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A fish restaurant’s recipe for success
A fish restaurant’s recipe for success Lily B. Libo-on (ABOUT SHARJAH) / 21 June 2013 Against the backdrop of Sharjah’s state-of-the-art hotels and eateries, a 40-year-old fish restaurant situated in Al Nabba is still making it big. Frying 400 kilograms of fish a day to meet the demands of 200 visitors on week days — who swell to more than 500 on weekends — this antique-styled but cozy fish restaurant continues to attract its old clients and hundreds more new ones. The huge sign reading ‘Samra Restaurant’ is visible from a distance, yet this decades-old eating rendezvous is popularly known to its regular customers as Mama Mache Restaurant. Mama, an Indian national known for his prowess and secret recipe for deep-frying fish, started this restaurant as a small eatery at the back of Rotana Hotel and had continued like that until ten years ago when he went back to India for good. Now owned by an Emirati, Ahmad Khayal, Mama Mache has continued to draw hundreds of satisfied guests, including Japanese and Westerners who make the restaurant a must on their visits to Sharjah, especially during winter. Hassan Abdul Khader, Indian manager of Mama Mache, says that he has worked with the original owner for ten years and, after mastering the craft and the specially prepared herb seasoning, has steered the restaurant to more successes, including a fast-growing clientele of tourists and residents from all emirates and abroad. He says that tourists also ask them to pack fried hamour, sherry, king fish and pomfret and send the packages to their countries for their friends. “Sixty per cent of our daily fried-fish orders are taken out to their homes, as these customers cannot eat in the restaurant for lack of tables and chairs. These ‘take away orders” also include the ones hand-carried to (people) back home,” he adds. A numbering system has been used to ensure the queue is smooth, and customers have to wait 45 minutes after receiving the number on weekdays and even longer on weekends. Mama Mache opens at 3pm for its all seven Indian workers to clean and prepare the fish, putting their specially prepared powder of herbs and spices to marinate the fish. Frying will start only at 6pm when customers start coming. But, the number grows bigger and bigger from 8pm until 12 midnight when the Mama Mache Restaurant closes. Mohammed, a chef at the restaurant, says that customers choose from the different kinds of fish available in the season and the chef will start deep frying them in Hayat cooking oil. “When it is finished, we put our special secret spices and herbs on the fried fish and fry them again for a few minutes. Then, we deliver the fried fish to the customer. It takes 15 to 20 minutes to cook the fish.” Emirati Ali Hassan, one of the regular customers at the restaurant, says that he comes from Dubai to take a Dh30 dinner comprising a big fried pomfret, roti with a dhal (pulse) curry or a green sauce specialty made of fresh coriander leaves. “I have been a regular customer for the past ten years. Like many Emiratis, I come to this restaurant twice or thrice weekly. While I am taking dinner, I also order packed meals for my family.” Jordanian national Issam says the restaurant is an extension of his home. “I come here daily for my dinner as I like its deep fried fish very much. Since I came to UAE seven years ago, I have been driving from Ajman to the outlet at night.” Mama Mache caters to various nationalities working and residing in the UAE, from the lowest paid labourers to the prominent Emiratis and expatriates. Regular expatriates who visit the restaurant are Sudanese, Indians, Bangladeshis, Jordanians and other Arabs. But, the biggest chunk of customers are Pakistanis. The Mama Mache Restaurant is a by-word in Sharjah, particularly to labourers, who cannot afford to go to expensive restaurants. Its fried fish is sold between Dh5 and Dh30 depending on the size of the fish. Khairullah, a Pakistani school bus driver who has been here for 26 years, says that he cannot afford to eat in big modern restaurants. He spends Dh20 for fried fish and roti meal with dhal curry. “I like the fried fish here. They deep fry it to cook the inside, and re-fry it from the outside to make it crispy. It is so delicious.” Samra Restaurant has a second floor for families, who come to sit for a dinner together. It is putting into its coffers between Dh5,000 and Dh7,000 per day during winter when Sharjah tourists like to dine outside. In summer, it makes Dh4,000 to Dh6,000 of which Dh4,000 worth of deep fried fish are parceled for families, who want to stay indoors and enjoy their dinner at home. lily@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Mom, children reunited after 32 years
Mom, children reunited after 32 years Amira Agarib / 21 June 2013 There were moist eyes all around at Al Ghusais police station on Wednesday when a mother and two of her separated children cried, kissed and rushed into each other’s arms after 32 years. “I waited so long for this and I thought this day would never come,’’ the 55-year old woman said, holding her now grown-up children and showering them with kisses. The woman told her children that she never stopped searching for them even for a minute all these years. ‘‘Sorrow engulfed me all these years and I cannot hold back my emotions and feel like crying my heart out,’’ said the daughter, who is now 36 years old. Their father, a GCC national who passed away two years ago, had been living in Dubai after divorcing the mother. He separated the children from their mom in 1981 and gave them to different families and none of the siblings knew the wherabouts of each other until two year ago. The son was three years old when he was given to a family in the UAE; the older daughter was four and lived with her father’s relatives in Oman, while the third child, who was only one, has not been traced yet. The Dubai Police believe she may be living in one of the Gulf countries. First Corporal Reem Mohammed Al Amiri helped the 35-year-old son and his sister in their quest to find their mother. The daughter, who is now married and has been staying in Oman, often asked her father about the rest of her family, but he refused to provide details and later stopped talking to her, she said. After her father died in 2011, she spoke to her relatives and visited the UAE every month to trace her family. During her search, she received information that her brother lived in the UAE. The brother and sister together searched for their mother and managed to get photographs of her from old files and albums of friends and relatives. First Corporal Reem said when they narrated their story with the photograph, it broke her heart. Last weekend, she stumbled upon a match which fit the description of the mother and called her. ‘‘She was first scared, but calmed down when I told her she could receive some joyous news.’’ The mother has since been married to an Asian and has nine children, the oldest being 30 years old. ‘‘I asked her about her former marriage and she said her former husband had run away with the kids. “When I told her she may get to see them soon, she screamed and held me in a tight embrace and cried.’’ Reem then asked the daughter and son to come to the police station. The rest is a scene out of a lost and found movie. ‘‘I can’t express the joy they felt. I’m glad I could help reunite a family,’’ she said. news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Rupee nosedive boosts NRI remittance power
Rupee nosedive boosts NRI remittance power Issac John / 21 June 2013 The Indian rupee plunged to an all-time low against a dollar-pegged UAE currency on Thursday, giving Non-Resident Indians a big boon as their remittance power rose sharply by Rs1.6 per dirham in weeks. The rupee fell as low as 59.97 against the dollar, down from its Wednesday close of 58.72 and a May average of 54.9. The dramatic fall was triggered by global investors who pulled out of emerging markets and the US signalled it could start scaling back on its monetary stimulus that has injected billions of dollars into the global financial system. Foreign institutional investors have pulled around $3.75 billion from Indian stocks and bonds in June, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India. A falling rupee may bring cheers to NRIs but makes life all the more difficult for residents back home by stoking inflation. The rupee has now fallen more than 10 per cent since the start of May, making it one of the worst performing major currencies in Asia. The rupee’s sharp decline also sent Indian stocks and bonds tumbling on Thursday. Indian shares posted their biggest single-day decline in nearly 21 months. Y. Sudhir Kumar Shetty , chief operating officer, Global Operations, UAE Exchange, said the scarcity of the dollar in the market, due to the control on dollar flow, had brought the rupee to its all-time low. “The Indian economy has been going through a tough phase for sometime now. This new development has only added to the woes of the nation’s economy,” said Shetty. “Remittance volume to India, which is already the largest receiver in the world, has definitely gone up. Indian expatriates are exploring every avenue to send as much money as possible,” said Shetty. He predicted that the rupee would continue to be under pressure for some time to come, and its future depends on what measures India would take. Sajith Kumar P.K, director and CEO of IBMC Group & JRG International, said the increase in current account deficit and fiscal deficit is the major domestic factor against the rupee. He said some new steps taken by the India Government could slowly stop further fall of rupee. “However, a massive sell off by foreign institutional investors remains a major threat at present. If US dollar further strengthens, the rupee may touch 60 to 61 per dollar,” said Kumar. Adeeb Ahamed , CEO, LuLu International Exchange, said the volume of rupee remittance had marginally gone up. “We have seen an increase of 10-12 per cent in the volume of remittance and number of walk-ins over the last fortnight. Expats have resorted to borrowing funds from the financial institutions to avail the benefit of rupee fall.” “The depreciating rupee is not the finest news for the domestic market but for NRIs it provides a good opportunity to park their spare funds in India now,” said Alok Anchan , an executive at Rajesh LifeSpaces, a Mumbai-based developer. “Temporary rupee depreciation has made property investments cheaper by over 25 per cent for NRIs over the last 12 months,” said Nishant Singhal , director, Strategy and International Operations at Investors Clinic. Continue reading
