brochettes-crevettes-caramelisees

The gems of Café Sho

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by • Must-Try Foods • Tags: ,

I have been many times to Café Sho and it is packed every single time for lunch, so I always end up sitting at a small table facing the bar. This place is just fantastic with a great vibe overall, and huge food portions. But of course, some items are not to be missed, and here are my top picks:

  • Rouleaux de Printemps Crevettes-sushi Avocat.
  • Rouleaux de Printemps Poulet-Mangue
  • Brochettes Boeuf Saté.
  • Brochettes Boeuf Ananas Teriyaki.
  • Brochettes Poulet Gingembre.
  • Brochettes Poulet à l’Indienne.
  • Brochettes Crevettes Caramélisées.

Every main dish comes with a green salad and rice, noodles or potatoes. Even if you have it with plain white rice, the latter comes with roasted peanuts that just add a warm sweet and salty taste to the whole dish.

I’d love to hear your opinion about my picks from Café Sho. If you’ve been there or would like to try it, let me know what you think of my recommendations.

red-wine

May I interest you in a great selection of Lebanese red wines?

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by • Drinks • Tags: , ,

Originally posted on http://blog.funkyozzi.com/

My love story with wine started when my parents used to tour small grocery shops in Lebanon during the civil war and collect old, unsold wine bottles. I was always fascinated by the nobleness of wine and couldn’t wait to taste it and understand the mysteries behind it. Back in the day, there were only a few wineries in Lebanon that people knew of, but as the years went by, the number of wineries grew and we finally had a good variety of Lebanese wines to choose from.

The real passion began when I started touring these new wineries and discovering wines that were generally not found in supermarkets or in alcohol stores across Lebanon. The more wines I tried, the more refined my taste and my palate grew. Today, although I am still constantly trying new wines, I have gotten accustomed to some wines that you will always find in my cellar.

Now that the wine season is upon us, I have decided to share with you the list of my favorite red wines. This way, you can try new wines that usually come from small, boutique wineries and that are an absolute delight. They’re not in any specific order, although some are more interesting than others. Mind you, I am in no means a wine expert, but let me put it this way – I simply know my wine :).

  • Domaine de Baal
  • Chateau Qanafar
  • Chateau Heritage
  • Comte de M
  • Chateau Marsyas
  • Cave Kouroum Syrah Cabernet
  • Marquis des Beys

Although wine tastes, flavors and aromas change every year depending on weather conditions, harvesting, soil, irrigation and other factors, the above wines have kept a constant quality through the years, so feel free to enjoy the vintage you want.

Cheers and happy drinking! 🙂

salmon-yellowtail-seabass-scallops-sashimi-featured

Mitsu-ya: for a different sushi experience

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by • Must-Try Foods • Tags: , ,

Most sushi places in Lebanon offer a standard selection, where variety is based on how creative the mix of ingredients can get. It’s like sushi has been adapted to the taste of the local market, and very few places propose groundbreaking sushi experiences to customers, or at least some elements of surprise on a “safe” menu.

Generally, what we got accustomed to in terms of Japanese food is not bad, as long as the ingredients are fresh and smartly mixed together. I have had few favorite sushi places that I always recommend whenever asked, until I tried Mitsu-ya.

Mind you, I am not going to review the restaurant. But I’d very much like to talk about the concept. First, it is the only sushi place in Lebanon that’s owned and operated by a Japanese chef. When I called to reserve, the host asked me if we would like to be seated at a table or at the bar, then explained that the bar is like the chef’s VIP table; you’re not allowed to order anything there, you’re served what the chef would like you to eat. I naturally selected the bar for all what came to mind in terms of experiences, and I wasn’t disappointed.

To be honest, I cannot list everything we tasted, but I can tell you that there were some real delicacies in there. The chef tells you what to eat with soy sauce and what to eat as is. The scallops were a hit as so was the seared tuna.

The little rice and salmon roe bowl was out of this world and the finale, which was made of beef maki served with foie gras, mushrooms and carrots, was the cherry on top.

If you want to try their desserts, I highly recommend the black sesame ice cream. We also tried the green tea fondant because it was something new, but it was a little bit too sweet for my taste.

The chef served us a glass of sake with yuzu juice as a digestive. Make it a point to have that if it’s not proposed.

If you’re looking to have a new sushi experience and get out of what you have been accustomed to, Mitsu-ya is your go-to place.

Enjoy and let me know how it was!

chocolate-fondant-with-red-berries

What restaurants should serve with chocolate desserts

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by • Tips • Tags: , , ,

I am a big fan of Top Chef. I love the competition, the creativity and the outcome of the candidates’ hard work. I have been watching it for years and there is always one thing that the chefs keep talking about; the balance of flavors in the food.

Each one of the chefs has his own culinary expertise and his own cuisine style, but they all agree on this point – and they keep saying that desserts should not be too sweet; there should be a fresh/acidic element to balance the sweetness and a crunchy element to balance the softness.

The reason why I brought this point up is because I cannot understand the servings of chocolate desserts in restaurants across Lebanon. I cannot understand why they insist on serving chocolate brownies, pudding or fondant with vanilla ice cream. Can you imagine the amount of sweetness this mixture has? Chocolate cakes are generally extra sweet and vanilla ice cream has nothing fresh or acidic about it. Every time I try to inquire about it, they explain to me that this is a classic. Well it is not. It is so sweet that it gives me heartburn after two mouthfuls.

To me, the perfect match to chocolate cakes should be either fresh or acidic, or both. Hence, restaurants should replace that vanilla ice cream with mango, raspberry, passion fruit or strawberry sorbet. What’s even better than ice cream are fresh fruits, especially berries.

A chocolate fondant served with a side of fresh raspberries, strawberries and cranberries is a heavenly match and a perfect balance.

prosciutto-and-melon-featured

6 hors d’oeuvre that will add panache to your dinners

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by • Quick Fixes, Tips • Tags: , ,

It’s not easy thinking of a full dinner menu when you’re inviting people over to your house, especially when you don’t have time or resources to cook a full course meal. You also don’t want to propose the same items every time, or else dinners will tend to get dull from a food variety perspective. Even when it’s a simple cheese and wine, adding new appetizers every now and then will make it richer and more innovative in taste.

Here are 6 hors d’oeuvre that are very easy to prepare, and that will make your dinner stand out from the usual;

  • Bruschetta of black olive paste – tapenade d’olive: simply cut a French white baguette into small slices and cover with a tapenade d’olive spread.

  • Prosciutto and melon: cut the melon into large dices and wrap Parma ham pieces around them.

  • Tartines of goat cheese and fresh mango: spread soft goat cheese on slices of white French baguette. Cut the mango into small dices and put on top of the goat cheese.

  • Fresh salmon Carpaccio: get a piece of fresh salmon from the supermarket you usually buy your seafood from. Cut it into thin slices and serve them with soy sauce on the side.

  • Canapés of red bell pepper paste: red bell pepper paste is absolutely delicious. It is sweet and creamy, and would be perfect served as a spread on soft white canapés.

  • Verrines of avocado mousse and shrimps: for the mousse, mash 2 ripe avocadoes with salt, lemon juice and a dash of olive oil. Serve it in glass shots and dip a boiled shrimp in it.

Voilà! You now have 6 new hors d’oeuvre you can share with your guests at your next dinner. I would love to hear your ideas of hors d’oeuvre that I can prepare for my dinner invitations.

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