Open Rice Eat’s A Date: Persian Delights At Circles Cafe, Makati Shangri-La

 Open Rice is a restaurant search engine that provides detailed information to over 19,000 restaurants in Manila and other provinces of the Philippines. It also is a platform for hundreds of their registered users to share their experiences via a review of their chosen restaurants.

Open Rice has a segment called Eats A Date wherein a few of their members are able to have a dinning experience in a particular establishment and unleash the inner foodie in them. Luckily, I was part of Open Rice Eat’s A Date event at Circles Cafe, Makati Shangri-La that happened last Monday.

PERSIAN DELIGHTS AT CIRCLES EVENT CAFÉ

IN MAKATI SHANGRI-LA, MANILA

 

Makati Shangri-La, Manila introduces Persian Delights every Monday evening at Circles Event Café, featuring the exotic cuisine of Middle Eastern Asia. Discover this ancient cuisine prepared by Executive Sous Chef Hamed Ghayedi, who brings the flavors of Persia every Monday evening at Circles Event Café. A native of Iran, Chef Hamed brings with him over ten years of extensive culinary experience in Middle Eastern cuisine as he has also worked for luxury hotels and resorts in the Middle East, including Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa.

An exclusive celebration was held to commemorate the launch of Persian Delights with an evening of gastronomic Persian spread prepared by Chef Hamed and a special belly dance performance. Guests were invited to sample an array of authentic Persian dishes, flavored in a mix of spices influenced by South Asian cuisine.

Chef Hamed Ghayedi, Executive Sous Chef at Circles Event Cafe

Chef Hamed indulged the guests with his creations that included salad options of hammous, moutable (eggplant paste), tabouleh (vegetable salad), fattoush (bread salad) and Arabic pita bread.

Persian dishes will be available in the buffet spread every Monday at Circles Event Cafe

The main course was filled with a mix of grilled Persian fare such as lamb kubideh, lamb chops, chicken larri, prawns and fish, fesenjan or duck stew, polow safid or white rice, and zreshk polow with chicken, (rice with chicken and condiments).

Guests also had a taste of traditional Arabic desserts with mixed baklavamahalabiya (milk custard), kunafa (pastry with cheese filling), and a platter of fresh fruits.

Other new dishes to look forward to in the Persian Delights buffet every Monday evening are the cold mezzeh or appetizers, Moroccan lamb soup, an extensive selection of kebab, falooda or a cold beverage popular in South Asia, and mixed baklava in the dessert station. Lamb is served at the live carving station with kebsa rice served with spices, and the Persian hot salsa, daghous sauce.

Apart from Persian Delights every Monday evening, guests may enjoy the rest of the week with Italian cuisine with Notte Italiana every Tuesday, local flavors with Filipino Fiesta every Wednesday, Indian cuisine with Spice Up, India! every Thursday, the ocean’s finest at Seafood Market every Friday, steaks and other barbecued favorites with Off the Grill every Saturday, and a hearty breakfast to start the day with Sunday Brunch.

For inquiries and reservations, call the Restaurant Reservations and Information Centre at 840 0884 or e-mail [email protected].

We were able to sample the Persian delights dishes and I must say the experience certainly was delightful.

The ambiance pretty much spells Arabian nights complete with a “magic” carpet, shish, silk embroidered pillows and all the glittery things that spells Persia.

Let’s start of with the Cold Mezzeh (Cold Appetizers)

This eggplant appetizer has a zesty twist courtesy of the lemon.

The fattoush has a playful texture that will prepare your palette for a gastronomic feast.

Circles’ hammous is the creamiest and most flavorful one I’ve had in my life, it has a hint of nuttiness in it. You can never have too many hammous which is best enjoyedt with their Arabic pita bread. Indeed it’s a perfect match!

Just as flavorful as the Hammous, but this one has a hint of sweetness to it.

Hot Mezzeh (hot appetizer)

Care for some Meat sambousik? The crunchy appetizer was fried to perfection and is a tummy-filling appetizer for those who want to get their appetites on the mood. Seasoned with just the right amount of spices, it sure is enough to make you crave for more.

The main course has lived up to my expectation. Juicy succulent Iranian mixed grill of lamb kubideh, lamb chops, chicken larry, prawns and fish. No, they’re not dry and hard like a rock. In fact, they’re juicy enough (marinated for at least 8 hours) that even without any dip or sauce you’ll surely enjoy these grilled goodies.

This duck stew dish reminds me much of our local dinugguan (blood stew) that has a sour hint of flavor.

Desserts are my thing. For someone who’s very happy with anything that has chocolate I was surprised that I actually enjoyed this famous Middle East dessert called Baklawa. It’s creamy & caramel-y. The layers were bursting with sweetness and at the same time a hint of spice. Cinnamon perhaps? Whatever it is, it definitely has become my favorite.

 

The service was impeccable. We were assisted with everything we needed. Making sure we were comfortable and have been given utmost attention & care. Definitely a characteristic of a five star hotel.

Thank you Open Rice Philippines & Circles Cafe, Shangri-La for the wonderful Persian night! 🙂

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