Wok Station’s new Seef operation at Platinum Tower

THERE’s more than one way to Wok now that one of Bahrain’s favourite Asian restaurants has opened a second station in the kingdom.
Although I attended the grand opening of Wok Station’s new Seef operation at Platinum Tower a few weeks back, it was good to put the cuisine and service to the test and compare it with the glorious Galleria Mall original.
My sense of direction could at best be compared to a wonky whale recently run aground, so I was grateful to the prominent signposts clearly directing me to the location after a U-turn at the Ritz-Carlton roundabout.
The outside was well lit, inviting and as warm as the welcome that the good lady wife, Kathryn, and I, received from the team led by the impressively-knowledgeable restaurant manager, Pushpak Digambar.
To mark the Chinese New Year both casual dining outlets are celebrating the occasion with a Dim Sum Festival and a specially designed menu created by one of my favourite culinary kings, Executive Chef Simon Chen, an Indian of Chinese heritage, who is putting his family’s traditional recipes to amazing effect.
Taking centre stage in the open kitchen this time round, however, was Sous Chef Barun who has been a part of Chef’s Simon’s team for more than 20 years.
With a clear focus on keeping its offerings innovative and healthy, the festival showcases a range of dim sums of all shapes and sizes. And, not only do they divinely capture the essence of Southeast Asian flavour to the full, they look just as visually appealing too, each a little work of art, with colours to match.
A traditional dim sum brunch includes various types of steamed buns such as Cha Siu Bao (a steamed bun filled with BBQ meat), rice or wheat dumplings and rice noodle rolls, which contain a range of ingredients, including beef, chicken, prawns and vegetarian options.
To suit the palate and appetite of every dim sum lover, the festival offers its servings as an ‘all you can eat’ option at an unbeatable price of BD12 per person with a menu that is available all day.
We started with two-at-a-time and it’s surprising how filling the mouthwatering packages can be.
My favourite was the Dim Sum Kai Chai containing chicken, coriander and water chestnut, with a sweet-looking green pea garnish. This clever creation provides a soft and crunchy combination.
Another standout offering was the Dim Sum Hargow, a prawn and mushroom delight with simple seasoning.
I mentioned the design of the dishes earlier and some look like sea shells and the natural colouring adds another dimension. Take the sweet-tasting shrimp and corn concoction, for example, which makes your mind play tricks thinking it’s a strawberry when in fact the dim sum has simply had some beetroot added to the mix. And, the Mushroom & Courgette comes in a vibrant green colour, of course!
The festival features an exotic range of steaming dumplings and buns. Others to watch out for include the Bean Curd Paper Roll with Duck and Napa Cabbage with Seaweed Chicken.
I cut open one package to sneak a look inside to uncover the classic Chinese combination of juicy Beef Tenderloin and crunchy Scallions.
We may have started by sharing two-at-a-time but it wasn’t long before we settled for one-a-piece near the end, and a good job too because the BBQ chicken was a plate-packing beast and another Chicken Dumpling sensation which was pan-fried to give it a cracking crispy edge.
In Chinatown they are celebrating the Year of the Dog … this festival will ensure you go home wagging your tail!
Chef Chen joined me later with Pushpak to discuss the promotion. Watch the YouTube video!
For more details call Platinum Tower, Seef on 77571571, Galleria Mall, Zinj on 77570570 or visit www.wokstationme.com