Essentially exotic, necessarily delicious, Middle Eastern cuisine is a mixture of sugar and spice and everything nice. Abu Dhabi hotels are perhaps the best places to experience Middle Eastern cuisine and Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara is one of the recommended luxury hotels Abu Dhabi that offer authentic middle eastern delicacies to the discerning traveller. Olive oil, pitas, dates, sumac, sesame seeds, chickpeas, mint, olives and parsley being some of the main ingredients in middle eastern cuisine, the gastronomy is based on the regional crops while cereals such as wheat and rice take on the centre stage. Dishes are cooked in butter or clarified butter also known as ghee and are therefore very much rich and wholesome in flavour. Hummus, a popular dip made of chickpeas being a main actor in the daily meals of the middle east, some of the favourite dishes include shawarmas, pita bread enclosing chicken, tomato puree and salad, tabouleh – a delightful combination of cracked wheat, mint, parsley and other ingredients and baklava – a delightful sweet pastry with a nutty honeyed filling. Also, do not miss out on tasting some grilled halloumi – tiny slabs of chewy goodness made out of goat and sheep milk when in the region, not forgetting the all time favourite koftas.