An Iftar Fit for King at the Khalidiya Palace

As Ramadan descends upon us for another year of lavish Iftar buffets and Suhour evenings, it’s easy to forget that the essence of fasting is to refrain from over indulgence. With such a vast selection of over the top Iftar evenings available at this time of year, the offering at Horizon Khalidiya Palace Rayhaan by Rotana Abu Dhabi was refreshingly simple and traditional. Upon entering, diners are greeted by the soft soothing sound of oud being played in the background. Staff were dressed in traditional outfits and were warm and welcoming as they showed me around the buffet selection, before guiding me to my seat.  
 

The atmosphere is laid back and casual and very much family oriented. The buffet selection is varied but not so much so that it’s overwhelming.
 

I started with the king prawns and mussels from the salad carte, which were fresh and succulent and perfectly complimented by a rocket salad and marie rose sauce. There is a live salad station where fattoush is prepared before diners, keeping it crisp and avoiding it from turning soggy. Fattoush is a traditional Levantine salad made of fried pitta bread pieces combined with mixed greens, tomatoes and mint and this one was perfectly zesty and tart. 
 

Ready for something more substantial, I made my way to the main course section and was pleased with the selection of Indian, Chinese and Arabic cuisines. Mixed vegetable curry is not something I would usually order from a menu but I decided to try it as the vibrancy of the colours was so enticing. I wasn’t disappointed. The flavours were perfectly balanced and not too spicy and the chunky vegetables were bathed in a rich, creamy and satisfying sauce that I paired with vermicelli rice. I could have happily stopped at this but for the purposes of this review it was naturally only fair that I try everything else! There were some unusual Indian/Pakistani dishes at this Iftar that were more interesting than the usual offerings as I’d never come across them before and l love taking the opportunity to try new things at a buffet. There was chicken yakhni, which is a cross between a soup and a stew and veal pojarski with herb and onion jus, which is a minced veal patty (almost like a burger) in a thick onion gravy. 
 

  
 

 

I also had some of the malfouf, which is one of my favourite Arabic dishes. Made up of minced meat and rice wrapped in cabbage leaves simmered together slowly in a sauce of lemon juice, fried minced garlic, water and salt.
 

Although the Iftar buffet finishes at 9:30 p.m. I never felt rushed and I was able to relax and take my time between courses. I was expecting to be hurried along, which is something I’ve experienced at Iftar buffets before and I was conscious that I hadn’t made a trip to the dessert station yet. This wasn’t the case at all and I was invited by staff to help myself to desserts even though it was already approaching 9.30 p.m.
 

Um Ali is a staple at most Iftar buffets and is a dessert that I absolutely love when it’s made right. I find it can sometimes be made too dry, too milky or overloaded with raisins and coconut. Horizon @ Khalidiya Palace Rayhaan by Rotana have taken a do-it-yourself approach to their Um Ali, which is an inspired idea! The Um Ali is served plain and was neither too dry nor too milky but perfectly creamy, with a selection of add-ins available on the side for diners to adjust the ingredients according to their individual taste.There was a wide selection of various other Arabic sweets including three different types of kunafa; nuts; cheese; cream as well as baklawa. Indian sweets included ras malai and gulab juman and I was spoilt for choice when it came to the cake section. I settled on the date and walnut tart, which was sticky, buttery and exquisitely moreish. I washed this down with a fragrant cup of Earl Grey tea, which was the perfect way to end a pleasantly relaxing evening.
 

  
 
 

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