Many of Abu Dhabi’s restaurants and cafe’s provide non-smoking sections, however in the absence of a significant physical barrier such “smoke-free” spaces are about as health promoting as a non-urinating section in a public swimming pool. Hard Walls however, makes a real effort, and the the non-smoking section is located outside of the main restaurant. Yes – here it’s the non-smokers who are marginalised, and pushed to the fringes of the establishment. This less than perfect arrangement is however, far superior to simply separating smoking and non-smoking sections with written-signs; as if free-floating smoke can read. I once saw a no smoking sign almost totally obscured by a thick cloud of illiterate cigar smoke that had defiantly drifted into the non-smoking section.
The debate on passive smoking has rumbled on for a long time but the direction of travel is pretty obvious. It seems as though a global public-smoking ban is gradually creeping into place. However, one issue that needs to be urgently addressed, pertains to children accompanying their parents to super smokey environments. Who would take their 3 year-old child to a cigar bar? But children in sheesha cafe’s and restaurants seem to be fairly acceptable, common even. Perhaps it’s the pleasant smell of sheesha smoke that lulls some of us into a false sense of complacency? Nothing that smells so good could be harmful could it? But the dangers of environmental tobacco smoke for children are clear and well publicised. The UK’s National Health Service suggest children regularly exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (sweet smelling or otherwise) are more prone to asthma, ear, nose and chest infections, do less well cognitively, and are at greater risk of developing cancer and other serious illnesses as adults.
During my visit to Hard Walls several of the passive smokers were indeed children. As these youngsters munched ketchup-drenched chicken nuggets, mum, dad, aunts, uncles and older siblings all puffed pipes and punctuated their conversation with perfumed clouds of smoke. One scene now indelibly etched in my mind was of a mother cradling a relative neonate in one arm while she dextrously manoeuvred the sheesha pipe with her other. Another scene was of a container of red-hot charcoal being swung precariously close to the push chair of a sleeping tot. This brought to my mind Dickensian scenes of chimney sweeps, and gin-drinking pre-teen alcoholics. Surely these children passively imbibing the atmosphere of sheesha-serving establishments will become the images we look back on with a sense of “I can’t believe we lived like that!”.
Beyond the smoke, Hard Walls offers nominally Lebanese/Syrian cuisine, with an extensive menu spanning the globe, pretty much like the Lebanese diaspora. All the usual, Levantine, suspects are there; humus, taboullie, fatoush, kebabs. The menu also features the ubiquitous fodder of globalisation; burgers, and pizzas. However, there are also many unexpected international surprises. For example, my favourite dish at Hard Walls has to be chicken Kiev. This Kiev is absolutely magnificent, from presentation, flavour to aroma, a truly outstanding culinary experience. In fact this dish seems kind of out of place at Hard Walls, which has a relaxed beach-bar style decor and ambience. No – this chicken Kiev would be right at home in the any of the world’s most gastronomically sophisticated five star restaurants. However, in such establishments you probably couldn’t get a Bahrani apple flavoured sheesha for dessert.
Photo by: Shaikha Al Tunaiji
