Batchig: Sealed with a Kiss of Flavours and Colours

Batchig means a kiss in the Armenian language – a kiss which at this new restaurant comes with a thousand colors, flavors and aromas. Batchig by Mayrig is a new concept serving regional Levantine specialties with an Armenian twist, located in the Dbayeh area. You won’t get lost; as you go up the Antelias Bridge you will see a huge sign leading you to Batchig. I couldn’t but help stop at this big red house, which has grabbed my attention day in and day out for some time now. But what I didn’t expect was to see a whole new world of culture, design and taste the minute I walked in – all under one roof… Batchig is a new approach to regional/Levantine cuisine where you can expect to enjoy some special traditional revisited dishes, fresh salads with a twist, amazingly original desserts and even an arguile which comes with Meske/Mint flavor to say the least. Trust me that’s not all…

Owners of Mayrig celebrating their 10^th year – thought of introducing a new concept to Lebanon, a concept no one has already thought of before. Looking around for the best cooks, Batchig now hosts a kitchen of various women, each Armenian yet from a different country in the region (Greek/Armenian, Lebanese/Armenian, Syrian/Armenian...) Each has added her touch to some of the signature dishes this new place has to offer. Batchig's walls are now filled with their pictures - they are refereed to as Batchig's Mums - signifying their unity and traditions to bring Lebanon a whole new flavor.

Now you know that each and every bite on this wide menu, tells a story, an experience, a tradition, passion...

Just open the door and you’ll be welcomed into a spacious two floored restaurant with a terrace. The overall soothing white space is colored by the furniture and other tiny details imaginable… Your eyes will be in for a treat.

I loved this space so much:

• A long corridor leads you to a very high open space perfectly lit by daylight accessing from the glass rooftop
• Facing the entrance, stainless steel covered wood oven handles a large portion of the menu
• The floor, poured with polished concrete. This new age material adds a hint of modernism
• A general white ambiance relaxes your senses
• White walls and gypsum white ceiling highlight the colorful furniture underneath
• Dozens of design porcelain plates decorate the walls
• The claustra details add an oriental feel to the place and connects the architecture to its surrounding
• Two floors to choose from, depending on your mood are open one on the other
• One of the walls on the upper floor is covered with a beautiful wallpaper filled with little flowers
• Two bars, one on the upper floor and the other outside prepare the drinks
• Outside seating is distributed between the upper floor and the large terrace on ground level
• Two individual spaces inside, host large tables for intimate groups
• The three arcades, signature design of Mayrig, are reproduced in a modernized way
• Uncountable design ideas and materials all blend in perfectly together without making the space look like an art gallery
• On the upper floor, a single glass chandelier is the main art piece decorating the space

My favorite design item: Playing on the art of light and shadows, the metallic sieve like wall scones reflect beautiful art work on the walls while adding warmth to the ambiance.

Discovering the architectural details will just mesmerise you:

• All the colors of the rainbow are represented inside this space (violet, yellow, green, brown, grey, black, pink, red, orange...) have their moment to shine in different parts of the setup… whether the couches, the pillows, the chairs…
• Each and every area has unique designed chairs and tables without making the space look crowded
• Inside, yellow wooden carved tables accompany a couple of marble ones. Outside, marble is everywhere to protect them from the elements of nature
• On the upper floor, chairs are fabricated with four different kinds of wood and covered with violet fabrics
• Outside, the yellow, white and grey chairs are decorated with green and pink covers
• Colorful, passionate and funky, the terrace transports you way far from the city's chaos
• Sofas or chairs, the choices are plenty depending on your mood
• The lace like round pieces placed under the table plants are amazingly unique giving an authentic feel of the past

The menu:

• The salads (5 items)
• The delights (wide selection of traditional dishes in olive oil and fresh "greens" salad bar
• Batchig's starters to share (28 items)
• The pots (5 items)
• The mains (12 items)
• The oven corner (9 items)
• The desserts (14 items)

We ordered from the varied menu:

• Batchig Sticks: Long twisted fried stuffed with one ingredient: 1,500L.L/stick
• Vospov Keufteh: The traditional grandma recipe of the red lentil kebbeh, served with tomatoes and onion dip: 9,000L.L
• Tchi Keufteh: Armenian style raw meat kebbeh mixed with a special combination of spices, served with spiced minced meat: 15,000L.L
• Fishna: Grilled minced meat with yogurt and Mayrig's wild cherries: 20,000L.L
• Mante: Crispy baked meat dumplings served with a hot tomato sauce and cold yogurt with garlic: 20,000L.L
• Hommos Batchig: Hummus with a special mix of lentils 9,000L.L
• Eggplant Salad: Grilled eggplant with rocca, purslane and tomato with pomegranate molasses dressing: 12,000L.L
• Tahinov Hats: Freshly baked cinnamon & tahini roll with vanilla ice-cream: 10,000L.L
• Pain Perdu-'ian': Home made cake with rose flavored lokums served with hot sahlab and cinnamon: 12,000L.L
• Lokoum Pie: Rose flavored lokoum pie with fresh ashta: 8,000L.L

Soon: Although you're not in a pizzeria, but in an Armenian restaurant, expect to taste large selection of pizzas they call flat bread, manakeech, Arpi, Azniv, Anayis, Dzaghig, Astghig, Biberov. Names known around the Armenian community for being popular street food preparations. Ask for the Lahme Beajine with pomegranate molasses or a flat bread with cheese and basterma pieces...

Let's indulge in this fine sophisticated food: Armenian it is, indeed, but not heavy at all...

• Batchig Sticks: Fried, long and twisted rolls, simply awesome. It is the first time I taste fried rolls without feeling the oil. Filled with premium ingredients, every roll is generously filled. I tried three flavors. Basterma and cheese, which are succulent, the olive and labneh as well as the chanklish mix – all are amazingly tasty.
• Vospov Keufteh: With a beige color, you'll think that this plate is hummus but it's not. A light taste but an ingenious creation. The flavors of the ingredients are just so good

• Tchi Keufteh: For you raw kebbeh lovers, that is an imperative plate to taste. Lighter and tastier than the Lebanese kebbeh, this creation can be enjoyed anytime of the week without it being a feast coupled with Arak as we know it

• Fishna: Wow! The meat, the laban, the sweetness, the cherries, the baked bread. Simply wow! The ingredients are perfectly mixed, yet every ingredient is richly felt. Light and soft meat without a borghol taste, fresh laban and a hint of sweetness only, added by the cherries. It is so f* good

• Mante: My favorite Armenian plate now enjoyable at a very reasonable price. The stainless steel tray comes carrying small meat dumplings in a round stainless pan, a small jug of laban, and a small jug of tomato sauce and a small plate of sumac. The waiter will ask your permission to prepare it. Pour the tomato juice on the meat dumplings, followed by the laban and seasoned with the sumac. Heavenly. Eat this fast before the meat become soaked in the mixture. This dish is enjoyed with that crunchiness. Plunge in and enjoy the different flavors and consistencies

• Hommos Batchig: Hummus with a special mix of lentils. The perfect hummus with an exquisite mix in the middle. A must try

• Eggplant Salad: I am not a fan of eggplant, but this one is different. You won't feel the strong taste of this vegetable as the mix of rocket and mint leaves and pomegranate molasses create an equilibrium which makes this salad unique on all levels

• Tahinov Hats: Freshly baked cinnamon & tahini roll with vanilla ice cream. Many who are fond of Armenian traditional dishes can explain more about this dish – I personally didn’t enjoy it because I am not familiar with it

• Pain Perdu-'ian': Home made Madeleine cakes with rose flavored lokums fitted inside served with hot sahlab and cinnamon. The lokums melt in contact of the warm sahlab that gets absorbed by the round cakes making them spongy and wet. A pain perdu that has nothing to do with the ones you’ve tried before, trust me. Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! I appreciate and salute your creative efforts.

• Lokoum Pie: A crunchy dough holding a thin layer of fresh achta covered with pink lokum gelée giving this cake its required sweetness. So heavenly, this cake deserves an award.

Food is just exquisite. Dear Batchig Mums in the kitchen, I send you my warm regards… and a big batchig for your tasty dishes... The little details I fell in love with:

• Batchig's logo, the pink pomegranate is just so classy, beautifully designed by Rana Salam, a renowned designer
• Outside are heavy copper ashtrays, no amount of wind can move it an inch.  As for the inside, other stainless ones without cigarette support center all the tables
• The Churchill printed plates imported from England are so beautiful, pieces of art in front of every customer
• Thank you for giving your customers the choice to choose between Pepsi and Coca-Cola
• Dishes are generous and filled to top. The prices are affordable without any surprises on the bill
• Food is served in old style aluminum oven trays
• The place mats showing the Ararat mountains are decorated with pink dots which remind you of the logo
• The waiters each have nice name tags, while wearing white shirts and beige pants. The classy logo is stitched on their collars and pants
• Waiters are attentive and changes plates often, clean up the tables when needed and changed ashtrays often
• Ice cubes comes in an old fashioned stainless steel ice bucket
• Soft drinks glasses are the normal long ones, as for water, it is served in thick designed glasses; the old fashioned way
• Coffee is served in a traditional stainless steel tray, carrying a traditional coffee pot and coffee cups and a small dish of fresh cherries, I guess, fruit of the season
• The restrooms are beautifully designed and clean

I would change:

• Music is nice, calm and soft but has it has nothing to do with the concept. I would play Mediterranean Middle Eastern smooth tunes in the background
• With an oven that big and sophisticated, fresh homemade bread should be served, not the average nylon wrapped commercial ones
• I would definitely add some pictures of star dishes to the menu. Many like to see what they will be eating, especially when the food is unique and original. Pictures will entice customers to order. I think Armenian cuisine is like Japanese cuisine to most. We prefer to see a beautifully set plate which will invite us to actually try it...

Batchig is tradition, childhood, family gatherings. Batchig is a smile, a memory, a flavor. Batchig is a delicious meal rich with stories inspired by yesteryears, travels, and secrets. Batchig is a sweet kiss from your grandmother.  Batchig is the creation of grandmothers who have worked in the kitchen of Mayrig for many years. They have been cutting, peeling, kneading, spicing, mixing, cooking, baking, and sharing their ideas and experiences for years, each bringing a specialty with her. It is these grandmothers that have put together a bit of their stories to create an explosion of flavors. Every item on our menu is a story. A story that has been put together by all our grandmothers, by the people who have taken the rich Armenian heritage and enriched it with their own experiences along the way. Every item tells of a different adventure across lands, from Jordan, Syria, Greece, Lebanon, Egypt, all the way to Marseilles and the lands of the Mediterranean. The menu ends up being a bouquet of the region’s best flavors, infused with an Armenian inspiration. Batchig is, first and foremost, the fruit of one grandmother, who was the inspiration behind Mayrig. It then grew to envelop many other grandmothers, from different backgrounds and families, and in doing so, has created a new family of grandmothers cooking to their heart’s content. Just like Mayrig, Batchig is a family-run restaurant, committed to tradition, taste, quality and excellence.

I honestly didn't expect to enjoy today's lunch this much. Everything seems to be just great starting with the place, the menu, the interior, design details,  the service and professionalism of the management.... Since Batchig won't be officially open before the end of Ramadan, be the first to go and try it and experience this one of kind restaurant with a bright future.