Sunday, March 04, 2007

Marrakech Palace in Dupont Circle

Tonight, after one year from my trip to Marrakech, I had my first Moroccan meal. Mike and I invited Srini and Asha to dine at the newly opened Marrakech Palace in Dupont Circle. Khalid, co-owner of the restaurant, is Mike's friend Tina's husband. Khalid's brother is the main chef.

The place is tastefully decorated and was packed when we finished dinner. Khalid said they had 300 reservations tonight. We had two belly dancing performances tonight. The party room area which he showed us around after dinner had tiles from Fez throughout. In the center there is this beautiful fountain also made from typical Moroccan tiles. It really brought me back to Fez. Fez is famous for its blue and white ceramics. Look at the tile work in Riad (old house converted into hotel) Mabrouka where I stayed for two nights.

Here is a fountain at one of the Fez restaurants where we had lunch. The fountain in Marrakech Palace is on the floor and it has the same style and colors.
Dinner was delicious. Mint tea was not too sweet. I had chicken pastilla, salad (an assortment of carrots, garlic spinach and eggplant) for appetizer and chicken tagine with preserved lemon and olives. Everything tasted really authentic. All serve wear is made in Morocco. The plates and bowls are exactly the same kind as the ones I had in Riad Mabrouka. I remember loving those plates and wanting to buy a set but didn't have time to look for them.
After dinner, we went upstairs next door to Pasha Lounge, which Khalid also co-owns. I smoked sheesha. I could not believe how soon I get to enjoy it again since I last had the "hubbly bubbly" as they call it in Jordan. The tobacco was not as strong as it was in either Egypt or Jordan but it definitely had the same mild apple flavor. It was quite sentimental for me because I REALLY REALLY miss both Egypt and Jordan.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry that we missed it this time. Sounds like a very interesting place to dine in, especially for someone like me who missed the chance to visit Morocco with him. :)

3/09/2007 2:16 PM  
Blogger John said...

I love Moroccan cuisine,Moroccan cuisine has long been considered as one of the most diversified cuisines in the world. The reason is because of the interaction of Morocco with the outside world for centuries. The cuisine of Morocco is a mix of Arab, Berber, Moorish, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean African, Iberian, and Jewish influences.
I visited Morocco two times. My friend living there for a long time and he invited me to visit this beautiful and exotic country. He lives in traditional Marrakech property- riad. Actually architecture in Marrakech is very beautiful and has it's own style.
I visited other Moroccan cities and also I liked Casablanca, it is a modern mega polis with population about 5 million.
I have been to many countries, but most of all I was impressed by Morocco's beauty.

12/10/2007 11:43 AM  

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