The Royal Budha Reviewed by DFFReviews

The Royal Budha Menu

If I were to pick a favorite cuisine it’d have be Thai, simply because of the resounding infusion of lime, coconut and chili. If you didn’t know, I’m obsessed and I have a ton of recipes with similar flavors.

In my experience, you simply can’t go wrong when you have all three in a dish, and so my stomach led me to the Royal Budha, an award winning restaurant nestled in Holiday Inn Dubai – Al Barsha

On entering the restaurant, I was first drawn by the décor, minimal and dimly lit with a traditional red and black theme. Very Thai. You also can’t miss the statue of a towering golden Budha after which the restaurant takes its name.

Luckily for me, my lunch date and I arrived at the same time so we were both ushered into our seats without any wait. My friend Zaine has the most sensitive stomach known to man and at time, I was also restricting my diet to Paleo so I was quite curious to see what the restaurant would offer us.

Before our main courses arrived, we were served a plate of prawn crackers with sweet chili sauce, and a shot glass of Thai-style ginger juice. The ginger juice was a beautiful touch as it works beautifully as a palate cleanser, making the meal to follow even more tasty.

We started with the Som Tum Goong Sod, a traditional Thai Papaya Salad made with shredded papaya, green beans, carrots, chili, garlic, a sprinkle of peanuts and a special lime dressing. Can I get an Amen? It wasn’t super spicy which was great as I wasn’t in the mood to have an inflamed tongue. It was light and fresh and crisp and all things good.

Then our mains arrived. I ordered a steamed whole fish and Zaine ordered a Thai curry, which was served in a tender baby coconut. My fish was so delicious and flaky, with fresh herbs and spices and a resounding note of chili.

Zaine’s dish was also a delight! I couldn’t help but reach for forkfuls of her meal, pieces of fish delicately cooked in coconut milk, spices and herbs. Coconut never tasted better! I’m currently obsessed with fish and The Royal Buddha does it justice on so many levels.

We ended our meal with a dessert of creamy rice pudding and fresh mango. Sweet but light. It was a true delight and I can’t wait to go back! Have any of you been there before? If you haven’t I’ve included all the details below!