If you venture deep enough into Yas Mall’s Tryano department store, you’ll come across the bright and colourful La Pâtisserie des Rêves. Serving a range of breakfasts, coffees, salads and main meals, the international brand is also known for its modern take on the great classics of French pastry.
Considering this, it’s perhaps a bit naïve of us to hope for a healthy dining experience. There are a couple of salads, but our waiter tells us that they’re not “too big, or too small”. We’re particularly ravenous tonight, so that’s not going to work. We start eyeing the chicken des rêves, which is a stuffed chicken breast with feta, artichoke, sundried tomato and fresh herbs served with vegetables. We’re excited, until our waiter informs us that the dish takes over 30 minutes to prepare, basically talking us out of it.
Back at step one, we’re left with no choice but to ditch the diet and go straight for the Wagyu burger with cheddar, mushrooms, rocket and caramelised onion. We’ve requested the meat to be medium, but it arrives on the table rare. As in completely pink and bloody. Our waiter agrees, but the manager says it’s medium according to their standards. Nonetheless, the burger makes a comeback 10 minutes later and it’s perfect. Juicy meat, soft bun and tasty ingredients – everything you could want from a burger.
With the diet in ruins, it would be a crime not to try La Pâtisserie des Rêves’ signature Saint Honoré, which is made up of flaky pastry, caramel choux pastry, smooth pastry cream and crème Saint-Honoré. It’s lovely and light, but nowhere near the sugar rush we were hoping for.
As we leave we’re presented with complimentary cookies (perhaps to apologise for the burger mishap), which are possibly the best biscuits we’ve ever tasted. Ever.
The Bill (for one)
Wagyu burger Dhs60
Saint Honore pastry Dhs35
The bottom line
Meats and sweets to walk off in the mall.
