New Omani Restaurant Tarma at Panorama Mall in Bousher

T-Mag Thursday 21/July/2016 16:44 PM
By: Times News Service
New Omani Restaurant Tarma at Panorama Mall in Bousher

Tucked away on the first floor of Panorama Mall, a modern majlis for local gastronomical wonders recently threw open its doors.

Tarma is a pure Omani term that originated in Musandam that refers to the traditional, woven palm frond cover placed over food. It is also the namesake of a stylish new eatery in Panorama mall that’s turning out rustic Omani fare that is presented with the elegance of fine dining in a space that is as comfortable as the living room of my own home.

On my first visit, I decided to take a seat on the floor in the majlis, a spacious room filled with low coffee tables bejewelled with bronzed Omani coins, surrounded by traditional seating cushions in a time-honoured Bedouin design, accented with sky blue arm-rests, all set under walls adorned with framed khanjars. The other spaces of the restaurant feature leather couches for comfortably sipping coffee and formidable dark wooden dining tables.

As I sat, I looked up and noticed golden lanterns hung around the restaurant. When the waiter came to take my order, I asked him if he could switch them on for me. He disappeared, and moments later, the lanterns came to life, casting a mesmerising pastel peach colour around me.

Basking in the warm light, I turned my attention to Tarma’s menu, which was developed and curated by Oman’s beloved celebrity chef, Issa Al Lamki. The menu was packed with modernised local dishes, like king fish served with garlic butter sauce, thin slivers of sautéed garlic cloves, and qabooli rice. The section that really caught my eye was a collection of contemporary dishes making use of the iconic Omani celebration food, shuwa—a pit-roasted, spice-slathered, meltingly tender lamb—in new ways.

Though it is the most iconic, and therefore perhaps the most typical Omani dish, that day I couldn’t resist the urge to order shuwa. As I waited, an excruciating sense of longing hit me.

What arrived was far from the typical platter of rice crowed with a charred chunk of spice-encrusted lamb. Rocket salad with shuwa was a delicate dish of lamb wrapped in sliced cucumber with cabbage and tomatoe dressed in olive oil, while the “classic shuwa” was artfully served on Omani flat bread with refreshing slivers of cucumber and carrot. The dishes were familiar, yet fresh and new.

Though it was the home-like ambiance of Tarma that had initially charmed me, it was the inventive shuwa dishes that made me fall in love.

What to Order
Rocket salad with shuwa OMR3.9
Lamb shuwa OMR4.9
Chicken onion with rice OMR3.5
Omani fondue: Luqaimat and fruit served with warm chocolate OMR2.8

Go For
Friendly Staff
Traditional Ambiance
Shuwa

Location
First Floor, Panorama Mall
Bousher
+968 9633 3293
Instagram: @tarma_om

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