We’re sticking our necks out – this is quite possibly the best breakfast experience in the UAE.
It won’t clinch any gongs at the next Time Out Abu Dhabi Restaurant Awards, but we’re not at Emirates Park Zoo for the bacon and eggs (although that’s all perfectly tasty, too).
We’re here – and totally all in – for the company.
And that’s because Emirates Park Zoo, in the UAE capital, offers a ‘breakfast with the giraffes’ experience that is straight-up the tops.
It includes a cooked breakfast of your choice with all the trimmings – veggie, English or Arabian plates provided – and a chance to get closer than you’re ever likely to again with a pair of truly majestic creatures.
And while it was the Tiger Who Came to Tea, the first meal of the day belongs to this pair of larger-than-life characters.
Crunching into crisp hash browns while face-to-face with a pair of upwardly mobile giraffes isn’t an everyday occurrence.
But it should definitely shoot to the top of your bucket-list, and we’ll tell you for why.
The feeding experience and interaction with the long-necked (same number of bones as us though, go figure) mammals is all-encompassing, and towers above any sense of elation we’ve ever had demolishing a fry-up on a Friday morning.
Diners (both of man and beast variety) get their fill and then some, with Mary and Abi – our spotted, towering friends – munching fruit and feed served up in bowls that fix onto the table right next to your own crockery.
With 20-inch tongues, heed the warning not to leave anything within lapping distance – though we were more than happy to split a slice of cucumber with Abi Lady and The Tramp-style.
For those who don’t want to get so intimate on a first date, the duo are happy to nibble treats right out of your hand, providing a more typical zookeeper experience.
It’s also one of the only breakfasts around that comes complete with dedicated photographer, meaning all those snaps for the ‘gram are going to look better than ever. But if ever a filter was redundant, this is it.
There’s a charge for the hard and soft copies, but at this point we’re throwing our dirhams over the counter.
The package even includes full-access to the zoo for the reminder of the day, as well as a second feeding session with some real animal kingdom heavyweights.
Otto and Najuma, a pair of rather rotund hippos, flash toothy smiles as they await their chow.
And it’s an unrestrained laughter-fest as you sling (sounds dangerous, but the danger is in those jagged fangs) cucumber into the purple and pink chasms, only for them not to close in expectation of yet more and more grub.
It’s true what they say, hippos really are hungry, hungry.
Dhs1,575 for a maximum of five people. Lasts two hours. Bookings essential. Emirates Park Zoo, Al Bahyah, Abu Dhabi, emiratesparkzooandresort.com (02 501 0000).
