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The day Sushi took over the world in my book was last year during Ramadan. At every iftar and ghabga gathering I was kindly invited to, from a family home to a five-star hotel, there was a special place set aside for the Japanese cuisine on the spread alongside delicious Arabic fare.
I appreciate that its popularity spread around the globe decades earlier but the holy month really emphasised what an amazing culinary journey had occurred.
In fact Sushi has even become the stuff of fashion, from ‘Sushi lip gloss’ coloured the deep red of raw tuna, to ‘wasabi nail polish’, a soft avocado green.
My Bahraini friends explained that Sushi had arrived as a permanent fixture on the table because there was now a concerted effort after fasting to eat more healthily, coupled with a rejection of too much hearty, red-meat and sweet fare.
So it should come as little surprise that one of the most popular mid-week themed events at the award-winning Swiss-Belhotel Seef Bahrain is Wednesday’s Oishii Sushi Night at B28, attracting droves of locals alongside expats.
I’m a great fan of this hotel and love the food served up by German Executive Chef Holger Lang and his team at the Swiss-Café Restaurant but I’d never ventured before for a night out at its contemporarily-designed lounge and grill, located high, you guessed it, on the 28th floor.
B28 proved to be a very chilled and welcoming destination with bar manager Euan Martin, pictured below left, offering a warm and hearty Scottish welcome and the soothing sounds of classy Columbian songstress Liliana Penagos providing a beautiful backdrop at a volume level ideal for carrying on with good conversation.
The arty paintings on the wall are stunning and the view over the bustling Seef district from the windows is simply breathtaking.
And then, of course, there’s the Sushi which I spotted being superbly cut into mouth-sized slices in the outlet’s own kitchen by Commis-Chef Faiz Ahamed Khan.
The platter that arrived at my table was perfect. One of my favourite types of Sushi is ebi nigiri. Although most people think of raw fish when they think of Sushi, the shrimp is actually part-cooked for this preparation.
Another firm favourite is nigiri, a specific type of Sushi consisting of a slice of raw fish over pressed vinegared rice.
The increasing popularity of Sushi around the world has resulted in many variations, typically found in the Western-influenced world, but rarely in Japan. Such creations to suit our palate were initially fuelled by the invention of the California roll, a makizushi. It’s a kind of Sushi roll, made inside-out, containing cucumber, crab meat or imitation crab and avocado and tastes superb.
Sushi is also nicely served with condiments such as wasabi (Japanese horseradish) and a soy sauce dip.
There was accompanying dips with the platter too and crunchy delights added to the dining experience and, although more Sushi was offered, my full platter was more than filling enough.
A Japanese acquaintance once told me, after checking it out online, that oishii ryouri is reasonably translatable as ‘delicious food/cuisine’. Even then we should be aware that it has a much richer colouring than merely ‘delicious’ and, depending on the context, will imply to a greater or lesser extent ‘food that will give rise to a wonderful experience in eating it’.
B28’s Oishii experience is exactly that. Every Wednesday, 7pm-11pm, BD16net, inclusive of two selected beverages. Call 66310000 for more details. Sayonara!
