From now until 28th July 2017, One Ninety Restaurant at Four Seasons Singapore has Chef Adnan Al Masri from Four Seasons Doha preparing a delectable selection of home style food, clay pot dishes and grilled meats.
The dishes are all inspired from the countryside of Damascus in Syria where Chef Adnan comes from. He is also heavily inspired by his mother’s cooking of traditional Arabic food, one which uses a variety of ingredients such as olives, mint, yoghurt and many other types of condiments and vegetables.
mezze spread
The format at One Ninety is still the same – that of a semi-buffet. There is a spread in one corner of the restaurant featuring appetizers/salads and desserts. Don’t miss out on the mouthwatering mezze dips which include hummus, mutabbal as well as a few other that you won’t otherwise see in Singapore. I got a bit carried away with them at the start of the meal – especially with the savory beetroot dip. The spicy garlic hummus also went nicely with a piece or two of warm bread.
The mains are categorized into three and these are:
Home Style Favorites
Chef Adnan classifies all his dishes as home cooked dishes but this is more evident with the home style favorites – just the type of meals you’d expect to have with a warm family in the Middle East.
The Chicken Mosakhan captures one’s imagination immediately as soon as it is served. While the dish is more common as a wrap, it appears here in One-Ninety in a similar presentation as a money bag or an enlarged dumpling. Stuffed inside with chicken and onion, it’s especially zesty due to the accompanying pomegranate molasses and sumac powder.
For seafood lovers, the Prawn Harra is a dependable choice with just the right amount of spice. It’s topped with lots of tomatoes and coriander, evoking similarities with Italian dishes.
Clay Pot Delights
The tasting at One-Ninety was admittedly my first time to try Middle Eastern clay pot dishes. I have to say I am more familiar with the mezze and grills but clay pot is definitely something totally new to me. Of these, I loved the Grouper with Potato and Harra Sauce – a great dish to have during rainy evenings or as an alternative to red meat.
I was taken by surprise with the Kibbeh Belseneh which at first looked like pie to my untrained eye. One bite and it actually reminded me of a Middle Eastern version of the salted fish minced meat patty (sans the salted fish and with the usage of lamb instead). Try this for something exotic with a hint of the familiar.
Charcoal Grill
We sampled a mix platter of various kebabs including some seriously juicy lamb cubes, chicken, lamb chops as well as Grouper fish. For the beef, Chef Adnan uses tenderloin so what you get is very different from the kebab shops.
Finish it off with a range of exotic desserts from the buffet spread. The Baklava is a must try and so is the Kunafeh. Make sure to save some tummy space for the sweet endings!
Three new beverages are specially prepared for the Middle Eastern theme. From left to right, these are the mint lemonade (my personal pick), ayran (blended yoghurt with iced water) and jallab (rose water with dates and caramel served with pine nuts).
The semi-buffet is priced at S$52++ for lunch and S$62++ for dinner. This includes the appetizer and dessert buffet plus a choice of main.
One-Ninety
Four Seasons Singapore
190 Orchard Boulevard
Singapore 248646
Phone: +65 6831 7130
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