Restaurant Review - Tuscany

If you would ask us about the biggest bottleneck for restaurants in Muscat, we would answer: Consistency. There is a select group of potentially very good restaurants, but we've had disappointing experiences in each and every one of them.

Tuscany, the uber-kitsch Italian restaurant of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, is perhaps the place where we've seen the largest fluctuations in the quality of food. After a very lackluster dinner some time ago we decided to avoid the restaurant for a while. But recently we heard reports that the kitchen crew is back in form. Time to check.

One of the funniest things about eating in Tuscany is sitting in the slightly higher area, under the 'authentic Italian' dome. The construction of the dome has the strange acoustic effect that sounds at the exact opposite of the dome are amplified to such an extend that you end up eavesdropping on other tables, whether you want it or not. If you ever plan to discuss some private matters over the course of an intimate dinner, we recommend sitting somewhere else.

But what matters is the food, of course. We began with two impressive starters. Marinated scallops with speck, green asparagus and capsicum cream was very satisfying and delicate. This dish always has a risk of the speck overpowering the scallops, but the balance was perfect here. The dish that really stole our hearts was homemade prosciutto of duck breast, with fava bean mousse and balsamic-marinated radicchio. The duck was lovely on its own, but paired with the bitter-acidic radicchio and soft-creamy fava beans it was lifted to great heights. A wonderful explosion of tastes. This was followed by an equally impressive pasta dish: spaghetti with vongole. When prepared to perfection, simplicity becomes art. It's been a long time since we ate such a simple dish that was so full of flavour. Gorgeous.

None of the main courses could live up entirely to the expectations set by what we had so far. Lamb loin with fennel and rocket lettuce was pleasant, but a bit high in acidity. A nice, creamy scoop of mashed potatoes would have been most welcome. Beef tenderloin, served with a fontina / eggplant pie, was a beautiful piece of meat. Very tender, and full of taste. We loved the fact that the chef was confident enough to let the meat speak for itself, and not spoil it with an overdose of salt. The fontina / eggplant pie, on the other hand, was rather tasteless.

Desserts were disappointing. A limoncello semifreddo was boring, and whatever taste it had was completely overpowered by the strawberries that were served alongside. A dish of chocolate mousse, chocolate cake and strawberries (again) was better, but not very daring.

Tuscany's wine list offers a good selection, although it would be good to see vintages listed on the menu. This is a problem of almost every restaurant's wine list though.

We were happy to see the chef has indeed regained his form. Keep it up and we'll be back. But we may just skip dessert.

Cheese Festival - 10-17 November 2009

Attention cheeseheads, mark these dates in your agenda: from 10 until 17 November the Muscat InterContinental Hotel will host their annual Cheese Festival.

Although this means another visit to the Musandam Restaurant, we strongly recommend a visit to this event. We went last year, and it was a true cheese feast. A fromagier from France is flown in, together with his beautiful collection of cheeses. Forget about Brie Président and Danish Blue for one night, and enjoy true artisan French cheeses.

See you there.

Restaurant Review - Left Bank

Never eat in a hip restaurant. It is a lesson that we learned long ago. There seems to be a negative correlation between level of hipness and quality of food.

Left Bank may well be Muscat's hippest hangout. We understand its appeal. It is quite possibly the only place in Muscat that is not part of a hotel, is licensed to sell alcohol, has a nice atmosphere and has a great outside seating area. We like going there for a drink or two, but have always been disappointed by the food. Even to such an extend, that if people wanted to meet there, we'd make sure we had dinner before, just to avoid the frustration of having to put Left Bank's food into our mouths.

But we felt the restaurant deserved another chance. So we revisited last week. We brought some friends along, in order to be able to try as many dishes from the menu as we could. The starters were a mixed bag. A dish of fried salmon with black olive tapenade tasted alright, but overcooked. Feta and pumpkin salad was very basic, but not all bad; the pumpkin was horribly overcooked and the feta tasted more like yoghurt, but the combination did sort of work, in a twisted way. It went downwards with a fried lump of Goat's Cheese (which could have been alright if it wouldn't have been the only thing on the plate) and Falafel of sweet potatoes with mint sauce. Nothing wrong with the mint sauce, but the falafel were a terrible mistake. Mashed into a glue-like substance, moulded into rounds and fried. This had nothing to do with falafel and tasted more or less like, well, snot.

It didn't improve much with the main courses. The House Salad was nothing more than a pile of green leaves. Hard to do anything wrong there, but hardly exciting either. Fish & Chips are alright, but taste like they've been left on the counter a bit too long before serving. A piece of Salmon Steak was served on beautifully cooked, crispy snow peas and green beans. The salmon itself was overcooked. Again. It was accompanied by a butter/chardonnay sauce, that was overly fat as well as extremely sour, due to an excessive amount of lemon juice. All in all, not a very succesfull dish, although it was not nearly as bad as the Chicken breast, stuffed with ricotta, spinach, turkey bacon and sun-dried tomatoes, served with sautéed potatoes and mushroom cream sauce. Sounds like a lovely mediterranean dish, doesn't it? Although you could wonder what a mushroom sauce has to do with it. Unfortunately, it didn't taste half as sunny as it sounded. It was a mess. The chicken breast was dry, the turkey didn't add any flavour but salt, the sun-dried tomatoes were unrecognizable, and mushrooms added an earthy flavour that was highly unpleasant. We could also moan about the spinach not being part of the stuffing (as promised) but served underneath, but we really don't think it would have mattered. This dish summed up all the reasons why we haven't eaten here for such a long time.

Due to an upcoming menu change, there were not many desserts available. But we could get some crème brûlée outside of the menu. It was a bit too stiff, but not too bad.

We tried it. But we are quite sure that we will never dine in Left Bank again. If food makes you angry, it is better not to eat it. Now that the cooler months are coming in, we will go there for a drink though. Nothing wrong with those.

Oktoberfest

Beer and Bratwurst. And maybe a Pretzel or two to wash things down. All this in the Hyatt (Rooftop Grill) from October 20th to 29th. We'll be there!

Oktoberfest 2009

Celebrate the introduction of the non-stop flights with Oman Air to Munich and Frankfurt this October at Rooftop Grill House. Ten days filled with German delicacies, traditional beverages and a German band, playing the best of Oktoberfest songs all the way from Munich. Get a taste of Germany at Rooftop Grill House first, before heading to Germany!

From the 20th of October to the 29th of October, the Rooftop Grill House is the place to be. An evening will cost you only R.O. 30.000++ per person and will be filled with entertainment from the Oompah band from Munich, traditional German beverages served by waiters dressed in Lederhosen and Dirndls and a Chef Matz-Momme from Grand Hyatt Berlin showcasing his best German cuisine.

Enjoy an all-inclusive night from October 20 to October 29 at the Oktoberfest with the special menu, unlimited German traditional beverages and many other surprises for R.O. 30.000++ only per person.

Wine Review - Taylor's Late Bottled Vintage Port 2003

We love Port. By far the largest percentage of wines in our cellar is Port, we tend to visit the Portuguese Douro region (where the Port grapes are grown) at least once a year and it's the wine that gives us the most drinking pleasure. Yet, until now we haven't written one word about Port on this blog. How is that possible? Well, frankly there isn't much to write about when it comes to Oman and Port.

It makes us sad to look at the selection of Port wines. OUA stocks the Ports of Cockburn, the producer of the world's best selling port Cockburn Special Reserve. We never liked this Port, but heard they improved the blend, so we will give it another try soon. African & Eastern is even worse. Although they are blessed to have Taylor's Port in their portfolio, they hardly ever seem to have anything in stock. A while ago we found some bottles of Taylor's Late Bottled Vintage 2003, but they had clearly been leaking (perhaps due to heat or poor storage – if you ever see this, don't buy). Some weeks later we saw one good bottle, so bought it.

We understand that Port can be confusing for many people. We can explain the different types here, but that would take some space. Better have a look here if you need some extra information.

Taylor's is one of the world's best producers of Port. Their Vintage Port is highly praised, and the overall quality of the rest of the range isn't bad either. It is a pity therefore that their Late Bottled Vintage (LBV in short – a ruby type Port that is aged in barrel for 4-6 years) is a bit of a letdown. When it comes to LBV, there are two 'religions'. There are those that bottle the Port unfiltered after giving it the minimal time in barrel. This results in a powerful, young Port that is well capable of ageing in bottle. It will throw sediment after some time in bottle. And there are those that believe LBV should be ready for consumption straight after bottling. To reach this, they age the port a bit longer in barrel (usually 5 to 6 years) and filter it before bottling. This is a smoother, more easily accessible type of LBV. It will not improve with bottle age. Taylor uses the latter method. The result is a Port that is often a bit bland, and lacking in character.

That said, the 2003 LBV is not a bad effort. 2003 was a powerhouse vintage. The hot, dry weather led to overconcentrated, jammy wines in many parts of Europe, but didn't do such harm in the Douro, where the vines are used to heat and draught. The wines from 2003 are powerful, full of ripe fruit and with lots of tannins. The 2003 LBV clearly profited from the quality of the vintage. It is fairly structured, with some good dark fruit flavours (cherry, blackberry and blueberry) and a hint of (milk) chocolate. Do drink this slightly cooled (18ºC at most), otherwise the heat from the alcohol will show too much, and it will also display some distracting candied flavours.

Although we would love to see a better display of Port wines in the liqour stores, we don't mind drinking the Taylor's LBV 2003 from time to time. You could do better, but certainly worse as well.

A Moroccan olive oil: Desert Miracle

A while back, we wrote about the difficulty of finding good olive oil in Muscat (see here). You can imagine it brought a smile to our face when we saw a new offering at our local Al Fair. An extra virgin olive oil from Morocco, called Desert Miracle (3.950 OMR for 500ml). It is produced by Atlas Olive Oils, a company that is situated at the foot of, you guessed it, the Atlas mountain range. The company is serious about quality and produces only extra virgin oils. Desert Miracle has a maximum acidity level of 0.2%. Such quality-mindedness is rare and deserves to be praised. This is what the company has to say about it themselves:

At Atlas Olive Oils we guarantee and commit ourselves to produce only extra virgin grade and never a combination of extra virgin olive oil with virgin oil or refined oil. We refuse to produce for outside parties bringing low quality olives to our crushing mill. We are highly concerned about achieving the highest quality standards: we prefer to produce smaller quantities of high end prestigious olive oils rather than large quantities of medium and cheap olive oils (lampante, refined, or only virgin). In this context, our usually maximum acidity is 0.2° level. We use the cold-press method and add no chemicals and almost no heat assistance.

We test our extra virgin olive oil using the Olive Oil Council accredited methods which allow us to select and retain only the highest rated olive oils coming from our own groves. Integrity is the key to our success and only by strictly respecting what is written on the bottle’s label can we keep up with our centenary tradition and authoritativeness that built our reputation. These are the secrets of an ultra-premium extra virgin olive oil that cannot be substituted.

We admit that we never tasted a (good) olive oil from Morocco before, so were excited to see how it was. We were pleasantly surprised. While oils from southern countries can be heavy and cloying, this has a beautiful light golden colour and it smells of fresh cut grass and green apples. To taste it is soft and rich, nutty and slightly peppery. A very good olive oil. If you're looking for a really fresh oil, it may be better to look for something Italian or French, but we do like this fuller style as well. Lovely with some bread and sea salt, but also great to use as dressing for salads or to enhance the taste of your dish.

Our experience is that good products don't last long on the shelves in Muscat. So you'd better hurry to Al Fair and stock up.

Cool down, drink sherry!

A duff housewife's drink. Bought in jugs and consumed by the barrel. Cheap, nasty and utterly uncool. Yes, the Spanish region of Jerez (Sherry in English) did a good job in ruining its own image. Just like German Riesling and Port, Sherry flooded the market with cheap, vile plonk. And when the housewifes lost interest (perhaps shifting to cheap sweet rosé wines), the Sherry region had a problem. Nobody wanted their product, even though there were plenty quality-oriented producers, making some very good wines.

It took some time, but Sherry is working on a comeback. Since a number of years it is impossible to visit a trade tasting and not stumble across a stand of the Sherry Promotion Board, where you will be invited to taste the different varieties, and see how well they combine with food. Sherry wants to position itself as a quality product, a serious wine, more than just an aperitive: good company to food. And it's working. More and more we see sommeliers in quality restaurants suggest a glass of sherry with a certain dish. In the consumer market, it proves to be more difficult to get rid of the bad image, but we think it's just a matter of time before people will embrace this special drink once again.

There are many styles of Sherry, but for now we focus on Fino, the type that is most commonly found. Some short background: Sherry is grown in the Spanish region Andalucia, around three towns, of which Jerez de la Frontèra is the best known. Fino Sherry is made from the grape variety Palomino, and brandy is added after the fermentation to reach an alcohol level of approximately 15,5%. It is always bone dry. A Fino can only be a Fino if a curious natural incident takes place: the forming of a layer of yeast cells on top of the ageing wine. This is called Flor del Vino. The layer of Flor protects the wine from oxidation and gives a special aroma to the wine. After a minimal ageing period of three years the wine can be sold.

In order to create constant quality throughout the years, a special ageing method has been developed, called solera (we mentioned this earlier here). The wines are stored in oak casks, that are stacked in pyramid shapes. The bottom layer consists of the oldest wine, and the top of the youngest. If the company wishes to bottle an amount of sherry, they take this from the bottom layer of casks. The amount that is taken out (never more than one third of the cask), is refilled with the content of the second layer, et cetera.

The two most common brands of Fino Sherry available to us are and Gonzalez Byass Tio Pepe (OUA) and Lustau Puerto Solera Reserva (African & Eastern). Both are around 7.000 - 7.500 OMR. Tio Pepe is the world's largest sherry brand, and it is admirable that they manage to keep it of constant, high quality year after year. It is light and delicate, with a distinctive scent of almonds, slightly silty with some fresh apples and a racy, dry finish. The Lustau Puerto Solera is a bit fuller in comparison, though still quite delicate. Also showing plenty of typical nuttiness, combined with silty aromas, some cookie dough, straw and green apples. Very well balanced.

Both Sherries are lovely, and are great as aperitive with some green olives or smoked almonds. But you can also enjoy them with seafood or tapas. One thing is for sure. They are very refreshing, and are a great way to cool down until the temperatures finally come down in about a month's time. Drink them chilled, and feel cool.

Restaurant Review - Tokyo Taro

Muscat is seafood heaven. No doubt about that. Even though there are worrying signs of decreasing numbers of fish in the local waters (due to last year's red tide, and large scale fishing), the quality and quantity is still astonishing. The perfect surroundings for a sushi restaurant. Just leave it to the Japanese to make the best out of our tuna, hammour, kingfish, etc.

Although there are a couple of places that serve sushi (Japengo being the newest addition), Tokyo Taro is Muscat's only truly specialised Japanese restaurant. Its setting is hardly inspiring, inside the run-down Al Falaj Hotel. The interior is basic, but once you step inside, you feel you are in the right place. It is usually filled with Japanese, which we think is a good sign.

Normally, we stick to sushi and sashimi in Tokyo Taro. The quality is unequalled in Oman. Beautiful cuts of fresh fish. Tuna, our favourite, is only available in season. Another good sign. The only thing we don't understand, is why salmon is a regular feature on the sushi menu. It is one of the few non-local items on show, and there have been a few times we weren't sure of its freshness.

You can also order teppanyaki dishes, but we are never really impressed by those. Tokyo Taro excells in raw fish preparations, and that is enough reason to visit the restaurant regularly. It may be Muscat's only Japanese restaurant, but with quality like this, it is all you need.

Restaurant Review - Capri Court

For some reason we can't explain, a large portion of the better restaurants in the city is Italian styled. In the mid-range category we have Come Prima and Tomato, and there are two good high-end Italian restaurants: Tuscany (of which a review will surely follow one day) and Capri Court. You will not hear us complain. The Italian kitchen is arguably one of the richest in the world, and while often based on relatively simple recipes, well-performed dishes can reach astonishing heights. Freshness, purity and quality of ingredients are crucial. But they can also go dangerously wrong, and this night we experienced both.

Capri Court is situated in Shangri-La's Al Bandar Hotel, and is the hotel's signature restaurant. Chef de Cuisine Mario Prestigiovanni is in charge since 2008 and has surprised us before with some very well-made dishes. It was a relatively cool evening when we visited and some people dared to sit outside, but we chose the cooler, ultra-stylish dining room.

Looking at the menu we felt a sense of disappointment. There were hardly any changes from our last visit, about a year ago. Why is it that restaurants in Muscat have such a hard time in bringing variety to their menus? Laziness? We don't know how else to explain it.

Mr. R opted to start with minestrone, a classic Italian hearty vegetable soup. We once had a superb version in Gordon Ramsay's Verre Restaurant in Dubai, an experience the chefs of Capri Court couldn't top. The soup was ok, but nothing more than that. Mrs. R's tuna carpaccio fared better. The term carpaccio is actually misleading for this dish. You would expect raw tuna, but it was slow roasted instead. More like roast beef. Nevertheless, it was a fine and delicate dish.

Next came a risotto with porcini and truffles. Oh boy, this was good. The risotto perfectly al dente, the truffles aromatic and savoury, and the porcini earthy and flavourful. Stunning.

Our main was a beef tenderloin, again with truffles, as well as with foie gras. A decadent, and rich dish. But one with some serious defects. First, the accompanying sauce was much too salt, nearly ruining the well cooked meat. Second, the truffle, that was so incredibly aromatic in the risotto was hardly noticeable here. And last, the dish lacked a good potato side. It came with a meagre biscuit, where the rich flavours screamed for a lovely, creamy portion of mashed potatoes. All in all rather unsatisfactory.

From the decent, but pricy wine list, we chose a bottle of Le Stanze 2002 from Poliziano. This wine comes from vineyards near the village of Montepulciano in Tuscany. It's a blend of Cabarnet Sauvignon and Merlot. The 2002 vintage was very difficult in most of Europe, and Italy was no exception. The advantage is that wines from this vintage can be enjoyable a few years earlier than wines from better years such as 2001 and 2004. But the tricky part comes when winemakers try to compensate the mediocre quality of their grapes with excessive use of oak. And that is exactly what happened here. The result is a wine that tastes like, you guessed it, oak. It was priced at 64.500 OMR. Far too much, if you ask us.

The list of deserts looked rather obligatory, so we decided to skip those.

In conclusion, an evening of serious ups and downs. We were rather disappointed with the overall experience, as we were much more positive the last time we visited this restaurant. It seems like the kitchen crew needs a fresh dose of inspiration. The potential is there, as the sublime risotto shows. Please give us more like that.

Oman to become member of "Chaîne des Rôtisseurs"

We were on holiday when this news came out, so many thanks to Friend R. for bringing this to our attention.

The Sultanate of Oman is about to be inaugurated as a member of the worldwide gastronomic association Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. The Chaîne is an "international gastronomic society dedicated to bringing together both professional and non-professional members worldwide, who appreciate and share a mutual interest in cuisine, wine and fine dining."

See this article in The Week of August 25:

The sultanate is soon to become a member of the world famous Chaine des Rôtisseurs, an international gastronomic society with over 25,000 members worldwide.

The inauguration of the Chaine des Rôtisseurs society in Oman will be on November 14. It is dedicated to bringing together professional and non-professional members from around the world who appreciate cuisine and fine dining. “It is an elite society for people involved in gastronomy,” says Dana Sarhan, one of the founding members of the chapter.

Joachim Caula, a master chocolatier and confectionery chef, will be the president of the society in Oman, or the 'Charge de Missions, Bailliage of Oman'. The purpose of bringing the society to Oman is “to spread fine cuisine,” says Caula.

The society holds a number of events including food competitions for young chefs under the age of 27, which can help upcoming chefs with their careers.

It is hoped that the society will highlight the talent of the sultanate's chefs. “Chefs don't really appreciate their work here. Middle Eastern chefs don't have a big domain, but it can change. We can give them a better image”, says Caula.

It is a members-only club and membership is by invitation only.

This may be an important step in bringing the level of gastronomy in the Sultanate to a higher level, something that is very necessary if the country wishes to compete in the international high-end tourism market.

We truly hope the founding of the Omani branch of the society brings a positive impulse towards a more lively gastronomic scene in the country. We will definitely keep a keen and critical eye on the developments. And, of course, we would be honoured to be invited as members.