Let’s be honest, it’s been a bit of a year. And now with the festive season looming hard and fast, the last thing we want to do is to cook a huge Christmas meal featuring a turkey. When CUT at the Mondrian Doha offered to send me one of their Turkeys to Go, I jumped at the chance. One of my favorite restaurants at the moment – the food is always spot on and geared towards comfort and taste rather than show. This year they are offering a veritable feast for the festive season (and into January) which is not only delicious but great value. View this post on Instagram…
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Your August Hit List – Where You Should Be Eating and Drinking in Doha This Month
August is a tricky month – it’s neither here nor there. Some people are still away. Some restaurants are closed or reducing operations. And of course, there is Eid in the middle. But it warms my foodie heart to say the restaurants and cafes in Doha are still slapping on the lipstick and putting themselves out there for our judgement. Last month I talked up Claw BBQ Doha and the good news is that they are finally opening (August 2), so do yourself a favor and head down to the Corniche area for this fun restaurant. And a heads up, it looks like the 10 day dry period is back…
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Your May Dining Hit List – Where You Should Be Eating and Drinking in Doha This Month
Right – I’m going to keep this month’s Doha dining hit list short. Why? Because looming very soon, halfway through May, is Ramadan. Given that’s an entirely different dining genre (and another post…), I’m going to focus on the next couple of weeks and where you should be spending those precious pre-Ramadan dining days and nights. And what a selection there is. Doha’s restaurants, you’ve done us proud: Weekend Breakfast at Kafe Ole This gem of a place is a cafe located inside the Holiday Villa complex and honestly I am kicking myself for not trying sooner. Every Friday and Saturday they serve a range of Malaysian breakfast favorites including…
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Three New Doha Happy Hours You Need to Try
Let’s face it, sometimes you need to blow off steam and unwind after a tough week at (or day!) at the coalface. Lucky for us, hotels and bars in Doha are keen to attract our custom with some new and interesting happy hours designed to please even the the most discerning drinker. Here are three new Doha happy hours that have managed to drag me off the sofa in recent weeks and ones you should be giving a red hot go: Gin and Vodka flight at Elements at Four Seasons Doha They say everything comes in threes, and in this case, three is a lucky number. Element’s discrete bar has…
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Making the Cut- Sitting Down With Celebrity Chef and Culinary Powerhouse Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Puck is perhaps the original celebrity chef and one of the first to build a global empire. But he remains humble and driven to evolve not just his brand but his food legacy. Puck sat down with Life on the Wedge at his new restaurant CUT at the Mondrian Doha recently for an exclusive, wide-ranging and illuminating interview about his first venture in Qatar, his view on food trends and the recent sexual harassment scandals uncovered in the restaurant trade. With an empire that spans the globe and includes some of the world’s best known restaurants and brands (and catering the yearly Governor’s Ball party at the Oscars), you…
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Happy Sashimi? Does Morimoto at Mondrian Doha Live Up to its Celebrity Chef Pedigree?
It’s a brave move to open a hotel like the Mondrian Doha in the kind of environment Qatar is currently experiencing. But the Mondrian is a rare breed of a hotel for Qatar – lavish and design driven, even a little eccentric, it boasts TWO celebrity chef helmed operations and a lot of confidence. The Japanese restaurant Morimoto is one of those restaurants – the latest outpost in the empire of the mercurial Chef Masaharu Morimoto. Well known to foodies for his star turns on the cheesy yet addictive original cooking game show Iron Chef and later Iron Chef America (The Chairman’s hair and quotes deserved their own TV series), his empire stretches from…
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When a Chef and a Food Blogger Face Off – in Conversation with the Mondrian’s Simon Winchester
With its fanciful and space age design and celebrity chef styled restaurants, the Mondrian Doha is already shaking up the food scene in Qatar. These include international brands such as CUT and Morimoto as well as Qatari restaurant Walima, casual Hudson Tavern, and bars Black Orchid and Rise. In addition, the much loved Magnolia Bakery has also found a home in the hotel’s sci fi movie set lobby. You can check my blog Facebook page for my first takes on two of these outlets. This is the first foray into the Middle East by edgy hotel brand SBE – complete with its gold plated elevator, Swarovski crystal chandeliers and I Dream of…