Eating Out: Iftar at the Al Bustan

Last night me and my husband were treated to a lovely iftar at the Al Bustan's Al Khiran Terrace restaurant. We've chosen the lazy option of eating iftar on the couch in our pj's for most of Ramadan, so the opportunity to dress up a bit and get out of the house was a welcome one.

If you haven't been to the Al Bustan you really should: it is beautiful. It has one of the most impressive entrances to a hotel that I have ever seen. The staff are also exceptionally friendly and helpful; you miss that service in a lot of places in Muscat, and it did take me by surprise, but the effect is that you feel extremely welcome and comfortable.

The Al Khiran restaurant offers a buffet for iftar. There is a lot to choose from: salads, bread, grilled meats, and stews as well and the fried foods that you come to expect at Ramadan. I particularly liked the lentil soup and the traditional Omani shuwa (a slow cooked, spiced lamb and rice dish). There was also a dish called Shuwa Madrooba, which is unique to the menu and was created by an Omani chef. The dish is a fusion of shuwa and madrooba (which was described as being like baby food and is a combination of meat and vegetables). Admittedly, this doesn't sound that appealing, but it worked and wasn't at all as heavy it might sound.

Of course, I saved most of my appetite for the dessert table. The lemon-mint sorbet, in particular, was very good, as was the creme brulee, which freshly had the sugar melted on top so you got to experience that satisfying crackle and crunch once it cooled. There were also Arabic biscuits and other sweets, Um Ali, some very fresh Turkish delight, a chocolate fountain, and fruits too. I think I tried one of everything on offer.

If you want to catch the iftar at the Al Bustan you have until the end of Ramadan. It starts every day at 7pm until 10pm and is 18 OMR each for adults, which includes drinks (I suggest you try the Tamarind juice).

A huge thank you to Al Bustan for inviting us to experience the iftar, they did not ask me to write anything but we had such an enjoyable time it only seemed right to document it.

Let me know where you have enjoyed iftar this year, and what are your plans for the upcoming Eid holidays?

More.....and more

 I was quite excited to be invited to my first Oman bloggers event. Who am I kidding, I was very, very excited because it was for my favourite breakfast/brunch venue, mOre.

I've spoken about mOre before and I always intend to grab pictures of the breakfast to blog about but end up forgetting as soon as the plates arrive.

On this occasion though, the event was to introduce the little-known catering menu, which has a range of sandwiches, salads, pastries, and other finger-foods for parties/events that you might be hosting. One idea I liked in particular, was getting mOre to provide all the side-dishes for a bigger main meal (a BBQ or something), which I could see being a good option with Ramadan coming up since no one wants to be in the kitchen for any length of time, even to make something relatively simple. The catering menu can be found on their website, here, and you can order directly through the website or at mOre itself if you prefer.

I arrived a little shocked to see all the bloggers behind the blogs and that they were actual, real people. Once I got over that it was time for games, starting with blind food tasting. I was up against Heather from The Duncan Adventures and we were tasting the Red Bell Pepper Quiche. The aim of the game was to name as many ingredients as possible: I think I managed pastry and egg. Needless to say, I lost.

Next, we all had a chance to learn the art of coffee foam leaf making. And no that picture isn't my achievement....keep scrolling.

The final game was Food Pictionary, I think I redeemed myself here with what I thought was an excellent drawing of a cow and a tomato to depict the Beef, Tomato and Chutney Wrap. Well, someone managed to guess correctly anyway.

I'm afraid a failed a bit on the blogging front, completely distracted by the games and the chance to speak to everyone I didn't take half as many pictures as I should have. Luckily, Heather and Renee from the Style Cradle were on the ball and took some "behind the scenes photos" and if you want to know about the zombies at the event head over to FatSu. 

Favourite things: April

I can't believe it is May already! April was an extremely busy month for me, I had my mum, aunt, and cousin here at the beginning, and then quite literally swapped my aunt and cousin at the airport for my dad, who stayed for the rest of the month.

I like having guests, they like to cook us all the foods we are missing from home for starters, but it is also a good opportunity to get out and about and do the things that you can get too lazy to do.

So here were a few of my favourite things for the month of April:

1. Wadi Bani Khalid

I can't get enough of this place, it is beautiful, and with the temperature quickly rising, it is the perfect place to spend a lazy day, cooling off in the waters. You just need to make sure to layer on the sun protection.

2. Serial Podcast 

I know I am a good few months late jumping on this bandwagon, but I have just started listening to the Serial podcast, and I am hooked. In case you haven't heard, it is the story of Adnan Syed, an inmate at a prison in Baltimore who was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend in 1999. He says he's innocent - although he can't exactly remember what he was actually doing the day she was killed and his friend and key witness for the prosecution said he did it and was able to give a lot of details. There are 12 episodes in total and I'm just over half way through. You can listen to it, and find out more, here. 

3. Let's Read charity bookshop

Based in Al Qurum Complex, I actually stumbled across this book store by accident on a mission to find a cheap, faux designer handbag. There was only 5 minutes until closing and not too much time to browse, but I spied the above book and, honestly, I haven't been so excited in ages. I know what you are thinking #geekalert, and you are right, but I felt like I had robbed the place walking away a book worth $50 for the grand total of 2 OMR or about $5. All the books in the store come from donations, so you never know what you will find. Paperbacks are priced at 1 OMR and hardback books at 2 OMR, so if you aren't looking for anything in particular then it really is the place to visit, and all the proceeds go to charity. The opening hours are 10am-1pm and 5pm-7pm, and they're open Saturday to Thursday.

Just for some context here, I am an editor for a living and, unsurprisingly, reference books here aren't easy to come by. Does that make me seem like less of a geek? 

No? 

I didn't think so. 

4. Mai Thai

Mai Thai is an authentic little Thai place based in Al Meera Hypermarket. Without a recommendation, it would be easy not to even end up in the supermarket, or just choose to try the burger place opposite. The food is fresh, the staff are friendly and helpful, and I can see myself going back many nights when I can't be bothered to cook. I will post a full review after my next visit.

5. As Sammak, Siffah
Another food/restaurant related favourite. I have actually blogged about As Sammak before, and I am pleased to say that the place has improved hugely since my last visit. I still believe that location wise there isn't a better restaurant in Oman, which is what drew us back. Last time there was hardly any fish on the menu and the service was terrible. There seems to be a new manager who is friendly and helpful and makes sure that everyone is happy. It's bordering on being too hot at lunchtime now to really enjoy the place, but you should be fine for a late lunch/early dinner.

May, I expect, will be a much more relaxed month as we gear up for the extreme heat and Ramadan. I also heard rumours of a national holiday in the middle of the month? And I have my fingers crossed I won't get sick again so I can finally start my diving course. 

Eating Out: SemSom

New restaurants are always exciting, and after reading some great reviews of Semsom, which is located in Muscat Grand Mall, I wanted to check it out.

Described as Lebanese with a twist, I didn't really know what to expect. I, wrongly, dump a lot of Arabic cuisine into the same category. There is a lot of crossover in my defence.

Let's start with the obvious. I had to order the pink hummus, the twist is clear, rather than the traditional chickpea and tahini mix there is the addition of summac, which gives the colour, and thyme, which gives it a tartness. The best part is picking it up with the fresh, hot bread that is served to the table regularly.

I made the ammateur mistake on filling up on the bread though: good bread is hard to come by and it's hard to not help yourself to just "one more bite". I couldn't finish my main, which was the marinated steak. The choice was mainly because everything else on the menu was a bit of a mystery. With no descriptives of the food and pictures that weren't that helpful in a lot of cases I didn't want to make a choice blind. Although from what I could see being served to other tables everything looked delicious.

The marinated steak was tender and juicy, and wrapped in flatbread with gherkins, other veg and sauce. The portion size was generous and I could barely finish the two sides you choose to come with it, in my case chips (always good) and an aubergine dish.

I did decide to go a bit more adventurous with my drink choice and ordered the Gellab, which turned out to be a date drink with nuts and raisins. It was very good, although the Ayran (yoghurt drink) probably would have complemented the food better.

A dinner for four (one side, four mains, and four drinks) cost around 30OMR, so not bad value for money. It is also worth noting that, unlike many other restaurants, the staff are really on top of the service, which adds to the pleasant experience.

I've noticed that a new Lebanese restaurant has opened in The Wave so my plan is to visit that next and see what Lebanese without a twist is meant to taste like.  

Eating Out: Hotel Alila

My attempts to explore Jebel Akhdar so far haven't gone so well, the car deciding to break down just before the assent on the last trip (link) being a great example. More recently we did make it up the mountain, but with a grandad, a pregnant woman, and two children to consider trekking wasn't on our to-do list. We did end up at the Hotel Alila for lunch though, so I'm not complaining.

Once you reach the top of Jebel Akhdar the hotel is quite a drive in, but the view en route is amazing. Despite the name, the mountain isn't as green as I expected (I miss green), but I was told for Oman it is. 

The hotel is quite impressive, from afar it isn't very imposing, barely noticeable. All buildings are built from or at least faced with local stone, blending into the surroundings. The outside space has been left in what looks like a natural state, lots of stones, flowers and trees adding to the beauty. 

The hotel is actually set on the edge of a canyon, I imagine the view from the rooms must be quite breathtaking, but you do get a good view from the restaurant if you are brave enough to walk to the edge. We'll be saving our baisas and hopefully stay for a night or two one day. 

 

But back to our reason for being there and the Juniper restaurant. We arrived for a late lunch so we had the restaurant to ourselves. The menu is quite modern, with the obvious Arabic touches. They also have a good selection of non-alcoholic cocktails.

We were served bread to begin with, surprisingly with olive oil and crushed nuts, a combination I hadn't tried before. We had a pumpkin soup starter, which was very good and I selected the vegetable tagine as my main, while my husband chose steak. Admittedly, I'm a bit of a steak snob, I much prefer to cook it at home and never choose it at a restaurant, but to my surprise Juniper's offering was impressive. The steak was cooked medium-well and was still juicy and tender. I managed to convince my husband that we should really share our meal....so he could get to try more of the menu, of course. Finally for dessert I chose the cheesecake. After this I was stuffed and ready for the food-induced sleep back down the mountain.

Unsurprisingly, the restaurant isn't cheap, for 7 people (5 adults, 2 children) we paid 160OR. That was for 4 soups, 7 drinks, 7 mains (two of which were childrens), 2 deserts, and 2 coffees. We'll probably have to save a few more baisas if we do ever go back to stay the night since the restaurant is the only place for food for miles. 

For more information about the hotel visit the link!

Eating out: Steak Escape

I think I can say that I live near The Wave without too much fear for my safety. It is a great complex with shiny modern housing, shops, and a lot of places to eat. The whole place is still under development so boards appear giving you hints of what's to come, then they are taken away, tables and chairs are set up, and staff potter around inside looking like they are open, teasing you with the prospect that there is something new to try. So after a long time coming Steak Escape, the sandwich grill, finally opened and on a lazy evening we gave it a go.

The Ohio-bred franchise, is very similar to Charley's Philly Steaks, there is one across the road in fact, but Steal Escape has a more premium feel. The menu includes various grilled steak or chicken subs/burgers, which you then customise with sauces and fillings. They also do fresh salads, awesome fries, and smashed baked potatoes, which I need to go back and try.

I really like the decor, it's quite unusual to see something industry, rather than Arabian, inspired. The restaurant also features an open kitchen where you can watch your meal being prepared and customise it.

I opted for the classic Wild West BBQ cheese steak with plain fries. It was good: generally you can't go wrong with anything smothered in cheese and BBQ sauce. The fries on the other hand were awesome. Fresh, crispy, and with the skin on. I'd go back for those alone, that and the ice tea, which is slightly sweetened and refillable so I made sure I'd had my fill and was close to bursting before we left. 

Eating Out: As Sammak resturant

With three generations of family to entertain there really is only one activity option; eating. So we decided to venture a little outside of Muscat to Siffah, and a fish restaurant called As Sammak.

The drive to Siffah is a nice one, passing through mountains and villages and once you reach Siffah itself and the restaurant you won't be disappointed with the setting. The restaurant is located on the beach and you have the option of sitting outdoors under the shade of palm trees or inside the restaurant, which is open air, so that you get to enjoy your meal with a fantastic view and the gentle sound of waves lapping on the beach. It is the only restaurant in Oman so far that I have visited with such a beautiful view. The seating space is small, so I would suggest going for an early lunch/dinner if you want a spot. 

As Sammak means fishermen so it should come as no surprise that the restaurant specialises in seafood. The restaurant relies on the local fishermen for its stock, which is a fantastic idea for providing them with a livelihood, but it does mean that there is the risk of certain items on the menu being out of stock quite early on in the day.

Unfortunately, we didn't get great service on the day we visited, and nor did family of the families around us; some even left without eating because they had been waiting so long. It was clear the staff were few and overworked, but they didn't have a great attitude either, which just makes for bad moods all round.

When the food did finally arrive it was very good, we ordered the calamari and fish fillet, which to my surprise was deep fried and served on a stick. You can't go wrong with chips and having built up an appetite by then all plates were cleared. 

For five adults and two children the bill came to 80 rials (4 starters, 5 mains, 7 drinks), which I don't think is the best value for money for the food or the service.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the place will improve because the setting is hard to beat. If you have any recommendations for places to eat with a beautiful view in and around Muscat let me know.