Dreams do come true. ABBA is reforming (kinda). QDC now opens on a Friday. And someone built a 24 hour free wine fountain. So I have decided to put it all out there and share my Doha Dining Wish List. Feel free to laugh, cry or even add your own in the comments below. Open Table or similar booking service – my recent trip to the US (blog post in the works) was made all that much better by this website and app. I managed to book excellent tables in the most sought after restaurants in DC and Philadelphia with barely a hitch. Imagine cutting out the middle woman and being able to do…
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The Brunch to Beat – Shangtastic at the Shangri-La Doha
I used to be a prolific bruncher but around 18 months ago I gave up on the brunch scene in Doha. It was a combination of factors that pushed me to the brink – other priorities on Fridays, work and finally, the lack of value for money. It was around the time that brunches hit QR440 and frankly they weren’t great value for money – lavish buffets of tired salads and meat, the odd unique item and of course, the bubbles/booze. Some were so big they offered maps to diners, others felt like lining up at school cafeterias. Brunch, I just wasn’t that into you. I know that others started…
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Wok and Roll – A Review of the Shanghai Club
It’s very rare that I would go to a restaurant “cold” – that is with literally no idea what to expect in terms of food or experience. Usually Doha-based foodies would have swarmed a new venue, picked it apart and shared it on social media. Or, the fooderati (I say that with my tongue very firmly planted in my cheek) would have been invited and posted glowing reviews. The Shanghai Club at the Shangri-La Doha opened a few weeks ago with a glitzy party. Then…silence. No reviews. No chatter. Only online ads. With AZ out of town, I rounded up Alicia and we headed to the 43rd Floor to see what the big…
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Rollin’ In the Deep – A Review of Cactus Senshi
When I hear the phrase “fusion food” my eyebrows arch (as much as they can). Why can’t good food just be food? Why does it have to have a label? So it was with a certain degree of trepidation that I finally entered the brightly lit premises of the much hyped Cactus Senshi in Bin Mahmoud. This restaurant opened a couple of months ago to much fanfare and almost hysterical behavior by some bloggers and the media. I briefly attended their opening night, complete with giant cake and endless selfie opportunities. But left before the food was actually served. Since then I had heard mixed feedback about the food. So, I wanted…
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Giveaway Alert – Win Dinner for 4 at Doha Marriott’s Noodling Night
Nobody had to think twice when I circulated on our tribe whatsapp group about the Doha Marriott’s new Saturday night deal. Called Noodling Night it’s a simple concept – all you can eat noodles and dumplings hand made by their Asia Live! chef Xudong Zheng every Saturday night from 6.30pm. All for QR100 per person OR add QR60 per person for an unlimited draft (wine and beer) beverage package. Honestly we did have to double check the offer – it’s that good. Favorites at our table were the noodles with slow cooked beef, a spicy seafood noodle dish and of course, all the dumplings. Throw in a few glasses of wine and…
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Raising the Stakes – A Review of Toro Toro One Year on
When I wrote this review of Toro Toro a year ago, the response from readers was incredible. Yet, there was almost complete radio silence from the restaurant itself. Not that I expected it from a blogger point of view – That would be arrogant. But from a customer service point of view, as someone who spent a lot of money and had a genuinely disappointing evening and had told people about it. A call would have been nice. It was genuinely disappointing for me. I have been a fan of its founder Richard Sandoval for many years. I loved the dearly departed Mexican venue Pampano at The Pearl (now replaced by Tex…
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I’m in Truffle – Trying the Four Seasons’ Doha Special Black Truffle Menu
It takes a mammoth effort to drag me of the couch on a Tuesday night with a head of cold and a full evening of TV viewing on the Crime Channel ahead. But when Four Seasons Doha calls and offers you an exclusive opportunity to try their Black Truffle Month menu, I managed to summons up courage, clarity and commitment to attend. It’s Black Truffle Month and this means that hotels across town snap up as many of the morsels as they can freight. Tuber melanosporum, called the black truffle, Périgord truffle or French black truffle, is a species of truffle native to Southern Europe. It is one of the most expensive edible mushrooms…
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Greece is the Word – A Review of Mykonos at Intercontinental Doha
About a week ago, the yearly change of seasons started in Qatar. This isn’t as tangible and the leaves changing color. No, in Qatar, the daytime temperature drops below 40 degrees. When that happens we all collectively lose our minds and start doing wacky things like sitting outside at night. It was a balmy but bearable Monday night and when we arrived at Mykonos at the Intercontinental Doha and overtake by this collective weather induced hysteria, we made a beeline for the outside terrace. Along with others diners we wanted to take advantage of the first days of the brief winter. I’m glad we did as it gave me a chance to…
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New Competition – Win a dim sum brunch for two at Hwang (dumplings people!)
I am an impatient woman. Especially when it comes to food. I don’t do lines. Except…when it comes to dumplings. In Australia I have been known to arrive early to one of Sydney’s many excellent yum cha places. The lines at many are infamous for their length and their ability to humble. Luckily for us Doha dwellers, you can access an excellent yum cha style brunch without the lining up or the jostling for position. Hwang at the Intercontinental Doha The City is one of my favorite brunch spots. It takes a lot for me to return to a place time and time again but this place has it all – great…
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Much Ado About Nothing – A Review of Romeo & Juliet Restaurant in Doha
Here’s the thing…I’m a simple girl with mostly simple tastes. But I do draw the line in eating in what is essentially a Disneyfied fairy tale themed food theme park on a major aterial road. At Romeo & Juliet the suspension of belief happens before you even enter the restaurant – there is a full blown Cinderella coach in the courtyard. There is something off about a 40-plus woman climbing into a carriage as semi trailers honk from the road. Once inside, the theme – Romeo and Juliet and romance in case you missed this – is even more heavily labored. When I say labored…I mean applied with a shovel.This is…
