Little chefs with big tastes

The Little Chef restaurant, commonly known as the Wholesale Restaurant, on the Budaiya Highway is offering a new selection of daily lunch and dinner buffets containing a rich variety of Indian, Arabic, Chinese and continental cuisines from starters to desserts and soups to kababs.

Mughlai maestro Chandan Ram, 58, is head chef of the Indian kitchen, has been a member of the restaurant's team for 16 years.

Boasting 40 years cooking experience he is well-known to regular guests for his Afghani pulav, Dilli chicken curry, navratna kurma and murgh begam bahar.

Hailing from the northern state of Uttarakhand, his family lives in Delhi where his son works as a chef, following his father and grandfather's footsteps.

Teased by his colleagues as the 'antique chef' of the restaurant, Chef Ram has had the opportunity to prepare meals for famous personalities including the late Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan and has worked with some of the leading names in Indian hospitality including the Maurya Sheraton and Four Seasons Hotel in New Delhi.

Mastering the Chinese kitchen at the restaurant is Chef Yam Lal Puri. He comes to the island with 20 years of experience in Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisines.

Originally from Nepal, Chef Yam, 40, comes to the island from the Inter Continental Hotel, Kuwait, where he worked from more than a decade.

Chef Yam's special dishes include Basil fish, Thai red and green curry as well as Chinese diced chicken. Chef Yam shares a simple Chinese recipe, one of his specialties with GulfWeekly readers.

Basil Fish

Ingredients:

Hammour or salmon 300gms

Egg 1

Corn flour 50gms

Fresh basil leaves 10gms

Chopped green chili 2 pieces

Yellow & red capsicum 100gms

Spring onion 10gms

Soya sauce and oyster sauce To taste

Salt and pepper To taste

Sugar 1/2 tsp

Butter

Procedure:

Mix all ingredients from one to 6 together in a wok using butter. Stir fry until cooked. Add salt, pepper and sugar. Garnish with Soya sauce and oyster sauce.