The joys of Iftar

After the Iftar with the MIT people on Tuesday we enjoyed two more Iftar experiences on Wednesday and Thursday so we're really getting the hang of it now. Masdar Institute held one to welcome the new students which was amazing to see everyone together in one room - but more of that in the next post.
Wednesday's Iftar was at the Shangri La again so the menu is becoming familiar. You start with dates and dried fruit then move on to salad type things with lots of hummous, chickpeas and other exotic ingredients. The hot food tends to be curries and lots of lamb. I was nervous that I would have to overcome my aversion to lamb but there was plenty of chicken as well. Puddings involve semolina, pastry and sponge so we waddle away feeling pretty full. I'm not terribly good at buffets though, not liking everything on the plate at once, and it's important to let the Muslims, who've been fasting, get something to eat first. At the Shangi La I was offered an interesting beverage to go with the food - a drink of camel's milk with mint and yoghurt. An new experience though I think I'd plump for the sauvignon on the whole, given the option!
On Thursday we went to the Emirates Palace Iftar - the creme de la creme in the Iftar department, as guest so the organisation that Masdar and MIT are agreeing this research project with. I was keen to see this as it is held in the traditional tent (a huge, air conditioned marquee actually!) and the display was put together by the Abu Dhabi media company. It was certainly impressive with images projected onto a water feature and an AV display of pictures of Abu Dhabi. The food followed a very similar menu and was very nice. There weren't many people so it was easier to get at the buffet. The drink of choice here seemed to be a mixture of date and tamarind juice - again very agreeable but I still think I prefer a Merlot! I met some more lovely people, an additional group from MIT who will be involved in the research and the team from the actual organisation so it was very pleasant and made a great change from talking to the furniture!
On Friday night I cooked a meal at home, the first eaten at our new table and we allowed ourselves one of our three bottles of wine which was a real treat. On Saturday night we went to the Italian restaurant at the Royal Meridien which is rapidly becoming a favourite spot. We discovered that the Beach Rotana, which is the hotel of choice round here, is not serving alcohol at all during Ramadan, so I think we'll be waiting till October to try that one out. Surprising for a Five Star hotel, since no-one who is observing Ramadan would be likely to drink alcohol even outside of the holy month. Perhaps our reputation for heavy drinking (not me personally I hasten to add) precedes us and they like to keep things quiet. Perhaps in time I'll come to prefer the camel's milk/date juice alternative but I think it might take a while!