Aristocratic ambience

THE unique Block 338 Restaurant, Lounge & Garden is one of the latest additions to Adliya's thriving dining scene and already attracting the cool crowd in large numbers.

The restaurant opened in October and is located next to the New York Institute of Technology. The venue was previously known as La Cave Restaurant & Lounge.

Now looking like a magnificent mansion situated in a beautifully cultivated garden around 200 diners flock to it on busy weekend nights.

Indoors, the venue features a welcoming area, TV room, atrium, 'kitchen' area which offers a lounge for people to sit back and relax with some drinks, the main dining area as well as a 'bedroom' which can accommodate up to 10 people seeking refreshment and a chill out zone for good conversation.

The furniture and lightings appears regal and radiates an aristocratic ambience. The restaurant's essence, however, is in its menu which features a fresh concept for Bahrain's food connoisseurs - a medley of modern Mediterranean dishes.

Menu creator Navishen Mudaly, group executive chef of MESK Holdings, the company that operates Block 338 Restaurant, is the guiding light behind the kitchen.

Boasting an extensive culinary career spanning 15 years, Chef 'Navi' moved to Bahrain six months ago to open the new restaurant on the invitation from company executives.

Born in Durban, South Africa, under the troubled apartheid times, Chef Navi's journey into the profession took place in pioneering fashion after first dabbling at possible careers in civil engineering and quantity surveying.

Chef Navi, 36, explained: "I had always wanted to travel and so a friend and I applied to join the M L Sultan Hotel School of Hospitality's tourism department. However, a lecturer in campus advised us that if we really wanted to travel, the best way was to become a chef."

Chef Navi, whose family originated from India, was in one of the first batches of so-called 'non white' students to attend the school as the racial barriers came down.

After three years of study he gained a national diploma in catering management and joined a five-star hotel in the intern.

He then moved to London to join another five-star hotel. He said: "I wanted to do something more interesting so I started to look out for new and exciting opportunities.

"I then joined the 5th floor cafŽ at the renowned Harvey Nichols store in London which served a modern Mediterranean cuisine. There was an open food market which offered all sorts of exotic products from around the world."

Chef Navi was then offered the chance to take on the role of senior chef at a French restaurant before rejoining Harvey Nichols' 'Prism' restaurant which specialised in British cuisine.

His thirst for learning continued unabated and he was appointed as sous chef at a well-known Japanese restaurant called Zuma. After Zuma, Chef Navi moved back to South Africa to Cape Town where he became a Japanese cuisine consultant at the Cape Town Fish Market. He then returned to London to set up his own venture, 'Indojin', offering Indian and Japanese food together, in partnership with his wife Alison and a friend.

However, when his wife was pregnant with their first child, he looked for a more secure working environment and joined a restaurant owned by a French baker before taking up an opportunity from Kurt Zdesar, former general manager of famous London-based restaurant Nobu, to help set up a nightclub venue in Paris.

Following its successful launch he moved back to London to work in a celebrated restaurant called 'inamo' before getting an offer from Kurt, now the GM of MESK Holding, to join his operations in Bahrain.

Chef Navi's first task was to open the Sandwich Bar at the Almoayyed Towers in Seef and he then focussed his attention on creating the sophisticated menu for Block 338.

He said: "When I saw the layout of the outlet I thought of coming up with something different to what people were used to in Bahrain and so suggested modern tapas.

"It has been misunderstood as solely Spanish but it is used in many cuisines. As a result we offer modern tapas with Mediterranean flavours and the way we serve our food is quite unique.

"I took over three months to come up with the new menu as I had been experimenting with several recipes. It has been very challenging and over time we have managed to find the right formula."

The restaurant has now launched a special lunchtime banquet for two or more guests at BD6 per person. It will include a soup of the day, crispy arancini rice balls, hammour tempura, Block 338 market salad, barbeque chicken and baby leek skewers and seasonal grilled vegetables skewers.

The outlet will also soon launch a barbeque area in its garden where people can have freshly-prepared grilled dishes on skewers.

Another attraction is Mediterranean Tapas Mania every Sunday to Tuesday from 5pm to 7pm where guests can enjoy the choice of any three tapas plates with a selection of beverages.

Chef Navi, who now lives in Amwaj with his wife and two children Talen, three, and six-month old Ariana, shares a recipe with GulfWeekly readers.

Arancini rice balls

Risotto rice (or any short grain rice) 200gm

Small onion 1

Garlic 1 clove

Grape juice 150ml

Chicken or vegetable stock 500ml

Mozzarella cheese 50gm

Parmesan cheese 25gm

Fresh basil 10gm

Bread crumbs 50gm

Flour 100gm

Milk 150ml

Egg 1

Method:

Slice shallots and garlic. SautŽ in a pan with olive oil and add rice. Add grape juice until reduced. Cover rice with stock and cook on medium heat until all stock is absorbed (25 to 30 minutes cooking time). Cook rice until it is tender and leave to cool down. Grate cheese and chop fresh basil. Mix them in with rice and roll into small balls and coat in breadcrumbs. Deep fry in vegetable oil (180 C) or cook in hot oven at 200 C until golden brown. Drain into kitchen paper.

Assembly: arrange crispy rice balls onto a plate and serve with some pesto or chilli sauce on the side.