• Home
• /
• Entertainment

All at sea

Step into Pergolas and the sight of all the fresh seafood around will leave you sea-struck. Whether it is the tuna mousse or the maki tempura that has you tongue-tied, look no further

THE AMOUNT of food laid out at buffets in the emirate never ceases to amaze me. And I had thought I had seen quite a bit of it, until I came to the Seafood Night at Pergolas, Al Murooj Rotana's speciality restaurant.

Seafood is often considered a speciality cuisine – an indulgence in keeping with the rarity of the ingredients. After all how often do you get to see oysters or lobsters while out at sea!

For seafood aficionado, the lavish spread at Pergolas – the buffet boasts of some 100 different varieties (give or take a few) cooked any way you like from Thai to Italian to Chinese, Mexican or Asian – is a veritable who is who of the underworld.

Clam, oyster, perch, trout, crab, oyster, swordfish, shrimps, hammour, Cigalist, Salmon, Omani lobster, mussels - you name it, and it is yours for the tasting.

So if you are a fish person — you can feast on the umpteen number of preparations here from Salmon with lemon butter dressing to the Pan-fried perch fish coated with coriander seeds, cilantro, cumin and crushed Sumatran pepper corns -(but be warned, the spices can be a bit overpowering on this one if you are not used to it)

There is the Asian Fish Curry with fried shallots and basil leaves for those with an exotic tastebud though, I can assure you it tastes nothing like what we are used to cooking!

If you have a soft spot for crustaceans, don't miss out the macadamia crusted Thai soft shell crab served with a sweet chili dip that is both crunchy and chewy.

For all those who can stomach sushi (the new ‘it’ food), there is a separate counter laid out with attractive strips of some of the rarest and most expensive fishes from around the world. And as Executive Chef Joachim Textor assures us, they are prepared fresh and stocked accordingly so diners are assured they are eating it almost right off the sea shelf.

The Dungeness Crab Mousse Timbale with fresh herbs in a light curry foam came in a delightful cup that proved a treat to scoop out. Some of the other delicacies that had us swooning were the breaded mussels and crab cake with tomato and ginger salsa.

Pizza stations, open grills, carving stations, live cooking, salad bar along with hot and cold buffet - what more can you ask for when it comes to cooking?

The best thing about the buffet, however, was the individual servings of deserts as well as salads and main course laid out on the table. It ensures that you try out everything while at the same time minimising wastage from taking too much.

The desert table was again piled high with individual servings of chocolate souffles and mini pastries of all flavours and hues. Kids had the option of gobbling up the fruity jellies while adults can sample the yoghurt mousee with wild berries or the freshly bakes Mille Feuille.

For those wishing to go easy on the calorie-high delicacies, there is the cut fruits situated right next to a tempting chocolate fountain. Who can blame one for dipping a blood red strawberry into the fountain of sin for a deliciously chocolatey taste! You could also alternatively try out the banana fritters hot off the girdle with liquorices.

All in all a feast for the eye as well as the palate.

The seafood buffet is on every Tuesday at Pergolas restaurant at Al Murooj Rotana