Restaurant Review: Fusions, Gulf Hotel, Bahrain
- Lifestyles
- Travel & Leisure
- Restaurant Reviews
Author: Kyle Pakka
Released 24 June 2005
When it comes to dining out in Bahrain, the adventurous diner is spoiled when it comes to choice of cuisines.
From Japanese sushi to Indian curries, and from Tex-Mex tacos to Iranian kebabs, hungry visitors can find it all on the small island kingdom. The choice of venue is also wide-ranging, from jazz bistros to tropical lagoons and everything in between, usually on an epic scale.
We’ve always felt something was missing from the dining scene in Bahrain: a cozy, intimate place with big-city ambience and a menu that doesn’t just offer dishes from different regions, but combines them in imaginative ways. We found just what we were looking for in Fusions in the Gulf Hotel.
Located on the sixth floor of the south wing of the Gulf Hotel, Fusions serves up food that is intriguing and deeply satisfying in an atmosphere at once both welcoming and classy.
Stepping into the restaurant is to be transported not to a faux cantina or Thai temple, but to a sophisticated celebration of urban Manama. Large windows overlook the tropical garden of the hotel grounds and offer a sweeping view of the Al Fateh Grand Mosque, encircled by the streams of colored lights from passing traffic and the neon lights of the city skyline.
Time your visit to coincide with sunset to enjoy the changing hues of the sky, the light show put on by the mosque, traffic and skyline, and beyond them, on the horizon, the waters of the Gulf as they transition from aquamarine to dark blue and finally to a slate black glimmering with reflected light.
The sensation of being on top of the city, literally and in spirit, is bolstered by the smart touches in décor, neither minimalist or overstuffed but rather urbane and comfortable. The windows are framed by burgundy curtains, rather like theater curtains, that further enhance the stunning views. Art-glass sconces splash warm light on the walls, and the ceiling glitters with fiber optic lighting, creating a cheerful and light-hearted mood.
The tables are miniature art galleries, with glassed-over sunken wells, each with a different tableau, such as seashells, rock gardens, jewelry, coins, and stamps. Salt and pepper grinders are on every table, the silverware is elegant and hefty, and the chairs are comfortable.
Fusions runs theme nights and Wednesday, the night we visited, is Jazz Night. The resident band is a quartet from Australia called Red Shoes, composed of guitar, stand-up bass, drummer, and a female vocalist who covers tunes from Norah Jones, Diana Krall and other jazz divas. The restaurant offers other theme menus on Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Formula 1 weekend and other occasions.
The small size of the restaurant, roughly 15 tables, combined with the views, the setting, and the quiet jazz produce a feeling of cozy intimacy and urban sophistication not found anywhere else in Bahrain.
The ambience at Fusions makes it a fine choice for a special night out while the inventive menu makes it a must for serious foodies and people in search of a menu unique to Bahrain.
The fusion in play at Fusions is a blending of Asian and Middle Eastern techniques and seasonings with traditional European ingredients. The kitchen staff – clearly enjoying their work behind the sandblasted glass wall – translate this philosophy into stunning combinations of flavor and texture.
This approach is applied across the entire menu, from appetizers to dessert. Dishes often contrast sweet and sour, such as the pairing of goat cheese with caramelized onions or mix unexpected ingredients to spectacular effect, such as in the lobster and mango spring roll.
Appetizers, ranging from 2.5 to 3.7 Bahraini dinar (BD), include warm magret duck atop a Chinese pear salad and fresh greens (magret is the breast of a duck that has produced foie gras); seared tuna carpaccio; smoked salmon with mustard cream; and grilled, spiced prawns with lemon-chili butter.
There’s an extensive soup and salad menu, with choices in the 2 to 3.7 BD range, including a spicy marinated chicken salad with fire-roasted tomato salsa; cigale (Bahraini crawfish), Gulf prawn and hamour salad; asparagus and mango salad; tandoori salmon and seared scallop salad; seafood chowder; and barley, herb and vegetable clear soup.
The choice of main dishes from the a la carte menu is divided into seafood, beef, lamb and veal dishes ranging from 4.5 to 8 BD. The beef selections focus on prime cuts such as grilled sirloin with mashed sweet potatoes and carrot puree; tenderloin with brie and a balsamic reduction; ribeye steak with an onion and mushroom demi-glace; and lemon grass coated veal piccata. There are a couple of lamb choices, including pan-roasted loin with a gruyere crust, roasted vegetables and a five-spice au jus.
The seafood choices are all standouts: blackened tuna, lemon sole, prawns and scallops, baby hamour, shellfish bisque, cigale, and salmon, all prepared a variety of ways with an array of intriguing side dishes. There are also three “Chef’s Icon” dishes: salmon sashimi; Sanuki udon noodles with prawns and mussels; and five-spiced duck.
The wine menu features seven white wines from France, three from Italy, five from Australia and choices from the “Sunshine States”: Chile, California, and South Africa. There are nine French red wines, four Italian, five Australian, and three from the Sunshine States, four champagnes, plus French and Portuguese rosés and a full bar.
In an especially welcome touch, wine by the glass is poured from a special Napa Valley dispenser that locks out oxygen, thus preserving the wine’s aroma and taste.
Jazz Night offers a rotating set menu of four courses. The night we dined, the menu was two appetizers (tomato and buffalo mozzarella cheese salad and salmon sashimi), a choice of main course (beef tenderloin or filet of hamachi), and lemon tart for dessert, for 14 BD.
The choice of what to eat was a struggle, but the surroundings were pure pleasure. We took in the expansive views while the buzz of families and couples talking and laughing rose and fell, and the upbeat strains of the jazz quartet flowed like the streaks of colored light from the traffic. We were made to feel perfectly at ease by the attentive, but unobtrusive staff who obviously enjoy what they are doing – perhaps the best service we’ve ever had in Bahrain.
We ordered glasses of the house white wine, Bouchard Aine et Fils, to test the special decanter system, and it did not disappoint: the wine was crisp and refreshing, without the sour notes that can weaken house selections.
Our waiter brought us a lagniappe (a little unexpected bonus), a dish of spicy ginger seafood dumplings with teriyaki sauce tinged with cilantro. This was closely followed by a basket of hot thin foccacia with pesto and a olive tapenade on the side. The bread was divine, hot and crusty, and we made short work of the pesto and tapenade.
Our appetizers, like every dish we saw served, were works of art on plates. Both dishes were excellent, with the slab of goat cheese on caramelized onion a real standout. The onions were sweet and melted in the mouth, while the cheese was creamy and salty. The fusion of the different textures and tastes beautifully demonstrated the restaurant’s approach. The dish awakened our taste buds from their long slumber of the usual fare, and brightened our palettes, reminding us of the joy in discovering new ways of preparing classic ingredients.
We also devoured a warm and flavorful asparagus salad of big, bright green spears heaped with mango cubes. The salad was bright and tangy.
Our main courses arrived, prawns and scallops on mashed potatoes for me, and hamachi for my wife. The grilled scallops were smoky, crusty on the outside, tender and sweet inside. The shrimp, a generous eight in number, were tinged dark orange from the fire and the seared-in juices popped in my mouth when I bit into them.
Yellow tail tuna has different names in Japan, depending on the age and size of the fish. Hamachi is a young yellow tail tuna about 8 to 10 inches in length, and is commonly served as sashimi in Japan. The taste is similar to sea bass, and this piece was cooked beautifully.
Side dishes were served in platters for us to share, and we dug into a mound of garlic sautéed baby corn, zucchini, broccoli, onion, and several kinds of mushroom, including skinny enokitake. The vegetables were crunchy, not soggy, with a delicate touch of soy – a delightful accompaniment. We also had a big bowl of mellow risotto with mushroom.
Dessert choices carry on the fusion theme, with such choices as sago pearl pudding on mango puree, raspberry and mango compote with vanilla ice cream, and green tea tiramisu, plus specialty coffees. We fall back on a more traditional choice, unable to resist a gorgeous brick of rich, warm chocolate cake. The cake, floating on a swirled sea of chocolate sauce, is topped with whipped cream and a cape gooseberry, with strawberry ice cream on the side. The luscious cake transports us into food Valhalla.
As we make our way down to the lobby, our talk is all about the wonderful meal we’ve just enjoyed, and about what we’ll order next time. Clearly, Fusions, with its mélange of flavors and inventive dishes served in a romantic setting, is the type of restaurant that demands repeated visits.