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Belgian mussels take spotlight at Crowne Plaza, Dubai

It’s Mussel Mania Mondays down at The Crowne Plaza, Festival City, so we went to check it out.

Monday; the second day back at work. Last weekend is but a fading memory and it’s ages till the next couple of days off. The midweek blues are difficult to avoid, but thankfully there’s a decent offer on at the Belgian Café in Festival City to potentially put a smile back on your face.

If you enjoy Belgium’s greatest contribution to world cuisine - mussels and chips, you are in luck. Every Monday, the Crowne Plaza’s always-busy Belgian outlet is offering two pots in your choice of sauce, two lots of chips and two draught beverages of your choice for Dhs220 (for two people). The sauces you can choose from include: blue cheese, Thai, Hoegaarden, mariniere, and creamy white grape.

During a visit there last Monday, the table chose mussels in a blue cheese sauce and the other pot doused in the Hoegaarden mix. In my opinion the blue cheese sauce won out, but they were both delicious. The cheese is a slightly thicker broth and offers a hearty dish, which came in handy sat out on the terrace overlooking the creek on an almost chilly evening. The ever-accommodating restaurant provides shawls if the temperatures drop too low.

The chips that accompanied the mussels were thick and salty and made perfect mops for the leftover sauce. Not that there was much left given the generous portion of shellfish.

The drinks on offer were perfect accompaniments for the meal. They are the pride of Belgium and rightly so. They offer a tart, yet refreshing alternative to the creaminess and saltiness of the food.

In terms of atmosphere and service, the Belgian Café is almost second to none. The terrace was absolutely packed at around 9pm and that could be a result of the tremendous serving staff who look after everyone.

All in all there are no complaints when it comes to this deal. It’s cost-effective, substantial and incredibly tasty. Try it once and you’ll be returning again and again.

Mussel Mania is on every Monday from 6pm to 11pm. Call 04 701 1127 of visit www.diningdfc.com.

david@khaleejtimes.com