Mongolian Barbeque, the Golden Oryx Way

Its always great to try out new and interesting cuisine and thats one of things we love doing-be it at at home, the occasional street food or at great little restaurants.  So this post is about Mongolian Barbeque, the Golden Oryx way. Mongolian Barbeque is a stir fried dish that was developed in Taiwanese  restaurants in the 1970's. In this cuisine, meat and vegetables are cooked on large, round, solid iron griddles at temperatures of up to 300 °C (572 °F). The interesting thing is that despite its name, the cuisine is not really Mongolian  and is only very loosely related to barbeque. The preparation can also derive from Japanese style Teppanyaki, which was popular in Taiwan at the time.  All set for the evening The Golden Oryx, one of Muscat's finest Chinese restaurants is an interesting place for exclusive and quiet dining. Offering a  rich blend of Schezuan, Cantonese, Thai, and Mongolian delicacies in elegant surroundings the Golden Oryx has endeared itself to a cross- section of Omanis, Asian and European expatriates for over 21 years.While we love the entire range offered by the restaurant, a couple of weeks ago, we decided to check out the Special offer on the Mongolian barbeque and am happy to share the experience.

Since the concept of the Mongolian barbeque is literally DIY - 'Do it Yourself' any way you like it-so if thought you didn't like it- you can go back and do it again. Of course, since you mix your own ingredients, you also take all the credit when you get it right.   The Chef's already at work

All set for the evening

Our first course was soup and while Avi chose the chicken sweet corn, Neha and myself went in for a delicious Hot and sour chicken soup.

And so on to the mains- the Mongolian barbeque.

We chose choose various ingredients from a display of thinly sliced raw meats (beef, lamb, chicken, seafood and vegetables (cabbage, tofu, sliced onion,carrots, spring onions, sprouts mushrooms, capsicum) and put them in a bowl.Delicious sauces to add flavour were provided-garlic sauce, spicy garlic, garlic , ginger, peanut, barbeque and sweet and sour.We added them to our selection and handed it over to Chef Kwon who was working a large, flat, very hot griddle and because of the heat of the griddle, the food was cooked in front of our eyes in just a matter of moments. 

Chef Kwon creates my dish

Elegant decor 

Eager anticipation -Avi, Neha and myself

Once we had our bowls, we paired the stir-fry with rice and numerous other condiments such as Soya  and  green chilli sauces that the restaurant provided.

Accompanied by a glass of white wine, this was a great meal and even though the meal deal offered us the opportunity of going in for a refill, we couldn't manage  it beyond the first serving.

My Mongolian Barbeque -delicious

Great meal, great ambience and a really great family evening out!

Brand new Waffle Sandwiches, Mousse Glasses and Chocolicious Treats at The Chocolate Room Oman

Any good restaurant is definitely about much more than just the food. It has to have a total package, of which the front house service,  customer care and the efficiency of response to feedback rate very high on my list. For the growing 'chocolate lovers' community in Muscat, there is a great place where one can head to and savour a wide variety of all things 'chocolicious' and definitely meets all the criteria I've just listed. Located in Al Marafah Street, Mirbat Tower in Ghubra, The Chocolate Room which has just celebrated its first anniversary, is  open, airy, well lit with a wide ranging menu for people of all age groups. 

The exciting new range-Chocolate, Nutella  Mousse Glasses, Marshy Berry and Peanut Banana Waffle Sandwiches


We've been there a number of times and enjoyed each of those visits.Last evening we were invited to the Soft Launch of a new range of waffle sandwiches and Mousse Glasses by the Store Manager Jergen Enriqeues and had a really great time trying out the 'chocolicious' range of goodies that were brought out one after the other.

Jergen tells us how these new introductions were created.

Jergen ( who is a trained Barista) and his team went about developing and creating these new dishes in a very patient and methodical way.As he describes it, "the first time creation of the banana peanut waffle sandwich topped by a milk chocolate sauce as well as a delicate cinnamon sauce was good, the second version better and the third version exactly what we were looking for." And take if from me, the version that we ate last evening was absolutely delicious!

The Peanut Butter Banana Waffle Sandwich 
Topped by a milk chocolate sauce and a delicate cinnamon sauce which uplifts it to an entirely different level.

In store decorations marking the one year celebrations

My regular low fat cappuccino- tastes even better than it looks

The Marshy Berry Waffle Sandwich- strawberry, raspberry and a blueberry concoction topped with a delightful marshmallow sauce

The grand finale- Nutella Mousse and an exotic Dark Chocolate Mousse  topped with whipped cream and chocolate chips

It was a really great evening and what we enjoyed most was the understanding of the kind of time, effort, topped by a huge amount of passion and commitment it takes to create highly innovative  potential best sellers

All smiles- Avi and Jergen 

My personal favourite - The Marshy Berry Waffle sandwich

With Valentines Day approaching and a glorious February weekend to boot, I'm positive that the exciting introductions at the Chocolate Room Oman are all set to  delight young and old alike.  And before I close, I'd like to congratulate Team Chocolate Room for the hard work, team effort, enthusiasm and culinary passion that have helped the outlet grow by leaps and bounds in the very first year of its operations in Muscat.

A fabulous Coffee and a Welsh Rarebit Cooking Demo by renowned Chef Graham Tinsley at the Crowne Plaza Muscat

A gorgeous February morning, a fabulous location overlooking the Gulf Of Oman, inviting blue seas, delicious finger foods and beverages. 

Add to it, a whole lot of fun and the stage was set for a very interesting WGO Coffee morning cum cooking demonstration by visiting Chef Graham Tinsley MBE  who created some 'culinary waves' as the ladies had a great time learning, tasting, catching up with old friends and making some new ones at the Crowne Plaza Muscat this morning. 

Chef Graham Tinsley is all smiles as he hands out some bite sized delights 

 Chef Graham was born in St Helens, Lancashire and began his career in catering at the Midland Hotel in Manchester under the guidance of renowned Chef Gilbert Lefevre. In July 2000, he went in to partnership to buy the Castle Hotel in the ancient North Wales coastal castle town of Conwy. In addition to being awarded an MBE during the Queen’s 80th birthday celebrations in 2006 for his services to the Food Industry , Chef Graham has had numerous opportunities of cooking for Royalty as well as the Emperor of Japan and European Heads of State at Cardiff Castle.

The fabulous location overlooking the Gulf Of Oman

Starting with a taste of a delicious sweet and freshly baked bread

Chef Graham Tinsley all set for the Welsh rarebit demonstration

Welsh rarebit, perhaps the most famous dish of Welsh dishes and is made with a savoury sauce of melted cheese and various other ingredients and served hot, after being poured over slices of toasted bread. Alternately, the hot cheese sauce may be served in a chafing dish like a fondue accompanied by sliced, toasted bread.It is interesting to note that the name of the dish originates from 18th-century Great Britain. 

Answering all our queries patiently


It was a pleasure watching Chef Graham prepare the welsh rarebit and what the ladies enjoyed most was the 'cheese tasting' bit. He had brought a very wide range of cheese from the UK with him and we had the opportunity to sample some 'first time treats' such as onion and ginger based cheese.

Once the rarebit was made, Chef Graham put it on some sliced bread and sent it to the kitchen so that it could be glazed for that final finished look.

I enjoyed the demonstration thoroughly and came back and looked up a few other sites so that I could learn more about this dish. For those of you who may be interested in trying it out for yourselves. 

1. Here is a recipe I've got from www.welshholidaycottages.com

Ingredients

• 225 g grated, strong cheese such as Cheddar or Cheshire
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 level teaspoon dry mustard
• 2 teaspoons flour
• Shake of pepper
• 4 tablespoons beer-preferably , Guinness or milk (Guinness gives a stronger flavour)
• 4 slices bread toasted on 1 side only
• 
  

Method 

1. Put the cheese, butter, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, flour and pepper into a saucepan.
2. Mix well and then add the beer, Guinness or milk to moisten. Ensure its not too wet.
3. Stir over a gentle heat until all is melted, and when it is a thick paste, stop stirring, and swivel it around the saucepan, which it will do quite easily.
4. Leave to cool a little, and meanwhile toast the bread on one side only.
5. Spread the rarebit over the untoasted side and brown under a hot grill.
6. This mixture can be made and kept in the refrigerator for several days if required. 
7. 
   

Memories are truly made of moments like these 

Gorgeous flower beds  that add to the ambience 

A taste of some delicious cheese- this is a ginger flavoured cheddar 

Coffee, cakes and bites 

Memories are truly, truly made of days and moments like these.