A Persian Valentine’s Day at Shabestan

It’s the month of romance and while it’s cause for celebration with your Significant Other, you are also faced also with the conundrum of where to have your Valentine’s Day celebration.

Not one for clichés? Well, make your Valentine’s Day meal an exotic one this year at Persian restaurant Shabestan. Located in the expat enclave of Robertson Quay, Shabestan has been dishing out authentic Middle-Eastern cuisine since 2013. Helmed by Executive Chef Hany Moustafa who hails from Egypt, the restaurant uses traditional Persian cooking techniques and fine spices, herbs and other ingredients to bring forth an authentic Persian dining experience for customers. Every dish is made in-house from scratch.

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Shabestan has put together a four-course Valentine’s Dinner menu ($88++ per person). This special menu is available only from 12 to 14 February 2021.

This exotic gastronomical journey begins with a glass of Love Potion – a concoction of cranberry, pineapple, lime juice and prosecco – to add some fizz. Starters include Garden of Eden (a salad of cherry tomatoes, arugula, cucumber and black Zeytoon olives tossed with pomegranate lemon dressing) and Tureen of Love (cream of beetroot soup). For the mains, you get to have a choice of two dishes – Bakthiari Platter or Jewel of the Sea.

Tureen of Love – a Cream of Beetroot Soup. Photo © Asia 361

Meatlovers will love the Bakthiari Platter – a beef or lamb bakhhitiari with chicken shish kebab and traditional sumac, served with Persian saffron rice. Bakhtiari is a delish Persian kebab that is a mixture of Kabab Barg and Joojeh Kabab. The Bakhtiari people of Iran used to cook this kebab by using lamb and tail fat. As time went by, the dish evolved into a mixture of Chicken and lamb. Today, this dish is considered an expensive classic dish and found regularly at Iranian traditional restaurants.

Bakthiari Platter is a classic Persian dish. Photo © Asia 361

Not so much a meatlover? Jewel of the Sea is a better choice then with its seafood offerings of charcoal-grilled King Prawns and seabass kebab marinated with saffron, served with Persian saffron rice. The flame-kissed fish and prawns bring a lovely smokey flavour and definitely makes a lighter alternative to the meat-heavy Bakthiari Platter.

The dessert, specially made by Executive Chef Moustafa, is a Persian Muhalabieh, a traditional milk pudding with strawberry coulis and crushed pistachios. The pudding is not overly sweet, unlike many desserts you find in the Middle East. The use of rosewater also lends a floral touch to the dessert. This meal has certainly ended on a sweet note, with floral undertones no less.