Experience the authentic flavors of Egypt in Riyadh’s new hotspot, Tayba Gourmet.
In 2014, renowned chef Mansour Sanad decided to open his restaurant and market in the UAE. Today he is known for his signature dishes and admiration for quality meats.
Tayba Gourmet initially launched their first branches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. After gaining popularity, a new branch was opened in Riyadh.
Their menu boasts a large number of authentic Egyptian dishes such as refreshing appetizers, hearty main courses, and mouth-watering desserts.
Their popular dishes are the trotters soup, mombar, Alexandrian liver, hamam mashi, stuffed pigeons and mulukhiya with a side of rice and chicken.
Trotters soup is made from goat or lamb legs, creating a rich, medicinal bone broth, served with lemon.
Mombar is a sausage made from sheep casing stuffed with rice and meat. It is prepared in Middle Eastern and North African countries such as Egypt, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.
The restaurant is known for its mulukhiya, a delicious and flavorful Egyptian stew. This dish has a special presentation: the server pours the stew for the customer from the pot to the bowl from a far angle. The soup has a thick consistency and a vibrant green color with savory flavors from the broth.
Tayba Gourmet also offers a unique Egyptian pastry called feteer meshaltet, known for its buttery flavor and flaky exterior. Meshaltalt is made up of layers of dough with ghee in between each layer, served savory or sweet.
The store also has a market offering a wide range of high-quality and unique food products imported from Egypt, including fresh-cut meats, cheese, spices and more.
Where We Are Going Today: Al-Seqala Restaurant in Jeddah
Moving on to mains, signature dishes like tajin shrimps bechamel and kebab cherry highlight the versatility of seafood and meat, prepared with finesse and served with unique accompaniments
Updated 28 June 2024
Afshan Aziz
Al-Seqala, nestled in the scenic Obhur area of Jeddah, stands as a beacon for culinary excellence, blending Lebanese and Saudi cuisines with stunning waterfront views.
Established to offer diners a unique fusion of flavors, the restaurant offers a luxurious experience complemented by comfortable amenities and elegant wooden decor.
The menu features a tantalizing array of dishes that cater to seafood aficionados and those seeking innovative culinary delights. The restaurant’s commitment to quality is evident in every meticulously crafted dish, from traditional Lebanese favorites to inventive seafood creations.
For starters, guests are tempted with choices such as the bouillabaisse, a harmonious medley of shrimp, calamari, mussels, crab and fish that showcases the bounty of the sea in a rich broth. Alternatively, the creamy shrimp soup offers a velvety indulgence for those seeking a lighter starter.
Cold appetizers, like the seafood fruit salad, combine the freshness of shrimp, calamari, mussels and fish with vibrant fruits and a mustard honey dressing and is a must try, while the shrimp salad presents a savory blend of shrimp, lettuce, cherry tomatoes and balsamic dressing.
Hot appetizers include fattet shrimps and shawarma samak, where marinated fish with tahina sauce and vegetables showcase bold flavors. Chilli shrimps, pan-fried with sweet chili peppers and tomatoes, offer a spicy kick for adventurous diners.
Moving on to mains, signature dishes like tajin shrimps bechamel and kebab cherry highlight the versatility of seafood and meat, prepared with finesse and served with unique accompaniments. The BBQ Oriental section presents a feast of chicken and meat kebabs alongside lamb chops, catering to hearty appetites with robust flavors.
A standout feature of dining at Al-Seqala is the opportunity to choose fresh seafood prepared to perfection, whether grilled, fried or served in rock salt. The restaurant’s dedication to sourcing the finest ingredients ensures that every dish delivers an exceptional culinary experience.
To conclude the meal on a sweet note, dessert options like maamoul pistachio and pain perdu provide decadent choices that promise to leave a lasting impression.
Despite having less attentive and unfriendly staff, Al-Seqala elevates the dining experience with game nights, live music and a variety of entertainment options.
For more information, visit @alseqala_restaurant on Instagram.
Recipes for Success: Chef Javier Arrebola shares advice and a brioche avocado recipe
Updated 28 June 2024
Shyama Krishna Kumar
JEDDAH: Chef Javier Arrebola — a Barcelona native who is currently executive chef at The Ritz-Carlton Jeddah — was all of seven years old when his uncle told him he was old enough to bake his own birthday cake.
“Everything I am comes from my family,” Arrebola tells Arab News. “My uncle is a pastry chef. I remember going to spend weekends with him in my childhood. I’d go inside the kitchen and spend time around the oven and the burners to see how everything works. So, when I was getting to the age where I needed to choose what I wanted to do in life, I always said that I wanted to become a chef and work in the kitchen.”
Javier Arrebola is a Barcelona native who is currently executive chef at The Ritz-Carlton Jeddah. (Supplied)
Having lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for more than two years now, Arrebola says life in the Kingdom was almost instantly familiar. “When I moved to Jeddah, I was shocked to see the coffee shops full of guests at two in the morning. This is exactly like back home in Spain — just exchange the coffee or tea for wine, but the concept is the same: Going out to spend time with friends and family,” he says. “The people here are so warm and welcoming.”
Here, Arrebola discusses his enduring love for all things rice, his favorite ingredient, and his management style.
When you started out, what was the most common mistake you made?
This is kind of silly, but when I was at culinary school, every time I put something in the oven, when I needed to take it out again, I’d put it on the tabletop then turn back to close the oven. When I went back to the tray, I’d forget to use the mitts, so, I would burn myself every single time. It took me quite a few burns before I learned.
What’s your top tip for amateur chefs?
Always try and find the best produce. The higher the quality of produce you have, the better the chance that you’ll make a good meal. If you do anything simple with high-quality ingredients, it can turn into something really good.
What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish? (And why?)
It’s a cliché, but I really believe that it’s love. Cooking and eating has everything to do with memory. It’s about what you grew up eating at home, what your mom, your family, your grandma fed you from the moment you were born. And your favorite dishes, for a long time, will be either the dish that your grandma used to cook or simple comfort food. Even if you go to a three-Michelin-star restaurant, you’d change everything just to have that meal one more time. And what makes the difference between this and another meal is the love that that person poured into their cooking.
What’s your favorite cuisine?
I really like all different kinds of cuisine. I love Indian, Thai, pan-Asian, Japanese... Even here in Saudi they have really good traditional dishes that, even after working in Dubai for a long time, I didn't know about. I'm pretty much open to everything.
What’s your go-to dish if you have to cook something quickly at home?
I’d just go for one meat — like any kind of steak or any fresh fish that I have — then just pan sear with the right seasoning, and some vegetables. In 10-15 minutes, you can get that ready. If the ingredients are fresh, it’ll be a really good meal.
What customer behavior most annoys you?
At the end of the day, our guests are our boss. We can only work in hospitality because we have customers; they pay our salary. The only thing that sometimes can be challenging is the short turnaround time, especially here in Saudi. Everything is last-minute. But, at the same time, that makes it fun. The surprise is exciting.
What’s your favorite dish to cook?
I really enjoy cooking rice dishes. Back home, we have a kind of rice called bomba rice. It's famous and is used in dishes like paella. I worked for three years with one chef that was really passionate about rice and he taught me a lot.
What is the most difficult dish for you to get right?
I think with every single dish that that you make, even if it’s something you’ve cooked for the last 10 years, you can always find ways to improve it. That’s the evolution of the chef. It’s what makes our job. It’s lovely that every single day is a new day.
As a head chef, what are you like?
Hospitality in general is changing. I remember when I started out, you could still find these chefs who would send dishes flying around the kitchen, and they’d be shouting and loud. That’s the old-school kitchen and I think it’s a thing of the past. Everything is moving to a more logical and well-behaved environment. But still, a kitchen without discipline cannot be a kitchen. At the end of the day, we work with fire and machines, so I don't think you want a kitchen without discipline.
Chef Javier’s brioche avocado
INGREDIENTS
For the pine nut tarator:
20g toasted pine nuts; 10g chopped parsley; 1 chopped garlic clove; 3g lemon juice; 50g olive oil; 1g sumac; salt
1. Mix all the pine nut tarator ingredients in a bowl. At the same time, add the olive oil and onions to a pot and cook them on medium heat until soft, then reduce the heat and caramelize slowly until they get a dark brown color. Deglaze with the balsamic vinegar at the very last minute.
2. Poach three quail eggs for 1 min (or longer, as you most enjoy them).
3. Sear the brioche with olive oil and salt, and toast in a hot pan.
4. Spread a spoonful of tarator sauce on top of the brioche and add the sliced avocado. Top with the caramelized onion.
5. Add the poached quail egg on top and garnish with flaky salt. Serve.
Recipes for success: Chef Robert Stirrup, culinary director of The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh, offers advice and a seabass and salad recipe /node/2538591/lifestyle
Recipes for success: Chef Robert Stirrup, culinary director of The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh, offers advice and a seabass and salad recipe
Updated 27 June 2024
Hams Saleh
RIYADH: Robert Stirrup’s culinary journey began in his family home just outside of London. In the bustling kitchen, he would carry out basic tasks to help prepare meals on the weekends, and this sparked a lifelong passion for cooking.
Now, with more than two decades of experience behind him, including stints at five-star hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants, Stirrup is the director of culinary arts at The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh.
Al Orjouan at The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh offers an international buffet service in an elevated setting. (Supplied)
Here, he discusses his favorite dish and his top tips for amateur chefs. He also shares his recipe for roasted seabass with etuvée of vegetables and herb salad.
When you started out, what was the most common mistake you made?
Probably one of the biggest was to keep trying to add flavors. When you’re not really sure of the different flavors and the complexity of ingredients, you keep adding things. Over time, you start to realize what will work with what. One of the big things that one of my chefs taught me, when I was 19 or 20 years old, was to actually smell and eat all the different herbs and understand what the flavors were and what you could actually pair them with.
What’s your top tip for amateur chefs?
Planning. If you don’t have a plan for what the dish is going to look like or be presented as, then you miss out on making a list and realizing that a lot can be done in advance. If you do a lot of the things in advance, then at the end you’re just doing the finishing touches of cooking the meat, cooking the fish, finishing the vegetables or reheating the sauces. Then you don’t put all the pressure on yourself at the last minute and panic and make a mess of it.
What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish?
Citrus. It can elevate so many different dishes, and there are so many different ways that you can use it. It’s not just a case of using lemon, either. You can use different herbs that have a citrus base. You can use limes. You can use yuzu. There are lots of different ways that you can revitalize a dish or bring back the freshness of a dish by adding citrus.
What’s the most common mistake that you find in other restaurants?
I always check how big the menu is. If I see a big menu, I always think that either the food can’t be fresh, or the team can’t be experts at making that many dishes. For me, having a smaller menu means the team is more focused, and the ingredients will be fresher because they'll rotate them properly. I also prefer restaurants that serve a particular style of cuisine, rather than trying to do everything for everyone. Also, I think you can tell a good restaurant before you go in by how busy it is. If a restaurant’s empty, I’m not going there.
Also, from a service perspective, I always like to ask the team what they would eat. It’s so important to have a well-trained team. And it’s so difficult to find good people. But train the team so that when they’re talking to guests and explaining the menu they’re really confident with it. I went somewhere recently where they presented the dishes and didn’t explain them at all. They just said, ‘Enjoy’ and walked off. And that changed the whole experience — rather than them sharing a bit of their knowledge and their enjoyment of being there and of what they’re serving.
What’s your favorite cuisine?
I like the simplicity of Japanese food. You can’t hide behind anything when you’re cooking Japanese food, because it's so simple. It’s the quality of the ingredients that make the dish.
What’s your go-to dish if you have to cook something quickly at home?
I tend to just open the fridge and see what’s there. It’s something that always drives my wife mad. I don’t like to do big shopping trips, I prefer to buy ingredients on a regular basis, and then just see what there is. I don’t really think you need to put more than three or four ingredients together to make a dish, especially at home.
But I think something easy that everyone enjoys is probably pasta. There are so many different dishes that you can do.
What customer behavior most annoys you?
I think it’s just being impolite. Everyone’s busy, everyone’s rushing, but the person who is cooking for you or greeting you or serving you? They’re also humans. It’s doesn’t cost anything to have good manners and to be polite to people. And I think you’ll have a much more enjoyable experience and they’ll have a much more enjoyable experience. Even if something’s not going right and you want to talk about it with someone, you can still be polite (about it). People suddenly become very aggressive sometimes, and I think it’s very unfair on the team who are trying their best to cook for you or to serve you.
What’s your favorite dish to cook and why?
I like to cook fish. It’s so versatile, whether it is sea bass, cod, snapper… anything really. Find a great piece of fish and some fresh vegetables, put them together and add some different seasoning. I always think it’s a sign of good cook if someone can cook fish well, because it’s very easy to overcook it and get it wrong. And, like I said, the less ingredients, the better.
As a head chef, what are you like?
I’m fairly laidback. I’m used to having very big teams; I have nearly 150 people in the team. At my last place, I had nearly 300. So, I’m a team player, an organizer who understands people. I find that to be much more effective than screaming and shouting. Occasionally, yes, you have to raise your voice to make everyone stop and listen, but very rarely.
RECIPE
Chef Robert’s roasted seabass with etuvée of vegetables and herb salad
Serves two
For the seabass
INGREDIENTS: 2 seabass fillets (180g each); 7g cumin seeds; 5g sumac; 10g dried oregano; 10g sesame seeds; salt and pepper to taste (approx. 5g each)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Toast the cumin seeds in a dry pan until aromatic. Transfer to a mortar and grind with sumac, oregano, sesame seeds, salt and pepper to make a fine powder. Set aside extra for future use.
2. Roast the seabass fillets seasoned with the spice blend until cooked through and golden.
For the etuvée of vegetables:
INGREDIENTS: 1/2 large fennel bulb or 8 pieces of baby fennel, shaved or finely sliced; 1 carrot or 4 baby carrots, shaved or finely sliced; 4 baby artichokes (optional), shaved or finely sliced; 2 banana shallots, finely sliced; 2 cloves of garlic, crushed; 10 basil leaves; 4 sprigs of thyme; 100ml vegetable stock; juice of 2 lemons; 50ml extra virgin olive oil; salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Sweat the shallots in olive oil until translucent. Add the crushed garlic and cook gently.
2. Incorporate the carrots and artichokes (if using), then add the remaining olive oil, herbs and vegetable stock.
3. Cook slowly at medium heat, covered with a lid or cling film, for 10 minutes. Then stir in the lemon juice and adjust the seasoning.
For the herb salad:
Combine seasonal salad greens with 2g fresh dill, 2g fresh basil, and 2g fresh sorrel.
ASSEMBLY:
Plate the seabass on a bed of the etuvée vegetables. Garnish with green vegetables of your choice, such as asparagus or green beans. Accompany with your fresh herb salad.
Restaurateur Evgeny Kuzin says Saudi Arabia is ready for ‘Made in the GCC dining experiences’
Fundamental Hospitality has more than 20 concepts in the UAE, Europe and the United States, with La Maison Ani most recently opening in London at the end of May
'Saudi is fast becoming a luxury dining hot spot,' Evgeny Kuzin, CEO of Fundamental Hospitality, said
Updated 27 June 2024
Saffiya Ansari
DUBAI: The UAE’s Fundamental Hospitality is setting its sights on Saudi Arabia with the launch of several of its popular food and beverage concepts in the Kingdom over the course of the next 18 months.
Alaya, Cipriani Dolci, Gaia and La Maison Ani will open in the Kingdom, with Venetian-inspired Cipriani Dolci scheduled to open its doors in Riyadh this year while the other concepts are expected to welcome diners in 2025.
“Saudi is fast becoming a luxury dining hot spot with all the key brands of the world opening here, so it’s definitely somewhere we want to be,” Evgeny Kuzin, CEO of Fundamental Hospitality, told Arab News.
“We are witnessing a growing demand for ‘Made in the GCC’ dining experiences, and we are excited to contribute to this vibrant culinary landscape,” he added.
Alaya celebrates Mediterranean cuisine and features Middle Eastern influences, while Gaia offers a Greek-meets-Mediterranean menu and La Maison Ani a French-meets-Mediterranean cuisine.
“We chose to launch Cipriani Dolci and La Maison Ani in Saudi Arabia because each of these brands brings something unique to the table that we believe will resonate well with the Saudi audience.
“Alaya offers a modern take on Mediterranean and Levantine cuisine, which is both familiar and innovative. Cipriani Dolci, with its rich heritage and luxurious Italian style, brings a sense of timeless elegance. The Cipriani brand is one of the most famous luxury brands in the world with a strong Saudi client base,” Kuzin said.
When it comes to launching in Saudi Arabia, Kuzin is keen to adapt to local sensibilities.
“We understand the importance of catering to local tastes and cultural preferences. While we will maintain the core essence of each brand, we will introduce certain adaptations to align with local sensibilities. This might include offering more private dining options (and) incorporating local ingredients into our menus,” he said.
Launched in 2011, Fundamental Hospitality has more than 20 concepts in the UAE, Europe and the United States, with La Maison Ani most recently opening in London at the end of May.
“We have invested a lot of time, thought and creativity into our Made in Dubai concepts ensuring every detail from interior to service to food is of the highest quality … Gaia for instance is one of the most successful and popular restaurants here today and is top of everyone’s lists when they visit.” Kuzin said. “Dubai is one of the most visited cities in the world, which gives its popular restaurants an immediate international profile and popularity which helps when opening in other major cities.”
’Wake-up call’: third of adults not doing enough physical activity
More than 31 percent of adults — 1.8 billion people — did not get the recommended amount of physical exercise in 2022, an increase of five percentage points from 2010, according to a study by the World Health Organization and other researchers
Updated 26 June 2024
AFP
PARIS: Nearly a third of all adults are not doing enough physical activity, posing a growing threat to health across the world, a major study said on Wednesday.
More than 31 percent of adults — 1.8 billion people — did not get the recommended amount of physical exercise in 2022, an increase of five percentage points from 2010, according to a study by the World Health Organization and other researchers.
“Physical inactivity is a silent threat to global health, contributing significantly to the burden of chronic diseases,” said Ruediger Krech, director of the WHO’s health promotion department.
“Unfortunately the world is not going in the right direction,” he told an online press conference.
To be healthy, the WHO recommends all adults spend at least 150 minutes every week doing moderate-intensity physical activity — which can include walking, cycling or even household chores — or at least 75 minutes of more vigorous exercise, such as running or competing in sport.
A combination of the two will also get people over the line.
Not getting this level of exercise increases the risk of people developing heart disease, diabetes, some cancers as well as mental health problems, Krech said.
If current trends continue, adult inactivity levels are projected to rise to 35 percent by 2030, according to the study in The Lancet Global Health.
This would fall far short of the WHO’s goal of reducing physical inactivity by 15 percent by the end of the decade.
Fiona Bull, head of the WHO’s physical activity unit, said the research was “a wake-up call that we’re not doing enough.”
Inactivity rates varied widely between countries. For example, 66 percent of adults do not get enough physical activity in the United Arab Emirates, while the figure was under three percent in Malawi.
There was also a gender gap. Nearly 34 percent of women worldwide do not reach the activity threshold, compared to 29 percent of men.
There are “multiple causes” for activity rates declining overall, including that people are walking less, working at computers more and generally spending more leisure time looking at screens, Bull said.
During a busy few months of world sport which includes the Olympics and the European and Copa America football championships, Krech reminded people that “watching sports does not equal being physically active.”
“Don’t just sit on (your) chairs, get up and be active — every step counts,” he said.
The WHO emphasized that changing individual behavior is not enough, calling on countries to promote physical activity by boosting community sport as well as walking, cycling and public transport.
For the study, billed as the most comprehensive to look at the subject yet, an international team of researchers combined the findings from more than 500 studies involving 5.7 million people across 163 countries and territories.
It was not all bad news.
Almost half of the countries had made progress over the last decade, and 22 are on track to reach the 2030 target — as long as they keep moving in the right direction.
