Iftar Ideas for you this Ramadan 2017 contemporary, classic, and tasty!

A NEW OPENING AND A NEW IFTAR AT THE H HOTEL

We really liked our food at the new Zahira restaurant where chef Greg Malouf rules the kitchen. Expect high quality, home made tasting contemporary Arabic food for the Iftar set menu that changes each week.

All falafels should be of the hazelnut kind we had here! Apart from my paleo courgette ones of course!

The Moroccan soup had lentils, chick peas and lamb and was delicious. My favourite hot mezze was the little lamb sausage dish, excellent spicy little bites. I thought that was the end of the meal, but I was wrong! AED 190 for the iftar, but expect to find these sorts of dishes on the regular menu.

Don't forget to check out the glass chiller machine at the bar area.

DINE IN - ASIAN STYLE IF YOU'RE NOT FASTING THIS RAMADAN WELCOME TO WOKYO

I was desperate for Singapore Laksa one evening, so I prepared my version and then shared on instagram asking people where I could get a bowl in Dubai.

Have you tried Wokyo came the response?

So off we went to this genuine gem of a Ramen/Noodle bar in JLT. They've incorporated a very easy, new format menu and a big plus they've just received their licence to open for dine in customers over Ramadan.

So you just choose your sauce, your base and your protein for your unique Asian Combination. Wokyo is run by a couple who are of Middle Eastern origin, but Nazlie grew up in Sweden so she's brought with her a very clean, Scandi style to JLT which I really liked. It's not fussy, but it's still very inviting, it's not formal, but it's not downmarket at all.

So go and try it and see what you think. Cluster J of JLT, park at the Spinneys then walk down a few steps. I wish there was one nearer me!

Oh! you must try the lotus crisps. Gorgeous coffee served in a cup for AED 12 after your meal. What's more civilized than that?

Have a listen to Zak telling us about how WOKYO was born.

A SPECIAL POP UP IFTAR BY DISH CATERING SEASON 2!

We sampled an iftar preview of the Ramadan Nights special Pop Up Iftar put together by Dish Catering.

It was good last year, but it's even better this time round!

A real Morrocan theme this year again in the same location in Al Quoz. I like the fairy tale setting, the surprise you get walking in and then the whole communal feel of eating together really captures the spirit of what iftars are all about.

We liked all the food but my stand out dish has to be the tarator style salmon that's been smoked on wood chips that have in turn been infused with coriander and fennel seeds! Can you smell it?

Check the full post on this Dubai Iftar on the blog and tell me you're not tempted.

A warning though you do need to book quite soon as it does get sold out due the limited space. Priced at AED 195

A NEW MENU AT AL MAEDA

There's a brand new menu at the Al Maeda restaurant at the Hilton Doubletree JBR side of town.

There's definitely a trend towards modernizing Arabic, Middle Eastern cuisine this year and Al Maeda is no exception! We tried some dishes that are going to make up their Iftar menu and feel you should know a couple of things:

1. The Price at AED 139 inclusive of Ramadan drinks makes it a very reasonably priced iftar bearing in mind how pretty this restaurant is to sit in.

2. The food includes a real mix of the Middle East as chefs in the kitchen originate from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

We recommend the pistachio hummus, a very fresh tasting quinoa, freekeh and pomegranate salad and the seafood grill platter that has a fish kofta kebab, some jumbo prawns and some fish taouk. They try and use only locally caught fish, so our fish kofta was made with sherri the day we visited.

We tried to avoid the breads as we're minimizing our carbs but the mankish's looked very tempting. I liked the sound of spinach olive oil, sumac and cheese!

You may know what manakish is but does anyone know what shanklish is?

Note this iftar will be served buffet style.

IFTAR IDEAS for you this Ramadan 2017