New Menu at Dunia

 
Dunia is a restaurant situated at Villagio mall. This place claims to be trendy and serves traditional Iranian cuisine. Don't be fooled by its noisy exterior supplemented by bustling mall goers - this restaurant promises a cozy ambiance inside. Its rustic Middle Eastern theme is seen everywhere, from the decorative balcony to the high ceiling and low lamps.

Keeping this in mind, we sat down to try out the new menu dished out by this up and coming restaurant in Qatar.

There's plenty to choose from their new menu, which goes on for many pages. Most of the dishes come with an accompanying picture so you have a clear idea of what you are specifically ordering.

Starters

Mezze Platter

The mixed appetizer plate (Hummus, Moutabel, Mouhamara and Vine leaves) looked enticing and was enough for a party of four. It's hard to be excited about Hummus in a country where it's the standard option for appetizers, but special props for the finely made Moutabel and Mouhamara. It was easily one of the best things we had all evening.

Tabouleh and Fattoush Salads

The Fatoush salad was elevated by the use of red radish and mint leaves in it. The taste test for a classic Fatoush salad is the ability to retain its crunchiness while enjoying the tangy juices. This salad managed to do both.

Chicken Liver

Chicken Wings

We were expected to be blown away by the chicken wings, but it felt slightly undercooked. The chicken liver was well-cooked, but slightly too citrus-y for our taste.  However, they got the acidity right in the crispy Patata Harra - Hot Potatoes (Not in picture).

Main Course

Mixed Grill

Mixed Grill with Kofta, Chicken Tawook and Meat Cubes.
When there's so much goodness in one dish, it is very important to achieve a balance with all the elements in it. Fortunately, this dish manages to do that because of its simple ingredients and well-cooked meat. While the chicken was marinaded well and the beef was not over-chewy, the succulent lamb caught our attention with its burst of Arabic flavors. Juicy and fresh, we wish we could go to the kitchen and pack a whole plate of just the lamb. Dish done right!

Okra Stew with Steamed rice

Okra Stew with Steamed rice

Love the way the zesty flavors combined in the Okra stew. You could eat the whole thing in one sitting without getting tired of its taste. The rice is bland but a necessary accompaniment to this mouthful dish!

Oriental Rice with Leg of Lamb

Oriental Rice with Leg of Lamb
The strong cinnamon flavor which stemmed from the rice is not everyone's cup of tea, and understandably there were mixed opinions of the dish.  A little weak on presentation, this dish is alright but it wouldn't quite be our first choice on the menu.

Desserts

Basbosa and Mamoul

Oumali

 


Three dishes. One winner - the Mamoul with its biscuit exterior and sweet interior infused with mashed dates, along with a creamy vanilla based sauce, took the best dessert prize, hands down.

Perfect way to end the meal, don't you think?

For more information about the restaurant, you can follow them on Twitter or Facebook.

Vapiano - Restaurant Review

Vapiano is a quaint,new age Italian restaurant located in the West Bay area. Self check-in counters, an easy ambience and comfortable seating make this a very pleasant trip. We didn't try a lot, but whatever we did, did not disappoint.

Minestrone Soup

Easy on the palette, filling and scrumptious. It was slightly bland so we has to add generous amounts of salt and pepper.

Chicken Caesar Salad

The chicken was grilled to perfection, the lettuce was crunchy with fried bits of their fresh brown bread as croutons. The dressing was creamy and delicious.

Chicken Alfredo Pasta

You can make your own pasta or go with one of their signature ones. This fettuccine pasta with onions, mushrooms and small pieces of chicken was sprinkled with grated parmesan cheese and was served with freshly baked brown bread. The portion was great and (more than) enough for two people. The pasta was delicious with the right amount of creamy alfredo sauce and red jalapeno peppers. The chicken pieces blended well with mushrooms and bell peppers. Tip: Adding broccoli adds to the freshness of the dish.

A big blunder we made was not try the pizzas that they offered (they looked delicious!) They have an interesting array of options for drinks. We would recommend the easily gulp-able strawberry lemonade.

Average meal for two: QAR 60

Vapiano Qatar
The Gate Mall
West Bay
Doha,
Qatar

This review was non-sponsored and conducted anonymously.

Mouth-watering Meal at the Market (W Hotel, Doha)

With Ramadan having started, we were thinking of possible restaurants in the West Bay area that are open for lunch. We decided to try the 'Lunch Express’ offer at the Market (W Hotel Doha) and what a fantastic idea that was!

The restaurant was pretty busy considering it was lunchtime but we were seated as soon as we walked in. The ambiance is lovely with minimalist colors and warm lighting. We were served fresh breads with some butter while we contemplated what to order. The Lunch Express option is a 3-course express meal. The menu is varied with around five options for each of the three courses. (Vegetarian options are also available, and delicious at that.) Since it is designed as an express business lunch, we were asked to order all our courses at once.

Our appetizers arrived promptly. We got the Avocado and Apple salad with pecans and the Crispy Calamari with rosemary and lemon dip. I am not a huge fan of salads but the the tanginess of the apples and sweetness of the pecans complemented the avocados and greens very well. This light and fresh salad was a great start to my 3 course feast. The Crispy Calamari was an absolute winner

In a happy place post our appetizers, we were given a couple of minutes before our wonderful entrees arrived. I ordered for the Fusilli with Mushrooms in a lemon cream and Parmesan sauce and the Parmesan crusted Chicken. The pasta portions were hearty and I dug right into it. The sauce was a little too tangy for our taste but the mushrooms and fusilli were cooked to perfection. The scattered pine nuts added a pleasant crunch to the dish. While I was unable to finish my dish because of the large portion size (and I wanted to leave space for dessert), my colleague managed to wipe her plate clean. As they say, actions speak louder than words; She seemed mighty pleased with her juicy entree.

Moving on to the favorite part of our meal, the dessert options were appealing to the eyes. The inner chocoholics in us eventually took over and we both picked the Warm Chocolate cake with a dollop of Vanilla ice cream. As I used my spoon to cut a piece, moist chocolatey goodness started to flow out. Complemented by the vanilla ice cream, this dessert was off our plates and in our tummies in a couple minutes. Our taste buds were in heaven!

I ordered black coffee to get myself out of what felt like a perpetual food coma because of all the delicious food I had just consumed. As we waited for our bill, we glanced at our watches and realized we had spent a good hour and fifteen minutes at our “express” lunch. While it may not hold true to its tagline of “served in 30 minutes”, it is an absolute delight nonetheless! We also noticed that my coffee, my friend’s drink, and our water cost a few riyals extra which brought our check total to approximately 130 riyals per person. 

A signature restaurant by 3 star Michelin chef Jean-Georges, this 3-course meal definitely lived up to his reputation. The Lunch Express offer is great value for money and we walked out of the Market extremely content. 

For just 130 riyals, this restaurant delivers a wonderful experience.

(Also check out the Spice Market at the W Hotel Doha as well. Serving South East Asian cuisine, they have an express lunch option for 89 riyals as well!)

Doha Diaries reviews are conducted anonymously and are not sponsored.

Near Satiation at Romano's Macaroni Grill

Situated at the Villagio mall, one does not expect this restaurant to be cozy and quiet, but surprisingly this place achieves both attributes. It is cut off from the otherwise bustling mall and gives you the dining experience you'd hope for. The restaurant has an indoor and outdoor section, and unless you want to be stared at by walking shoppers, we'd suggest the comfortable indoor seating.

Known for its fine dining Italian food, Romano's does not disappoint completely. Yes, it could be tweaked to perfection, but we were happy with most of their dishes.

While the ambiance was stylish, and service prompt, here's what we thought of the food we ordered.

Crab stuffed mushrooms

A complete winner. It was smooth on the palette. The crab was well cooked and adequately stuffed into deliciously cooked button mushrooms. The dish was presented nicely and the accompanying garlic bread was fresh. Some of us at the table felt the dish was on the blander side and needed more salt but overall, this is one of the dishes we'd come back for.

Primavera Pizza

The vegetarian at the table was thrilled. The pizza was fresh, wasn't too oily. The crisp crust with the puffed edges elevated the entire dish for us. Use of earthy italian flavors made it easy to keep munching on every slice.

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

This was hands down the best dish of the afternoon. The Parmesan crust complemented the fish beautifully. The pickled capers sprinkled on top added the right hint of pungency. The garlic factor promised with the dish was completely missing, but top points for the well flavored and well cooked meat.

Chicken Portabella

Hugely let down by this dish. The caesar salad that we ordered alongside was under dressed and way too bland for us. The chicken breast was too thick for our liking and made it difficult to proceed to the next bite. The accompanying rice was made bitter by the overdose of spinach leaves. The priciest dish of our meal disappointed us the most.


Quick tip: Avoid the mint mojito unless you like the taste of bitter tasting cough syrup. All the bread makes you more thirsty than usual so we'd recommend ordering the bottomless iced tea or soda.

Average cost for a meal for two: QAR 250

Romano's Macaroni Grill
Villagio Mall
Al Aziziya
Ph: +974 44320921






Doha Diaries reviews are not sponsored and are conducted anonymously.

Summer secrets

Picture Source

Harleen Arneja knows her food and how. Be it her homemade wood fire pizzas or the gooey chocolate cakes, we love her experiments and trysts with food! The Doha heat has so far been excruciatingly bad for us. We keep piling up on cold soda cans, lemony iced tea, laban and whatnot. What we need right now is a refreshing drink that will make this summer bearable; a thirst quencher to tickle our taste buds. We asked Harleen to share a summery drink recipe with us. She chose the Jasmine Mint Spritzer because she thinks it is a perfect mix which combines both sweet and sour elements. The taste of jasmine tea lingers on, cooling your system and reviving summer memories. Here is Harleen's recipe:

-------

Summer! The parties, the barbeques and the beaches. Nothing is quite complete without the perfect drink to beat the heat, to start the breeze, to make us sway and enjoy the day!

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” 
― Henry James

Indeed. Summer afternoon: most coveted, most awaited and most enjoyed.

Here is a recipe to accompany the scrabble games on the patio under the clear summer sky:

Jasmine Mint Spritzer Recipe

 Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients: 

1 cup boiling water
1 cup room temperature water
2 tea bags, Jasmine tea/green tea
2 sprigs of fresh mint
2 plums, pitted and sliced
1 nectarine, pitted and sliced
1.5 tbsp. maple syrup ( or regular table syrup)
1 cup ice
half cup soda water

 

 

Instructions: 

Step 1: In a large container, combine boiling and room temperature waters. Add the tea bags and let it steep for twenty minutes to an hour. Discard tea bags.

Step 2: Pour the tea into glass pitcher. Add mint sprigs, plums, nectarines and maple syrup; stir. Refrigerate for up to two days.

Step 3: To serve, place half cup ice in glass. Top with tea mixture until 3/4 full, ensuring some fruit and mint sprig in each glass. Top the last quarter of glass with soda water.

Enjoy!

Laysh

Alan Bennett, the screenwriter and the man who read out the adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland to me when I was all of seven, once spoke about why reading is so unlike anything else in wide world. He elaborates “The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – that you’d thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you’ve never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it’s as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.” 

How many times have you felt this feeling of transcendence, when you are here and there at the same time? That, is the magic of reading.

Nowadays, it feels as though reading has been reduced to status updates on popular networking sites. People “don’t have the time”, and are busy on their (not-so)smartphone; a device that sadly doesn’t facilitate reading like it should.

Picture source

These are just some of the thoughts that Uzair had in mind before embarking on Laysh,  an initiative which picks up one of world’s oldest hobbies and packs it with a fresh approach.

So what is Laysh all about? To tell us more, we caught up with Uzair Mohammed, chief curator of TedxYouth@Doha and one of the active minds behind this project. 

Here’s what he had to say:

Q: Laysh as an initiative, how did it all begin?

TEDxYD and Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Project were hoping to work together ever since the first edition of TEDxYouth@Doha. When we finally did sit down and brainstorm ideas of launching a project, one of the first ideas that came up, turned out to be (what is now known as) Laysh.

Q: What do you aim to achieve from this project?

Picture source

Reading is obviously a critical element of any child's education. The challenge is to cultivate it within young people as a passion rather than what it is seen as today (in Qatar, at least) by youth, i.e. a chore.

By hearing perspectives from all sides of the debate, from young and old, we hope to create a maelstrom of ideas, thoughts, and perspectives on the positives and ills of reading- hoping that in the end, we are able to address youth with these messages. 

Q: Why did you pick reading over other popular interests?

TEDxYouth@Doha focuses on developing critical skills within youth- public speaking, writing, speaking, and reading. We consider these skills a bedrock for youth development. Combine TEDxYouth@Doha's approach with the aspirations of Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing in Qatar, and reading was a natural topic for us to engage over. 

Q: What has the response been so far?

The response has been excellent, actually. We have had tremendous interest from youth community leaders many of whom have chosen to join us as Laysh mentors and record videos for the campaign. Additionally, we have schools taking part in the project and we expect lots of entries to start pouring in quite soon. 

Q: Why a video about reading instead of a write up about reading?

I think that we have to start engaging youth where they live and breathe. Making a video is simple, it doesn't require much prep, you don't have to be worried about spelling mistakes or that your composition skills may not be up to par. In making a video, you can express yourself in any way you wish. If you wish to shoot or direct a film instead, someone can do that. If someone does not want to appear on video, they can choose not to. If someone wants to create a beautiful piece of art, they can do that, and someone else like me who has no video editing skills whatsoever can also just turn their smartphone around and record their thoughts for 2mins. Videos are also much easier to share through Facebook and Twitter. Making a video today is accessible, easy, and fun. That answers the video part of your question.

The other side of it is that youth aren't writing too much either. That is just as hard a reality as the stats on reading. We chose to address reading this time. 

Q: To the founders of the idea: What were the last three books you read and why did it make you feel like reading is essential enough to make it a cause?

Lana Shamma - Acting Director of Writing & Development - Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing: The Girl Who Fell to Earth by Sophia Al-Maria; A Country Called Amreeka by Alia Malek; and Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami.

As cheesy as it may sound I think that reading is a formative part of my life. The books I read growing up helped me create a sense of who I am, who I want to be, and where I want to go. To this day, I can fully immerse myself in a book and not notice what's going on around me. I hope that this generation of kids is able to activate their imaginations in the same way.

Uzair Mohammad - Chief Curator, TEDxYouth@Doha: I have recently read/am reading: Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman; A History of Iniquity by Jorge Luis Borges; and Enter Phlebas by Iain M. Banks. Whether these books sparked a cause is putting too much pressure on too few books. I think though that reading allows us to imagine a world through other voices, in detail. Rarely do we get a view of someone else's life/ideas/thoughts in such depth- this is true for fiction, non-fiction, educational, and art books. These varied voices, ideas, words, and phrases allow our own voice to develop- leading us towards better expression of our own thoughts/ideas/life- whatever shape that expression takes. That's my take on it, at least.

--
Reading is a boon we take for granted and we are absolutely thrilled to see refreshing projects like Laysh in Qatar!

Uploading a Laysh video is very simple. All you have to do is visit the website, fill in details and add files. We strongly recommend you do!

For more information about the project and to know how to get involved you can visit their page here: http://laysh.org