Zest for taste with flavours

Islamabad

As the sun sets, the city of Islamabad comes to life with families and friends heading towards lavish or sometimes unconventional restaurants offering iftar dinners.

While we all know that the best ‘iftar’ is at home, if a grand ‘iftar’ dinner buffet is what you are looking for after 18 hours of rigorous fasting, then dining in the Marquee at the Islamabad Marriott hotel is just what the doctor ordered.

The theme of this season’s event is a culinary journey across the globe, where guests will find authentic yet creative cuisines from various parts of the world under one roof.

According to its managers, the hotel wishes to take dining to new heights in the month and not just figuratively. To honour this special time of the year, the Austrian head chef, Thomas Figovc, with over 20 years of experience in renowned hotels, along with his brigade of highly-skilled chefs have prepared a spectacular buffet spread that boasts both tantalising local favorites and multi-cuisine delicacies.

There is a lavish menu of assorted iftar items, including the traditional ‘pakoras’, a variety of ‘samosas’, fish fingers, ‘dumpukht-style ‘tikas’ and even ‘bhelpuri’. The salad menu is even more diverse with dishes ranging from oriental favourites such as ‘fatoush’, ‘babaganouse’, tomato with goat cheese and ‘moutabbal’.

Another part of the appetizers station includes sliced salmon salad, terrine of duck, ‘waldrof’ salad with apple pasta salad, tuna salad and freshly cut vegetables to create your own salad. Most of the food on offer on the hot buffet station is perennial favourites from around the region like chicken and mutton ‘biryani’, white qorma, ‘Hyderabadi murgh curry’, mutton handi and chicken makhni. There are also Chinese and Thai dishes such as chicken chowmein, beef Mongolian, beef Swiss style with mushrooms, Thai lamb, curry, Thai stir fried, vegetables and Thai lamb curry. The live action stations include a ‘shawarma’ grill, a live pasta station and a Pakistani station serving beef ‘nihari’, ‘tawa’ prawns, ‘Haleem’, lamb ‘galuti’ kebab, ‘sarson ka saag’ and so much more.

A fitting finale to complement, the outstanding spread include the popular devil’s chocolate cake, carrot walnut cake, red velvet cake, cheesecake, baklava, ‘basboosa’, ‘kunafa’, umali and many more.

Of course, what’s Ramazan without all the festive fixin’s? The eye-popping embellishments in the Marquee are simply unmatched ensuring that every detail of the decor has been meticulously selected from thematic choices echoing the land of the Middle East. The ambiance is complemented with live traditional music and the sweet fragrance of ‘bukhoor’. Dining at the Marquee is just not about the food. It’s about the whole experience.