Exotic Iftar with a Thai touch

Tas T. Budds goes for a buffet that will "satisfy all guests"

Dusit Dubai
Pool Deck

Thailand… the land of smiles, the land of gracious welcomes and exquisite cuisine. Dusit Dubai — a well-known Thai hotel chain — with its imposing glass-covered structure resembling two hands joined in a traditional gesture of greeting is highly evocative of the country.

My guest and I walked into its serene ambience through colossal revolving doors that seem to have a mind of their own. The Iftar buffet was on the 36th floor around a beautiful, mosaic pool, which was reminiscent of a Mughal hammam or bath with its tiny fountains and cerulean water.

The pool deck is located on the highest floor of the hotel, where the arched top is open to the elements, allowing cooling desert winds to swirl through. Both of us quickly declared it as the most exotic and glamorous Iftar buffet setting we had visited during the last few weeks — one couldn't help but expect Scheherazade to materialise any minute, to enthral with her tales of Arabia.

To the stirring sound of prayer, my guest broke her fast and we proceeded with the evening meal. With a distinctive Thai feel, the salads were presented in what can be best described as a "pretty" manner. Fruit carvings, vegetable flowers and slim orchids graced the plates.
The banquet chef Nidal Chehade, explained the Iftar buffet menu undergoes an eight-day cycle change. Every day there are numerous new salads, along with the traditional regulars such as hommous, moutabbel, fatoush and tabboulleh.

"Our menu offers a good mix for people of various nationalities ranging from the Middle East, Asian sub-continent to the Far East. We like to satisfy all our guests," he said.

"We also have distinctive Thai touches to the menu, because Dusit Dubai is a Thai hotel. So everywhere, there is a gentle reminder of that fact. The Thai dishes I choose are not spicy, but offer a variation to the guest. We like everybody to be happy."

The salads were fresh, the vegetables crunchy and the spices extremely gentle in their presence.

The hot Arabic mezzeh or starters featured lamb sausages in a spicy chilli paste and chicken liver, along with chicken shawerma. We decided to forgo the sausage and liver as they looked quite hot, while sharing a warm shawerma — it was delicate and the bread carried a hint of sweet. Quite unlike what you would find in the streetside cafes that dot the city, nevertheless delicious.

The soup of the day was Egyptian lentil soup. Chef Chehade said: "On other days we have the Mediterranean lentil soup with lamb, Harrira from Morocco, Asian noodle soup and other options."

A similar reflection of the various continents is found in the main course, which includes everything from a fragrant chicken biryani, vermicelli rice to stir-fried noodles.

My guest opted for some rice and freshly grilled chicken tikka served with pungent circles of white onion, along with noodles and cashew chicken. I took a serving of biryani rice and some lamb Ouzi, which is a traditional roast dish from the UAE. The rice was subtle in its flavouring and the meat tender.

The Ouzi rice with its sprinkling of mince, vegetables and nuts, especially roasted pine nuts was scrumptious. There was no overpowering taste of meat, which is quite tough to achieve.
On other days, guests will also have a choice of lamb chops, seafood grills, tajines and other Middle Eastern preparations.

For dessert it was on offering of traditional Ramadan sweets including Kunafah, Usmaliya, Umm Ali, Katayef, Kallaj, Mouhallabiya and Halwat Al Jibn. There was also a platter of cut fruits, along with chocolate mousse and a chocolate pastry with the delightful name of monkey bar.

My guest loved the monkey bar with its crunchy chocolate-chip laden base and thick chocolate icing. I revelled in a generous serving of Umm Ali, which was lightly sweet with delicate puff pastry soaked in cream — the evening's highlight.

The whole meal was accompanied by a selection of fresh fruit juices including watermelon, pineapple and orange. We also tried the apricot paste juice known as Kamarrudeen — it was thick and velvety, which was served with Jallab made of smoked dates, tamarhindi or tamarind juice and Karkadieh or boiled rose petal juice.

The food was exquisite, the service superb and a fantastic culinary evening was experienced. A definite recommendation for all diners who would like to try the Iftar buffet before the end of Ramadan.