Minding your Carpaccios - foodie review with a twist!
Last month, believe-it-or-not I was on holiday in the ultra-low profile state of Kuwait in the Northern Gulf. My hosts went out of their way to show me round the place where I had spent most of my childhood. I was there last visiting in 09. I was pleasantly surpised by the spot of construction activity going on in Kuwait City; the socio-political mayhem regardless. Wish that were true of the local culinary scene as well which has remained more or less static or even regressed perhaps, leaning heavily toward the usual casual American diners, and more of them. Imagine my delight therefore, when asked out to a fine dine Italian place- Bice ristorante at the super Dallas Hambra luxury centre downtown. The look and feel of Al Hambra is most Hong Kong IFC-centre-esque, if you choose to ignore the footfalls and retail invoicing volumes by comparison. Bice is conveniently located on level 2, it was I think, and the ushers were everything that ushers should be: warm in their welcome and non discriminatory never mind they were not Italian but transplants from the Philippines, Vietnam or Thailand.
We ordered a bottle of the non alcoholic French Libanese wine- something we have sworn against doing in the past to which our collective memories caved in, so we ended up being sold a lemon, at an outrageous price. I also had their signature mocktail which was a decent concoction. The salads were alright, not worthy of an emperor’s ransom but good enough for a sheikh’s, nevertheless. I find the greens Le Brasserie over at the J W Marriott downtown does, to be among the best I have come across in K-town. Live cellar music is a star draw for this touch of Amalfi in Arabia so what if it’s only Friday evenings they get a pianist to play for them. I’d have thought they could at least have live music Thursdays through Saturdays but alas! The night we went was a dry night in the sense there was no live music; whatever else, were you thinking?!. It is a large group friendly place though not a child or a pet friendly place, at all. You won’t find any private dine cubicles here; you know the kind that went up all over the place in the wake of the Talibanisation of society in Kuwait. Heaven knows what goes on inside ‘em!! Some argue these private cabins are meant for diners who prefer mixing their food with drink besides the obvious: making love to their belles. There used to be places in the Sharq area back in the swinging 90s where the maitre d’ would go the last mile fetching a bottle of cognac, sake or pink champagne for your indulgence in the safety and comfort of your private cocoon. But that’s just hear-say! No reason to let your spirits soar! :)
Anyway, the Bice is very atmospheric and has an air of cool sophistication and aristocratic eclat to it cue the vintage chandelier in the centre of the room. The service is meticulous: caring and sensitive without it being over-bearing. The crew know their F & B well for a change, and considering it’s only a restaurant establishment in Kuwait City they can make remarkably good small talk. The bread basket is as good as they come but be wary of ordering the soup which can be rather filling. If my memory serves me right, I think it was the red pumpkin soup that my host ordered only to regret it afterward since he was stuffed when it came time for the mains. As for the gourmand in me, the piece de resistance was the Canadian lobster carpaccio with caviar and mango chutney: an item I will most certainly cherish on my last meal table. We hoped we could end the evening on a not so vanilla note with their home churned ice cream but that was not to be since the cooling system had gone caput that evening. What a shame! So we tiramisu-ed into the night instead.
Bottomline is if Figs by Tod English knocks your mittens off then Bice definitely won’t disappoint.
Would I take my custom back to Bice- Ristorante if I am in town again? YES, I would keep going back to them again and again and again, not so much for the food, the service or the ambience but because I think their Italian manager is super sexy even by Italian standard. God, I have to pinch myself hard to stop thinking sensuous thoughts about Him- The One and Only One; my desert island fantasy.
Bon appetit et La Dolce Vita!
We ordered a bottle of the non alcoholic French Libanese wine- something we have sworn against doing in the past to which our collective memories caved in, so we ended up being sold a lemon, at an outrageous price. I also had their signature mocktail which was a decent concoction. The salads were alright, not worthy of an emperor’s ransom but good enough for a sheikh’s, nevertheless. I find the greens Le Brasserie over at the J W Marriott downtown does, to be among the best I have come across in K-town. Live cellar music is a star draw for this touch of Amalfi in Arabia so what if it’s only Friday evenings they get a pianist to play for them. I’d have thought they could at least have live music Thursdays through Saturdays but alas! The night we went was a dry night in the sense there was no live music; whatever else, were you thinking?!. It is a large group friendly place though not a child or a pet friendly place, at all. You won’t find any private dine cubicles here; you know the kind that went up all over the place in the wake of the Talibanisation of society in Kuwait. Heaven knows what goes on inside ‘em!! Some argue these private cabins are meant for diners who prefer mixing their food with drink besides the obvious: making love to their belles. There used to be places in the Sharq area back in the swinging 90s where the maitre d’ would go the last mile fetching a bottle of cognac, sake or pink champagne for your indulgence in the safety and comfort of your private cocoon. But that’s just hear-say! No reason to let your spirits soar! :)
Anyway, the Bice is very atmospheric and has an air of cool sophistication and aristocratic eclat to it cue the vintage chandelier in the centre of the room. The service is meticulous: caring and sensitive without it being over-bearing. The crew know their F & B well for a change, and considering it’s only a restaurant establishment in Kuwait City they can make remarkably good small talk. The bread basket is as good as they come but be wary of ordering the soup which can be rather filling. If my memory serves me right, I think it was the red pumpkin soup that my host ordered only to regret it afterward since he was stuffed when it came time for the mains. As for the gourmand in me, the piece de resistance was the Canadian lobster carpaccio with caviar and mango chutney: an item I will most certainly cherish on my last meal table. We hoped we could end the evening on a not so vanilla note with their home churned ice cream but that was not to be since the cooling system had gone caput that evening. What a shame! So we tiramisu-ed into the night instead.
Bottomline is if Figs by Tod English knocks your mittens off then Bice definitely won’t disappoint.
Would I take my custom back to Bice- Ristorante if I am in town again? YES, I would keep going back to them again and again and again, not so much for the food, the service or the ambience but because I think their Italian manager is super sexy even by Italian standard. God, I have to pinch myself hard to stop thinking sensuous thoughts about Him- The One and Only One; my desert island fantasy.
Bon appetit et La Dolce Vita!
posted by Men Who Do Cleavages at 11:11 am
1 Comments:
Cooking French and Italian without the use of wine leaves much room for improvisation. Sadly, you won't find the Chilean sea bass or the John Dory tasting the same in Kuwait as you would say,in mainland Europe. Hope the soon to open upscale Verandah at Harvey Nics is able to do justice to its namesake in Hong Kong managed by Sir Michael Kadoorie's Peninsula group of hotels. The ingredients and produce they source is top class for the most part but it's the flavors of the sauces and the absence of wine in the cooking that leaves much to be desired.
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