Simply Abu Dhabi XI

T he pleasure of visiting Sambusek restaurant in the Rosewood Abu Dhabi hotel starts from the moment you enter the room. It is a fantastic space that seems to invite the outside to flood in – a wonderful effect created by floor-to-ceiling windows that give spectacular waterfront views of the capital’s skyline. Lovely warmwooden floors arematchedwith a variety of textures andmetallic art installations, and the mixed glass hanging lanterns create a real Middle Eastern ambiance. Lebanese food is one of my favourite types of cuisine and so I have arrived prepared – I’m armed with a healthy appetite so that I can enjoy the plethora of dishes that fills the extensive menu. Sambusek is named after the popular stuffed Lebanese savoury pastries, and I already know that some sambusek will be one of the starters I will order. Arnie is also a big fan of Lebanese food and so we were very happy to be shown to our table, which had a wonderful view over the Arabian waters. It was a pleasure to meet the restaurant manager, Rachid Korchyou, who made us feel incredibly welcome. Before we ordered we were also privileged to meet Sambusek’s Head Chef, Emad Zalloum. A long time resident of the UAE, having relocated to Dubai from Lebanon in 2004, Chef Emad has a wealth of experience in preparing Lebanese cuisine and he has previously worked at a number of respected establishments, including the Burj Al Arab and the Grand Hyatt. Now working in the capital city, Emad was excited to talk us through some of the many dishes and he politely wished us a pleasant evening. It could only be a success judging by the vast choice of delicious food to be shared. We decided to order lots of small starter dishes before our main course so I began by selecting a classic hummus dish called Hummus Akary. Served with diced pickles, tomato, chopped parsley and pine seeds it was a moreish beginner. Arnie chose theMutabbal Ajami, whichwas grilled eggplant with sesame paste, parsley, tomato sauce and walnuts. The texture and lightness was just right and we enjoyed it with some zaatar and fresh roca salad that was refreshingly zesty served with picked thyme, sumac powder and a twist of lemon juice. To follow we both devoured a gorgeous cheese shanklish made with home-made cheese, tomato, parsley, onion and olive oil. We also both agreed to try something different that we don’t often eat – raw meat. The very friendly waiter convinced us to try the ‘Mixed Lawha Nayeh’, which comprises kebbeh nayeh – a traditional dish originating fromAleppo made of minced raw beef mixed with fine bulgur and spices, habra nayeh – which is fresh raw lamb blended with spices, ftileh nayeh – raw tenderloin lamb that is diced and served with finely cut onions, and finally kofta nayeh – raw tartar of minced lamb, served with finely chopped onions and parsley, then seasoned with Lebanese spices. Although the idea of eating uncooked meat might make some people a little bit squeamish, it is truly delicious. Clean, crisp and full of flavour, we’re both pleasantly surprised by how much we do indeed like these dishes. Next we wanted to try some seafood and so it had to be the ‘Fish Kebbeh Abu Sfair’, which is minced fish, crushed wheat, tahini and pine seeds. Arnie waited to order fish until his main course and so he sampled the ‘Kebbeh Sajiyi’, which was expertly grilled minced beef served with crushed wheat filled with spinach and pistachio nuts. This was cooked to the ideal consistency and the flavour of the pistachio really came through with the beef, lingering on the tongue after each morsel. While we still had some room left we ordered the namesake of this great restaurant – lovely chicken and cheese sambusek. The chicken variety was minced and served with oregano and the cheese ones were stuffed with feta & akkawi cheese. They are so tantalisingly small and filled with flavour that it’s possible to imagine eating tray loads of them at a time. We did still have our main course to enjoy, so we resisted the temptation to order more sambusek and instead Arnie ordered themixed seafood platter. Here the kitchen really exceled, and the grilled Omani lobster, fresh jumbo prawns, fried calamari and hammour fillet were outstanding, Arnie commenting that he hadn’t ever eaten such a finely cooked lobster before. I tried the makanek, which is fried lamb sausage, served with lemon & pomegranate molasses. I was intrigued by the use of pomegranate sauce and I wasn’t disappointed; the sweet juicy punch of the fruit is an inspired contrast with the bold lamb sausage flavour. As a final dish before dessert we opted for something that neither of us had ever heard of before, let alone tasted. And it sounded small so we were just about able to try it after all the previous delights. The ‘Asafeer’ is fried sparrow, cooked with lemon juice and once again using pomegranate molasses to lend a sweet caress to the meat. The meat tasted not dissimilar to chicken and it was an interesting way to finish our savoury courses. For dessert I had the Mouhalabeya with ice cream and strawberry and we both shared a plate of traditional warm mixed ‘Baklawa’, gorgeously sweet Arabian pastries. To round off this tremendous Levantine experience we retired to the restaurant’s outdoor terrace Smoke, and set against the backdrop of the Abu Dhabi skyline we enjoyed a shisha and began planning how soon we could return to Sambusek again. Hummus 5 5 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I