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In a desert taken over by a jungle of concrete, the flavour of nostalgia and soul provided at the Saffron restaurant allowed me to experience the real Bahrain in the days before skyscrapers.
Meandering through the maze of alleyways in the heart of Muharraq, I was led to the destination by a 12-year-old local lad, who without hesitation directed me by foot through the old soul of the urban city.
He spotted we were lost and once we asked directions he was delighted to tell us about his own eating out experience at Saffron, one that he found mouth-wateringly memorable.
I could not wait to see what all the fuss was about. Five minutes later and there it was.
Against the deepening blue of the sky, the restaurant glowed with earthy tones. Decorated with what could be the relics of an ancient fort, the restaurant was filled with old traditional teapots, antique radios and the main attraction was a Bahraini ‘madbasa’ (a conventional date-juicer), which immediately encapsulated guests into our culture.
As soon as I entered, the transparent flooring showed the madbasa under your feet and immediately left me feeling like I did the first time I visited the national museum when I was six years old … amazed!
The concept is the brainchild of Narise Qambar. Her mother, celebrated chef and author Dr Dalal Al Sherouqi, helped her set it up and trained the staff to provide real soul food.
Dalal explained: “I took the cooking team to my home in Riffa and I trained them to make all our famous Bahraini dishes. That’s the only way to teach people how to cook, to actually get in the kitchen and do it.”
The café brought back personal memories, the sweet balaleet (saffron noodles) my grandmother used to make for me and my sisters on Eid morning, the egg and tomato with fresh Arabic bread I used to devour every Friday for breakfast and the chai haleeb (milk with tea) made perfectly by my grandfather, served in a traditional tin mug.
What made the experience even better was the old Arabic tunes playing in the background alongside the waiters dressed in traditional thobes.
“I have taken courses in costume designing, so I thought it was very important that Saffron incorporated it with the staff,” said Dalal. “It’s sort of like when you go to an Italian restaurant and immediately you know what the waiters will be wearing.”
Head Chef Gobinda Roy boasts over 12 years of experience and explained how, when arriving to the country in 1996 from India, he soon realised why they call Bahrain the ‘pearl of the Gulf’.
Gobinda, 40, from the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, said: “When I came to Bahrain, I was working in a small restaurant in Riffa, that’s where I built up my cooking skills. But when I started working at Saffron, Dalal took me under her wing and trained me properly and taught me what to do. It’s important to make good Bahraini food as most of our customers are locals.
“I think the best dish we make is probably the egg and tomato. I personally like the mashed fava beans. All the food is excellent and very authentic.”
I tried the Saffron Tray consisting of mehyaawa (flatbread with dried fish sauce), chai haleeb, routi (sweet bread made specially with Narise’s own special mix) that is served with cheese and homemade Bahraini jam, egg and tomato, balaleet, looba (baked beans), foul and medresa sandwiches (sandwiches stuffed with vegetable kebabs or sambosas). The food is presented on a traditional metal tray.
Dalal sat down and enjoyed the meal with me. She explained that because Arabic food is very bulky, the focus on presentation is very important and attracts different people from around the country to join in and celebrate the Bahraini way of living.
The food was fantastic and after finishing the fare, the waiter offered guests a shot of a refreshing saffron drink.
“A lot of young and old people come to visit. Some come with their work and they sit with their iPads and laptops. It’s just somewhere nice to sit down and relax and enjoy good Bahraini food,” said Dalal.
Saffron is open from 10am to 1pm and again from 5pm to 8pm. A second restaurant, Saffron 2, is also in Muharraq and offers a similar menu.
