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Food and Drink
There is a wide range of quality dining options, many but not all of which are to be found in the 5-star hotels. If the ubiquitous Gulf menu of rice, lamb and mezze (hummus, chopped salads and other appetisers) is not to your taste, then try the locally caught prawns and lobster. The fruit juices, such as lemon and mint, are irresistible in summer.
Things to know: Alcohol is widely available for non-Muslim adults over the age of 18 in most top-end restaurants and hotel bars in Manama. Drinking alcohol in public outside these establishments is prohibited. National specialities: • Machbous: steamed fish or meat served with rice. • Muchammar: brown, sweet rice served with sugar or dates. • Baba ghanoush: smoked aubergine, pureed garlic, yoghurt and sesame paste. • Shawarma: lamb or chicken carved from a rotating spit and wrapped in flat bread. • Sambousa: crisp pastry cases filled with meat, cheese, sugar or nuts. National drinks: • Arak: grape spirit flavoured with aniseed. • Gahwa: coffee, usually spiked with cardamom. Tipping: A service charge is often added to bills in hotels and most restaurants, otherwise 10% is appropriate. Nightlife
Restaurants, nightclubs and cinemas showing English and Arabic films can be found in the main towns.
Within the capital city, Manama, 'nightlife' generally refers to eating out with friends in some of the city's excellent restaurants, particularly in the Adliya district. Pick up a copy of the Bahrain Hotel & Restaurant Guide for an exhaustive listing. There are also several fashionable nightclubs, mostly attached to hotels, which offer a mix of world music, house, R & B, hip hop and even the odd samba club. Live shows are advertised in the 'Nitelife' section of Bahrain This Month and in the English-language newspapers. For something more 'highbrow', the Bahrain Internation Exhibition Centre (www.bahrainexhibitions.com) features traditional music recitals and the five-star hotels often host quality acts from abroad. All top hotels have attractive bars featuring happy hour and live jazz or piano music. Shopping
There is a wide range of modern shopping complexes with imported luxury goods. Pearls are the main local speciality, used in finely wrought gold jewellery. Famous red clay pottery is available from the village of A'ali; hand-woven cloth from Bani Jamrah and textiles from Al-Jasra.
Manama is a great place for night shopping: just stroll through the labyrinthine streets behind Bab al-Bahrain to discover how locals spend their evenings bartering in the clothes, textiles and gold souks. Shopping hours: Sat-Thurs 0830-1230 and 1530-1930. Some shops are open for a few hours on Friday mornings in souks. |
