I've heard much about the authentic Brazilian meat buffet that is Chamas, and the only thing that has been keeping me away for this long, is the lack of a meat-loving, or should I say meat-crazy dining partner. Most of the people I know simply tolerate meat, or enjoy it in small portions and that simply cannot do if you truly want to get your money's worth out of the experience.
Having said that, I ended up going with my meat-tolerant father and meat-allergic mum, and surprisingly the evening still turned out quite well!
Chamas is structured such that you have to pass by the upstairs bar (which was full when we went, being right in the middle of football season) and take a flight of stairs down to the main dining area. The walk gives you a lovely view of how things are structured, with the salad bar and the kitchen in plain view. We went early, while things were still quiet (and as a result enjoyed a lot of attention from the waiters) although the place quickly developed a bustling, chatter-filled atmosphere as the tables filled up and the live band started playing. We even heard a few random cheers from the football-watching guys at the bar upstairs.
The band was the right volume and the noise levels were comfortable, even pleasant; definitely not detracting in any way from the food and overall ambience. On the ambience note, the view of the kitchen with all the meat being grilled and barbecued in plain sight did more to make me hungry than anything else.
We started out by checking out the soup and salad bar - which piqued my mum's interest greatly. I was intrigued by the Lentil soup with Sausage - I had never heard of anything like it, but in my mind it tasted pretty good, and so I did try a little bit. It was average, the sausage didn't do much to add flavour to the soup, it was still very much lentil soup - and I've tasted better lentil soup at some of the lebanese outlets in the city.
When we returned to our table, we were greeted by some pretty interesting sides - Cheesy bread (very parmesan-y and absolutely deeelicious), wedges, polenta (a tad too greasy) and banana fritters (which I didn't try - aren't banana fritters a dessert item?)
Ignoring the sides were easy (except for the cheesy bread which we all wanted more of!), and we were extremely glad we did ignore them (and didn't ask for more cheesy bread), for there was so much more to come!
Before I continue, I have to make a small comment about how Chamas works - it's not a regular help-yourself buffet. The soup and salad bar is, but the meats are a different story. It all works on the basis of a coaster-like disc - one side green and the other red. Green implies 'Bring it on!'. Red implies 'Stop for now!'.I had read all about the Chamas red and green disc, what I didn't expect was the speed at which meat started piling on your plate while your green side was up! I discovered that a system of green, accept one cut of meat and quickly turn to red before the next one got there was the only way to survive and not be overwhelmed by variety.
Once the green side was up, the first thing that was brought to our table was a few typical Brazilian sides - rice black beans and breadcrumbs with bacon. The black beans and rice were pretty good, but I stayed away as I didn't want to fill up.
The first meat we got was chicken hearts. Interesting, and not bad-tasting, but chicken hearts is definitely not my thing, and I waited for the better cuts. Next in line was the Brazilian beef sausage, which I have to say was incredible - spicy and absolutely bursting with flavour. The Brazilian lamb kafta, which came after was good while not being extraordinary.
What came next though was a real eye-opener - the Angus Rib-Eye - a huge chunk of steak from which my waiter sliced a thin slice off and I used tongs to bring on my plate. This was a definite red-side moment, a good many minutes spent savouring every bite without being interrupted by more meat. I've always been the person who asks for my steak medium-well to well-done (I have issues with seeing red meat), but I had come mentally prepared for medium-rare (which is the standard at Chamas). What I couldn't possibly prepare myself for was how tender, juicy and absolutely mouthwateringly flavourful the meat would be. I have to say, I have never ever tasted rib-eye this good.The next three cuts were Alcatra - Top Sirloin, Maminha - Trip Tip and Fraldinha - Flank Steak, all very similar to the Rib-Eye though each was varyingly less tender. Still, it was all amazingly good, and having never had this many varieties of steak at one sitting, it was a foodie's dream come true.
Somewhere during all the green and red and slicing and eating, our table had a visit from the chef (An adorable big Brazilian chef with the coolest accent - how often is it that you get to meet the head chef? I was totally excited!). He apparently noticed me furtively taking notes (how else was I supposed to remember the name of every cut of meat?!) and so kindly came over to ask me if I cared for a list of the cuts on offer that day. Of course I said YES PLEASE, thank you very much! And also took the opportunity to comment on how amazing the meat was (of course!). Hence, I now have the official names of everything I ate :)
Back to the food, the roast leg of lamb came next, and it was absolutely fantastic. Crisp on the outside, tender and moist on the inside, with none of the lamb flavour being lost - every ounce of flavour was trapped in the meat, and only released once you started chewing....at the risk of repeating myself, once again one of the best cuts of lamb I have ever had.
Somewhere by this point, mum gave up and headed off to the salad bar - there was only so much meat she could take. I went along to find a potential palate cleanser, and found much of interest there. Asparagus, artichokes, palm hearts, beetroot, yummy devilled eggs and an exquisite potato salad were among the choices, and I was glad at least one among us was able to make the most of the salad. I had little bites of everything, and could have easily gone for seconds or thirds, but I was a girl on a mission - and my mission was the meat. So, with a small sigh of regret, I leave my salad plate alone and turn my card to green once more.
Almost immediately a waiter appears with an offer of Duck Breast marinated in orange and papaya - now this sounded interesting! I have to say I was a little disappointed. I expected the papaya to work as a tenderiser and to encounter a strong orange flavour - it's usually not hard to get a citrus flavour into food. But the duck breast was tough, and the orange flavour was almost too mild to be noticed. Or maybe I was just too spoiled by all the wonderful beef and lamb by this point...I'm not sure.
I wasn't too impressed by the chicken items on the menu - Chicken wrapped in veal bacon and the chicken drumstick were both a bit dry and not really out-of-the ordinary in any way. There were chicken wings that I couldn't be bothered trying by this point.
Another impressive item was the Steak marinated in non-alcoholic beer and garlic - the only chunky, chewy piece of steak (no thin slices here!) it was totally bursting with garlicky goodness. I only wished they had served it earlier. After trying the juicy, tender slices of rib-eye, I couldn't grow to love this one, although I might have on a different occasion. The Picanha - Rump Steak, was a similar story - cooked to perfection, flavourful yet couldn't be loved on this occasion with all the more tender cuts on offer.
There was one other item that came on a skewer but wasn't meat - and that was the grilled pineapple. This was the only item that was rubbed on its exterior with sugar rather than salt. The caramelized outside and the warm pineapple inside made for the best possible palate cleanser. No amount of salad, or rice, or even beer could do what the pineapple did - make you want to eat more meat, when you were absolutely convinced you couldn't have any more! Needless to say we ate a lot of pineapple that night!The king of that night however, the one cut that ruled supreme was the Costela - Short Ribs. Nothing else could come close. This was the only cut of meat that wasn't barbecued and didn't arrive on your table in skewers. Instead, it arrived in delicate little leaf-shaped stone bowls, wheeled around in a massive steel chafer. When I asked about it, I was told that it was grilled for over 7 hours as part of the cooking process. The aroma, and the unique way it was served got me so mesmerised I even forgot to take a picture... The meat was nothing like anything I had ever tasted - it melted in my mouth like butter on a hot pan, with a marinade that was exquisite. I've been having cravings for it almost every day since I left Chamas - it was just that good!
I had a small bite of the double cut lamb chops which, although they looked great, paled in comparison to the other great cuts of meat on offer. But I did manage to get a picture of it, so here it is!A final slice of the mildly caramelised pineapple sufficed for dessert, and we left a happy, satisfied bunch.
I did manage to go to the kitchen at the end and have a chat with Chef Alex again - it's brilliant to be able to meet the mastermind behind a wonderful meal and talk with him about it! He even got his staff to all pose for me in the kitchen while I took a picture :)
So there we have it, the Chamas experience finally, after a long expectation-filled wait, and if there's one thing I have to say, it is that if you love meat - Chamas won't disappoint!
Location: Intercontinental, Abu Dhabi
Price Range: AED 235 per head, excluding drinks and dessert
Till next time folks!
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