Fairy lights twist through trees and sweet smoke from the shisha coils beneath lanterns in the canopy at the sultry Kargeen Caffe. This is one of Muscat’s best-loved restaurants; inside its grounds you’ll find families feasting in dining rooms, men lounging in courtyards blowing flawless smoke rings and fashionistas with heels and handbags worth many months’ rent glimmering in hidden alcoves.
If you’re peckish, share a serve of shuwa, a dish of goat meat rubbed with spices, wrapped in banana leaves and roasted over hot coals for a day. But don’t get completely distracted by the food – there’s also mighty fine shisha. All the usual flavours like apple and strawberry grace the smoker’s menu, but for something more adventurous suck down a Kargeen Special, made with a selection of freshly carved fruit.
Few meals compare to an evening under the eye of Jiro Ono, one of Japan’s national living treasures and head chef at Sukiyabashi Jiro. Devoting his life to sushi from the age of nine, this octogenarian was the world’s first sushi chef to snare three Michelin stars. Gently pressing each portion of seafood into a stack of lightly vinegared rice sourced from his personal rice dealer, Jiro crafts each morsel to the mould of your mouth. His staff handpicks each creature from Tsukiji fish market, before they’re sliced, diced and tempered.
Hardly larger than a bento box, you’ll struggle to find the 10-stool eatery, which is tucked into a basement in Ginza. And it’s one of the toughest restaurants in the world to make a reservation, especially for gaijin (foreigners) who must find a Tokyo native to dine with. The starting price looms at ¥30,000 (US$252) and each mouthful checks in at US$12 a pop. Diners forking out for the half-hour feast enter a gastronomic symphony, from chilled uni (sea- urchin), to melt-in-your mouth unagi (eel), before the closing chord of succulent soft egg roll.
Quaffing champagne with hot dogs is akin to serving foie gras with Fanta; they’re not exactly culinary cronies. But a London eatery has sent convention to the dogs, teaming the fast food staple with boutique bubbles. Bubbledogs is capitalising on London’s new-found fascination with gourmet fast food, serving up delectable hot dogs with grower champagne.
It’s no meal for mutts. The house-made pork, beef and vegetable hot dogs are made with 100 per cent British produce, freshly baked buns and a lick of condiments and spices. The Trishna Dog – with mint, mango chutney and coriander – has been running out the door. Then there’s the K-Dawg – a mean mongrel of kimchi, fermented red bean paste and lettuce – a mix not to be messed with.
Big on eating out, but short on amigos? Casa SaltShaker in Buenos Aires has you covered. The in-home private dining restaurant in the upmarket Recoleta neighbourhood serves up exquisite Andean-meets-Mediterranean cuisine, prepared by USA-born chef and sommelier Dan Perlman.
Puertas cerradas (closed-door restaurants) are big in BA and Casa SaltShaker’s five-course tasting menu paired with wine is a winner.
Take a seat at the communal dining table with nine of your soon-to-be best mates and tuck into mouthwatering dishes like matbucha (tomatoes and roasted capsicum with spicy coriander sauce), braised pork shoulder with smoked eggplant puree, and chocolate star-anise cheesecake.
The food is guaranteed to please, but it’s the intimate setting and conversation we love the most.
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