Bringing world street food under one roof in Muscat

Senior Flight Attendant Lucybel Mallari has travelled the world, thanks to her job which gave her a lot of opportunities to explore the streets of beautiful cities like Paris and Milan and even the chaotic yet culturally rich alleys of Bangkok, India, and Thailand. For a time, she also lived in Japan and witnessed how the new and the old merged into one fine example of a futuristic country yet totally rooted in its past. A self-confessed foodie, of the many different parts of her travel, it’s always the eating which she enjoyed the most. “If you’d been too Bangkok, some of their pad thai sold on the streets are better tasting than those found in restaurants. In the same manner, in Vietnam, I enjoyed the pho at the roadside of the French Quarter while some of the best sushi I tasted are sold on small sushi stores in Tokyo,” she shared. On November 15 to 17, the second season of Muscat Eat has been a blockbuster with early prediction that it has beaten the first season record of 15,500 food lovers who attended the event. The event was part of the government’s ambitious target to reach 11 million visitors by 2040. While all roads led to Al Mouj Golf (GCM Lawn) over the weekend, Lucybel and her friend Jophil reported that they found quite a nice food Eden at the Taybat Restaurant & Terrace of the Grand Millenium Muscat. Happening every Thursday from 7pm to 11pm, the Street Food Festival offers an opportunity for Muscat residents to savour 8 different cuisines from Italy to Iran, India to Vietnam, Mexico to Arabia and Asia to America. Each of the booths is manned by a chef who came from the said region keeping the authentic flavour of the street food. Mongolian-style dishes, succulent Persian kababs, fire-kissed tandoori grills, and meaty Mexican tacos are just some of the items offered. “It was quite surprising to find this little garden of delicious food. Hailing from Asia, I am very particular about my fried rice and my seafood. They have an eclectic offering and it was fulfilling that something like this has been initiated,” she commented. “I hope for Oman’s street food scene to grow with local dishes at the very centre of it. Since Oman is literally one half a country of expats, it would be a big boost to find world street food being represented as well. It creates this dynamic scene and offering foodies in the country lots of options to choose from,” she shared. Luca Medda, Cluster General Manager of the Grand Millennium Hotel shared, “Our team of chefs hail from all over the world and are naturally passionate about the food of their home countries. With more than eight nationalities in our kitchen, what better way to showcase their talents than with an international street food festival.” It is set to take you on a new dining adventure full of authenticity and an experience you would not want to miss, Luca and his team added. “Personally, what I like about the experience is the interactivity of it. It’s not just ordering your food but as a food lover, you have the opportunity to communicate directly with the chef. You can tell them how you want your street food prepared. They can also customise it according to your request. It does remind you of the interactivity and the easiness of street food scene in different parts of the world,” Jophil said. TITASH CHAKRABORTY & YERU EBUEN