Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Some people go on holiday to either soak up the sun or enjoy the sights. My travel plans are often decided by my stomach.
I love sampling the local cuisine of whatever country that I’m in. It looks like I won’t be packing my suitcase to Iran anytime soon but I can pick up a healthy portion of Persian fare right here in the kingdom, courtesy of the popular Isfahani restaurant.
Isfahani, a name inspired by Iran’s historical tourist destination Isfahan, features a number of local dishes stemming from different cities in the country that offers the popular cuisine.
Over the past few years, owners Jalil and Elias Al Qaseer opened seven outlets in Hamala, Seef Mall, Hoora, Juffair, Bahrain Mall, City Centre and Dana Mall. However, the one in Dana Mall closed following the civil unrest.
That didn’t stop foodies from flocking to the other uniquely-themed venues to feast on juicy grills and mouth-watering appetisers. There are also four branches in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
Mr Farshad Yousefi, Isfahani’s area manager, has been working with the brand for the past four years monitoring the food, tasting it and even cooking in the kitchen.
He said: “We serve mostly Persian food in our restaurants but some of our menus also offer Mediterranean cuisine depending on the demands of our customers.
“We have a mixed clientele of Arabs, Americans, British and South Africans. Different locations may entertain a different customer base but it’s nice that everyone knows us.
“The food is healthy, tasty and fresh. We get our meat and vegetables fresh from the market every day.
“The menu is made up of recipes from different parts of Iran as it is such a big country with many cities serving their own local food. Ideally, when you set up a Persian restaurant you need to put popular dishes on the menu that everyone knows and enjoys like kashk-e badenjan, which is mashed eggplants garnished with kashk and fried onion. This local food is popular in the northern part of Iran.
“We also have some food from Isfahan like Shami-e Lapeh, which is chickpea patties with fresh herbs and quince paste.”
While the menus may be similar in some venues like Hamala, Juffair and Hoora, the decor is different. In Hamala, for example, the setting and atmosphere is very traditional.
The restaurant located in the new extension of Seef Mall on the second floor has a more modern look and even the name is different. It’s called Yas-e Isfahani where the quality, service and presentation of the dishes are more upscale to cater to the shoppers and tourists in the mall.
Yas-e Isfahani opened five years ago and the kitchen team was trained by Iranian-American Chef Najmieh Batmanglij visiting from the US.
Her variety of cook books were sold at the restaurant and only three of her popular Happy Nowruz: Cooking with Children to Celebrate the Persian New Year books remain. The Yas- e Isfahani menu features a collection of her recipes with some minor changes made over the years. Now Persian Chef Asghar Arjmand visits all the outlets to supervise and check on the cooking standards.
I have dined at the Hoora and Juffair venues on many occasions and have always loved their chelow kebab, which is lamb kebabs marinated in saffron, served with steamed white rice, a grilled tomato and spring onions on hot homemade bread.
It has always been my favorite dish, so I could not wait to try the different delicacies in Seef as Mr Yousefi informed me that it was different than the others.
Upon entering the restaurant I could already see the difference. Its clean white interior gave it a sleek and more modern vibe with a contrast of bright blue tiles here and there adding to the contemporary decor.
A few Persian rugs and ornaments were located around the eatery but what caught my eye was the golden Iranian calligraphy on the walls that Mr Farshad explained were sonnets from the olden days.
I liked the minimalistic design as I believe it allows the food to be in the spotlight instead. I started with a light and fragrant sup-e pesteh which is a spicy Kermani-style pistachio soup with barberries.
I then dived into a sweet and sour eggplant dish known as kashk-e badenjan (traditional) and a salad-e tabrizia which is made using cucumber, tomato, green pepper, olive oil, fresh lemon and tabrizi white cheese.
The kufteh-ye anar-o pesteh, pomegranate and pistachio meatballs made with my choice of meat or chicken, was delicious. I loved that the meatball was on a cinnamon stick making it easy to eat and for dipping into its sweet sauce.
The yogurt and cucumber salad, mast-o- khiar, was also very refreshing in between meals.
For the main course, Head Chef Leonardo Tampos grilled up a tender and juicy mixed-grill platter that featured prime lamb chop, spring chicken and a kebab barbecued to perfection over wood charcoal and served with white or dill rice.
He also served up yas jujeh kebab, which consists of tender pieces of boneless spring chicken marinated in saffron, lemon juice and virgin olive oil with fresh herbs and spring onion on a bed of rice.
Chef Tampos has eight years of experience under his belt specialising in Persian cuisine after being trained in Dubai.
My last dish was a bold and flavorful khoresh-e qormeh sabzi, a lamb shank cooked with aromatic herbs, red beans and dried lime served on steamed rice.
I patted my newly-rounded stomach as I sipped on fresh pomegranate juice and then chased that with some Persian tea to end a satisfyingly, good meal. As I waddled out of the restaurant I felt like I had truly experienced an authentic Persian meal.
