Arabic flavour off the grill

Authentic Lebanese cuisine served with distinctive Arabic hospitality best defines the Mashawi Lebanese Grill restaurant.

Situated at the Al Barsha's Building opposite Bahrain International Airport in Muharraq, the restaurant offers an ideal location to grab a quick bite before a flight or even a laid back and relaxing meal on arrival.

Decorated in a traditional Arabic theme and the backdrop of Bahrain's busy air traffic, Mashawi is a restaurant franchise from Dubai created by UAE's Intercat Hospitality Inc and brought to the island by the Jawad Business Group. It gets its name from the Arabic meaning of the word - off the grill.

General manager Mohammed Elbedeiwy said: "We have healthy competition in Bahrain and therefore we had to be careful in choosing our location. Moreover, we try provide our guests with a different experience from what they have already seen in Bahrain and this is apparent when you walk through the door.

"Mashawi has five branches in Dubai and one in Qatar. We are planning to open three more restaurants in the kingdom."

The outlet, which caters to 134 guests at any given time, is most popular for its hot and cold mezzeh alongside an extensive menu of Lebanese favourites.

The restaurant's head chef is Abdulla Redwan, 33, who boasts 17 years of culinary experience specialised in Arabic cuisine, and more specifically Lebanese.

Originally from Syria, he developed an interest in cooking as a child watching his sister cook a meal for the family. At the age of 14 he moved to Lebanon where he was able to gather a detailed know-how on the country's cuisine, having worked there for nine years.

He said: "After my sister's wedding, she moved to Lebanon and so I joined her soon after to find work."

Chef Abdulla, who now lives in Muharraq, is one of 14 members of a family and had to leave school at the age of 12 - to join his brothers who had embarked on a cooking career.

His experience and knowledge of Lebanese cuisine landed him a job opportunity with the Coral Beach Club in Manama five years ago.

Although Arabic food is his passion and interest, when he gets the time to relax, he enjoys savouring Filipino food, which he describes as 'less spicy'.

On holidays, Chef Abdulla, also enjoys taking a road trip home to be with his wife Mirwat and children - seven-year old William and 22-month-old Lohjen.

Here, Chef Abdulla shares a simple, yet well-known, Lebanese recipe with GulfWeekly readers.

Fattoush

Ingredients:

Tomato 50gm

Cucumber 40gm

Onion 10gm

Lettuce 50gm Green capsicum 10gm

Red radish 10gm

Vinegar 1ml

Olive oil 1ml

Lemon juice 1ml

Mint 2gm

Berber 2gm

Sliced fried crispy bread 3gm

Salt to taste

Toss the indredients in a bowl and serve.