When you think sushi, you think raw fish topped with Asian fusion ingredients. Sushi chefs have been experimenting with different ingredients for years to upgrade the sushi variety and make it more attractive to diners around the world.
In Saudi Arabia, raw is not an attraction to local diners. They are constantly on the hunt for crispy and spicy rolls. Ocean Basket, the seafood restaurant in Jeddah offers a number of creative recipes for those adventurous diners who are looking for an innovative taste.
The South African restaurant invited Chef Pepe all the way from Greece to upgrade their menu with a Mediterranean twist. This franchised restaurant has over 201 restaurants in 16 countries around the globe, all of them share the same menu and will be sharing the same MediterrAsian sushi dishes.
We met with Chef Pepe for a quick tasting of the new menu and were pleasantly surprised with the explosion of flavors it offers. The fusion of two familiar tastes — classic Mediterranean and classic Asian — to make their own MediterrAsian dishes was a unique experience.
Chef Pepe has over 15 years of experience and has bagged the title of Sushi World Cup Champion, World’s Most Creative Chef 2014. He is a member of World Sushi Skill and All Japan Sushi Association, and is a certified westerner to get Kuro Obi, he also assisted Kazato San with sushi for the Japanese embassy in Copenhagen.
“I was looking to come up with something different yet attractive. The trick was to create a sushi menu that matches different tastes all around the world,” he said.
The sushi dishes below are now available at all Ocean Basket outlets around the world:
• Tamara Gunkan: A boat-shaped sushi with rice, wrapped in zucchini, topped with tarama and fried calamari.
• Kypro Prawn Roll: A futomaki with rice, fresh prawn, lettuce and soy oregano sauce.
• Lemon Salmon Roll: A California roll-style sushi with rice, fresh salmon and zesty lemon mayo.
• Crunchy Athena Roll: A California roll-style sushi with rice, prawn and pickled red onion.
• Salmon Tomato Roll: A California roll-style sushi with rice, fresh salmon, basil leaves, onion and tomato.
• Wasabi Prawn: A boat-shaped sushi with rice, fresh prawn and wasabi mayo.
• Calamari Gunkan: A boat-shaped sushi with rice wrapped in zucchini, topped with tzatziki and fried calamari.
“I have initially created 25 recipes, but after close observation and constant tasting and reviewing, only the above mentioned were chosen as the top and best combined tastes of the Mediterranean and Asian cuisines,” said Chef Pepe.
Below are some of the recipes that Chef Pepe created for Ocean Basket:
Calamari Gunkan (Three pieces)
5 g calamari deep fried
5 g sliced zucchini/ baby marrow
2 g tzatziki
2 g spring onion
15 g rice
Method:
Shape a rice ball.
Wrap zucchini silver around it.
Spoon tzatziki on rice.
Top with fried calamari head.
Garnish with chopped spring onion.
Hot tip:
• The calamari should be deep fried per order.
• Calamari should be crispy.
• Control the amount of tzatziki you add. The tzatziki shouldn’t take over the flavor.
• If the zucchini slices become too dry to work with, to help soften them, you can place them in the carrot vinegar mix for a short time (no more than 1 hour).
Crunchy Athena Roll (8 pieces)
35 g prawn mix
10 g red onion pickles
15 g avocado
120 g rice
1 nori sheet
Top with tempura flakes
Prawn mix
100 g steamed prawn
10 g mayonnaise
Lemon zest from 1 lemon
Juice from ½ lemon
Red onion pickles (Sushi Zu)
1 liter rice vinegar
1 kg sugar
Method:
Make California roll with prawn mix, avocado and pickled red onion. Top with tempura flakes.
Hot tip:
• Prepare the crunchy tempura flakes.
• Be careful not to zest the bitter lemon part of the skin (the white part). Only zest the yellow part.
• Thinly slice the red onion before pickling.
At newly opened Jeddah restaurant, sushi gets a Mediterranean twist
At newly opened Jeddah restaurant, sushi gets a Mediterranean twist
Where We Are Going Today: Thaiya in Riyadh
RIYADH: Located on Riyadh’s Tahlia Street, Thaiya is one of the city’s newer Thai restaurants. With five-star reviews circulating on social media, we stopped by to see whether it lives up to the hype.
The menu is concise, focusing on Thai staples including tom yum soup, curries, pad Thai and mango sticky pudding.
For those starting with soup, the classic seafood tom yum is the better choice over the creamy version, which leaned too heavily on coconut cream and dulled the soup’s signature tang.
Among the starters, the shrimp dumplings stood out. Light, well-seasoned and neatly portioned, they worked well as a shared opening dish before the mains.
The mango avocado salad, however, was less successful. Heavy on raw onions and lacking textural contrast, it proved difficult to recommend.
For mains, the chicken satay was fairly standard and nothing to write home about. The fried rice emerged as a highlight, while the shrimp pad Thai was generously portioned and well-suited for sharing, with a noticeable amount of shrimp.
Presentation was polished and portions moderate. Overall, the food was solid but less flavorful than other established Thai restaurants in the city, particularly when compared to favorites such as Thai Soi and Phet-Phet.
Service was a strong point with staffers knowledgeable and attentive throughout the meal.
The atmosphere was warm and cozy, featuring dim lighting and quiet background music that made for a pleasant dining experience.
In terms of value, the prices are reasonable when compared to other Thai establishments in the area. But when the time comes to settle the tab, hold back on reaching for your wallet.
What truly sets this restaurant apart is a unique game of chance. One person per table can participate, with outcomes ranging from a complementary bill for double sixes to smaller perks such as free dessert or discounts on a future visit.
So, is Thaiya the best Thai restaurant in Riyadh? It shows promise, but greater consistency and bolder flavors would be needed to claim that title.
