Kahraman is an Arabic themed restaurant that recently opened in the Southern Sun, and it is worth a try if you seek an unusual food pairing, impeccable service and quiet ambiance.
The décor is modern, low-lit and has all the flourishes a diner might expect in a restaurant that specialises in the food of the Middle East, but Kahraman is different. It has unexpectedly fused the cuisine of the Middle East with the cuisine of Japan by building in a sushi bar and hiring a master sushi chef.
We are greeted immediately and led to a spacious table set very far away from other diners – there are not many there yet as it was early. There are large windows that peer out onto a festively lit pool area.
The starter menu is extensive, divided into hot and cold specialities, soups and salads. We are torn between going with traditional starters that we know and love and ones that we have not heard of before. We decide to try both. We go with the Arabic-spiced rubbed calamari with green lime mayonnaise and, on the suggestion of your server, the fresh rocca salad with duck confit, halawa dressing and pine nuts.
The meal starts off well. The calamari is perfectly cooked. The spices are a complement to the rings as opposed to being overpowering, and the dipping sauce is well balanced. The fresh rocca salad is also flavourful and crisp. We have not tried halawa dressing before. The server explains that halawa means ‘sweetness’ in Arabic. She describes the dressing as sweet and creamy, but not overly sweet. She is spot on. The halawa dressing perfectly complements the slight bitterness of the rocca and the briny quality of the duck confit.
For the mains, we decide we should take an ‘East meets West ‘approach and try both of the cuisines offered on the menu. There was no question that we would consume sushi since it’s here–it is one of our favourites. We order the salmon nigiri and a spider roll, which is battered, deep-fried soft shell crab with cucumber, avocado, daikon sprouts or lettuce, and spicy mayonnaise, rolled inside nori and sushi rice.
The Arabic main to order is a harder choice. We are torn between the lamb tagine and the grilled free-range lamb chops. We turn again to our capable server who asks us several questions about what we are in the mood for
and confirms our decision to go with the medium rare grilled lamb chops.
Both the sushi and the lamb chops are served on pitch black, matte stone tiles, which make our food stand out.
The grilled lamb turns out to be a good choice. The chops are cooked according to our expectations and served over a bed of blanched chopped vegetables, which are lightly dressed. The nigiri is fresh, simple and elegant, the way good sushi should be. The portions are perfect.
There was no room left for dessert, but the menu was tempting. The dessert menu adheres to traditional Middle Eastern sweet fare.
We enjoy having the spacious dining room and the attention of the staff virtually to ourselves. Kahraman is a perfect choice if you have trouble deciding which cuisine to go out for. The unlikely pairing is perhaps not for everyone, but we were quite impressed with the service, the food and the unusual cuisine combination.
Make sure you’re looking good when you come here, the dress code is smart casual dress.
The bill (for two):
Fresh rocca salad Dhs50
Fried calamari Dhs50
Grilled lamb chops Dhs165
Sake nigiri Dhs28
Spider roll maki Dhs55
Total (excl. service) Dhs348
