Restaurant review: Time on our hands Slaves to the clock and the calendar, those fasting are entitled to lavish Iftars and leisurely Sohours, muses Gamal Nkrumah Glamorous decadence in a month of ostensibly austere spiritual introspection and retrospection could be taken for a brazen contradiction. Ramadan Karim, Ramadan is Generous, is among the most endearing aspects of the holy fasting month. And, the month is giving in the most unexpected ways. Ramadan, after all, is a time when we should never feel harried. However, sometimes we do, as when we rush to perform the taraweeh prayers, seen by some as compulsory religious ritual of the holy month. Others prefer an unhurried pace. "The Ramses Hilton offers some of the best Ramadan culinary bargains in town," a friend mentioned casually. "The food is invariably delightful," she mused. Neither of those pieces of information had prepared me for this cherubic experience. Nor had they led me to believe that the Ramadan culinary schedule of the Ramses Hilton was such an exhilarating experience. Yet, the end of the Iftar and the beginning of the Sohour instantly smote me. I was smitten by the sumptuous spread of hot and cold buffet and the maniacal mix of hungry hordes holding up their plates and pleading with the chefs for more like starving Oliver Twists. The Ramses Hilton has devised a three-spangled spectacular stellar spread of mouthwatering delicacies. First, the oriental Iftar buffet served daily with the breaking of the fast at sunset at the memorable Terrace Café overlooking the Nile, with the vermilion disc of the sun sinking behind the skyscrapers of Giza across the river. Then there is the majestic Cairo Tower, standing proudly aloft like a Cleopatra needle of yesteryear. The atmosphere is all so sublime. Then, as the night is still young and enchanting, there is the Garden Court Café and the sinfully inviting Rendez- Vous Café to allure those tired of fasting during the stifling hot day with live entertainment in an authentic Egyptian atmosphere until the small hours of the night. Time flies when you are enjoying such a heavenly milieu and celestial service. Any hint of gnawing loneliness evaporates as you watch the lunatic diners gorge themselves. It is a wonder how much the gut can carry after a long day of fasting. The feasting is invariably fun. The Terrace Café was buzzing with Arab and foreign tourists. There were Saudis in flip-flops and Bermuda shorts stuffing themselves silly. Muslim Indian businessmen searching desperately for the nearest mosque to perform prayers before returning for more juice and dessert. And, most bizarre of all, a Greek Orthodox priest with, presumably, his parishioners gathered confusingly around him a communion of hungry believers. He held his plate high piled with all sorts of tempting delicacies, as if it was a communion cup. His salt and pepper pony tail sharply contrasted with his dreary pitch black robes rubbing shoulders with an equally-somberly dressed Saudi woman with nothing but her heavily-kohled flirtatious eyes showing, lids heavy-laden with mascara and eye-lashes fluttering furiously. The black-clad duo instantly engaged in a cut-neck speed game of dashing from the buffet and back to their tables to replenish their empty platters. Her dark eyes were dancing as she pondered the next delicacy she should devour. As far as the priest was concerned it looked like he felt good to metamorphose into a young person again. There was something eerily familiar. It was, as if they pigged out in order to block out their emotions -- comfort food, I believe it is called. Many people, Muslims and non-Muslims, have an idiosyncratic relationship with Ramadan. There were diners who were obviously making megabucks, but what struck me was that there was something in their mannerisms that suggested weariness. It had nothing to do with the food, nor with the panoramic setting. Perhaps it was the strain of the fast and then to be confronted with, and so enamoured of such a scrumptious feast. Yet, another was this unsettling inspiration for the Terrace Café. Oh, and the food? Needless to say, it was delicious, lusciously pleasing to both eye and palate. Terrace Café Restaurant Ramses Hilton 1115 Corniche Al-Nil, Cairo Tel: 2577 7444 Iftar buffet: LE180 per person
