Grand Iftar, Shangri-La Hotel Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi, UAE
My husband and I enjoyed a fabulous iftar experience at Shangri-La Hotel in Abu Dhabi. We arrived a few minutes before the prayer sounded to break the fast. I had a few minutes to settle in and enjoy the amazing view this hotel has to offer – across the waters you will see the Grand Mosque in all it’s glory with the sun setting in the background.
This Ramadan, they are hosting their Grand Iftar Buffet inside at the Sofra-bld. Hosts awaited the guests to arrive in the lobby and accompanied them to the Sofra bld up to their seats. I was especially looking forward to this Iftar as it was specially crafted by 2 Michelin-starred Executive Chef Mansour Memarian!
The Grand Iftar Buffet at Sofra bld is priced at AED 205+++ per person.
It is available during Ramadan, from 6.30pm everyday until June 27, 2017.
Welcome
All of the tables around us were filled up, locals and expats alike enjoying the taste of authentic middle eastern flavours together. Be sure to book early for your iftar experience. There were so many guests that night (it was a Thursday evening) but there was no shortage of space or food options! As you enter the buffet section, it is in itself a spectacular.
First you will be presented with a variety of Ramadan juices. Arabic coffee was available and was served to us near the end of the meal. There is a large table in the centre with an assortment of dates.
Iftar Buffet Selection
At the centre of the buffet you will see a large Ouzi station. Many different rice dish varieties to choose from. One of my favorites of the night was the seafood stew. I wonder how many hours they have simmered it for – perfection!
The seafood station was a go-to for me. With grilled prawns, crab squid and fish it was such a great selection. Even the salmon had a few different ways they have prepared it.
Another large round table had a range of different curries and meats. And near that had a station of grills – chicken, lamb, you name it!
I wanted to also mention a part from the cheese, Arabic salads, hummus stations, they also had a small sushi station! No raw fish but still enough to satisfy my sushi cravings that night.
Desserts
Their dessert selection was plentiful, I could have a whole blog post on just the desserts! Abundant dessert choices – umali, kounafa, katafi, awanat, shaabiyat. I enjoyed tasting these Arabic sweets. On another station there was 3 large chocolate fountains! White chocolate, hazelnut and dark chocolate – presented with unlimited dipping choices – fruits, marshmallows, cakes, etc! I really enjoyed the small pastry selection they had, they had a raspberry pistachio opera cake, financier cake, fresh fruit tarts, chocolate Costello cakes, etc!
Did I mention they also have a table dedicated to a variety of baklavas?! I also really enjoyed their fresh crepe station. I saw many guests opting for waffles too! I paired my Nutella, strawberry crepe with a few scoops of ice cream. They had over 12 flavours! What a wonderful iftar, I did not want to leave!
Dot on her way were invited guests at Shangri-La Hotel.
However, all opinions and photos are of her own.
