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Ramadan is almost upon us and the kingdom’s hotels are preparing to provide fabulous feasts in traditional style when our Muslim friends break their fasts.
These are joyous occasions also enjoyed by expatriates as the community joins together in harmony and business acquaintances network with each other in an informal environment.
It’s also the time of year when the GulfWeekly team are swamped with invites at a similar frequency to Harry Potter receiving his Hogwarts acceptance letter at 4 Privet Drive.
Eager to make their early mark once again was the Elite Resort & Spa, Bahrain’s Noor Tent, and if first impressions are anything to go by, it’s going to be a fantastic month.
The Ramadan spirit was in full flow … perfectly encapsulated with the bountiful buffet featuring a range of Arabian and international cuisine.
Every year food-lovers flock to the seaside hotel’s majestic marquee to enjoy Arabian Nights-themed Iftars and Ghabgas.
The tent, which is located by the pool and illuminated with elaborate festive decorations, can accommodate more than 600 diners. It sparkles and shines with its crystal chandeliers, lanterns, silk fabrics and carpeting.
Classical Arabic music serenading the crowd, baskets filled with dates and servers handing out warm cups of coffee further add to the ambience.
Executive Chef Ankon Mukherjee, right, and his culinary team of 25-strong staged a pre-Ramadan buffet last Tuesday, giving guests a taste of the selection of scrumptious dishes to be presented during the holy month. It’s clear that a lot of time went into preparing the buffet with freshly-made produce. The large spread contained more than 20 salads by my count, a similar number of main course dishes, and innumerable desserts.
Something for everyone appears to be the mantra, most evident in the truly superb salad section. This featured Bahraini, Lebanese and Jordanian-inspired offerings in a medley of mezzes featuring dolma, spinach fatayer (pastry), fatoush and hummus. The lentil soup remains a Ramadan ‘must-have’ too.
The colourful palette of dips and sauces underlined the fantastic presentation, complemented by bread spread which had its fair share of gushing admirers.
Luckily, I had the sense to just nibble at a few leafy salads in order to keep my stomach spacious for the main courses which included rice dishes, chicken, duck, lamb, grilled vegetables and seafood specials. The meat ghouzi was particularly popular with the diners and the tender lamb too.
Particularly good was the duck enchiladas and chicken ravioli, covered in a creamy sauce to get the taste buds tingling.
The carnivore in me also diverted my legs to the grilled section, where I piled plates full of kebabs, shish tawook and tikka slices while others settled for the seafood options.
When it came to pudding, there was the unfortunate problem of too many things to try and not enough space on the plate! Multiple trips it was then, with the first being the assortment of Arabic desserts like awama, kunafa and the selection of tarts and cakes, the second being the various mousses, cheesecakes, brownies and other sweetly succulent delights.
It’s always nice to kick-start the festivities ahead of what promises to be a month of hospitality, giving, socialising, and, of course, amazing fare. Once again Elite Resort & Spa has managed to make what was already an outstanding experience even better.
Fantastic food, a friendly team and tremendous value. Bravo!
The Noor Tent will feature Iftar and Ghabga throughout the Holy Month, and is open to families of all ages.
