Aptly titled Enchantment of Middle Eastern Cuisine, this two-month-long food promotion, which ends on Aug 20, offers specially prepared dishes from the region which have been incorporated into the outlets’ daily buffets.

The exotic array of dishes comprises appetizers, soups, mains, wraps, grills and desserts.

The buffet meals offer hummus (chick peas dip with tahina and olive oil), tabboulleh (parsley salad with cracked wheat), fatoush (Arabic salad with bits of toasted pita bread) and moutabbal (puree of grilled eggplant with tahina).

There are also makdous (pickled baby eggplant with walnut and chilli), khoder makleheh bil tahina (cauliflower, eggplant, zucchini and sesame paste) and kashkeh bil jouz (labneh, crushed wheat, walnut and garlic).

The soups include Arabic lentil soup with solek, Moroccan harira with dates and shbakia, Tunisian loubia soup with cilantro, chorbat del fool treh with harissa and coriander, soup-e-jo (Iranian barley and carrot soup with fresh cream) and molokheya with chicken (Egyptian chicken and vegetable soup).

The main courses are equally, if not more, delightful. There are kibbeh with yoghurt (torpedo-shaped burgull stuffed with minched lamb and spices), laban bil labneh (lamb stew with yoghurt), fitr mutafa (sautéed mushrooms, garlic and tomato), and habbar (deep-fried squid with tartar sauce).

Dig also into such delights as fasenjan ba ordak (duck stew with ground walnut, onion and pomegranate syrup), quail tagine with prunes (Moroccan quail stewed with dried fruits), robian (grilled prawns with garlic), sucuk (Lebanese sausage with garlic and tomato), and kibded dejaj (sautéed chicken liver with pine nuts and pomegranate).

Rice dishes include kabsa with lamb (Arabic rice with lamb cubes and vegetables), fatet dajaj (chicken and rice with creamy yoghurt), onion pulao (rice with onions and coconut milk), barberry rice, dill rice with fava beans, Iranian saffron rice and more.

Sun & Surf Café’s and Atrium’s ‘live’ action stations also offer inspiring flavours with a hint of the Middle East. At the carvery, savour the tantalising ouzzi with oriental rice (whole roasted baby lamb) and mechoui (whole grilled lamb with Arabic rice).

The kebab selections include a variety of shish taouk (Arabic spiced chicken thigh kebab), chelo kebab-e-kubideh (Iranian minced lamb kebab), mahi kebab (hammour kebab marinated in lemon juice and saffron), kebab-e-barreh (lamb chop kebab marinated with onion) and kebab-e-gosaleh (beef tenderloin kebab marinated with saffron, onion and bell pepper).

Sun & Surf Café’s buffets are priced at RM55++ per adult for lunch (noon to 2.30pm) and RM78++ per adult for dinner (6.30pm to 10pm). Atrium Café’s buffets are at RM45++ per adult for lunch (noon to 2.30pm) and RM65++ per adult for dinner (6pm to 10pm). Children dine at half price at both restaurants.