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SOMETHING tasty is cookin’ at the Sheraton Bahrain Hotel’s all-day dining restaurant and a treat is truly in store for Al Safir patrons.
A new ‘live’ cooking station is up-and-running and the succulent smell that greets diners ensures the taste buds are tingling before you even sit down in your seat.
Despite it being a busy Eid weekend the restaurant team was on tip-top form with the same efficient, welcoming service that has made this dining out destination one of the Szecowka family’s firm favourites on the island.
I’ve spent many a happy birthday at its sister outlet Soie, an outstanding Chinese fare establishment, but this was the good lady wife, Kathryn’s birthday bash so we went for Al Safir’s mixture of Arab cuisine, European favourites with a neat addition of Asian fare just to make sure every taste is catered for.
We both started with a steaming bowl of Cream of Green Pea Soup before heading for something even greener.
In my recent bid to regain some semblance of fitness and shed a few kilos at the same time, I’ve become a great fan of salad dishes which can be a bit boring at times. It needn’t be, as the Al Safir chefs proved with style and my top choices were the mango crab salad, papaya salad alongside a crisp assorted leafy offering.
We couldn’t resist the medley of seafood, neatly-wrapped salmon and crab, alongside a selection of cold meat cuts superbly presented.
The buffet section boasted a range of main courses such as fillet of fish harra, beef harees, stuffed chicken breast with tarragon sauce, stir fried beef in oyster sauce, vegetable curry and shrimp biryani to name but a few, but we wanted to put the live cooking station to the test.
Young Chef Muthuraj was in control on the night next to an imposing tray of the luscious local lamb favourite dish.
There was a chance to pick a cut of beef and watch it cooked and sizzled to perfection and restaurant manager Bachir El Masri says the introduction of the live cooking station has added a whole new dimension to the dining out experience.
“People just love the interaction it offers; they can talk to the chefs about the dishes, watch them in action and really feel part of the whole process,” he said.
The steak went down a treat with the marvellous addition of exceptionally well-cooked, crisp to the bite, market vegetables.
Captain of the waiting staff, Anush Memom, masterfully conducted the floor and on his suggestion we each tried a small helping of a marvellous mushroom sauce pasta dish also from the live cooking station before accepting a small serving of superb sushi from a tray next to the salad selection.
There was not much room for a sweet until Bachir arrived with a birthday cake … and who can say no to a slice of chocolate brownie with a candle on top?
It was a superb end to a special occasion.
And we won’t wait another year to try out the tasty treats on offer. The team informs me that the live cooking station will shortly be the star turn to a new Friday Brunch dining out experience in the coming weeks. Watch this space … and book me a table!
