Competition Time: If you’re lucky enough to be heading to the Heineken Cup Semi Final in Aviva Stadium this Saturday, why not stop in and try our fantastic value ‘Spring Lunch Menu’  (with starters from €5.00 and maincourses from €9.50) beforehand? And for those of you who really wish you were going, we have two “Premium” tickets to give away!  For your chance to win, simply log onto our facebook page at SabaRestaurant and tell us which two teams are competing in the Heineken Cup Semi Final in Aviva Stadium this weekend? It’s simple really! Winner will be announced on Friday at lunchtime. Good luck!

The Irish Restaurants Awards:

Nominations for the awards were made by readers of the Sunday Independent Life Magazine and members of the Restaurants Association of Ireland. All nominees are then assessed by Regional Judging panels, made up of Industry experts across the region. Votes from the Consumer, Members of the Restaurants Association of Ireland and the Regional Judges are independently assessed by KPMG who give us our County Winner in each category.

All County winners then compete for the Regional and All Ireland Title which will be announced at the Irish Restaurant Awards in the Burlington Hotel Dublin on Wednesday 14th May 2012. www.irishrestaurantawards.com . There are 3 components to phase two of the process. Each element is independently assessed by KPMG.

1. Mystery Guest Visit (35%) This component of the awards is conducted by Prism Consulting headed by Hugo Arnold, independent food writer and consultant. (http://www.hugoarnold.com). All County Winners receive a mystery guest visit throughout the month of April.

2. National Awards Academy (55%) Our National Awards Academy is made up representatives from each of the regional judging panels and will meet in May to Judge the County Winners.

3. Menu Judging (10%) All County winners and the Dublin Shortlist in each category are asked to submit a copy of their food menu and wine list for judging.

Good luck to everyone running in the Great Ireland Run tomorrow in the Phoenix Park. You are probably having an early night tonight, but pop into Saba tomorrow evening for dinner and celebrate your success. Present your Great Ireland Run Medal and receive a glass of Prosecco with our compliments. Good luck and see you then.

Celebrations start on Friday 13^th with outstanding offers including free Bale Fruit Iced Tea with lunch and voucher giveaways. Celebrations continue all weekend with children eating for FREE* on Saturday and Sunday. Diners will also receive a 10% discount card for their next meal in Saba. We also are launching our new lunch and dinner menus this weekend with some scrumptious new dishes.

Our festival cocktail for the weekend is called “Khati” which is muddled fresh passion fruit, galangal, white rum, palm liqueur, coconut purée shaken with crushed ice and drizzled with some spiced rum. It is the perfect drink to ring in any New Year. Priced at €8.50.

Sawadee Pee Mai!

Terms and conditions: Children under 12 years of age dine free. Offer available between 12pm – 3pm from Friday 13^th until Sunday 15^th April. One child per adult meal ordered eats free.

Notes on Bale Fruit Tea: Grown in Thailand, Bael fruit tea is a unique herbal tea, rarely seen in tea form. A soft taste with no caffeine gives this tea a naturally refreshing sensation, welcome throughout the day and night. Amongst a list of benefits, the highly nutritious Bael fruit is best known for its uses to help brain and heart functions.

Also our photographer for the book, Matthew Thompson has been nominated in the ‘Design Craft – Photography’ Category for SABA: The Cookbook.

The awards are announced tomorrow night so let’s wish him good luck!

If you have not got a copy of the book yet, call into Saba or Saba To Go to pick up your copy of one of the best designed books from last year!

For more log onto: http://icad.ie/awards/3101/results.html

La Fhéile Pádraig Shona Daoibh

Your mum will be treated to a complimentary glass of Prosecco on arrival and Thai masseuses will be on hand from 1pm to 4pm to help her relax on her special day.

We have a launched a new Spring Lunch Menu which includes some delicious new dishes and is great value with appetisers starting at €5.00 and maincourses from €9.50.

We are bringing a Thai twist to the traditional Sunday fare with a special ‘Roast Leg of Lamb with chilli, lemongrass, gravy, crunchy mixed vegetables and roasted sweet potatoes’

Book now to avoid disappointment.

Recipes in the cookbook feature many of the Thai superfoods including broccoli, a miracle food filled with vitamins, calcium and fibre; asparagus to maintain a healthy heart and kidneys; and kale which contains more nutritional value per calorie count than any other food.

All proceeds from sales of this book will go to The Bone Marrow Transplant Unit in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin and to The Thai Red Cross Society. Published by SABA, it is available from all good bookshops, Saba restaurant, Clarendon Street and Saba To Go, Rathmines, priced €30.

Ingredients:

16 medium prawns, fresh or frozen

1 heaped dsp chilli paste in oil

1.2L chicken stock or water

3dsp fish sauce

50g galangal, peeled and sliced

3dsp lime juice

3 stalks lemongrass, sliced

1tsp sugar

2 shallots, sliced

4 kaffir lime leaves, torn

5 bird’s eye chillies, crushed

150g oyster mushroooms, torn

20g coriander to garnish

TOM YAAM GOONG**[c](THAI)

Traditional Thai Spicy Prawn Soup

Serves 4

Cooking method:

Prepare the prawns, and remove the shells.

Bring the stock to the boil in a heavy, medium sized saucepan, add the galangal, lemongrass, shallots, kaffir lime leaves and bird’s eye chillies and let it simmer for about 2 minutes or until fragrant.  Add the chilli paste in oil and season with fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. This dish can be made in advance to this stage and kept in the fridge. Now add the prawns along with the mushrooms and cook for a minute before serving.

To serve:

Garnish with coriander. Serve with Thai jasmine rice for a bigger meal.

Sunday Independent LIFE Magazine in Partnership with the Restaurants Association of Ireland and Santa Rita wine are offering readers of the Sunday Independent LIFE Magazine 20%off your bill at Saba from February 6th to March 2nd at participating Restaurants. To participate in this fabulous offer please cut out the coupon from the Sunday Independent LIFE Magazine on February 5th, 12th and 19th and take it to Saba restaurant. And when you are cutting out the voucher, why not vote for Saba in this years awards in the Category – Best Casual Dining. Thank you and enjoy.

Terms and Conditions of the offer

Ø  A 20% discount coupon will be published in the Sunday Independent LIFE Magazine February 5^th/12^th/19^th.

Ø  It  entitles the consumer to 20% off thier food and wine bill. The offer only extends to Santa Rita Wine.

Ø  Voucher valid from Feb 6th – 2^nd March 2012

Ø  Voucher is redeemable on evening à la carte menu and Santa Rita Wine only

Ø  Voucher cannot be used with any early bird/special event/discount promotion.

Ø  One voucher per bill per visit

Ø  Only original vouchers from the Sunday Independent will be accepted

Ø  Cannot be exchanged for cash

Ø  Redeemable at participating restaurants only

Ø  No photocopies accepted.

Last Monday was the start of Vietnamese New Year or “Tet” marks the beginning of the Year of the Dragon.  To celebrate, we introduced a delicious lunchtime Noodle Soup Station, at which your dish will be prepared and cooked in minutes in front of you in the restaurant.

Drawing inspiration from regional Vietnam, this soup menu has something to suit all tastes.  From Pho Bo (Beef noodle soup accompanied with dried chilli, hot chilli sauce, bean sprouts and sweet basil) to the very hot Spicy Minced Pork *** (Spicy vermicelli noodle soup with minced pork, crushed peanuts, crispy garlic, spring onion and coriander).  Other dishes on offer include the Yentafo (Egg noodle soup with squid, prawns and red sour sauce, pak choi, morning glory and crispy wontons); Duck Five Spice (Rice noodle soup with duck stew and 5 spices, pak choi, bean sprouts and preserved cabbage); and Roasted Honey Pork (Vermicelli noodle soup with roasted honey pork, pak choi and bean sprouts).

Pictured are a range of the condiments which will be served with the soups so whether you prefer hot, salty, sweet or sour; dishes can be seasoned to taste.

The soup station promotion will continue until 11th February.

Celebrate with your Valentine at Saba on the 14th February with a specially created menu by our head chef Taweesak Trakoolwattana. There will be a special cocktail on arrival to get you in the mood and kick start your evening, followed by a sumptuous three course menu featuring Carlingford Lough Oysters, Som Tam, Mieng Cam, Char-grilled Tuna Steak, Hake in Banana Leaf and all your favourite Saba dishes.  This will all be washed down by a delicious bottle of wine between you and your Valentine.

The Valentine menu includes cocktail on arrival, three course meal and a bottle of wine with your Valentine (one bottle between each couple chosen from our Valentine Wine list) and is priced at €49.50 per person. So book now to avoid disappointment.

The History Behind our Association with Haiti.  The Only Coffee Roaster in Europe who is trading with Haiti.

Java Republic’s philosophy has always been about sharing our passion for fresh, handroasted, superior coffee – with a conscience in a direct, thought-provoking manner that genuinely makes a difference.

Under our Coffee with a Conscience Programme, Java Republic began working directly with a small coffee co-operative in Haiti on a ‘trade-not-aid-initiative’ as part of our contribution to help Haitian coffee farmers trade after the devastating effects of the earthquake in January 2010.

We launched a limited edition Haitian coffee blend into the Irish Foodservice Market on Monday, 28 June 2010.  After consultation with the coffee farmers, the coffee was called Zombi.

The co-operative is an ethical trading company who deal with two groups of coffee farmers from the South East areas of Haiti.  One group consists of 190 farmers and the other group has over 300 farmers.  The purchasing and treatment centre is located in the town of Thiottee, which is part of the general area of ‘Belle Anse.’ This area has small to medium coffee farms with land averaging between 1 and 10ha.

The farmers don’t produce coffee in an intensive manner as they do in Brazil and other industialised countries.  In Haiti, coffee is grown as part of a general ecosystem that usually includes plantains, avocado and citrus trees, which are used for shade.

The usual output of a coffee farm is approximately 400kg to 500kg per had (compared to the general 2500kg per ha in other countries.)  Average income in Haiti per ha is between US $1 200 and US $1 500.

As at January 2011, we have traded over $400 000 worth of Grade 1 Haitian Arabica coffee with Haiti since March 2010.

The Story behind the Unusual Name: Zombi

Although our coffees have unusual names; we didn’t set out to call our Haitian coffee to deliberately dishonour the dead.  Some may say that it happened by design!  It was suggested by the coffee farmers themselves; primarily because Voodun is part of the culture in Haiti, and the coffee comes from the area in Haiti colloquially known as Zombie. We also discovered that there is a definite connection between coffee and Voodun.

Voodun is steeped in secrecy; we can’t go into too much detail as we believe that the actual steps of the ritual of coffee and rum are sacrosanct for those that practice the religion.

We believe that dry coffee is sprinkled in the sign of the cross during incantation.  The priest then goes into a trance and prayer is made to Loa in respect of family, love, happiness, justice, wealth and revenge.  Sometimes a voodoo doll is used to represent the spirit of a specific person, and you can address the doll as if you were talking to that person: requesting a change in attitude or influencing the person to act in accordance with your wishes or desires.

The ritual is then finished off with a sprinkling of the coffee in the sign of the cross.  Coffee and rum are also consumed after the ceremony.  It was also highlighted to us that if you offer up an incantation to try and eliminate someone who is actually innocent, the curse falls back on you.  So consider yourself warned!  You may end up a Zombie!

Zombies are common in Haitian stories and folklore. Researchers studying Haitian Culture have related countless tales of bodies brought back to life by bokor or sorcerers.  These zombies are mindless slaves. They are not self-aware and are not particularly dangerous unless fed salt, which restores their senses.  Read up about Claivius Narcisse – a true documented and authenticated story of a Zombie returned to life.  Naturally we don’t promise anything other than our coffee will restore your pulse.

So on that backdrop we rolled out a brand campaign to suit Zombi for our foodservice outlets.  For the supermarket shelf we have ‘Haitian Espresso Beans’ which has a strength guide of 6.

Blend: Grade 1 Arabica: 50% Haitian, 50% Brazilian

Taste Profile: Heavy smoky, dark chocolates with smooth caramels and a hint of almonds.

Zombi Espresso is a blend of two Grade Arabica Varietals: 50% Haitian and 50% Brazilian.  The taste profile is heavy, smoky, dark chocolates with smooth caramels and a hint of almonds.

The Vietnamese New Year, “Tet” begins on Monday, 23 January and marks the beginning of the Year of the Dragon.  To celebrate, Saba is introducing a delicious lunchtime Noodle Soup Station, at which your dish will be prepared and cooked in minutes in front of you in the restaurant.

Drawing inspiration from regional Vietnam, this soup menu has something to suit all tastes.  From Pho Bo (Beef noodle soup accompanied with dried chilli, hot chilli sauce, bean sprouts and sweet basil) to the very hot Spicy Minced Pork *** (Spicy vermicelli noodle soup with minced pork, crushed peanuts, crispy garlic, spring onion and coriander).  Other dishes on offer include the Yentafo (Egg noodle soup with squid, prawns and red sour sauce, pak choi, morning glory and crispy wontons); Duck Five Spice (Rice noodle soup with duck stew and 5 spices, pak choi, bean sprouts and preserved cabbage); and Roasted Honey Pork (Vermicelli noodle soup with roasted honey pork, pak choi and bean sprouts).

A range of condiments will be served with the soups so whether you prefer hot, salty, sweet or sour; dishes can be seasoned to taste.

The Soup Noodle Station will be open from 12.30 to 2.30pm Monday to Friday and runs from Monday, 23 January until Friday, 10 February.  There is also a takeaway option, perfect for a quick and wholesome alternative lunch at your desk.

So, drop by and wish us all a Happy New Year or ‘Chuc Mung Nam Moi’ to be more precise!!

Love will be in the air with authentic Thai dishes sure to tantalise your tastebuds.  Start the meal with some Tangy Tempura Pak, then make their heart go BOOM!!! with this fiery stir-fry with red curry paste, birds eye chillis, string beans, fresh peppercorn and galangal root.  Finish off the meal with a Chilli Chocolate Mousse to heat things up or a Banana Spring Roll with Honey to show your sweet side.  And for the perfect accompaniment, serve a custom cocktail such as the Phuket Passion for a unique Valentine’s treat!

Saba: The Cookbook includes aphrodisiac delights such as heart shaped betel leaves and scallops, not to mention all of your favourite Saba dishes created by our executive chef Taweesak Trakoolwattana. Should anything go wrong during the creation of your romantic treat – Saba or Saba To Go will be on hand for a delicious take-away, leaving your loved one none the wiser!

All proceeds from sales of this book will go to The Bone Marrow Transplant Unit in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin and to The Thai Red Cross Society. Published by SABA, it is available from all good bookshops, Saba restaurant, Clarendon Street and Saba To Go, Rathmines, priced €30.

We call it the ‘Little Christmas Royale’ and it is a festive glass of fizz to kick start your night. It will be served from tonight until Sunday at a special price of €6.50. Happy Little Christmas.

Jingle Bells:

Put 35ml Zubrovka Vodka, ¼ fresh apple, in a glass and muddle. Add 10ml honey and 5ml cinnamon syrup, 5ml lemon juice and stir. Top up with crushed ice and then top up with new Bulmers Special – Spiced Apple and Honey. We have called it ‘Jingle Bells’ and it is absolutely delicious, refreshing and full of the tastes of Christmas. Sanook.

25^th December – Closed – Turkey Dinner

26^th December – Closed – Try Saba Turkey Stir Fry – Check out the delicious recipes in Saba:The Cookbook

27^th December – Open from 4pm

28^th December – Open as normal from 12pm

29^th December – Open as normal from 12pm

30^th December – Open as normal from 12pm

31^st December – Open as normal from 12pm

1^st January – Open from 4pm

May we take this opportunity to wish you and your family a peaceful and happy Christmas and a happy healthy and prosporous New Year. Thank you for all your support and loyalty throughout 2011.

We hope to see you over the festive season.

All the team at Saba.