction was filled in a skull shaped glass, smoked with cherry wood chips and tossed to infuse the gas and liquid. Here, the smoke plays an important role to enhance the flavor. And the result is in front of you, a gorgeous looking drink, with a stunning presentation.

Served at the end, these rich blends were more like dessert drinks, thanks to all that creamy foam on top. The left Cranberry Kiss featured a mix of strawberry puree and cranberry juice. The right one, my ultimate favorite, the classic virgin Pina Colada came in all its pineapple and coconut glory.

The interesting thing about both these drinks was the pineapple-ginger-coconut foam on top. It started a little creamy with its coconut flavor, added a touch of tanginess with pineapple and then cut it with a strong ginger.

Thai Chilli Chicken

Main courses at an Asian restaurant, in my opinion, can never be complete without five important elements. These are Chicken, Prawns, Rice, Noodles, and any one special fragrant ingredient that stands out.

While we were just two of us, we decided to skip the noodles, but went ahead with the rest at Barfly by Buddha Bar.

The first dish we ordered was the Thai Chilli Chicken from their Wok section. A classic featuring fried tender chicken pieces in a spicy chilli gravy, this dish came with not one, but two star ingredients – Basil and Cashew Nuts.

The perfect melange of crunchy, aromatic and spicy, I loved pairing this gravy with the vegetable fried rice side.

King Tiger Prawns

The next dish was another special off their grilled seafood section. These grilled King Tiger Prawns came all decked up with skin on. The skin though, easily peeled off revealing those pink gems within. These made a great choice for mains, thanks to their generous quantity and the healthy grilled approach. The prawns were served with a side of yuzu pepper sauce and something that looked like tempura fried asparagus.

The spicy chicken was slightly closer to my heart than the latter, simply for its cashews and basil. But next time, it will definitely be noodles and more!

Chocolate Fondant

This is honestly one of the best Chocolate Fondants I’ve ever had. One of the highly recommended desserts at Barfly by Buddha Bar, every spoon into this fondant breaks into warm gooey melted chocolate goodness that strongly flows into your soul with every bite. The fondant itself is just perfect with the right amount of density and texture. It comes topped with a caramel croquette alongside a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream hidden underneath dehydrated pear slices.

Mochi Ice cream

The Mochi Ice cream is another specialty at the chic Asian restaurant and goes completely in line with their theme. Offered in different flavors, we asked for the Yuzu, Mango, and (obviously) coconut options. While the mango and Yuzu were good enough, I was completely head over heels for the Coconut Mochi ice cream. This one, I would blindly recommend to anyone. It was just right how the dotted coconut flakes covered the loci and hid a little scoop of coconut ice cream within.

Barfly by Buddha Bar

Location: Venetian Village, Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal, Al Maqtaa, Abu Dhabi
Contact: 02 4041951