Healthy and delicious

NESTLED away inside the swanky Golden Tulip Bahrain Hotel in the Diplomatic Area lays an authentic Japanese experience begging to be sampled.

The Kei Restaurant is an instant hit from the moment you walk through the door ... provided you don’t bang your head on the low-beamed entrance.

The true beauty of Kei lies not only in the simplicity of its understated decor, but in each mouthful of the wide selection of delicacies cooked up by Japanese head Chef Tsutomu Nakamura.

The friendly and courteous staff, dressed in traditional kimonos, are on hand to welcome you, show you to your table and present you with a no-nonsense menu.

Since my girlfriend Layla loves Japanese food more than most Japanese people, I decided to bring her along to score some brownie points.

She can be quite an acerbic critic when it comes to her favourite cuisine so when our starter of Miso soup arrived I eagerly awaited her response before I tucked in.
‘Delicious’ she said, and coming from someone who could drink gallons of the stuff, that is the highest praise.

It turns out she was right too. The traditional Japanese soup is made with a stock called ‘dashi’ which is then mixed into softened miso paste. Many other ingredients are added depending on regional and seasonal recipes, and personal preference. 

Sometimes this delicacy can be a little sour but the one at Kei was great and, not only did it taste good, researchers at Japan’s National Cancer Centre claim it also cuts the risk of breast cancer. I‘d always enjoyed Japanese cuisine for its rich flavour, not for its health benefits but the old adage of ‘two birds, one stone’ comes to mind.

To wash down our soup we enjoyed a mug of fresh, crisp green tea, which is rich in antioxidants, also very healthy and tasty too.

Next up, it was suggested that we tried the Sushi and Maki platter.

Sushi is essentially raw fish and I’m not too keen on the idea of eating anything that hasn’t been cooked, but I’d never heard of Maki before.

It turns out that Maki is any type of Sushi which is made in a roll with rice, toasted seaweed nori, and various other fillings.

When our platter arrived it looked lovely but I was still a bit apprehensive about it. Layla chirped in ‘don’t be such a girl, just try some’. How could I argue with that? So, with my chopsticks in hand, I took my first plunge into the unknown.

Who would have guessed it, it was lovely. The Sushi and Maki combo consisted of prawns, avocado, crabsticks, tuna and salmon and I tried it all, like the big brave man I am.
For the main course we decided to split a bento box. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish and meat as well as one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container.

It’s a little known fact that I don’t really like to share food and was worried that one box wouldn’t be enough for both of us, but when it arrived, all my doubts disappeared. Ours came with hammour, potato salad, spinach, fried chicken, raw salmon and rice, more than enough for two.

Each item was neatly presented in a separate section and it honestly looked so good I didn’t want to ruin the aesthetic by tucking in. However, the sensational smell was overwhelming and pretty soon we had polished off the entire box.

For dessert we opted for the traditional green tea ice cream ... finally a dessert you can enjoy without feeling guilty about it. I was tempted to ask for seconds, you know, for the antioxidants, but Layla didn’t approve on account of my bulging waistline.

My only critical observation was the size of the dining area which was a little too cosy for my liking. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy an intimate meal as much as the next man, but when you can overhear every world of the next table’s conversation, it tends to spoil the ambience.

Luckily, there are private dining rooms available if you fancy a quite bite in this Japanese delight.