Sofitel The Palm open for corporate iftars

Source: Sofitel The Palm eDM.

The Sofitel The Palm is offering corporate iftar buffets for companies which want to organise a gathering with colleagues or clients.

Break the fast in the Layali Al Anwar to the accompaniment of the oud and tabla.

Corporate iftars range from AED 160 to AED220 per person. Events can be customised to corporate requirements.

Interested?

Make a reservation 

Viceroy Yas Abu Dhabi details Ramadhan offers

Source: Viceroy Yas Abu Dhabi website.

The Viceroy Yas Abu Dhabi has a number of offers over Ramadhan and through to Eid.

Feast on Arabian delicacies at Origins with trackside views of Yas Marina Circuit. An iftar buffet for AED 175* per person at the Origins restaurant includes Ramadan juices. Kids under 12 dine free with an accompanying adult.
Iftar is available daily during Ramadan, from sunset to 10pm. Shisha is available for AED 100*.

Those who prefer to dine at home can order an iftar buffet for takeaway. The minimum order is for five people, at AED 150* per person. Orders must be placed 24 hours in advance and collection is between 5pm and 6.30pm on the day.

Viceroy Yas Abu Dhabi also caters to suhoor with late night àla carte experiences. Suhoor is available daily during Ramadhan from 10pm to 2am. Shisha is available for AED 100*.

And to celebrate Eid Al-fitr, Origins will offer a different international buffet each night of the Eid weekend.

Opening hours for the restaurants at the hotel during Ramadhan are:

Amici | Italian Cuisine
Daily, 12:30pm to 3:00pm (à la carte lunch); sunset to 11:00pm (à la carte dinner)

Latitude | Pool Bar
Daily, 8am to 10 pm; food from 12pm to 8pm

Longitude | Closed

Noodle Box | South East Asian Cuisine
Daily, Sunset to 11.00pm

Origins | International Cuisine
Daily, breakfast: 6.30am to 10.30am, sunset to 2am for Iftar and Suhoor.

Yas Lounge | Café Patisserie
Daily, sunset to 11pm

Angar, Atayeb, Kazu, Rush | Closed

Skylite | Bar & Lounge
Daily 8pm to 2am, snack menu available

Interested?

View the Iftar Buffet at Origins Sample Menu
View the Iftar takeaway menu

View the suhoor menu

For reservations please call: +971 2 656 0600.

*All prices subject to 10% service charge and 6% tourism fee.

Hilton iftars from AED99

Source: Hilton Sharjah Facebook page.

Hilton hotels in UAE are offering iftar meals from AED99*.  Participating hotels include the Hilton Sharjah, Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Resort and Hilton Dubai The Walk.

Interested?

View the list of Hilton hotels in UAE

The price excludes the municipality tax and service charge.

Review: Le Steak Singapore, Central Branch

I visited Le Steak by Chef Amri at Mackenzie Road for the first time recently. The restaurant is very accessible, being very close to exit A of Little India station. It's the corner restaurant at the shophouses in the picture below.

Le Steak by Chef Amri at Mackenzie Road is literally across the road from exit A of Little India MRT station.

We called to reserve, and because it was for breaking fast, we were asked to turn up by 6.30pm, 6.45pm at the latest. It wasn't really clear why diners had to be so early as sunset was at 7.15pm that evening - perhaps the restaurant wanted to have all orders taken and everyone served early. 

It was full house on a Friday, and we pre-ordered our meals from the Ramadan set menu, which offers a choice of soup or salad for the starter, followed by a choice of main - prime steer (PS) ribeye steak, lamb ribs or barramundi - and a dessert of the day. The meal costs S$28 nett, with orange juice or a soft drink an extra S$2. Dates had already been placed on the table and the drinks and starters arrived well before 7.15pm.

I ordered 'salad' which turned out to be a creamy pasta salad rather than leaves. It had chewy bits that simulated bacon, and was quite tasty but not a large portion. Everyone else had a yellow soup which came with a slice of baguette.

My salad.

The main actually took quite a while to arrive, roughly 20 minutes after the salad had been eaten, even though this had been pre-ordered. All four of us were served within half an hour of the starter course being cleared. The couple next to us waited an hour for their mains though.

Our steaks were quite large but the salad and potato weren't as more-ish. My medium steak verged on the medium rare and was flavourful and tender. There was more fat than I would have liked but I someone else would probably have enjoyed those bits.

The main. A tender ribeye steak, medium, with brown sauce, salad and mashed potato.

Dessert was an small portion of pandan-flavoured kueh lapis, which was quite nice. I thought they could have been a little more generous with the coulis as there definitely isn't enough for the entire slice of cake. On the other hand, kueh lapis is not usually eaten with any sauce at all so the coulis was actually a bonus. There were several desserts served, with some getting a rainbow lapis cake, and others something else in ramekins.

Pandan kueh lapis, garnished with a strawberry quarter and strawberry coulis. There is a smattering of icing sugar.

We ended up paying S$30.50 per person, including a drink each plus a round of water later on - the water cost S$0.50 per person, though this was not mentioned when we asked for it. 

Ambience-wise, be prepared for humidity as the aircon did not seem to be very strong. The fans were going at full blast but with no walls it felt like we were sitting out in the open.

Service was a little slow as there were very few wait staff (I think three) given the number of diners in the restaurant. While our plates were cleared quite promptly, it was more difficult to catch anyone's attention for additional requests. We ended up going to the cashier to pay rather than ask for the cheque as it looked like everyone would be too busy to entertain us.

Le Steak Singapore positions itself as the only halal steak place in Singapore. The meal is reasonably priced and it is a valuable addition to the halal restaurant scene. The food is definitely value for money given the price, though big eaters might have to order something else on the side. Service would probably be quite pleasant when the restaurant isn't as crowded.

Interested?

Le Steak Singapore is at 19/21/23 Mackenzie Road, Singapore 228678. Reservations are required during Ramadhan for iftar, from 6.30pm to 8pm. Call +65 6238 0609 (hotline open at 3pm). 

View the Ramadhan menu on Facebook.

Read the Suroor Asia blog post on Le Steak's other Ramadhan offers.

Hashtags: #lesteak, #lesteaksingapore

The iftar buffet at Straits Kitchen, Grand Hyatt Singapore

Source: Grand Hyatt Singapore website.

This Ramadhan, StraitsKitchen at the Grand Hyatt Singapore invites guests to enjoy diverse flavours from Asia with an iftar buffet spread of dishes from countries including Indonesia, India, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, in addition to the usual Singaporean favourites. The food is freshly prepared in halal-certified theatre kitchens.

From the Middle East, expect Saudi Arabian roasted leg of lamb, Lebanese samke harra (grilled fish) and shawarma meats, Moroccan mezze and traditional desserts including baklava, basbousa and kanafa bil cream.

Fresh, sustainably sourced seafood dishes will also be a highlight of the menus across the various theatre kitchens including Bengali machi (fish) curry, udang lemak nanas (Peranakan curry prawns), mini salmon skin with yellowtail maki, Alexandria-style mixed seafood and a crustacean bar with poached tiger prawns, clams, mussels and oysters.

From countries closer to Singapore, the Chef’s specialties include mini double-boiled superior ‘Buddha jumps over the wall’, Hyderabadi biriyanis (basmati rice with lamb or seafood), wok-fried crab with salted egg and nasi kambing herba (slow-cooked herb mutton rice).

The buffet also features a variety of desserts and six fine date selections: ajwah, barhi, sokari, kholas, khidri, and segai; ice creams and sherbets such as fig, honey and walnut ice cream, Arabic coffee ice cream and mango sherbet, plus umm ali, and more.

StraitsKitchen will serve the iftar buffet from 6:30pm to 10:30pm, priced* at S$68++ for adults and S$38++ per child. The meal includes selected free-flow of juice, lassi (Indian yoghurt drink), tea and coffee. 

The hotel offers prayer rooms for diners to perform the Maghrib prayers. The sunset call to prayer is broadcast through the audio system.

Interested?

For reservations, call +65 6732 1234. Club at the Hyatt cardholders can enjoy a 15% discount. 

*All prices quoted are subject to a 10% service charge and prevailing government taxes.

NBK announces its iftar tent is open

Source: NBK.  Picture taken on the occasion of the opening of the annual iftar tent.

The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has opened its annual iftar tent near the Grand Mosque in the Sharq area to offer fasters iftar banquets during Ramadhan. The iftar tent is part of NBK`s annual Ramadan programme, Do Good Deeds in the Holy month of Ramadan. 

Talal Al Turki, NBK Public Relations Officer said: “NBK staff volunteers finalised all necessary arrangements for Ramadan tent to receive fasting people on the eve of the first day of Ramadhan. NBK staff volunteers will manage and supervise the fast-breaking. The distribution scale of NBK iftar banquets this year also includes hundreds of fast-breaking meals via special convoys to numerous mosques, hospitals and crowded locations in Kuwait.” 

NBK hosting iftar meals all across Kuwait

The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has shared that its annual Doing Good Deeds programme for this year's Ramadhan will include hosting iftar banquets that will be held near the Grand Mosque. 

Fast-breaking meals will also be offered at various mosques and other locations throughout Kuwait. NBK will also distribute iftar meals via special convoys that will tour the more crowded areas in the country. NBK staff volunteers will manage and supervise the fast-breaking banquets.

Abdelmohsin Al Rushaid, NBK Public Relations Manager said: “NBK will ramp up its charitable activities as a good corporate citizen of Kuwait. NBK hopes to encourage a greater sense of community and charity during Ramadhan and encourages its customers and staff to participate by ‘doing good deeds’ all month long.

“It is a well rooted tradition that has been carried out by NBK each year in its efforts to continuously have an active role in the Kuwait society. NBK believes in the power of doing good.”

The NBK Ramadan Social Program will also include several visits by volunteers to NBK Children’s Hospital and other social institutions.