Farah Baig experiences the height of culinary innovation with Maki’s exciting take on Japanese food.
On our hunt for a culinary extravaganza this month, our tastebuds were wooed by true creativity at Maki - a renowned Japanese fusion restaurant located at the Bahrain World Trade Centre.
The interiors and hospitality, courtesy of our host Glen, are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the fine dining experience at Maki. Glen explained that we’d be trying a curation of new items on the menu aside from some crowd favourites.
I prepped my tastebuds with a refreshing Virgin Strawberry Mojito for what I would soon learn was a Japanese feast. To whet our appetite, we dug into the Oliver Maki Salad - a blend of fresh salmon, crabsticks, avocado, iceberg lettuce and more in Maki’s special virgin olive oil mixture.
For our appetiser we enjoyed the Shrimp N Filo Nest which was delightfully crunchy and has the perfect balance of flavours with a touch of sweetness from the sauces. Next was the Tsurai Shake Sashimi, which is nothing short of a work of art; the salmon is embellished with truffle pearls, pozu sauce and green chili and is best enjoyed with a squeeze of fresh lime dusted with spicy Togarashi powder which adds another dimension of flavour. Overall, the sashimi was melt-in-your-mouth divine with the perfect amount of acidity and pleasant spiciness.
The Thea Nigiri Sushi is perfect for those who prefer their Japanese cuisine with cooked seafood as it’s topped off with torched salmon, flavourful eel paste, cool slices of avocado, more of the spicy Togarashi and a generous drizzle of special virgin olive oil. This was followed by the Aishu Maki - masterfully draped in a tangy olive and tomato wrap with brown rice and salmon – one of the healthy options on the menu.
Maki does nothing by half measure, so next we enjoyed the Sushi Symphony - five distinct sushis, each very different from the next in terms of toppings, texture and flavour profiles. It truly is a symphony with the vegetarian, tuna, salmon, white fish and Hamachi sushis sporting a medley of wildly different toppings at the chef’s discretion – a song composed by the masterful hands of the chef, if you must. A truly creative treat for any culinary enthusiast.
For the warm mains, we loved the Smoked Short Ribs which rested on a bed of Oolong leaves. The boneless meat is extremely tender, pleasantly salty and sweet – quite possibly the most succulent I’ve ever had. We couldn’t possibly dine at a Japanese restaurant and not tuck into some Teppanyaki, so next we enjoyed the Akagome Prawn Teppanyaki with natural unpolished red rice.
The pièce de resistance had to be the Chocolate lava cake which caught our eye as it left our kitchen due to its exquisite plating. It’s filled with lovely tart matcha, topped with a toffee crisp and homemade vanilla ice cream and has an added side caramelised banana. It’s the ultimate indulgence.
Needless to say, Maki is the very EPITOME of fine dining and anyone exploring Bahrain’s dining scene absolutely must give it a try.
