Breaking the fast at iftar is one of the joys of the Holy Month of Ramadan. Sharing food with family and friends, delighting in delectable dishes, everyone simultaneously experiencing the same enjoyment of fellowship and food if we’re fortunate enough. Maki Restaurant has created not one but two Ramadan platters to satisfy every taste bud and bazaar is overjoyed to have been invited to witness the creativity and skill it takes the team at Maki to design and construct these incredible comestibles.
There is something particularly thrilling when it comes to watching a skilled chef at work, and one of the most noticeable things is the equipment that surrounds the team of highly trained chefs at Maki. The sharpest knives are brandished with such precision when carving the freshest of ingredients, and with one dexterous movement, we see slice after slice of salmon and tuna expertly cut, each piece the same width as the slice before it. Perfection.
The most colorful of plates emerge dripping with the jewel-colored quality components with which the chef will roll and dress the maki as we watch; jet-black truffle pearls, emerald green afilla cress, shining citrine caviaroli, thinly sliced yuzu bright like orange tourmaline. The ingredients are thrilling to look at, and there’s an exciting crunch when Chef deftly runs his knife through the shrimp tempura; ASMR in full effect.
Maki is known for embracing innovation to find flavor in its fusion cuisine inspired by the fine art of the Japanese cuisine we know as sushi. You won’t find only a utilitarian nori seaweed sheet at work here. Maki introduced us to their exclusive ume wrap, a sheet that has dried plum as its main ingredient and now the latest items on the satisfying maki menu include mango wrap. All the Maki wrap sheets are made diligently in-house. As we watch how neatly Chef prepares the fare, everyone watches closely to see the production of the new Hanin Maki.
Succulent sushi rice is spread evenly and pressed firmly onto the mango sheet. Shrimp tempura fills the center, bright-green wedges of creamy avocado adroitly placed into the mix with mango and in one swift movement rolled into a cylindrical shape. Taking the bamboo rolling instrument, Chef uses it to firmly squeeze down onto the slivers of avocado he’s just placed on the top of the roll and revealed is a perfect form, dense with flavors and textures ready to be sliced into eight equal pieces and finished by Chef’s expertly balanced hand.
The Ramadan Maki Platter features some of the restaurant’s most popular makis such as Dr Shahad Maki; salmon, prawn tempura, crab sticks, avocado, kumquat, black truffle pearls, yuzu flakes, ume wrap, and the Volcano Maki; crabsticks and crispy tempura, sesame seeds, spring onion with Maki’s very own special sweet and spicy sauce. A tower of texture and flavor.
For those of you who like your dishes to have seen some more cooking time and have a bit of heat to them, Maki Restaurant has also created the Ramadan Appetizers Platter; a combination of hot starters, and the chefs have been super creative in these fusion dishes. Shawarmaki comes in prawn or chicken and is a tasty twist on the ever-popular Levantine shawarma. Fluffy baos are filled with scrumptiously flavorsome and sticky plum chicken, and also delectable and tender pulled BBQ short ribs accompanied by lollo beandoo lettuce. At the center of the platter, which is beautifully presented on stunning black-lacquer flatware, is a stack of vegetable spring rolls known as Harumaki surrounded by Gyoza Karaage with a bite to die for!
You can’t go wrong by ordering the Ramadan Maki Platter, with forty maki pieces of deliciously well-crafted cuisine, all in your group will be fully satisfied. The perfect pairing is the Ramadan Appetisers Platter for a truly enjoyable range of flavors and textures that you and your guests will appreciate. Sahtain!
Follow @makirest on Instagram for the launch date of the Ramadan Appetizer Platter and the Ramadan Maki Platter.
Photography by Leena Al Jabi.
