Eating Out: Sura at Cristal Salam Hotel, Abu Dhabi

Sura is the signature Korean restaurant of the four-star Cristal Salam Hotel, which is located on the Salam Street, not far from Abu Dhabi Municipality complex. The hotel itself is quite mediocre, but apparently Sura has received quite a few positive reviews for its food and is also quite popular as the place to be for karaoke enthusiasts in Abu Dhabi.

Despite being marketed as a Korean restaurant, Sura also offers daily international buffet (which in my opinion is smallish and uninspiring) alongside its extensive a la carte menu which obviously focuses on Korean food but also has some international selection. At least at the time of visit, the buffet, strangely enough, did not feature any Korean dish, a bit alarming, but this gave me all the more reason to opt for the a la carte service.

It took me quite a while to go through the menu, but finally, I decided for okkonomiyaki and bulgogi. The first is a Japanese-style pancake (spelt with one “k” in Japan) and the latter grilled marinated beef, perhaps one of Korea’s most famous culinary exports. I was not in the mood of having anything fancy that night, thus keeping it low with a bottle of sparkling water, a personal favourite.

The restaurant was almost empty, save a couple tables presumably occupied by in-house group members (since they invariably headed straight to the lacklustre buffet). Business was obviously slow that evening, which fortunately did not quite affect the staff morale. The service was efficient and attentive in general. In the background, K-pop music played continuously (quite out of place in a hotel’s signature restaurant).

As is the norm in other Korean restaurants, my dinner started with a selection of complimentary appetizers (banchan) – kimchi (spicy vegetable pickles), stir fry (?) green beans and bean sprouts (namul), and chicken sausage. Soon after I had my first taste, I thanked myself for giving the buffet a miss. The kimchi was fresh with the right level of crunchiness and spiciness (not sure if they actually made it in-house). The others, while not impressive, were also quite good. I even thought of asking for another helping (normally any extra helping is offered on the house), but if the portion size of these free dishes is anything to go by, I suspected the management is quite generous.

And was I right! The steaming hot okkonomiyaki that came a few minutes later could easily pass as main course, not only because it was served on a dinner plate (and covered a big part of it), but also because the filling was quite generous, in fact pieces of seafood visibly jutted out of the pancake dough. And luckily, along with the quantity, there also comes the quality. The texture was soft, yet balanced by the crunchiness of the bonito flakes (katsuobushi) on top, and the taste was authentic, very close to what I used to eat in Japan. This was a very pleasant surprise for me, since okkonomiyaki is a rare find here in the UAE, even in Japanese restaurants.

The big portion, however, brought some inconvenience for me (not that I am complaining!) because before I could finish my appetizer, the main course arrived. Served sizzling hot on a hot plate accompanied by a bowl of steamed rice, my bulgogi again was in a generous portion. I decided that there was definitely no way I could finish my appetizer AND THIS, so I requested for a doggie bag to take away the remaining half of the pancake and the waiter duly prepared a take away box for me.

After my wonderful experience with the okkonomiyaki, I set my expectation a bit higher this time. I was a bit disappointed, therefore, that the main course lacked the kick and tasted rather bland (except for the sweetness), although the juicy meat seemed to be of a good quality. Not that it was horrible, but it did let me down a bit after such a wonderful encounter with the pancake. I may try it again the next time I visit Sura, albeit with a lowered expectation. Obviously, having a dessert is out of question, and anyway, the dessert menu does not look exciting, nor special, so skipping it was perhaps a wise choice.

My overall experience was positive, and I would definitely go there again, although I would take some friends along next time to benefit from the really generous portion, and perhaps for some karaoke session afterwards! Why not?

LIKE: The authentic taste, the friendly service

DISLIKE: The dead and uninspiring atmosphere

PRICE: Okonomiyaki AED 38, Bulgogi AED 80, San Pellegrino (S) AED 15, plus 10% service charge & 6% tourism fee.

DETAILS: http://www.cristalhospitality.com/cristalhotels/unitedarabemirates/abudhabi/cristalsalamhotel

DATE OF VISIT: 6 October 2014

#food #review