All sweetness and light

From the moment you pop that first date into your mouth at the start of iftar (signalled at the Sheraton by a television programme broadcast in the room), to the moment where you heave yourself out of your seat under a syrup-induced fug, the evening spread at the Sheraton Creek is all about sweets.

All the mezze

Well, of course not entirely. Iftar in Dubai would not be complete without the lineup of usual suspects - houmous, moutabel, fattoush, taboulé, pickles, which here were all nicely executed.

And, somehow, no matter how many iftars we go to during this month, restaurants lay on a spread featuring pretty much the same things. Now, I like mezze and I'm partial to a bit of umm ali now and then, but every day?

Which is why the Sheraton had quite a nice take on iftar, serving a few options for those who needed a break from endless rounds of kibbe and labneh. It was a small, but appreciated gesture: a couple of tangy Thai salads at the cold buffet - including a juicy beef one; an Italian fish dish served alongside polenta; and a stir-fry with rice.

But we are here for iftar, so bring on the sambousek - those little pastries filled with lamb mince and pine nuts, kibbe - lamb and bulghour wheat balls, and the must-have lentil soup, garnished with lemon and crispy fried croutons.

The whole animal

Moving on to the meat, and there was plenty of it, although I seemed to have missed the shawarma stand on the day I visited. Most inviting was a whole lamb, roasted and served perched on a gigantic platter of saffron rice. The fatty slabs of meat, coupled with the fragrant rice and little hits of fruit and nut was delicious, and there's something satisfying, in a primal way, of seeing the whole animal ready for carving.

But for those with a serious sweet tooth, salads and roasts are simply time wasting, an obligatory dance near the steam trays that is required by propriety. You can't simply come into an iftar and head for the dessert buffet, although at the Sheraton, I'd recommend bucking the trend and doing exactly that.

They've got all the Arabic desserts you've been searching for - and more. I've been at iftars, repeatedly searching for that Ramadan speciality, qatayef, only to be served baklava and umm ali (a pleasant enough dish of pastry baked in cream, similar to a bread and butter pudding).

Stuffed with qatayef

But qatayef only comes around once a year and I want some now. (Have you ever noticed how whiny people get when they have low blood sugar? It's a serious social impediment. Get me 10ccs of something deep-fried and syrupy, stat!)

Qatayef is a small, fluffy pancake, stuffed with a variety of fillings - at the Sheraton it was walnuts and cinnamon- then deep-fried. Then - guess what - it's doused in syrup. Only one qualm: I nearly cracked a tooth on a hunk of walnut shell in the filling, but that's the chance you take. It didn't stop me going back for more.

There's a "lighter" version which saw mini pancakes stacked with whipped cream and fruit. A generous assortment of dates, including chocolate covered ones, was the perfect accompaniment to cardamom-scented coffee before taking another tour of the mammoth sweet buffet, where you can cram your plate with gulab jamun, kunafa (not the bright orange Nablusi variety, but nice nonetheless), date tarts, chocolate mousse, a host of baklavas, and all kinds of heavenly whipped-cream-filled puff pastries. Just don't forget to book an appointment with the dentist the next day.