THE BRUNCH WITH A MAP - GRAND BRUNCH @ ST REGIS, DOHA

Ask any legitimate foodie in Doha for the city’s must try dining experiences and Brunches would inarguably figure in the top 3 recommendations of every list. However beware these brunches are not like those in the rest of the world to which you usually roll out of bed !

In GCC, these are more like events for which you dress up in your Friday best. They are Grand, Teeming and even sometimes a tad Extravagant.

So generally the brunches in the city vary from being a family brunch to the drinkers' brunch to the cuisine-centric brunch to the one with the view and more. St Regis Grand Brunch can be named as the Brunch with a Map. Comprising of a gargantuan spread and a countless number of dishes and stations, you would genuinely be "lost" without a map. 

The buffet ranges around an area of 2500 sqm and is made up of 16 stations including live cooking and dishes from the hotel's flagship restaurants such as Opal by Gordon Ramsay, the Raw Bar, Astor Grill, Vine, Sultan Ibrahim. Dishes offered vary from Sushi to Shawarma to Fish and Chips to Beef Wellington to Pizza to Foie Gras to Burgers to Indian to Pot Roasts to Tapas and much more. I really was not joking when I called it “gargantuan”. And as if that was not enough, you could also grab your drinks from the live cocktail stations ranging from sangria to mojitos to margaritas to martinis.

For those with uncontrollable overzealous kids like ours,St Regis offers the perfect antidote in the form of a supervised play area with a jumping castle, face painting and other activities equipped with a special kids' buffet. I was a happy mommy cruising through the buffet and yet being able to see my deeply engrossed little one through the corner of my eye.           

   

The brunch patrons included groups of families, friends, all girls to all boys, all who seemed to be glad to be outside after being confined to the indoors for too long.

On receiving the invite and reading upon the details of the brunch,I had decided to conquer the buffet by

Why Should Ladies Have All The Fun? @Trader Vic's Doha

Lately there have been several round-ups of Ladies' nights happening across town with fabulous offers of free drinks, complimentary bites and drinks priced as low as QR 5 !

It was not long enough before the Hubby (over)reacted on hearing about these and stated-"What makes you ladies so special and privileged that only you all deserve these?"

I managed to list out a couple of the reasons as below:

• Men are clearly not the ones bogged down with the feeling of constant guilt for leaving the families behind at home on their one night off perhaps after a year or even a decade !

• Men are most certainly not the ones worried about being the perfect wife, perfect mother, perfect daughter, perfect employee, perfect boss, perfect chef, perfect housekeeper, perfect friend or definitely not the insane being for even hoping to strike a perfect balance between all of the above roles.

• Even scientific statistics evidence that women were 1.9 times as likely as to suffer as men from anxiety disorders primarily due to juggling work and family life.

So yes Dear Hubby, ladies definitely do need bonus nights and value deals to coax them to get out of the house for "fun". Around the same time, Hilton Doha invited me to their Wednesday Ladies' Night at Trader Vic's.

So, I called up a friend from my university days based in Doha who I hadn't met in over a year inspite of us living 10 minutes apart, gave an ultimatum to meet and soon enough we headed off to Trader Vic's.

The deal and the Menu:

RESTAURANT REVIEW-CREPA CREPA @ PEARL QATAR

After a longer than intended hiatus from this space of mine, I was more than eager to return. It only seemed coincidental that as I was scouting for some material that an opportunity presented itself in the form of a invite to a newly opened "Creperie" located in the Pearl Qatar.

Hubby being a major crepe lover and a chance to sneak away for a date night was infact icing on the crepe ( Oops cake) !

Crepa Crepa is tucked away in the charming Qanat Quartier district in the Pearl which now houses several new eateries namely The Breakfast Club, Esmer Chef, Waffles and Coffee.



The restaurant painted a pretty picture with both outdoor and indoor seating facing the cobbled streets and quaint street lamps. Infact it is not too difficult to imagine that we were not in Doha but vacationing at a road-side cafe somewhere in Europe.

                                            

I also thought the interiors were done very thoughtfully which gave the whole place a very cozy feel that could be best described as that you were actually sitting in a friend's dining room than at a restaurant.

Service was perfect although it is fair to mention that they were expecting us. What I specially thought was noteworthy was that the owner, a Qatari national not just introduced himelf but also took out the time by very passionately taking us through the concept and the highlights of the menu. He also explained that Crepa Crepa is an international franchise hailing from Greece and their Qatari venture is their 16th outlet worldwide.

Once we glanced through the extensive menus offering more than 20 varieties each of the savoury and sweet crepes with additional options to also create customized crepes,left us only further undecided. Finally with the help of our server, we managed to narrow down our choices to two appetizers and two mains.

                                  

The Appetizer Bites were basically crepes that were rolled and sliced up served with a dipping sauce. We had chosen the traditional Greek Tasty Spinach and Smoked Salmon. The Tasty Spinach had a filling of spinach,onions and dill that was complimented with a nice tanginess from the feta and served with a mustard sauce. Smoked Salmon also contained a filling of spinach, onions, dill however with a base of creamy Philadelphia cheese and ofcourse smoked salmon which was served with sour cream. Had to rely on the hubby to do the scoring for this round given that I am not a fish-eater. His favourite was the Smoked Salmon which he described to be fresh and clean. We both thought that the Tasty Spinach could be served with a different sauce (probably a sweet chili or a spicier sauce) considering that both Feta and Mustard were tangy in nature.

                             

                                  

For the mains, we had chosen the Mexican and BBQ Texas crepes. Again initially had to rely on the hubby since the Mexican contained beef which I am not a fan of. ( And you think why Am I a food blogger ?) After some gentle coaxing by the hubby, I took a bite and I was completely blown away. That one bite contained flavours of the spicy minced beef, creamy guacamole , crunchy peppers describing which makes me salivate now. I ended up polishing half of this crepe and why only half if you may ask is because I had to give up the other half as part of my "wifely love" which as an afterthought now I think was foolish !

                                 

The second crepe- BBQ Texas was nothing to write home about but delivered in terms of its flavours with smoked turkey, mushrooms, peppers, gouda cheese and BBQ sauce.

What also I must highlight about both these crepes were its perfect crispy thin texture that put some of others that we have had in the past to shame. It goes without saying that all crepes are made to order and at a live cooking station.

                                    

For desserts we had the Cheesecake Selections with strawberry jam and the Extreme Chocolate with an addition of bananas.

The Strawberry Cheesecake was a disappointment and tasted nothing like a cheesecake rather than just a strawberry jam interspersed with some cream cheese.

                                      

Extreme chocolate hit the right spots for a dessert with its rich tastes of white, milk, dark chocolate, banana and nutella. Served with whipped  cream, I thought we should have ordered a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

For a place that technically serves just one dish, this restaurant does a splendid job in bringing countless varieties to your plate that makes you even forget the intrinsic similarity. If you are looking to spend a relaxed time on a date or with friends and family in a serene ambience with fresh and delicious food, look no further and head to Crepa Crepa.

RESTAURANT REVIEW #6 - AGORA, GRAND HERITAGE DOHA HOTEL AND SPA

It’s not everyday that the parents from both sides come together in Doha and it was only obvious to celebrate the occasion. However inspite of being quite abreast of the foodie scene in the city, I was in a fix when it came to picking a restaurant that would give us a perfect, quiet ambience, be toddler-friendly, had great food and was situated not too far from our home in Al-Sadd.

That’s when I coincidentally came across Agora located in the Grand Heritage Doha Hotel and Spa, Al Waab which came recommended with a few excellent reviews in Zomato.

As soon we arrived at the hotel, I instantly knew that this place would be a winner. The Victorian like exteriors, plush interiors, smiling faces and the serene environment put us all in a great mood right away.

                             

                                  

Being a Sunday night, the place was hardly crowded and we were seated immediately in what almost seemed like a private area of the restaurant.

                      

Agora serves exclusively Turkish cuisine and we were pleasantly surprised when we were handed over I-pad menus instead of the standard books. Infact, my two-year old daughter was the happiest on seeing this, it being a restricted device at home. Nonetheless, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for us since that enabled the rest of us to “almost” enjoy the rest of the evening peacefully.

                                

Moving on to discuss about the protagonist of the evening–the food. We were served with a lemon-mint welcome drink, which was like any other of its kind. Then came the bread basket with the assorted dips. It was not just the variety from the crispy pita breads to the spongy sesame breads that were amazing but their taste and quality paired with the 3 dips –a black olive tapenade, another one that we deduced were made with sun-dried and fresh tomatoes and the third, butter in all its glory and in the perfect consistency.

                                       

We were also given a complimentary amuse bouche which was a chicken kofta with a base of soaked bread that seemed in texture almost like a crumbly cheese served in a tangy tomato and yoghurt sauce. The dish was spectacular but disappeared in one bite and I was almost tempted to ask the server to bring me a second round but restrained myself when I remembered the array of dishes that were on its way.

                          

The first starter that we had placed the order for was the Eggplant-Pepper dish. This dish was a little too sour for our liking and overpowered our palate with the presence of rolled-up vine leaves and tomato sauce.

              

Next was the Chicken pide, a Turkish pastry.  It can be described to be a crispy pastry casing filled with delicious spiced minced chicken that seemed almost meat like. We thoroughly enjoyed the combination of the crunch of the pastry with the filling inside.

                                          

The portion sizes of the main courses were significant and easily catered to the six adults present.

We had the grilled lamb chops that the husband described to be succulent and perfectly cooked served with mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Sheesh Tawook was good like any other of its counterparts available in the city. The highlight were the accompaniments such as spicy bulgur tasted almost like pulao, carrot salad and grilled vegetables.

Chicken Bayti Kebab was a delightful dish where grilled chicken were dressed up and rolled in a saj bread that kept the chicken extremely juicy and moist and held in the flavours. This was also served in a yoghurt-tomato sauce and French fries.

Home made kofte were basically mutton meatballs served on a moist bread base similar to the amuse bouche, in a tomato sauce. This was served with delicious, plump rice, a carrot salad and French Fries.

     

We also had ordered hummus which was pretty normal and just like any from any other restaurant. The yoghurt accompaniment was also not bad and we particularly liked the addition of black sesame.

                          

    
                                         

After downing all of the above, a dessert in usual scenarios was unthinkable. But once me and the husband saw “Kunafa” on the menu, there definitely was no way that we were leaving without tasting that.

And oh my, weren’t we glad, the dessert was truly the star of the evening ! The crispy Kunafa with its oozing cheese combined with the icecream was just mind-blowing. Utterly sinful in every bite but so worth that a trip to this restaurant just to sample this one dish would be easily justified.

                                     

Me and my family had a great time at the Agora. The only down side that I could nit-pick was that though our server was polite and attentive, she barely knew anything about the food nor could answer our questions when we were placing our order. Also, hardcore foodies like us would have appreciated if the server(s) could have given us a brief of each dish when being served. But on the other hand, the maitre'd did compensate to some extent in this regard.

But having said the above, this surely wouldn’t stop us from visiting the restaurant a second time. We enjoyed the delicious food and the calm ambience. We also were happy to use our Entertainer vouchers and this definitely proved worthwhile considering that the restaurant falls in the expensive bracket. 

            

Restaurant Info:

Agora
Ground Floor

Grand Heritage Doha Hotel and Spa

Al Waab
Doha

Ph:+974-44455555

Verdict:

Criteria	Weightage	Points given	Overall
Food	50%	4.0	2.0
Service	20%	3.5	0.7
Ambience	15%	4.5	0.7
Value for Money	15%	4.0	0.6
			4.0

Rating: Excellent JJ

RESTAURANT REVIEW #5 - JONES THE GROCER, THE GATE MALL

My visit to Jones The Grocer, was what you could probably call a deliberate coincidence.

Been meaning to visit this eatery after reading several reviews, I was more than delighted when I won a gift voucher of QAR 200 from Zomato Qatar at a lucky draw at the 2^nd Food Bloggers Meet.

Initially deciding to head out for a Saturday breakfast, it ended up being a lunch with our leisurely weekend pace. And wasn’t I one pleased customer on seeing that breakfasts are served until 3 pm on weekends !

What I particularly liked about the layout of this branch at the Gate Mall was its widespread area with a gorgeous and inviting display of bakes, pastries , breads among many other treats. They most definitely justified their name since in addition to being a restaurant, they also sold premium coffee, extra virgin olive oils, several varieties of organic pastas, vanilla and gift hampers with a collection of these products which certainly would make excellent gifts.

Getting down to business, once we settled down and examined the menu, I right away zeroed down on one of my biggest breakfast favourites- The Eggs Benedict, inspite of having a full breakfast at home! The husband chose the Wagyu Beef Burger. We also ordered a starter in form of a Olive toast with Fresh Ricotta, Cherry Tomatoes and Avocado.

What I especially liked was the striking presentation of all the dishes. The food looked fresh, healthy, colourful yet unpretentious. 

On the appetizer: It was my first time to taste this unique combination of fresh ricotta with cherry tomatoes and avocado and truly found it to be a delight. Ingredients were super fresh and we loved the explosion of flavours and textures in this dish.

Coming to my Eggs Benedict, the eggs were perfectly poached to my choice and the Hollandaise as well was smooth, rich and buttery just as how a good Hollandaise should be. This was served with smoked turkey ham and sautéed spinach. Mixed greens also served on the side perfectly cleansed one’s palate after the richness from the eggs and Hollandaise.

The husband also found the Wagyu Burger to be top-notch and he rated the quality of meat as great. Fries were decent as well. The quantity was so overwhelming that I thought he almost struggled to finish the dish.

Even after all the above, we definitely were not going to give up on desserts. So we ended up choosing the Crème Brulee , Vanilla Cheesecake and a Brownie Cookie with Chocolate Chips. It’s a weekend after all !

The husband being a big fan of Crème Brulee was converted into a major fan with this dessert ticking all the right boxes in terms of taste, presentation and even the Masterchef spoon tap test where the burnt sugar top cracked perfectly on a tap of the back of the spoon.

Frankly, am not big on plain vanilla flavours and am a chocolate person hands down. But this vanilla cheesecake was a taste of heaven with the prime ingredient- “Vanilla” shining throughout and more so, that one could actually spot the specks of the vanilla in the dish. Cheesecake was smooth, creamy and perfectly sweet.

I most definitely couldn’t cheat on my love for chocolate and hence went for the Brownie Cookie with Chocolate Chips. This was crumbly, chocolate-y and decadent. It was aptly named and tasted like a brownie and a cookie.

Overall from the review, you can evidently see that we loved the food and infact I look forward to returning very soon to try more of the breakfast fare and the much raved about pot pies.

Thanks JTG and Zomato Qatar for a memorable lunch !

Restaurant Info:

Jones The Grocer

Ground Floor

The Gate Mall

West Bay, Doha

Ph:+974-44077175/40296928

Verdict:

Criteria	Weightage	Points given	Overall
Food	50%	4.0	2.0
Service	20%	4.0	0.8
Ambience	15%	4.0	0.6
Value for Money	15%	4.0	0.6
			4.0

Rating: Excellent JJ

We used a gift voucher from Zomato Qatar at Jones the Grocer but obviously the opinion I have expressed here is completely mine and honest.