Eating Out

Flavour of the Orient at the Lebanese cafe

June 11 - 17, 2008
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Ahmed Cheatio, the new executive chef at The Delmon International Hotel in Manama, aims to add a touch of 'oriental flavour' to the menu at the celebrated Al Hamra Lebanese restaurant.

He will also be introducing daily specials for the lunch buffet at the hotel's popular coffee shop, CafŽ Sayeh, opposite Gold City.

He said: 'I'm very excited to be in Bahrain and will be preparing some tantalising new main courses for our diners.'

Aside from the new menu entries, Chef Ahmed, 43, is also planning to introduce a 'Lebanese Family Brunch' every Friday starting from June 27. One of his specialities will be to interact with guests and offer to delight their taste buds by cooking up personal requests.

Hailing from Lebanon's capital city of Beirut, Chef Ahmed brings with him 27 years of cooking experience.

Prior to his arrival on the island, he had been in Dubai for 20 years working in several hotels including the Coral Beach and Al Khaleej Palace after gaining early experience in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and in his home country.

The Delmon Hotel has also launched a series of regular 'theme night' offering different cuisines on different days of the week at its CafŽ Sayeh.

The themes include Lebanese cuisine on Wednesdays, Tandoori and Curry Nights on Thursdays, Filipino Nights on Fridays, 'East meets West' on Saturdays, Kabab Nights on Sundays, Pizza and Pasta Nights on Mondays and Steak and Roast on Tuesdays.

For every theme the venue will promote the day's special event with props, decorations and beverages to compliment it.

The Al Hamra restaurant is open daily from noon to 3pm and from 6pm to midnight. Krishna Shetty, banqueting manager, said: 'The new restaurant menu will introduce a variety of authentic Lebanese and Oriental dishes to cater to both our niche Lebanese clientele as well as for local and expat diners.'

For reservations contact Mr Shetty on 93276355.

Chef Ahmed shares a favourite recipe with GulfWeekly readers.

Chicken magrabiyaIngredients:

Half chicken

Mince lamb meat

Pieces of magrabiya

Four onions chopped

Small portion of chickpeas

Chicken stock

1/2 tsp caraway powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Boil the magrabiya and chickpeas. Saute the chicken and the lamb meat with the onion, add the caraway and cumin powder. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Let it cook, and then add the sauce which is made of melted butter and chicken stock. When cooked it is simply ready to serve.







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