Discover the magic of Moroccan cuisine at Park Hyatt

Park Hyatt Jeddah is offering a unique chance to the city’s foodies to sample high-spirited Moroccan cuisine in one of its restaurants. An elaborate buffet is being prepared by Moroccan chefs under the guidance of Chef Adil Bouaicha, who is equipped with a 30-year experience in making Morocco’s gastronomic delights.
Moroccan food is known for its remarkable flavors influenced by Morocco’s interactions and exchanges with other countries and cultures over the centuries. The aromatic and delicious food of Morocco, a vibrant country with strong traditions and a diverse landscape of bustling cities, can be had at Park Hyatt’s Andalusia restaurant.
One of the greatest cuisines of the world, Moroccan food involves subtle spices and intriguing flavor combinations such as green olives paired with chopped preserved lemon rind stirred into a tagine of tender chicken, rich pigeon meat pie dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar, and sardines coated with a flavorful combination of coriander, parsley, cumin and a hint of chili. Influenced by Andalusian Spain, Arabia and France, Morocco’s cuisine is a delicious combination of mouthwatering flavors that make it unique.
According to Chef Bouaicha, the main components of Moroccan cuisine are olive oil, pure saffron, cinnamon, lemon and rose water, all of which give an exceptional taste and aroma to the food.
Chef Bouaicha prepares traditional Moroccan delicacies, starting with an array of hot and cold salads followed by tagines, couscous, pastille and a succulent assortment of mixed grills marinated in Moroccan herbs and spices.
A special drink was first served; the combination of carrot juice with a hint of rose water and lemon was absolutely refreshing.
Chef Bouaicha said the restaurant offers a variety of fresh juices flavored with rose water, cinnamon and lemon.
For salads, there was sweet pumpkin with rose water, and Zaalouk (eggplant salad) which is a delicious cooked salad made with aubergines, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and toasted cumin. It’s a common side dish to many meals.
For spice lovers, there is a couscous salad served with Harissa sauce, a very hot and spicy sauce made with red chilies and olive oil. The soup, made with tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas and lamb, was rich and creamy. It is finished off with a squeeze of lemon juice and some chopped coriander, and served with a sticky sweet pretzel called chebakkiya, eaten especially for iftar during the month of Ramadan. If you don’t want to try something new, the salad bar also serves the usual Arabic and continental salads.
I found the Andalusia restaurant to be one of the best places to sample the wide variety of Moroccan food.
Some of the authentic Moroccan dishes include lamb tagine, chicken tagine, roast potatoes, salmon steak with vegetables, sea bass tagine, couscous tfaya, couscous with vegetables and vegetable sauce, and many more.
I loved couscous tfaya and it made me forget a bad experience I had with couscous on a trip to Spain.
Tagine is a clay cooking pot with a conical lid that gives its name to a myriad of dishes. Tagines are served at every roadside café as well as at top notch restaurants. Chef Bouaicha’s lamb tagine was melt-in-mouth and the chicken tagine with baked potatoes was delicious.
The dessert buffet comprised a number of continental dishes apart from special Moroccan delights, some of which include Kaab el Ghzal, a pastry stuffed with almond paste and topped with sugar, Moroccan Almond Briouats with Honey, and Sellou (also called sfouf or zmita), a unique Moroccan sweet made from toasted unhulled sesame seeds, fried almonds and flour that has been browned in the oven.
I enjoyed Sellou with cream the most. The taste of rosewater and almonds was prominent in all desserts.
The delicious meal is not complete without the much sought-after Moroccan mint tea.
The restaurant’s friendly atmosphere and professional service made it a memorable experience.
Park Hyatt’s Andalusia restaurant is open from 6:30 p.m. until midnight. Early bird visitors dinning from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. are entitled to a 25 percent discount. Additionally, a 50 percent discount is being offered for groups of 20 people or more on Saturdays.

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