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Turquoise has always been my favourite colour and there’s always something warming about taking a comfortable seat in a restaurant decorated in classic style.
The Golestan, situated downstairs at the Sheraton, looks superb from the moment you step into the Iranian restaurant and the trio of hanging lamps that adorn each table setting adds to the splendour.
Having completed a strict one-month-long diet I was savouring the moment of tucking into some energy-packing carbohydrates and I had been told this fine-dining establishment dishes up the tastiest warm bread on the island.
I was not disappointed. You know that feeling when you’ve dreamed of something you’ve been deprived of and it tastes even better than you ever imagined … well that’s the Golestan bread. There’s a special cheesy one that is heaven on a plate.
Kathryn and I first found a taste for Iranian fare at the Persian Room on Amwaj Island and the Golestan certainly offers admirable competition with a rich array of dishes (please add ++ to all prices featured).
The entrée of green salad with an amazing homemade apple jam compliment was crisp and refreshing and provided a superb start for a gourmet journey featuring the unique and delicately flavoured cuisine – refined over the centuries to produce a remarkable variety of dishes.
According to Iranian Chef Valiollah Khodabandehlou the fare is nutritionally balanced and visually attractive and has a ‘subtle piquancy and aroma unmatched in the world’.
And just to prove the point he served up a selection of cold and hot Persian starters priced BD4.900 which featured Zetoon Parvardeh – olives, walnuts, herbs and pomegranate – and my favourite Mirza Qasmi, a warm puree of baked egg plants served with onions, garlic, tomato, eggs and seeds with cilantro leaves, amongst others.
The Aash-e-Reshteh soup which followed was a medley of chick peas, green lentil, red beans, spinach, parsley, fresh mint and Iranian noodles. It had a distinctive and original taste.
The industrious Raj Ghimire, restaurant-in-charge on the floor, was a knowledgeable host who was able to explain each dish in detail and working with the good lady wife, Kathryn, set about choosing the main courses.
Kathryn went for the Khoresht-E-Ghormeh Sabzi (BD5.800), an interesting casserole of baby lamb with red kidney beans and fresh herbs with saffron rice, and I was offered the Mahi Shukambori pan-fried hammour with garden vegetables (BD8.800)… and without question walked away with the dish of the day.
The sauce on the fish had a satisfying zing to it which is often missing from Iranian food which usually has more subtle flavouring. The combination was superb.
All that was left was to share some Bastani ice cream with Saffron (BD2.900) followed by a cup of Iranian tea, with the option of white and saffron sugar cubes, of course!
They like their saffron in Iran and I love their turquoise.
