Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
One of my first dining out experiences in Bahrain was at the famous Wednesday seafood feast at the Golden Tulip, recommended by our then legendary photographer Andrew T. Morton, born on the island and nowadays believed to be snapping away to his heart’s content in Canada.
Six years on I can still vividly recall the many run-ins I had with the young man (known fact: most photographers are barking mad) as clearly as the taste of the amazing fare on offer at the Manama hotel that evening.
When I was invited to ‘indulge’ myself and taste once more the appetising dishes ‘as we (the Golden Tulip) are resuming our famous Seafood Night’. I felt it would be rude not to attend.
I made an early and hasty exit from a school governors’ meeting (sorry again, Mr chairman) and missed the big match action (England v Poland – World Cup Qualifier) I had promised to watch with my son (sorry, little Stan) and still managed to arrive 40-minutes late for my appointment with Hasan Al Shehabi, the hotel’s business development manager (may as well make it three extended apologies in a row!).
One thing I wasn’t sorry about was making the effort to turn up for the relaunch of the seafood night with the good lady wife, Kathryn.
The Golden Tulip was buzzing. It was great to see Bahrain alive and back in business recovering from the battering its hospitality sector took as a result of the unrest.
Maybe people aren’t as confident as they used to be about eating out as a result of tyre-burning and stone-throwing tantrums by a few thugs, but it appears that the spirit of adventure is still alive and kicking and the good times are not far away.
“We’ve got to keep going,” said Hasan. “There are positive signs that confidence is returning, the weather is better, the exhibitions are back and business is picking up.”
His colleague Zahi Hamdan, the hotel’s food and beverage manager, has a few tricks up his sleeve such as tomorrow’s launch of a new French Soirée Night under the direction of executive chef Monsieur Daniel Mast and his team, and believes the Seafood Night will prove to be just as popular a culinary catch for diners because of the quality and flavour of the freshly-sourced supplies.
The spread of seafood was as impressive as the recently-renovated Al Wasmeyyah Restaurant, offering impeccable lighting, cosy enough to feel comfortable but bright enough so you can see what’s on your plate and a spacious, inviting ambiance with large windows overlooking the poolside.
Mussels, oysters, smoked salmon, sushi and fresh salad leaves were placed aplenty to get you started, but the pièce de résistance was the le magnifique clam chowder.
I suggested it to a late arrival who rushed over later to thank me for the recommendation.
I promise, I’ll mention a few of the other dishes in a second, but this delicious soup concoction in my opinion is worth the price of the meal alone, which happens to be BD16.300 net and includes one complimentary beverage.
OK, I always keep my promises. There were also prawns with Thai red curry, fish roulade stuffed with spinach and saffron sauce, Oyster Rockefeller, Prawns Provencal, carp moose, Lobster Thermidor and crab with creamy spinach amongst the dishes.
Anish, the diligent waiter, deserves a special mention for being on hand to change over my plates at a moment’s notice as I spotted yet another dish to try. And, it’s another one to recommend too – red snapper in puff pastry.
So readers, if you are fed up of having to wait for the weekend, check out the Seafood Night on Wednesday. How will you remember? Easy, it’s the day your GulfWeekly gets delivered!
As for Andrew T, you don’t know what you’re missing!
