July 2014 117 www.bahrainthismonth.com David M Robertson An old favourite returns to the dining scene and demonstrates that, if you have the right product, there is no reason to offer something entirely different. Driving up and down the road in Adliya between Señor Paco’s and Cico’s, the newly painted lime-green building looked unerringly familiar. With such a distinctive colour scheme there was only one conclusion to be drawn — BamBu! was about to re-open. A popular venue for a bite to eat, either for lunch or at night, within the Adliya dining ‘square’ before losing its home, the restaurant operated on a formula that resonated with customers. An invite to a very soft preopening dinner afforded an opportunity to discover what might have changed over the past two years. The answer is, thankfully, very little. The restaurant manager, Jean, is there to welcome diners and chef Helen is still on hand to ‘man’ the kitchens. The gregarious Bobby Boloor, who runs BamBu! as well as Brazil Grill & Lounge, was at his station behind the bar to liven up the night’s proceedings. A new venue, obviously, means a different layout, but the ambiance is still evident. There’s an outdoor area, with the obligatory water display, and the downstairs dining space is reminiscent of the old location; the same chairs and tables reside comfortably alongside the open kitchen. Upstairs there’s a lounge area and — a new addition — a room for private events. A restaurant, though, stands by the quality of its food. The menu is unchanged and so is the pricing structure. BamBu! has always believed in minimising waste, serving portions at different price points and allowing you to decide how much you would like to eat. It seemed only appropriate to order the same dishes that I had enjoyed on my last visit to the restaurant. A seafood soup, minus the prawns in a nod to a cholesterol-reduced diet, tasted exactly the same as I remembered. For the main course I opted for the chilli hammour fish dish. Again, all the boxes were ticked. To round out the meal the fired ice cream was the stand-out selection. If they say that familiarity breeds contempt, then I’m more than happy with a big dose of it! A charming ambience, delightfully cooked food and friendly staff suggest BamBu! will have little difficulty attracting both old and new customers. Welcome back! Roll Back the Years dining this month Asian Feast Houseboat Restaurant offers various Iftar and Ghabga options this Ramadan at both their branches in Amwaj and Adliya. The menu includes an array of four of the different cuisines being served at Houseboat: Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Indian. Houseboat Amwaj offers an à la carte menu for the season and will have a section dedicated to their newly introduced Tea Lounge. Ramadan Feature, p119 Bambu Restaurant Maki Restaurant, p118 Gulf Hotel, p126
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