“Alright” I think. It’s been suggested that we do a girl’s night at Al Hadheerah restaurant. I’ve been here once before for an anniversary six months ago. It was an experience then, the desert location, the open air, tantalising buffet and restaurant sunken into the sand. It was also an occasion and, most importantly, we were staying at the Bab Al Shams Resort, just next door and about an hours drive from Dubai.
Still, we’re going to go together, my friend has offered to drive. And I figure that an hour in the car with girlfriends will go much more quickly than an hour with the kids. We’re all faced with the end of term, Christmas approaching and many will be going away for the school holidays. We want to do something nice together for our own little end-of-year celebration before the kids break up from school and lots of people are away. So, I’m in.
We meet at my friend’s house and I’m the first to arrive, as usual. I believe in being punctual and don’t like to be kept waiting. Even less so do I like to keep others waiting – I think it’s the lawyer in me. We all arrive and are off on the drive. I’m right, it does seem to go more quickly with girlfriends.
Our group arrives and are seated just in time for the show to start. A story of bedouin tribes battling for water and finally coming together to co-operate for the good of all. There are camel trains, horses and sword fights. Luckily our mezze – Arabic dips of hummus, labneh and a spicy pumpkin dip (that could be Libyan in origin) has been brought to our table first, along with fresh, hot Arabic bread, as we have been requested not to visit the buffet during the performance. A herd of goats roam across the floodlit sand dune setting, they bleat a few times and are out of sight. The horses whinny and are ridden into the darkness behind the camel train and the lights in the sunken restaurant area are turned back on.
The mezze during the performance was delicious, the hummus being, I think, the best I’ve ever tasted. We survey the buffet before choosing our meals. I linger around one of the live cooking stations but in the end, it takes too long and there is plenty of other things to sample. I make sure to include some shwarma as well as fattoush, one of my favorite Arabic salads – crunchy lettuce, tomato and cucumber with a sumac dressing and crispy fried Arabic bread on top. I pile on an extra scoop of the crispy bread and some more slices of lemon. On my way back to the table I grab a cheese sambousek – light pastry filled with Arabic cheese and parsley – it’s one of the highlights of my meal. So good!
Back at the table and the rest of our party has arrived. We settle into our meal and conversation whilst the singer does a mix of Arabic songs of various backgrounds. My friends are mostly Jordanian and they sing along. One of the songs is Egyptian, or so I am told. I don’t understand anything – not the songs and not much of the conversation either. Bits are translated for me but I also get the feeling that there is a lot that is lost in translation tonight. I don’t mind too much. My friends are laughing like teenage girls and dancing in their seats, clearly having a good time. What’s not to love?
Belly dancers perform and then the tanoura dancer comes on, making his way around the room with a brightly lit skirt that he keeps in motion, mostly above his head, for an incredibly extended length of time. He doesn’t miss a beat and I wonder how long he’s been doing this to have such a flawless performance.
The performances continue with the singer coming back and I think there’s a birthday or anniversary at just about every table with the number of ‘happy birthday’ renditions. Everyone is out to celebrate tonight and the restaurant is full. It’s the outdoor season and it’s actually quite chilly. Despite a warm day (mid 20’s) I’m cold tonight, the temperature has dropped to about 14 degrees, and am glad I brought my coat along, despite thinking earlier in the evening that I would likely just carry it around.
I’m not quite finished my meal yet. Luckily, after some time in Dubai, I have had time to sample some of the local Emirati and subtly different regional Arabic cuisines. Last time I was here I wanted to taste everything but now I have more of an idea of what I like and what I’m happy to miss out on. Still, there are a few new things on my ‘must try’ list and I re-visit the offerings for some new experiences, firstly with a kebab (Lebanese) that looks good, then for dessert. With a variety of morsels on my plate I return to the table to enjoy some more savory and then sweet. The rose Turkish Delight really is a delight.
Dinner is over and the girls are in high spirits after requesting some of their favorite songs – the singer acquiesces and they happily sing along. I can’t join in the singing but I get up with them for a bit of a dance. We make our own dance floor in between the tables and I enjoy the company, the music and the spirit of these ladies who have been so inviting and accepting of me since I moved here. I owe them a lot and am pleased to see them having such a good time.
Laughing, we return to our seats, we talk and joke and there is another dance or two. After a while we look around and we’re the only ones left. It’s also getting late and we still have a long drive back. We make our way back through the little souq set up on the way in and check out the photos that were taken but we have our own photos and more importantly, our own memories. How glad I am that I was invited to be in on this one.
Would I Return?
Yes. Al Hadheerah has a wonderful array of cuisine. More than this though, it has the feel of an experience – with the music, the performances and the show with live animals it makes for a great night out for locals and tourists alike. There was also a fireworks display on the night we visited (only Thursday and Friday nights).