Life on the Spot » Qatar

Taste and Fun Food Festival 2012

xtian001 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:44:13 +0000

The best chefs in the country will gather once again in the third annual Taste and Fun Food Festival, to be organized by the Qatar Tourism Authority, at the Doha Exhibition Center from February 8-11.

The entire exhibition floor space will be packed with food stalls. Chefs from a huge variety of restaurants will showcase their signature dishes, selling gourmet treats for QR 5-15 per plate.

It’s a great chance for the whole family to sample the vast and startling pantheon of Qatar cuisine from all around the world. Favourites from last year include Arabic, Thai, European and Indian. There will also be live music, games and a play area for children, plus raffles for cool prizes.

Qatar Motorshow 2012

xtian001 — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:28:20 +0000

2012 Qatar Motor Show

With VIP passes hanging around our necks, Mavis and I visited the VIP preview of 2012 Qatar Motor Show which opened to Media and VIP Guests yesterday, January 23. We didn’t bother to go yesterday as a lot of the cars would only be unveiled late at night and this afternoon. From experience in attending shows like this, it is better to arrive on the 2nd day as the exhibitors are more prepared. The actual public display would be tomorrow, January 25 but since we have VIP passes from Qatar Motor Show organizers, Mavis and I were able view the exhibit ahead of the public.

As a whole, Mavis and I were amazed at the number and type of cars made available by organizers and exhibitors. Some of the highlights would be the Porsche Panamera 4S Exclusive Middle East Edition, special ‘Arabia’ edition of Bentley’s Continental Flying Spur Speed ( 50 units of the model will be made, each selling for 894,000 Qatar Riyals), the Hybrid Toureg, Volswagen Hybrid Concept Car XL1, Vittoria concept car by Up Design, Lamborghini Gallardo, Maserati Gran Cabrio Sport, Lamborghini Aventador and so much more. Car lovers and non-car enthusiasts are sure to enjoy the exhibit.

Some of the more interesting and interactive sections of the exhibit includes the F1 Simulation from Williams and the Shell Professional Simulator in which you can ride their cars in a simulated environment. I tried the Shell Simulator and it was a blast speeding at more than 250kmph! Wish I would have driven longer but since I wasn’t too aware of the track, I got confused upon arriving on a curve and hit a wall. All in all, we spent at least 2 hours roaming the exhibit!

I am so looking forward to our real drifting experience on Friday from world-renowned professional drivers, including the Lebanese Red Bull athlete Abdo Feghali, the rally and Middle East Hill Climb champion, and the new Red Bull 2011 Car Park Drift King, Saeed Al Mouri, of Saudi Arabia.

Great job by the organizers and I’m sure the 2012 Qatar Motor Show is going to be a success. Head to Doha Exhibition Center to experience it!

Draft of New Sponsorship System

Emirates cancels Global Sale in Qatar

xtian001 — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:39:52 +0000

I got an email from Emirates regarding their cancellation of their “Global Sale” in Qatar “due to the requirement of governmental pre-approval.” This is quite alarming since “Global Sales” or promotions, especially if done online means you need to have pre-approval from the Qatari Government to conduct them here? Or does this have to do with the Qatar flagship Air carrier Qatar Airways trying to bully other airlines from getting passengers from Qatar? So that means any carrier who wants to hold ticket sales from Qatar would need Government approval. I’m sure the process itself would take weeks and by the time it gets approved, the intended sale would have been finished. This is a nasty precedent if this logic is followed.

Pictures of Pork Bacon and Sausage in Qatar

xtian001 — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 17:23:55 +0000

We visited Qatar Distribution Company (QDC) this morning to see for ourselves what’s been keeping some people happy these past few weeks. Although the news of Pork products, namely Pork Bacon and Pork Sausages, in Qatar has been out the since middle of November, we weren’t really too excited.

We’ve lived in Saudi for years and have grown not to look for pork as it is also banned in Saudi. We would opt not to buy when friends would ask us if we want to buy a kilo of pork for 80 Rials. What? 80 Rials for a kilo of pork? Yup, that was the ongoing rate then. Usually, these come from Bahrain where pork is allowed to be sold in some licensed restaurants and groceries. When we moved to Bahrain, one would expect that we’d be cooking pork every week but for the 3-4 months we were there, we only had it twice or thrice.

There were so many people at Qatar Distribution Company (QDC) that we had to park outside. People were probably buying stocks for Christmas or probably because it’s going to be a holiday tomorrow for Qatar National Day. You’d hear clanking of bottles once you get inside as it was filled with expats buying all sort of wines and spirits. Near the cashiers, you’ll find a small area for the pork products which used to house beer that was being chilled. I was thinking of taking photos inside but stopped myself as this might land me in trouble. In any case, the main items being sold were Bacon and Sausages. The promised Italian range of Salami, Parma Ham etc, expected at the end of December, were still not available as well as frozen items like chops, joints and belly pork.

All that was offered was smoked & unsmoked back & streaky bacon and 3 types of pork sausage (plain, Lincolnshire & Cumberland). All products were 28 Qatari Rials each.

Lincolnshire Pork Sausages

The Lincolnshire Pork Sausages tasted good except that the texture was too soft and mushy.

Smoked Pork Streaky Bacon

Pork Back Bacon and Pork Streaky Bacon

The Pork Smoked Bacon was good and Xiane loved them.

Draft of New Sponsorship System

Damasca Restaurant in Souq Waqif

xtian001 — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:31:01 +0000

If you have any visitors coming to Qatar, a trip to the Souq Waqif is a must. Not only would you see shops selling middle eastern spices and wares, you can also experience puffing Shisha and trying Arab Cuisine.

As we waited for the GAMARJOBAT duo to do their stuff, Mavis and I decided to eat at a nearby restaurant, Damasca. Damasca is a Syrian restaurant. The weather was great so we decided to eat outside the restaurant. We ordered Chicken Kabsa, our favorite Hummus and was recommended to try the grilled Kibbe (lamb).

Everything came in less than 10 minutes which signaled that the items we’re not cooked of the grill. The Grilled Kibbe was ok. It’s minced lamb with some tomato sauce and placed in a pastry. As this was probably just heated when we ordered, the pastry was tough.

Grilled Lamb Kibbe

Syrian Chicken Kabsa

As for the Chicken Kabsa, the rice was very flavorful and Chicken was tender and juicy. This can easily be one of the tastiest Kabsa I’ve tasted. It is quite expensive at 80QR but can be shared by 2. The Hummus was smooth to the taste and has that nutty flavor we love.

After paying more than 200QR for the food, we deem it was too expensive for the amount of food you get for that amount. We won’t probably go back to Damasca in Souq Waqif but would rather try the other restaurants they have around.

Rating: 7 out of 10
The Good: Chicken Kabsa and Hummus
The Bad: Too expensive