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| Abu
Dhabi, U.A.E |
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Society - World
Level Perfection
May 2011 |
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6
Stars & 7 Stripes
Cuisine & Service |
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The Ultimate Award:
Seven Stars and Stripes® |
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| A serene environment of aquamarine blue surrounds you
like a liquid mantle
as
you enter (CLICK HERE) the threshold to
Sayad
Restaurant (CLICK HERE) at the Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi. You simply
follow the line of dolphins featured prominently as a design element on the
thick pile carpet until you pass intricate ultra-clean aquariums filled with
living coral and shells. The mood is created by the carefully choreographed use
of indirect lighting and underwater elements together providing the leitmotif
of a sub-oceanic symphony. |
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| But structure without
substance cannot survive in this world of highly competitive restaurant venues
with customer pressures the likes of instant messaging and social media. Enter
Shaun
Anthony (CLICK HERE), newly appointed Chef de Cuisine for Sayad with 14
years of experience in the culinary field in ten countries, and 3-Michelin
starred training at Gordon Ramsay’s Royal Hospital Road, London under his
belt. Since his auspicious beginning at Sayad in July of 2010, Chef Anthony has
focused on his strong foundation in European fine dining to utilize a keen
interest in modern cooking techniques while being conscious of sustainable
practices and environmental concerns of the modern world. |
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| Sayad Restaurant - Aquarium |
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| After all, Sayad in Arabic loosely means
‘fisherman’, from which we must assume the restaurant can supply the
freshest of seafood to
your
private table (CLICK HERE) from the nearby waters of the Persian Gulf.
Fresh it is and with a modern twist, giving us a hint that Chef Anthony has
influenced his kitchen team to expand their horizons and think out of the box.
A well-run kitchen cannot function without a well-run front of the house to
compliment great food with seamless gracious service in theory making the
complete dining event a memorable one. In our experience regarding tableside
service, we found that the restaurant team lead by Zsombor Mehesz , Sayad
Restaurant’s Manager, proved professionally systematic without being
robotic and genuinely sensitive to the needs of the patron without being
intrusive. |
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Some of the highlights
of Chef Anthony’s cuisine included a degustation menu of ‘modern
seafood’ (as stated on the menu). A Canapé of marinated
white anchovy with crispy potato combo opened our senses with salt and acidity
to wet the palate and prepare it for what was yet to come. An Amuse
Bouche followed with Royal Beluga caviar delicately placed atop a cherry
tomato with smoked tomato consommé poured at the table. Next was an
appetizer of Goat Cheese, Almond, Orange and Strawberry, which presented
itself as lightly coated with almond crumble and brûléed with a
torch to form a crispy, toasty surface. A bottle of 2009 Laurenz V Singing
Grüner Veltliner, Austria provided the much-needed fruit bouquet, as
it was un-oaked with plenty of complexity and simply delightful with this menu.
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| The degustation menu is quite extensive and provides a
glimpse into the resourceful and arty mind of Chef Anthony and his team with
items like Yellow fin Tuna Tartare sitting amidst layers of avocado,
tomato concasse and coriander and Togarashi spice, consisting of seven
ingredients. Or
Norwegian
Salmon (CLICK HERE) brine-cured with a mixture of parsley, dill and
tarragon for 5 hrs and poached en sous vide in olive oil then served with green
peas and crispy salmon skin. |
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| Sayad
Restaurant - Cuisine |
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| Smoked Octopus Carpaccio with peach tamarind
dressing and confit potatoes preceded another course of Pan seared Foie
Gras with strawberry-rhubarb French toast in which the foie gras is pierced
with a pipette filled with hot liquid foie gras and strawberry vanilla syrup.
This was precisely the moment for a fragrant, aromatic and spicy Hugel
Gewurztraminer 2008 from Alsace, France to compliment the aforementioned
courses. |
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| Sayad
Restaurant - Cuisine |
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| One of the highlights of the evening was
Maine
Scallop, Pineapple, Peking Duck and Aromas of 5 spices (CLICK HERE).
This entrée turned out to be the most interesting in which a bowl of
Jasmine tea with coriander, fennel, star anise, clove and cinnamon is placed in
front of you after which boiling water is poured over the spices. Pan-seared
scallop atop pineapple is placed carefully on top of the concoction with the
idea that you not only taste the 5 spices but at the same time you are smelling
the released aroma arousing more of the senses. Australian Barramundi with
Peach, Fennel and Almond proved very succulent served with confit La Ratte
Potatoes and almond crumble, a recurring theme on some other dishes. The peach
combination came in two forms: marinated and as a mousse with a quenelle of
buerre noisette ice cream set into the warmed peach mousse at the last moment.
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| Sayad
Restaurant - Cuisine |
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| We marveled at Chef Anthony’s focus as we moved thorough the
courses and came upon the iconic Wagyu Beef Rump with Wild Mushrooms, Beef
Cheek and Bordelaise Sauce. Tender and flavorful, the meat is well marbled
and has been cooked en sous vide for 48 hours so that the end result is that it
simply melts in your mouth. Earthy and distinctive pieds bleu mushrooms are
enhanced with every swipe of the full-bodied bordelaise sauce. A South African
2006 Haute-Cabriere Pinot Noir from Franschhoek elegantly and slowly
revealed its smoky characteristic while finishing with soft tannins with a bit
of ripe fruit. |
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| 2011
Sayad - Seven Stars and Stripes - Award-Hand-Out |
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| Dessert was nothing less that spectacular with
Executive Pastry Chef / Master Baker Mr. Josef Teuschler’s rendition of
Chocolate Explosion, a triple play of dense layered chocolate, sprayed
with chocolate and served with a chocolate cylinder filled with chocolate
mousse and caramel ice cream. We finished with Disznoko Tokaji Aszu 4
Puttonyos 2004, made sweet from grapes that have developed ‘noble
rot’ – Botrytis, but maintaining an underlying acidity with a touch
of bruleed sugar. We will not forget the fine culinary work that Chef Anthony
and his team have done to bring a new standard of dining to the
Emirates
Palace. |
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by Edmund & Thorsten Buehrmann
Editor: John
Lomitola
Editor-in-Chief: Ingrid Lemme |
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| © 2011 ~ Seven Stars and Stripes,
Inc. |
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