Oriental Dinner at Wagamama

Over the last weekend, we went out for a celebratory dinner to Wagamama.

Although Mr D has dined at the Wagamama in the UAE several times , this was his first visit to the Bahrain branch and my first ever visit to this particular restaurant.

What we learnt from the server there was that Wagamama brings to your plate or bowl most of the Asian cuisines-and is mainly inspired by the Japanese cuisine. What was a surprise to us was that the restaurant is UK based chain of restaurants and has nothing to do from a business point of view with Asia. Interesting. Lol.

Their menu was definitely impressive. A rather notable fact for my Vegetarian readers; is that there seemed to be equally enough of green-options for green lovers.

The staff were very helpful and explained our options to us;clearly.. they knew what they were serving and were able to enlighten us.

I knew Mr D had his eyes on the curries section of the menu, and went along the recommendation of our server for the Kareraisu Beef. This is a red curry, with stir fried strips of beef, beans, aubergine and tea-stained  fried  egg served with steamed rice. Despite the red chilies being visible, the spice level was safe to say on the lower side.

Eating this curry and hot and steaming rice, gave me that warm and fuzzy feeling.

My sister and I share a love for noodles; we decided to try the Chicken + Prawn Yaki Soba minus the Prawn from the Teppanyaki section. They were kind enough to replace the Prawn with more Chicken for us.  So this was basically stir-fried soba noodles (‘Soba’ –Japanese for Buckwheat noodles), with chicken, egg and veggies, garnished with pickled ginger shreds. Happy to say, we wiped our plate clean, found no greasy noodles, and the veggies crunch remained intact.

Mum, tried the Chicken+Prawn Cha Han Donburi from the DonBuri section of the menu. This consisted of a very homely bowl of stir fried brown rice with chicken and prawns, mushrooms, corn , egg served with Japanese pickles, which mum devoured needless to say.

And Dad trusted the Chef and ordered the special, which in one word means Omakase in Japanese. He tried the -Thai Green Kare ( Chicken), which came with steamed rice. This happened to be the last one dish I tasted, and boy did I feel the kick out of the chilies in this curry. Just when you begin to feel that this is the same old Thai Green Curry, it decides to prove you wrong.

This post would be incomplete if I didn’t mention that they took hardly any time to serve us. I am definitely going to be visiting Wagamama again, and this time may be go old school and try out their Ramen and their Fresh Fruit juices, which BTW everyone is totally raving about.

Our total bill amounted to BHD23.8/- for 5 pax.

Photo Courtesy: Mr D
Please Note: This not a sponsored blog post, all opinions, feelings and experience shared are personal. 

Dinner at Hash House- Adliya, Bahrain

Last weekend Mr D and I decided to dine at Hash House. This place was my top choice for my birthday dinner but unfortunately on that night, Hash House was packed and the waiting list consisted of four groups which meant a minimum of an hour's wait until we get a table. Since I was with a party of 6 guests, I decided to come back to Hash House on another day.

Hash House, is located at Block 338 in Adliya, between Zoe and Coco's. The entrance to the restaurant can be easily be mistaken to be just a window of a restaurant. Once you enter you are in a blissful and warm yet busy atmosphere, both my visits, the restaurant has been busy and this tells you a lot about the place ;)

With four tables downstairs-enough to seat 10 guests and fours tables upstairs-Hash House is a tiny yet cozy place to enjoy a peaceful meal. This restaurant serves Thai fusion food with great value for money and very friendly staff.

Initially we went to sit upstairs because it was packed downstairs, but by the time we finished our delightful appetizers, it had gotten way too cold. Upon requesting the staff present there, we were given a table downstairs where is was just right!

We ordered the Crispy Prawns, (again Mr. D Seafood craving continues) plus, the table next to us had some wonderful seafood on their table. The aroma just made me agree to Mr. D's choice.

The Prawns were 'Crispy' as promised and mentioned in the menu and were fried to perfection. This dish was served with the restaurant's sweet and sour sauce.

Our second appetizer was the Beef Salad, which comprised of grilled beef of course, and a very funky and refreshing salad made of cucumber, carrots, coriander, red onions, tomato, red chilli, pomegranate seeds, celery, fresh mint leaves, lemon grass and some of the signature home made sauce. 

This definitely was a party in mouth and I looked forward to every bite. This salad, had something sweet, refreshing, spicy, crunchy, fruity!! EVERYTHING GOOD!!

 For drinks, I ordered the LemonGrass drink, which is a house special, so I've heard. I was debating  whether I should have this drink or a Tom Yum Soup, I saved the latter for later. Just another reason  to visit you can say :P. Yes it was a cold night-yes I was feeling cold, but I just had to try this pretty and not so little chilled drink-that so did a good job as a palate cleanser. Talk about refreshing!

Mr. D chose a glass of Drosty HOF Shiraz -Merlot Cape Red (South African Wine) to accompany his dinner, I remember him describing the taste as subtle but strong. He enjoyed his drink and continued to explain 'tannins' to me.

Once  it got way too cold for me, we asked if we could be moved down, and we shifted downstairs.

We ordered the Red Thai Chicken Curry accompanied by Jasmine Rice. 

Some more snaps from the Hash House..such warm ambiance..*sigh*

total bill was:BHD15.500 for two pax.

Photo Courtesy: Mr D
Please Note: This not a sponsored blog post, all opinions, feelings and experience shared are personal. 

The Urban Dhaba ,Adliya, Kingdom of Bahrain (Our second visit)

Over the extended weekend, we visited The Urban Dhaba once again, but this time we were accompanied by two of our friends.

During our first visit , which fortunately was a weekday, there were very few guests, which probably is the reason why service was super-fast. Our second visit to The Urban Dhaba was on an extended weekend, and the place was packed, and quite naturally, there was an expected delay in catering to guests.

As mentioned in my previous post that detailed our first visit to The Urban Dhaba, I longed to try their tikkas and kababs.  So we ordered the Lamb Seekh Kabab, but unfortunately that wasn’t available that night. So we ordered for our next option Chicken Tikka as well as the Paneer Pudina Tikka.

(Photo Credits: Mr. D)

(Starters: Chicken Tikka and  Paneer Pudina Tikka)

After quite a long wait, out starters were brought to us. First we were served the, Paneer Pudina Tikka- paneer squares, tomatoes and onions marinated with fresh mint paste and spices and grilled.

                                    

Next came, the Chicken Tikka served in a table top copper tandoor, with a wooden base and two skewers with 6 pieces of amazing Chicken Tikka on each *drool*. Good food makes me happy and this definitely made me happy, for I can still recount that first encounter with that amazing piece of chicken tikka.

We also ordered 2 Aloo Paranthas and 2 Chicken Paranthas served with Minty Chutney, both of which were good for the price, however, I guess in a hurry they missed checking the salt for the Aloo in the parantha.

                           [Main: Chicken Parantha (left) & Aloo Parantha (right)]

The Chicken Tikka definitely was the highlight of our second visit.

Do give this small, cozy, Dhaba a try.

Click on the link to view my first post on The Urban Dhaba

http://bpvenus.blogspot.com/2015/09/dinner-at-urban-dhaba-adliya-kingdom-of.html

Total Bill for 4 people: BHD5.300

Please Note: This not a sponsored blog post. 

Photo Credits: Mr D.

Dinner at Panasia Bahrain (Asian Cuisine)

Last week we celebrated my Dad's birthday by going for dinner to Panasia Restaurant and Tea Lounge.

Panasia is a aesthetically decorated Restaurant situated in Um Al Hassam, certainly away from the hustle bustle of the popular restaurant road in Um Al Hassam.  The restaurant offers a good range of Chinese, Thai and Indian delicacies.

Unfortunately I do not have snaps of the main course, but I do have photographs of the Starters that we ordered as well as of the Dessert.

It didn't take them long to bring our starters, but as we waited, they gave us two plates loaded with Spicy Pappadoms and Prawn Crackers with their special sauces (I call them the traffic signal sauces-you ask why?-well because of their colors). 

Here are photographs and descriptions of the Starters we chose,

Chicken Lollypops with Oriental Sauce....sorry about the blurry photo, can't help it when you have good food in front of you ;)

Chicken Siu Mai- minced chicken, water chestnut, mushrooms served with their '3 G dip/sauce'-which I found very YUM and for some odd reason reminded me of Beef Pickle that a Keralite friend had brought from her house to our hostel in Mangalore. That is one pickle I ate daily, religiously.

Once we were done with the starters, we were given some breathing time and more importantly time to get back to those yum PRAWN CRACKERS.

In a few minutes, our Main Course was laid before us on the table, and the waiter served us all. 

Like I mentioned earlier we had the Brocolli Beef (thinly sliced beef stir fried with brocolli in oyster sauce) and the Kung Pao Chicken, again, stir fried diced chicken pieces with scallions and cashew nuts as garnish.

Sorry no photos of our main.

Considering how much we ordered for the five of us and it being dinner time (light food time) and us having a three course meal..I expected us to have no room for dessert or being unable to walk to the car but the food was astonishingly light and we didnt' have to take a doggy-bag as there were no leftovers. NONE AT ALL!

Moving on to our dessert.....here is what he shared like a good family ;) 

PanAsia's Signature Dessert- two scoops of Vanilla ice-cream, deep-fried and the outcome, a warm crispy outer shell that hold cold vanilla flavored ice-cream inside it. PURE MAGIC!

(This is TMI, but I had to mention, while trying to sleep my sister and I YouTube-d the recipe for Fried Ice cream)

Warm Chocolate Brownie topped with a scoop of Vanilla Ice-cream, cashew nuts and Chocolate Fudge sauce on the side (this doubled as Dad's birthday cake)

I do not have the break down of the bill but the total as per my memory came to BD21.300 for 5pax.

Please Note: This not a sponsored blog post. 

Dinner at Bonchon, Bahrain [South Korean- American Cuisine]

On the first day of Eid Al Fitr this year we went out for dinner to a new place I had been longing to try out. Tucked away in a very cozy spot at the Seef Mall-Muharraq on the 2^nd floor next to TGIF is ‘Bonchon’- a South Korean based international fried chicken franchise that serves rather interesting food.

Bonchon means 'my hometown'.

Photo Source: (www.twentyfoursevennews.com)

It didn’t take us long to locate the place since we already had most of the clues we needed thanks to facebook-bonchon-bahrain.

We took our seats by one of the huge glass panel windows and we were given the Bonchon menu in two different ways, one on a Samsung Tab and the other on a wooden board with their menu strapped on to it.

I had absolutely no idea about Korean food –all I knew is that I wanted to try this place coz the food looked…. We studied the menu, thankfully there were photos of the dishes they served and we of course took plenty of help from their service staff who were so kind enough to patiently explain to us about some dishes we set out eyes on.

Anyway this is what we ordered….*controlling drool*

For starters we ordered the 'Half and Half' Bonchon Chicken (boneless) (serving size: small i.e. 8 pcs). The Bonchon chicken ones on the left were with spicy sauce and the ones on the right were coated with soy garlic sauce. These pieces of chicken were served with a tiny portion of coleslaw.

The second starter that we opted for was the 'Kimchi Fries'- they are fries that are baked and seasoned with Korean chii seasonings and is basically served with various toppings such as lightly carmelized white onions, kimchi, jalapenos, scallions, beef bacon, and topped with cheese.

Our first main course recommended by the staff there was the 'Bibimbab Beef' (this means 'mixed rice' also available in Veg). This was a bed of jasmine rice flavored with some secret sauces covered with assorted veggies (sauteed carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, sprout stems) and sliced juicy beef and topped with a sunny side up egg. 

Bonchon staff showed us their special way of stiriing this up before we attacked this dish. 

Bibimbab Beef was served with Kimchi sauce (cabbage stem fermented with spicy and sour seasoning) .

 Our second main course was the 'Japchae'- glass noodles with vegetables and beef. This was slightly  on the sweeter side. (Glass noodles are made from sweet potatoes)

Close up of the glass noodles that I was fascinated with. My first time eating glass noodles :P

The bill for 5 persons breakdown:

1 Boneless Chicken small (half and half) 4.900

1 Kinchi Fries                                           3.500

1 Bibimbab Beef                                       5.900

1 Japchae                                                 4.500

2 7Up regular                                          2.400

2 Pepsi regular                                        2.400

Total:                                                     23.600

Pop over Bonchon Bahrain this weekend if you are in a mood to try something different.
                                                    Please Note: This not a sponsored blog post. 

Dinner at Rampé-Bahrain [Sri Lankan Cuisine]

When I first set my blog up I focused only on documenting recipes that I created or tried, and I will continue doing it, until I can. But I figured I should do a restaurant review on an authentic Sri Lankan restaurant that has recently opened in Bahrain. Ever since I read an advertisement on the local newspaper, I've been wanting to go to Rampé...and I finally did go!

Rampé is located in Um Al Hassam, right opposite Hong Kong Restaurant and close to Hyderabad House. Rampe translates to Pandan, as in Pandan leaves (from Pandanus plants) which are key to a number of Sri Lankan, Malay, Thai and Indonesian dishes.

From outside the restaurant looks very humble but once you enter you will find this beautifully lit entrance and stairs leading to the first floor. Once we reached upstairs, the restaurant manager, Mr. Jaya Godage led us to a table. We took our seats and noticed they had a live 2 man band playing the organ and the sax! LOVELY!

To begin with we ordered a round of fresh watermelon juice which was served quickly and chilled to perfection, I think I could have had a pitcher, given the heat outside that evening and how nice the juice tasted.

Fresh Watermelon Juice

Then the manager, informed us that they have a buffet available (Fridays Rampé serves a buffet and on other days they have an  à la carte menu). The buffet consisted of several homely Sri Lankan dishes, that really gave you an idea of their local cuisine. Served in earthen (decorated) pots were red rice, chicken fried rice, vegetable noodles (YUM), deviled chicken, mutton curry (YUM), octopus curry, prawns chilly (YUM), dal, prawn chutney, pol sambal (coconut in its desicated form with dry fish), papaddoms (LOVE), tabouleh (arabic salad), curd (to be eaten with sugar), fish head curry, potato curry (YUM), beetroot curry, banana leaf greens with coconut, mixed fruit salad. 

My first serving Prawn Chilly, Mutton Curry, Veg Noodles, Dhal, Beet Curry, Tabouleh, Devilled Chicken

                                                                    Curd and Sugar

Fruit Salad

We were also treated with two plain hoppers and two egg hoppers on the house, the egg was cooked to YUM and the hoppers were crispy on the edges

Sri Lankan food is loaded with spices and can get super hot..the curd with sugar really helped reduce the heat on my palate. 

Unlike other buffets, this wasn't a rich buffet with lots of creamy or deep fried dishes, easily ranging from 20-40 dishes. Rampe on the other hand serves a homely, authentic and deeply Sri Lankan food and that is what I love about it. 

The bill came to BHD28.100

Bill Breakdown:
Buffet for 4 pax @BHD5.9 =23.600
Watermelon Juice for 4 pax @BHD1.0= 4.000
Water Bottle 1 unit @BHD0.5=0.500

Reasonable or not? For a non Sri Lankan it was an interesting and exciting cuisine to try out. Price wise, may be you can visit and let me know how you found the prices since I haven't visited them on a weekday. When I do visit them on a day other than Friday, I should be able to tell you how I found their pricing. Until then... see you!

                                      Please Note: This not a sponsored blog post.