Station to station!

Variety is the spice of life and that is definitely one thing that is not lacking at The Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay Ramadan celebrations.

The waterside retreat is ringing in the holy month in opulence and style with sparkly chandeliers, silky fabrics, brightly lit lanterns and golden geometric features, adding to the ambiance and charm of its extravagant iftar and ghabga evenings.

The Italian executive chef Stefano Andreoli and his team of 40 have been cooking up a culinary plan for more than six months to ‘wow’ and ‘dazzle’ diners for this year’s iftar and ghabga gatherings over Ramadan. Executive chef Stefano said: “We are offering more than 32 stations with more than 100 dishes from traditional Ramadan dishes to continental delights. “I have 40 chefs, two of which are Bahraini, manning different working stations and available at will, ready to serve up freshly-made dishes in an instant.

This has truly been a culinary journey for us and it’s great to see all our planning come to fruition. “We are offering a selection of the best dishes and products available in the market starting from the quality dates to the cheese imported to make delicious kunafa dessert.

I even have a Moroccan chef to make the best Moroccan sweets available. “I can’t emphasise enough how fresh everything is. We even make ice cream in-house and offer three different chocolate fountains and a ‘chocolate shawarma’ which you’ll not see anywhere else!”

As well as Bahrain, the banquets combine cuisines from around the globe including Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Italy, Thailand, Mexico and India to be enjoyed in either its glamorous ballroom or Arabesque-style marquee. There is also a tent outside for families and children where the little ones can play games and watch cartoons.

The hotel has even attached a kitchen to the marquee so that guests can watch the dishes being created. Chef Stefano added: “We wanted to make this Ramadan different, full of action, which is why we have live stations everywhere.”

Making our way through the corridor, letting the savoury scents guide us, I couldn’t help but be in awe of the glitter and gold ballroom which can seat 275 guests to my right and the hallways full of food to my left. We then stepped into the majestic marquee which can seat a further 300 diners, with its own giant plasma screen, elegant table settings and coach seating.

There was even a Lebanese trio playing. Olive trees provided a beautiful backdrop adding to the cosiness of the ambience. We first filled up our plates with an assortment of sushi, which, as reported in last week’s Eating Out, seems to have become this season’s favourite addition to ghabgas in Bahrain.

I added cheese stuffed rolls, meat and spinach fatayers (pastries) along with ooey-gooey cheese saj. Chef Stefano, who is also a raw vegan chef, suggested I took a refreshing Thai coconut to help rehydrate after the day’s fasting.

Sam took the healthy option with grilled lamb chops, shish tawooq and roasted chicken. The pasta station caught my eye and I piled up a plate of eggplant parmigiani, zesty pasta Bolognese and cherry tomato penne pasta topped off with parmesan cheese.

The freshness of the flavours stole the show for me but I still left room to taste-test a small portion of Thai-prawn green curry, the tender lamb ouzi, plus Bahraini favourites harees and thareed, as well as Jordan’s delicacy mansaf.

Unfortunately, I had to skip the Indian and Moroccan stations, as well as the falafels and shawarmas for another day. But there is ALWAYS room for desserts. The choices were impressive. There were cakes and pastries everywhere along with a wide selection of Arabic sweets, waffles, crepes full of Nutella, fruits and marshmallows to dip into the three chocolate fountains, ice cream and, the amazing chocolate shawarma, with shavings of chocolate being skillfully cut from the giant block.

We enjoyed bowls of Um Ali, the Bahraini bread-style pudding, and I also nibbled on a waffle smothered with a scoop of double vanilla and chocolate syrup. The pleasant surprise of the evening was the crème brulee. No one makes it like my auntie Salwa but I have to admit, this one was pretty close leaving Sam and I to fight over the last bite.

We topped off our delightful evening with sips of Moroccan tea before exiting the building. The waiting staff members were wonderful and attentive which made the experience even better.
The iftar buffet at the Ramadan tent, served from sunset until 8pm, is priced at BD25++ including beverages.

The ghabga, which is served from 9pm to 2am is priced at BD27++ excluding drinks. Children below the age of four eat iftar for free, kids between five and 11 will get 50 per cent discount and children aged 12 and above will be charged full price. Groups of minimum 30 people will receive discounted rates. Iftar is priced at BD23++ including beverages and the ghabga is priced at BD25++ without drinks.

For reservations, contact 17115500.