Dinner(s) at The Restaurant, The Chedi

  The Restaurant at The Chedi is a great choice if you’re looking for one of the best fine dining experiences in Muscat, Oman.  I had the pleasure of enjoying the food there on 2 different occasions in the past few weeks.  Here are some pics of the menu and the food that we ordered while there.      The Lobster Salad was a big hit with everyone at our table. A highly recommended appetizer!           You can never go wrong with sushi rolls!         I seemed to be the only one who wasn’t over the moon over the PF Foie Gras.  3/4 loved it!        Other appetizers at the Chedi         On a blog related “business dinner” a few weeks back I had this soup. Sorry I can’t remember what the name was because the waiter recommended it to me and it was indeed a fantastic choice!       Of course they don’t serve alcohol over Ramadan, but when the month is over, you might want to check out their wine menu if you find yourself there.  We went with a bottle of “Wrongo Dongo” (love the name!) which was a 20 OR bottle of red wine. Nice selection by our friend!      This was my choice on our most recent visit to The Chedi: Grilled Tiger Prawns.  This was a truly enjoyable meal!         My wife loved her Grilled Jumbo Prawns. (Almost as much as she loved my Tiger Prawns… 😉 )  The risotto it came with was so good!       No complaints from our friend about her Pigeon 2 Ways.       Our other friend seemed to enjoy his Yellow Chicken Curry quite a bit.      One of the best lamb dishes I have ever had in my life. Such succulent meat that it seemed to melt in my mouth! The jasmine rice addition worked well with this dish.      One of the many hard-working chefs at the Chedi.  There are something like 5 different cooking stations in the Restaurant.        Mmm-lemon tart!  There are incredible number of desserts to choose from at the Chedi and it might be hard to choose just one as they all look SO good.       Macaroons at the Chedi-A definite must have for any one with a sweet tooth.

I had two incredible evenings sharing dinner with friends at the Chedi recently and highly recommend dining there.  The prices may seem a bit high for some but you can be sure that what you are getting is of the highest quality.  For reservations, call:   (968) 24 52 44 00 or if you have any general questions about the menu, you can email them at: chedimuscat@ghmhotels.com

Mongolian Barbecue at The Golden Oryx, Ruwi

 We had heard from several people that the Mongolian Barbecue at The Golden Oryx was very good so we decided to give it a try before leaving the Sultanate.  I’m glad we did. Good and cheap food!      This post requires very little explanation as the menu (broken up and presented in this blogpost for you) describes the entire concept, history and ingredients.      The Mongolian Barbeque is located upstairs in the restaurant in this rather small room.   The soup is very good!   The food is frozen but still good quality for the very low price.      Before   And After        I really enjoyed our 2 experiences at the Mongolian Barbecue this past week.  The taste reminded me of Go Grill at MGM.         

Zanzibar Bakery & Confectionery, North Al Hail

  Zanzibar Bakery & Confectionery is one of the best places in Oman to try authentic Zanzibari food.  It’s located in North Hail, exactly one roundabout north of the Wave up the coast.        You should go inside and point out which food you’d like to have from behind the glass.  You could also just have a seat and ask one of the waiters to see the menu.  It’s always nice to see what it is you’re ordering.  I tried getting pics of all the different types of food you can order there.  This is mainly a post of pics and I recommend going there to try it out for yourself.  Good, cheap food!        The soup was incredibly good!  It’s always so much nicer to go to such local restaurants with Omani friends! 🙂  Let’s not forget that this Zanzibari restaurant is also a bakery.  As you see here, you can order some products near the door to take home with you.  I was really impressed with this gem of a spot that is quite famous to the locals but often overlooked by foreigners.   Would you believe that the total bill was only 8.5 rials?!  And we ate LIKE KINGS!  This is a definite “must try” for you foodies out there.  GSM numbers for restaurant: 99201536, 92408212, 98534311

Marjan Lounge’s Cool “Tent Mode” during Ramadan (& World Cup) at Grand Hyatt Muscat

  Looking for a cool place to hang out in the evenings during Ramadan? Marjan Lounge which is normally closed during the hotter months has been transformed into an “Arabian tent” for the next month or so.  The food is a fine selection of Arabian dishes that we were lucky enough to sample a few nights back during the Germany-USA game.  They will have 4 or 5 50 inch screen tvs up!  I highly recommend catching a game there as they’ve put a lot of work into making this an awesome venue.

  Very comfy couches with plenty of ACs and fans to keep you cool.

    Open every night from 8pm to 3am, they will be serving suhour, shisha, delicious Ramadan specialties and juices and showcasing the FIFA World Cup games.

  They have lots of interesting shisha flavours at Marjan Lounge including a new one I tried called orange and mint. (Susan pictured enjoying her lemon and mint! 🙂 )

 

  We had a blast trying out the lounge at a “pre-launch party” hosted by the Grand Hyatt! (Yeah, it’s a rough life, haha!)  This is actually the 3rd venue  where you can enjoy Ramadan in the evenings at the Grand Hyatt with the others being The Majlis at Sirj and Mokha Cafe.

So come on down to the Hyatt and enjoy!  Even if you’re not a big football fan (or “soccer” for those of you who REFUSE to conform to the world, haha), you might be surprised how fun it is to head to such a venue with friends. Nothing like good food, good fun and good company! 🙂

Rumba Lattina Restaurant, The Cave

 Rumba Lattina is one of the 8 restaurants within the Cave Complex on Qurum Heights Road.  We recently had the privilege of attending an official “food tasting” evening there thanks to our friend, Maurizio!  The place itself is spectacular and I hope you get a good sense of the ambiance and an idea of just how good the food is from the following 28 pics within this blogpost.  The artwork located throughout Rumba restaurant is gorgeous.  It was all shipped from South America and Mexico! I love the lighting and look of the Tapas Bar!   The Champagne Bar – Oh la la!   How cool is this smoking room?!  The gents preparing mocktails for guests. This is the main Cocktail Bar.  The liquor license for the Cave Complex will be available soon and will cover all locations there I was told.  Rumba will be open until 3am and it’s sure to be a cool place to hang out and have a drink.   My honey and Susan in front of the Tapas bar. Check out Susan’s food blog “Fatsu” here.     Carlos, one of the friendly waiters at Rumba.  The drinks they prepared were so delicious and they kept bringing more and more!  Tapas we tried include seafood tamales, arepa reyna pepiada and vegetable empanada.  60% of the materials for cooking are imported so you can be sure you are eating authentic Central and South American food!       The Aperitivo we tried: Caribean Ceviche.  One of my favourite dishes of the evening.  The fish and shrimp cooked in lemon juice was like nothing I’ve ever had before!   Ensalada: The Watermelon Salad was also very good!   The first dish we tried from the “Principales” or “Main Dishes” was the Chicken Mole.  It was made with a chocolate sauce but I would not have known it was chocolate if they hadn’t told me.  Some of these dishes were completely new to me as I’m unfamiliar with South American cuisine.  I’ve definitely been missing out as the food is so unique and something that you really have to try for yourself.    The 2nd main course we tried was the “Nogada”.  Nogadas are stuffed capsicums.  They served us 2 actually: Lamb & Vegetable. Both were fantastic.  And here we have Maurizio in action, the official photographer for Fatsu! 😉   The 1st of 3 desserts we were served: Quesillo.  “Mmm, Mmm” and once again let me say “Mmm!”     “Tres leeches” – Let’s hope they have this on their main menu as it was a winner with everyone at the table.  This is a Venezuelan dessert that simply must be tried.   And last of all but definitely not least was the “Marquesa”.  Note the spices on the side which were arranged to represent the colours of the Omani flag.  Nice touch and great dessert!  The head chef, Guillermo, (3rd from the left- not including the Amazon-warriorish statue!) and the other chefs and kitchen staff taking a bow at the end of an incredible gastronomical evening of great food and equally good company.  The restaurant should be opening some time next week.  When it does open, this is a restaurant I would definitely recommend trying out for yourself!