Seafood delights on menu

ONE of kingdom's popular seafood restaurants has launched a revised menu it hopes will hook up some new customers to its City Centre premises.

As the name suggests, Totally Fish offers a sea of variety, both in cuisine and recipes.

The menu includes four different regional specialities including - Arab, American, European and Asian.

The essence of the new menu is in its vast array of options in each course.

Notable dishes include the Totally Fish Grand Platter for groups of hungry seafood lovers who can enjoy grilled lobster tail, shrimps, scallops, hammour filet, pomfret filet, mussels and squids all at the same time. Guests can also delve into an America-style catch such as Totally Shrimp Fajitas or try the Robian Bel Fekhara mezze.

Diners can also choose their own portion of fresh fish and ask for it to be prepared the way they prefer.

Surprisingly, even meat eaters can get in the action as the menu features a dedicated (but small) section to keep them happy.

The new menu is the brainchild of Chef Basheer Karnabe who is based with the brand's franchise holder, Alshaya Group, in Kuwait.

Chef Basheer, 32, originally from Lebanon, followed in the footsteps of his father into the catering and hospitality industry. He said: "As a child I would go with my father, who was a general manager of a hotel in Beirut, and roam around the hotel. While my father attended to his duties, I would always be spending time in the kitchen.

"While at home, I would watch my mother in the kitchen and back then she would shove me out of the way. Today, however, the tables have turned and she sits back on the couch while I cook!"

Chef Basheer began his career in 1993 when he joined an American steak house. Since then he has had the opportunity to work in a number of leading restaurants and uncover the secrets behind a variety of cuisines including French and Italian.

He has also worked within prominent hotel companies including the ITC Sheraton hotels in two Indian cities, namely New Delhi and Mumbai.

Chef Basheer joined the Alshaya Group in 2004 and is currently the executive chef of the group's Argentinean steak house, Goucho Grill. Nader Hallal, head of marketing for Alshaya Casual Dining, believes the new menu will make the dining experience at Totally Fish 'more lively, diverse, and colourful'.

"Following our motto 'to serve the best from every port' Arabian and Asian recipes go hand in hand with American and Middle-eastern creations," he explained.

Chef Basheer shares the recipe of a spicy Lebanese creation called Samki Harra.

Samki Harra

Ingredients:

(For sauce):

Garlic 10gm

Tomatoes 2kg

Green capsicum 400gm

Red capsicum 400gm

Crushed fresh red chilis 50gm

Red onions 350gm

Cumin powder 10gm

Coriander powder 10gm

Chili powder 5gm

Tomato paste 300gm

Paprika 15gm

Peeled tomato 500gm

Fish stock 500ml

Fresh coriander 1/2 bunch

Salt to taste

Oil

Preparation:

SautŽ onions, garlic, red pepper, capsicum and the spices and add tomato and stock. Cook it on a reduced flame and add chili powder and fresh coriander.

Fish used for this dish is Soubety, a local fish and readily available in supermarkets.

De-bone and bake it for 10 minutes. Pour the sauce on top and under the fish and serve after seasoning with pine nuts.