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.