Iftar review: Kahraman Tent, Ajman

From five-star offshoots to your low-key neighbourhood favourites, iftar has firmly been taken to the world of tents. And as they say — for good reason — you haven’t really had a UAE iftar if you haven’t had it in a lavish tent.

And right on trend, Ajman’s seafront leisure destination Al Zorah — home to mangroves, lagoons and the Oberoi Beach Resort — is host to the Kahraman tent. With the debut last year enjoying much popularity, Kahraman is back, aiming to recreate the success in its second season.

We entered to quite a regal feel; with its purple hues, clusters of lamps suspended from the ceiling and cosy little enclosures, Kahraman is spectacularly decorated, with very strong Arabian vibes. Located right by the Creek — you can watch the boats while you eat to oud music — the space can accommodate nearly 300 guests.

We started at the buffet with some bread and salads, hummus and moutabbal, and waraq inab (vine leaves). Straight after it was time for fatteh, harees, three types of biryani — lamb, chicken and fish — chicken eggplant maqluba, and meat with okra.

What struck us immediately was that while Kahraman sticks to a few traditional dishes, there’s not a single one that doesn’t meet or exceed expectations. The meat is aromatic and perfectly spiced, the vibrant types of rice with slivers of fruit and toasted nuts forming a perfect foil to it. The fatteh and harees are perfectly flavoured and textured. This is a place that recognises the value of quality over quantity, something that most buffets struggle with.

And with sheesha now being banned in enclosed spaces during iftar, we faced no scratchy throat and headaches as we ate (for fans of it, sheesha is available for suhoor).

Every dish we tried was authentic, so if you’re looking for no Western influence at all, this is the place to head to. Kahraman would cater well to discerning eaters around town.

The details: The buffet is priced at Dh135 per person. Children below seven eat for free. Suhoor is available on an a la carte basis with a minimum spend of Dh80 per person.