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Mouth-watering mussels

March 25 - 31, 2015
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Gulf Weekly Mouth-watering mussels

Gulf Weekly Stan Szecowka
By Stan Szecowka

IF there’s one event on the culinary scene worth shelling out for, it’s the occasional visit of ‘Mr Mussels’ from Brussels.

Mövenpick Hotel Bahrain once again brought the shores of Belgium to Bahrain for five days in partnership with renowned seafood chef Paul Vanlancker and Qatar Airways.
 
Even a blast of wintery weather couldn’t dampen diners’ appreciation of the Mussel Madness launch event last Tuesday evening which had to be moved from around the outside pool area to inside the calming Silks Restaurant.

Flying in from Europe, the master chef of Leon de Bruxelles, showcased his signature mussel dishes. With well over two decades of culinary expertise under his belt, Chef Paul lends an added dimension of interest and acclaim with his bold flavours.

We visited the salad bar for a light and healthy start before tucking into a superb Mussel (what else?) soup with roasted baguette.

Once devoured, it was time to choose the cooking method for a portion of mussels weighing 850g prepared perfectly in a hot pot. I went with Chef Paul’s recommendation of Moules Special, mussels brought to the boil in water with celery, white onion and a pinch of plain butter for two-and-half-minutes of magic.

After many successful events across the globe in cities such as Montreal, Boston, Munich, New York, Beirut and many more, is was wonderful to welcome the master chef back to the kingdom once more representing the fifth generation of the family business which now boasts more than 70 Leon de Bruxelles restaurants around Europe.
 
Operations manager Nizar El Lakkis revealed that the hotel had specially booked and flown in 500kgs of mussels of his choice for the occasion.

The good lady wife, Kathryn, went for the Cream Mussels and curry, garlic and Provençale were also available, with thick fries accompanying to soak up the sauce.
 
Belgium Waffles with Mövenpick ice-cream followed as part of the BD15.500++ package and it was not surprising that guests had to book early to avoid disappointment.

Chef Paul currently travels around the world as a culinary ambassador and has held mussels promotions in North America and across Europe as well. Let’s hope he returns to Bahrain again soon.







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