• Doha,  Qatar,  Restaurant Reviews

    Missing a Beet – Review of the Chef’s Garden Restaurant at Al Shaqab

    You know when you are wishing so hard for something to be awesome, or even just pretty good? When you know the ingredients are all there, it just needs that final touch to bring everything together? Well that was me about The Chef’s Garden at the Marwan Club at Al Shaqab. On paper it has it all – interesting location, family friendly grounds and a brilliant concept. That concept, or more like a philosophy is compelling.  It sources its ingredients from Qatar’s growing community of organic farms a well as its own vegetable garden and locally raised lamb and chicken. The menu features low fat and gluten free options. See?…

  • Cheese,  Qatar,  Restaurant Reviews

    Turning up the Beet – a Review of Doha’s First Vegan Restaurant

    When a certain degree of hype surrounds an event, an opening or similar, my natural born cynicism ratchets up a couple of notches. There are some great examples of highly anticipated events just not living up to the forward hype. Notably: The second season of True Detective The iPhone 7 The Whopperito Both of the Sex & the City movies So when bloggers, “influencers”, the media and the general expat population recently lapsed into a rhapsodic trance about the opening of Evergreen Organics, the country’s first vegan restaurant, I was underwhelmed. But…I was also kind of interested. So when my ertswhile collaborator and lighting expert Brooke messaged me yesterday about trying…

  • Cheese,  Organic,  Wales

    Caerphilly Does It

    Last year, my friend Alicia and I thought it would be a great idea to go and see Tom Jones, one of Wales’ greatest exports, perform in Doha. It’s all very well and good until we realized the performance (which incidentally was incredible) was outside, on a beach in 40 plus degree temperatures and high humidity. This is all because I desperately wanted to hear him sing one of my favorite songs, the Green Green Grass of Home. Don’t even get me started on why I like this song, except to say that I should never listen to it when I have been drinking gin. Wales has given us many…