It's the second half of Ramadan and by now, most women have fed their families home-cooked and traditional food to last the whole year. As a result, many families are now opting to eat out more for Iftars, particularly in restaurants that are serving a diverse range of international cuisines, accompanied by the traditional accompaniment of Arabic coffee, dates and laban. “It's time to pay tribute to Saudi society without losing our own identity,” remarked Joerg Wickihalder, the manager of an Italian restaurant in Jeddah in an interview with Saudi Gazette. “We respect the month of Ramadan so we serve our Muslim brothers traditional food items and then the different courses of a traditional Italian meal. Italian cuisine is a great hit amongst Saudis and expatriates alike with pasta and lasagne providing a formidable alternative to the mighty sambusa. Another timeless favorite is Chinese food and a sign of its popularity is the established trend in most homes to regularly prepare and eat vegetable and chicken spring rolls for Iftar. China's rich heritage of food means, however, that there is much more for foodies to explore during Ramadan. Most restaurants offer Iftar buffets that provide a comprehensive range of dishes. Meraj is the manager of one such restaurant in Jeddah and he told Saudi Gazette that since buffets are time-consuming affairs in general, his restaurant offers visitors the chance to order dishes prior to visiting the restaurant, so that there are no delays and lengthy waiting periods. Offering Spanish and Japanese dishes alongside Chinese ones, Meraj added that “the most common dishes are tempura, teriyaki, compu chee and dried chili garlic chicken.” A number of restaurants in the Kingdom go even further and provide a host of international cuisine during Ramadan. One Pakistani restaurant in Jeddah, for instance, includes Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Arabic as well as Continental food in its Iftar buffet. “We also serve in Suhoor with typical scrambled eggs, omelets and parathas to people from the subcontinent, while Saudi customers prefer rice and meat specialities,” remarked the manager of the restaurant. For those looking for traditional Arab cuisine, there are too many choices to make a quick decision. The manager of a Lebanese restaurant in Riyadh, Yousef Nemer, told Saudi Gazette that his restaurant prepares, prints and distributes its menu in advance to potential customers and that the popular restaurant normally offers a different menu each day. “We offer tuut juice, which is basically raspberry juice and the Iftar seems incomplete without this juice, qahwa and soup,” he said. This eating out trend is as big a hit with tired mothers as it is with the rest of the family, providing a much-needed change to the taste buds. Five star hotels take the whole thing to the next level and celebrate Ramadan with decorations and not just cuisine. An essentially ‘Ramadan' theme prevails and lobbies, ballrooms and dining areas are all tastefully decorated in a beautiful manner and keeping Islamic traditions in mind. One hotel in Jeddah, for instance, has chosen the heritage of Jandariyah as its theme for this year's Ramadan, and everything - from the tablecloth to the food - reflects this theme. Another hotel has derived inspiration from old Damascus and “Bab Al-Hara.”
