Caramel, for all the quality food they offer at a friendly price, remains underappreciated till today. When it comes to the food scene in Oman, Caramel is the perfect blend of a fun environment with an option for high-end dining.
There are many things to love about Caramel. Primarily, it is located right at the doorsteps of the Royal Opera House making any visit also an opportunity to enjoy the stunning scenery of one of Oman's most iconic landmarks. Second, its interior is well divided into different segments — there's an area for those who want an intimate dinner with friends or family while the usually music-filled main dining hall allows direct access to the DJ, which they have almost every night, and even the beverage lounges.
A recent visit to this food haven revealed even more things to appreciate. They have theme nights which include Sundowner Sessions, Unlimited Bullfrogs, and Thursday Drunch among others and unlike other food joints that don't look after the quality of their food, Caramel remains on top of its game offering a wide array of selections with top-notch taste.
For this week's dining experience, we looked into two of the recipes served at Caramel and we also zoomed into the chef who made all the delicious food possible within the property.
Beverly Cobb salad
Ingredients
For the White Balsamic vinaigrette:
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons White Balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon Castor Sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the salad:
1 cup chopped romaine lettuce (from about 2 large heads)
1 medium cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
4 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
¾ cup crumbled blue cheese
8 ounces cooked chicken breast, diced
6 slices of bacon, cooked until crisp and chopped
2 large hard-cooked eggs, peeled and quartered
1 large avocado, diced
Method:
Make the White balsamic vinaigrette in a mixing jar.
Whisk all the ingredients together in a medium bowl
Prepare the greens. Wash the romaine lettuce then dry very well.
Toss together in a large serving bowl.
Top with the remaining ingredients. Top the greens with the chicken, cucumber, avocado, tomatoes, blue cheese, bacon, and shallot. You can arrange them in a pattern or pile them on top, but keep in mind that the salad will be tossed before serving.
Toss the salad and add the dressing. Before dressing the salad, use tongs to toss everything together first. Drizzle in about half of the White balsamic vinaigrette and toss. Taste and add more dressing as needed.
TNT Shrimp (Dynamite Shrimp)
Ingredients
Shrimps 16/20 – 10-12 pcs
Iceberg Lettuce- Shredded for base
Chives – chopped for garnish
For the TNT Sauce:
Japanese mayo - 1 kg
Sweet chilli Sauce - 250 gms
Siracha Sauce -2 tbsp
Sambel Olek - 1 tbsp
Togarashi powder- 1 tsp
Water - half cup
Combined and mix all ingredients
For the Tempura batter:
Tempura flour – 0.250 Gms
Corn flour – 30 gms
Soy sauce - 1 Tsp
Water – Ice cold
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl
Add ice water slowly until coating consistency batter
Method:
Deveined shrimp, clean in cold water
Dip the shrimps in the batter and deep fry them until crispy
Take a Tnt sauce in a bowl and toss lightly
Arrange in a serving bowl on a bed of shredded lettuce
Garnish with chopped chives
About the Chef
Chef Prashant Kumar is a natural culinary professional with a passion for cooking. He brings on board a wealth of experience from around the world ranging from Europe, Africa, The Middle East and India.
He currently heads the culinary department of the ever-expanding Al Zaman Hospitality industry having been with Caramel for over 5 years now.
He has brushed shoulders with prestigious three-star Michelin restaurants and he is a highly focused and competitive chef with over 15 years of managerial experience related to 5-star deluxe hotels, fine dining restaurants, pubs, beach clubs and large volume catering.
Chef Prashant is a good listener with great communication skills, constantly dedicated to improving and developing professional relationships with the team. Leading by example with a constant focus on food quality and The Al-Zaman group standards. He has proven management abilities including recruiting, training staff, and extensive knowledge of food principles, trends and cultural food skills. With a great passion for culinary-related activities, he has managed to set a high consistency whilst engineering different special menus and goes out of his way most of the time to tailor-made different sets of menus as per the guest’s requirements and taste buds.
Take a short trip down to The Royal Opera house where you will meet the ever-present Chef Prashant smiling and engaging his guests on the floor whilst taking them through our signature dishes and different specials on the menu.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
