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Lebanon, otherwise known as the Paris of the Middle East, boasts a rich heritage, a wild nightlife, hospitable people and, of course, scrumptious savoury and sweet dishes that are served up across the globe.
People love the tapas-style mezzes which are made for sharing, vegetable-stuffed concoctions, tender grills, as well as flavourful rice dishes.
Fruits, vegetables, beans and meat are often used as a base to form traditional fare, of course embellished by fresh spices and then cooked in olive oil instead of butter and fats to reduce cholesterol intake.
The chick pea also reigns supreme in Lebanese cuisine and is adored for its array of health benefits. National dishes include kibbeh, which is made of burghul, minced onions, and finely-ground lean beef or lamb spiced and turned into a ball or patty, and tabouleh salad with parsley, tomatoes and burghul.
Other favourites include meat kofta, fattoush salad, hummus, rice pilaf, and manakish which is bread topped with thyme, sesame seeds, sumac and olive oil eaten throughout the day.
The list of tasty treats can go on forever and being of Jordanian, Palestinian and Armenian descent, I know these flavours all too well. Levantine cuisine is the traditional food of the Levant, known in Arabic as the Bilad ash-Sham. It covers a large area of the Eastern Mediterranean and is found in the modern states of Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and parts of southern Turkey.
My mother is a fab cook so I’ve grown up eating meals from all these countries from the comforts of my home. Recently, I was surprised to learn from my dear tata (grandmother) who has finally returned to the Middle East after living in the US for several years, that I also have Lebanese roots from her side of the family.
Wanting to learn more about Lebanon, I ventured to the Gulf Hotel Bahrain for its fun four-day festival held at its popular Zahle restaurant…a cosy venue that is near and dear to my heart.
Zahle, which is named after the third largest city in Lebanon, is where Sam and I celebrated our engagement in 2010 surrounded by family and friends. Back then, people raved about the food and the entertainment and I was delighted to find out that the chef who cooked up a bountiful buffet for us was still enticing food lovers with his creations at the restaurant.
Syrian Chef Ahmed Ghalla has more than 31 years culinary experience, 12 of which were spent cooking in restaurants in Lebanon alongside top chefs. He has been with Zahle since 2003 and believes his secret recipe to success is that he cooks from the heart.
“I want people to feel at home when they eat here,” said Chef Ahmed. “After all, these dishes are all homely and cosy dishes. It’s all authentic Lebanese food but with a few twists.”
The spacious restaurant can seat 180 diners comfortably and according to Chef Ahmed is usually packed every weekend. Festivals often staged at the venue share a love for the country through food, music and dancing.
Although Sam and I were looking forward to returning to Zahle, we were dreading that the food and programme would start at 10pm. Nonetheless we both settled in for a long night and quite frankly, had a fantastic time and didn’t even notice the time fly by.
The cold and hot mezzes included the country’s favourite dishes as well as an assortment of savouries such as spinach fatayer, vine leaves, hummus and soujuk (spicy sausages).
Chef Ahmed even modernised a few dishes such as the mutabal which is a Lebanese salad. Instead of using eggplant, he used carrots. He has also created his own labneh with ful (black beans), garlic and walnuts. There was also a cheese and zaatar manakish.
While nibbling on appetisers, a pianist began to play some Arabic music and introduced the talented and super flexible Argentinian Lebanese belly dancer Andrea. She created such a vibrant and lively atmosphere with diners, including the President of Lebanon’s daughter who was present at the event.
The dancer dipped, twirled and shook her hips while we feasted. Her performance was followed by singer Melanie warming up the house for singer Imad Rifai and his dazzling dabke dancing crew and drummer, who had flown in from Lebanon.
Dabke is an Arab folk dance native to the Levant area. It combines circle dance and line dancing and is widely performed at weddings and other joyous occasions.
The leader of this dabke was a sweet old man that was full of energy and had many moves that would have put rocker Mick Jagger to shame.
We all joined in the work-out, building up an appetite for the mains featuring a selection of juicy chicken and meat grills as well as a grilled fish and prawn platter.
For those with room for dessert there was a tasty cheese kunafa, baklava, rice pudding and atayef - a Middle Eastern-style pancake stuffed with a cream filling and topped with nuts.
We ended up leaving the event at 1am. For the energetic, Zahle is usually open from 7pm to 2am. Whatever the occasion, the food is fantastic.
For more details and to make a reservation call 17713000.
