Restaurant review Great little bowls Injy El-Kashef tries to remain seated It's the beginning of the week again; it's lunch with the girls again; it's all gossip, giggles and evil again. And this time, the venue lends itself perfectly to such terrible practices: we are to have a Lebanese lunch at the Semiramis's Sabaya. We were there before the kitchen's dinner opening hours (6pm) and therefore had to take our places in the adjacent "lounge". Now, this lounge à l'orientale consists in sets of huge cussions thrown carefully about the floor, centering around a low copper tabliya, on which a handful of bowls containing salted nuts, olives and dried fruit are made very handy to us. In the centre of the lounge is an enormous fruit bowl, its colourful and delicate composition contrasting nicely with the surrounding solid pale colour scheme. We know we will be sharing some wine, and so ordered the wine list, despite being perfectly aware that red Omar Khayyam it will end up being. Old habits die hard though, and going through the wine list is no exception. Once comfortable with our glasses it was time to delve into conversation; but finding one's balance on the cussions -- and maintaining it -- proved more difficult than we thought. Soon enough our appetisers were ready, and so we moved to the simple, elegant, cozy and quiet dining area. Whites, off-whites and cremes surrounded us, high-back upholstered chairs seated us, excellent oriental music entertained us -- the atmosphere was perfect. The appetisers came in little bowls, which also meant in smallish quantities, despite their relatively high prices. The chicken livers were so good that even our liver-abhorring friend helped herself at least a couple of times. True, they did not bathe in any thick sauce, but were deliciously seasoned before being grilled on a live fire. (I know it was live because every once in a while the faces of the girls sitting opposite me seemed to light up as though they were emerging from hell's flames; all because only a glass window separated us from the grill right behind us.) The four fresh and slightly doughy sambousek pieces were filled with sharp tangy spinach (at least one whole lemon tree must have gone into that concoction), while the dry halloum cheese with olive oil and greens brought back very distant memories of meshh cheese. It was a great little bowl to nibble on, with the accompanying soft shami bread and assorted fresh vegetables (capsicum, lettuce leaves, fresh mint, carrots, green peppers, cherry tomatoes) in the huge glass bowl at the centre of the table. Enough nibbling though, when generous entrées finally make their way to the table. My selection of grilled fish was absolutely divine; tender, tasty and subtle, the bits of seabass, mullet and salmon were also covered in a light garlicky sauce that blended wonderfully with the yellow basmati rice. My poor friends had no such praise for their food. The mixed grill of different meat cuts was not juicy, moist, tender and seasoned as one would expect from a Levantine grill, while the boneless chicken plate was as bland as... perhaps tofu would be going too far, but almost. All was not lost, however, as our collective dessert, suggestively called Layali Lebnan (Lebanese Nights) was hoovered off with gusto, banana slices, cream, honey, vanilla ice-cream and all -- at least nobody ate the plate, and that is surprising indeed. A very pleasant lunch for three, despite some culinary disappointements, came to LE400. Sabaya, Semiramis Intercontinental, Nile Corniche Tel 355 7171
