Diwan - a gem within a gem

Who would have thought that we would find the best bread pudding ever at a restaurant serving Middle-eastern, North African and Indian food!  But we did - the Egyptian coconut bread pudding at Diwan Restaurant in the Aga Khan Museum was the best we've ever tasted. It was totally unexpected - we were smitten! 

It turns out that Um Ali is a legendary Egyptian dessert with various myths behind its creation, but basically it was something created for a royal feast.  No wonder it's so good.  Beautifully presented and served warm, it was soft and moist but with a crunchy crust.  The contrasting cinnamon ice cream and walnuts, with cooling mint leaves made this a feast for the senses.

We hadn't planned on dessert when we sat down - it was going to be a light lunch to use up the refund the museum gave us for parking.  Of course, the museum administrators are smarter than we were - what a great way of drumming up business for the restaurant.  The appetizer and the entree was so good, we were enticed to try the one item on the dessert menu that caught my eye - the Um Ali.

And now back to the beginning.  We had not expected the appetizer to be anything exciting but the Turkish egg plant dish was excellent with some unique delicate flavours - no ordinary spread.

The chicken entree, tender and moist, was almost a backdrop for the interesting starch and salad.  The mix of soft Israeli couscous and crisp beluga lentils (my second taste in as many days!) provided contrasting textures that made this a winning combination.  The chick peas salad was a complex mix of chopped peppers, onions, radish and corn. Refreshing!

Diwan, both in its food and elegant decor, complete with19th century carved wood panels, complements the exquisite architecture of the Aga Khan Museum and the Ismaili Centre beside it.  Gems, in more ways than one.

Not your every day dinner at Scaramouche

We celebrated a special occasion at Scaramouche tonight and the food was certainly special.  There were a few things I've not had before so it's worth talking about them.

I perked up when I saw Tempura Squash Blossoms on the menu.  The first time I had zucchini flowers was in Tuscany a couple of years ago when the cooking class teacher showed us how to deep fry them.  They were very flavourful then so I was eager to see how chef Carolyn Reid would prepare them. The zucchini flowers were stuffed with king crab meat and buffalo ricotta which contrasted nicely with the crunchy batter.  Have to say that while the combination was delicious, the delicate flavour of the flowers was lost.  

But all was redeemed by the Foie gras terrine with sea salt brioche, pickled grapes, maple jelly and sour cherry glaze.  The terrine was melt in your mouth delicious.  

Tonight's special was Muskovy duck breast from Quebec.  The first time I saw a Muskovy duck was at Too Good Pond, spring of 2007 - never thought they could be eaten, or that they would be so delicious!   It is a big bird so the breast meat was very thick.  It was served medium rare with beluga lentils, crab apple puree, confit carrots, wild mushrooms and pistachio crumble (love the crunch).   The beluga lentils was another first for me - looks like caviar but texture is crunchy. 

Our other entree was stuffed partridge breast wrapped in bacon with crispy confit legs served with Italian farro, sweet corn and toasted hazelnuts, foie gras jus.  This is another winner.  The breast stuffed with chanterelles and herbs was tender and moist while the bacon wrap really gave it that extra oomph and crunch.  The addition of the crispy and tasty leg confit made this generously portioned dish almost good enough for two.  I've never had farro before until earlier this month and now it's the second time in two weeks - I like it.  It matched perfectly with corn and nuts.




The raspberry tart with vanilla ganache, raspberry lychee sorbet and pistachio brittle was the perfect ending - simply delicious!  Kudos to the pastry chef Lindsay Haddock.