There are several ways to eat.

At the table.

Kneeling on tatami mats.

Squatting on your calf muscles. Not recommended for desk-bound Singaporeans.

With one hand on the wheel.

In the Padmasana pose.

While on the move.

And while others are moving.

I've eaten while enjoying theatre, film, belly dancers in Dubai, dervish-ers in Cairo, Bollywood dancers at weddings, live bands in restaurants and classical dancers. And while watching family drama unfold live, and soap opera on television.

To relive Dubai, we made reservations for Friday night at Sano Bar. Several of us non-Singaporeans were wandering around lost near Raffles Place. The Singaporean passers-by had their hands full, guiding us to our various destinations.

I arrived at the restaurant at 9. The reservation staff had told us on Wednesday that the drum-playing began at 9.15, the belly dance would follow and the dancer's name was Diana.

"The first thing you need to do is build a relationship with all three sets of (belly) muscles, and get them comfortable with the idea of moving when you tell them to." So says Shira who gives online tips at http://www.shira.net/howtomove.htm.

With belly comfort in mind, we ordered a grilled platter and a Mezza of hummus, moutabbal, cheese borek, baba ganoush and falafel. The restaurant was pleasantly filled with customers except for the beautiful raised lounge.

The sheesh kabab was at its best and the pita bread perfect for rolling the hummus in. The hookah section outdoors was empty, so we decided to do that for dessert.

But we had come for dance all the way from the East and the West and from the (Stamford) Equinox.
"When do the drums begin?" we asked.
"There aren't enough customers today," said our waiter. "So we've had to cancel."

We skipped dessert that night. And for revenge, we ate beef belly satay at La Pau Sat for a midnight snack.

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