July 2016 70 As the golden rays of dusk enrobe Bahrain, The Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel, Residence & Spa stages a lavish Iftar buffet within the serene heights of its Al Fanar ballroom. The large, spacious area is tastefully decorated to echo the sentiments of the season. After settling into our seats, my dining companion and I headed to the buffet area. A quick glance around the place told me that the hotel had left no stone unturned to dish out a fantastic array of food to suit the most discerning palates. The two-tiered spread of salads and appetisers was a refreshing start to our meal and had everything from staples like chicken and pineapple salad, pasta salad and tabouleh to the more exotic artichoke salad, Levantine-inspired Shanklish and, to add international appeal, assorted crudités. Once our appetites were effectively whetted, we made a beeline for the mains which were laid out across five tables! One of them was a live crepe station that dished out chicken, beef and shrimp wrapped in savoury crepes, making for cutesy little packets. The centre tables were lined with colossal, colourful Moroccan tagines. Their conical tops suggestively rested on the side of the utensil, beckoning beguilingly to take a peak. I stopped briefly to appreciate the thoughtful décor of the buffet area. The glazed tagines stood against a backdrop of the traditional Arabic sadu, the traditional red and black fabric with geometric print, and flanked by towering green palm leaves. But my mind very quickly wandered back to the heavenly aromas wafting out of the tagines; they seemed to grasp our hands and draw us closer, until we couldn’t spoon the food onto our plates fast enough. Having forgotten to carry my spare stomach along, I stayed loyal to the remarkable range of quintessentially Arabic delicacies in the face of the cornucopia of fine food laid out before us. I dived into the real deal straight away; lamb thareed, a hearty meat stew layered on top of flat bread, and lamb with fareek; smoked young wheat cooked with meat. The lamb mousaka tasted as divine as it looked. But the star on my plate was a Ramadan favourite - Harees, which is slow-cooked lamb in wheatberries; resulting in a comforting gooey, meaty mass. The fish tagine did absolute justice to the varied wonders of the sea world, and the breaded hamour and whole baked salmon were a seafood lover’s dream. The former had just the right amount of crunch while the latter’s lemon tinged flakes were just melt-inyour-mouth. Raw cuts of king fish, lobster, shrimp and safi, beef steaks, skewers of kofta kababs, shish tawouk and minced lamb for Arayes were laid out on ice, to be cooked to order. My companion tucked into some Indian fare as well; and her expression as she chowed down looked far from disappointed. Almost satiated, we looked to the dessert counter for a sweet ending to our decadent dinner. The dessert buffet was a riot of colours. The golden browns, pistachio greens and pleasant pinks and dark chocolate shades of various Arabic and international desserts dazzled before us, making it hard to decide what to eat and what to miss. But the rich chocolate mousse, the Oshbulbul and the Mamool dates transported me straight to heaven. A fun photo-op at the staged Arabic seating (complete with a wooden camel) was a wonderful culmination to our evening, where I decided I was definitely coming back for more. LIFESTYLE | food Behnaz Sanjana sampled the glorious Iftar spread at this five-star hotel and came away on a happy high. An Affable Iftar
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