When Dubai-based gift experience company Dreamdays invited me to High Tea, I had no idea they meant it quite literally. A ‘Banquet among the heavens’ was what they promised, and what I was made to experience was nothing short.
Known for their unique gift ideas and one-of-a-kind experience incentives, Dreamdays UAE has added another feather to their cap with their new initiative – Dining In The Sky.
So with piqued curiosity and an appetite for adventure, I found myself on a Thursday evening making my way to the location at the Marina Walk in Dubai.
Said set-up comprises of a considerably large dining table rigged to a 100 tonne crane, ready to lift the arrangement at scheduled meal times; enabling guests to indulge their savoury senses in some gourmet cuisine 50 metres in the air.
On arrival, each one of us were seated and strapped quite firmly onto one of 22 custom-made seats at the meticulously laid dining table. Prior to lift-off we were introduced to our servers and menu for the evening, and served pre-flight juices to tide us until each passenger/dining companion was securely fastened.
We had lift-off right on schedule, and from the moment we began our ascent, our fine-dining lives were decidedly at the mercy of the man behind the crane’s gear box. It was a slow and steady rise above the Marina, until arrival at our pre-determined 50 metre high stop where we could then resume with our meal.
For someone not too compatible with heights, the concept of casually attempting to sip a cuppa 50 metres above ground-level was not exactly my, well cup of tea. But the striking eagle-eye view of the waterway and yachts below had me forgetting all about my mild acrophobia.
We were accompanied to the top by a head-chef, waiter and entertainer (no, not the juggling, fire-breathing sort, but a representative from DreamDays just to make sure things went smoothly from the top end).
High tea was a dainty little assortment of open and closed sandwiches, as well as a selection of pastries and sweet meats for that tea-time sugar fix. Cold and hot beverages flowed freely and fresh scones with jams and butter were served with casual flair. If it weren’t for the elevation at which we were perched, it would have been easy to forget that we were in fact dangling from a cable quite a few feet above ground-level.
As we nibbled and struck up conversation with fellow diners, our suspended table would rotate ever-so-subtly, allowing for many a photo-op, and idyllic marina sunset views.
Our hour in the sky just whisked by, and before we knew it, it was time for our descent. So we reluctantly polished off the last of our tarts and took the final sips of our freshly brewed cappuchinos, as we were lowered gracefully, unstrapped and forced to return to the ground-level dining folk.
Although I had the pleasure of sampling their Sky High Tea experience, this Dining In The Sky instalment also hosts breakfast, lunch and dinner experiences. Ideal I’d say for a one-of-a-kind anniversary outing, or a great idea for the not-so-formal business meeting or two.
This instalment in particular will only be set up until the 23rd of May (before the summer months set in), but Dreamdays has a portfolio of over 200 experiences to choose from, be it for the thrill-seeker in you, or the frazzled work soul on the look-out for a relaxing mini-break.
To either learn more about their Dining In The Sky instalment, or just to browse around their other offerings, you can visit their website www.dreamdays.ae, check out their Facebook group, or just call their Toll Free line (800 2080) for more details.
– Shaahima Fahim. Images: PhotoBooth UAE
