Shangri-La
Qaryat Al Beri
Abu Dhabi
Tel: 02 509 8888
Iftar buffet is Dh170 per person.
We stood on the steps outside Sofra bld restaurant, and peered out beyond the Shangri-La hotel's shimmering infinity pool towards the imposing Sheikh Zayed Mosque. A few people had gathered to watch the sun merge into the horizon in a haze of deep red, while the crescent moon hung, pale and scimitar-like in the darkening sky. Prayers were called and there was a palpable sense of calm in the air as the sun disappeared in the distance. Inside, things were quite different.
Between the stout pillars that prop up the restaurant's grandiose arched ceiling, a crowd of people were busily streaming towards the buffet. We found our seats and waited a while, partly to avoid the rush and partly to see what people were bringing back from the chafers and live cooking stations. We didn't have to wait long, as the first plates returned, piled high with mounds of food, jutting lamb chop bones and jumbo shrimp antennae everywhere.
It was as grand a feast as any we'd witnessed. A sprawling spread of dishes from across the globe could be seen amid the ant-like swarm of people loading up dishes with everything from pizza to paella. We passed the tureens of harira and lentil soup, and made our way to the cold salad section, where we helped ourselves to fried cauliflower in a thick tahini paste, cooked spinach with garlic and onions, ochra with tomato and tightly rolled waraq enab, or vine leaves. Further along the line there was a large platter of lamb uzi, a traditional rice dish with large fragments of moist, tender meat and ground lamb sprinkled with crushed pistachio and spices. And what traditional iftar morsels should reside next to these Middle Eastern treats? Sushi, of course.
The return journey to our table proved tricky, as we dodged children, huffing and puffing excitedly as they lumped overly-burdened plates of food back to their seats. At least they were getting some exercise, I thought, but this was before they'd started on the desserts. The sweet station presented a confederacy of confectionery, ranging from bags of gummy sweets to marshmallow candy twirls, not to mention three gushing chocolate fountains - though the little wooden treasure chest of dates lay largely unplundered.
Most of the adults, meanwhile, had barely begun with the savoury dishes. So we returned to the buffet, and more international dishes, such as spaghetti, stupendously tender and flavoursome roast beef with rich gravy, and a stodgy, tasteless paella. There were innumerable casseroles and curries, including a fine butter chicken and a playfully spicy egg curry, which was perhaps the highlight of the night, mixed with a few grains of fragrant basmati rice.
To finish, I ignored the overtures of encouragement from the man making fresh crepes, deciding instead to find something that might reflect the traditions of this special time of year. I found a rich Arabic dessert of layered ricotta cheese, cracked pistachios, caramel and candied fruit, which resembled qashatah (a forerunner of the Sicilian dessert cassata). It was excellently executed, as was most of the food at this lavish affair. There were no complaints about the setting or the service either, both being routinely exceptional. So we left, but not before pausing a moment longer to watch the moon glinting above the grand mosque in the calm night sky.
@email:jbrennan@thenational.ae
