Fresh herbs and spices are main ingredients in any dishes, and the new chef at Accra Hotel’s Pacifika Kitchen isn’t lighthanded when it comes to using them.
Mayuree Saipetch of Thailand has joined the culinary staff at the hotel as management of Pacifika sought to revamp the restaurant’s concept. And recently chef Saipetch and her world class skills were introduced to a select few at the hotel’s Hastings compound.
Executive chef of the hotel’s culinary team, Abunasar Siddiqui, told the special guest that it was a new concept they were introducing to the kitchen and the hotel.
“The Pacifika concept is all about fusion. It is about Pacific cuisine and so we capitalise on the Japanese, Indonesian, Chinese and Thai cuisines. Now we have a new chef on board and we are going to change the menu as well which will be launched early this month.
Guests palates were treated to Alaskan sushi roll, tom yum goong soup, Thai style shrimp cake and pad kee mao which will be signature dishes on the new menu.
Siddiqui said that the dishes were “made with fresh herbs which we grow right here at the hotel.”
General manager of the hotel, Suresh Monickoraja, explained that in order to highlight their versatility and world class culinary skills, they hired experts within the various fields to get the job done.
“With the experts we bring in, coupled with the local culinary skills, this synergy can arguably place Accra as one of the best food hub destinations in Barbados. I am very optimistic about it. From fine Caribbean cuisine, to contemporary European, all the way to Asia we have to offer at Accra,” he said.
Pacifika, which has been in operation for almost a year, boasts of being flexible with their menus and cater to each patron’s palate should the need arise.
“Apart from that, if there is a need to tweak the cuisine to meet specific palates or diets, we are also able to do that. I have found that some restaurants on the island are rigid, but here we are very flexible, so the theme is very diversified, young, energetic and vibrant,” he added.
Pacifika currently hosts two themed nights during the week – the curry and kebab and barbecue nights. And for the upcoming winter season there will be the introduction of the Mediterranean night which the gneral manager described as “a one of a kind dining concept”.
Veteran calypsonian Adrian Clarke, who was one of the diners, said that the food was some of the best he had tasted in a long time.
“I managed to taste every single spice in these dishes, and that is something unique that not everybody who cooks can accomplish. The presentation was good, the taste was superb and I definitely will be returning. If I had to rate it out of ten, I would give everything an 11. I have travelled a lot and when you can get an international feel at home, it is always a plus. I think that Chef Siddiqui did a very good job in explaining exactly what we were eating. I see myself experimenting with some in my own kitchen,” he said. (RA)
