JEDDAH, 22 May — We all need a little excitement in our lives. We all need a little something every now and then to remind us just how good life can be. We all need a little music. Luckily there’s a place where we can go to find all or some of those.
At Olives Mediterranean Restaurant in Jeddah on Palestine Street, we can enjoy our Monday evenings like never before.
Since the beginning of May, Olives has organized a fabulous program each Monday. It includes an exquisite traditional meal with a “tapas selection” for starters, followed by “paella Valenciana”. It’s prepared in respect to the original recipe brought directly from Costa del Sol.
Then you have a choice of three wonderful desserts — the panna cotta, tiramisu and the delicious chocolate liegeois. All this is for SR70 per person plus 15% service charge. They even have a live singer and guitarist playing Spanish music. Need I say more?
As for their Spanish Special set-menu, it’s not only mouthwatering but also filling. The starters include fried calamari and sardine. They have marinated bell peppers in olive oil and garlic as well. I wasn’t too big on the chicken liver though.
I loved the marinated cauliflower and the beans. The mini-Spanish omelet was terrific. Oh, and the black olives with oregano were so good I couldn’t get enough of them.
As for paella, I have heard that lots of Saudis love and appreciate this dish. My friends all said that it was to their liking. To be honest, I haven’t eaten enough paellas to judge fairly.
Then again, you don’t always need to compare one thing to another to tell whether it’s tasty. I am not too big on seafood.
Paella is a traditional Spanish dish with seafood and chicken in saffron rice. It’s full of crab, lobster, shrimp — you name it, it’s got it.
As far as dessert goes, chocolate liegeois is far out. It’s definitely better than tiramisu. At least that’s the way I see it — or taste it for that matter. So be sure not miss another Monday night.
By the way, Olives have made some changes to their menu. They no longer serve their delicious Mama’s chicken. And if you order their penne arabiata, you’ll need a refreshing grape cocktail to put out the fire in your mouth.
For more information call: 6610627
