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.

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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

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I have to say that this is a biased review because I am a fan of Green Lantern and read and followed his story in comics. For those who doesn’t know his origin story, what he does and all, Mavis says the movie is entertaining though not as good as Thor and a bit better than Superman. It’s still might be worth the watch on cinema but no need watching it on IMAX or even 3D.

Now my complaints. Why can’t DC make better storylines than Marvel? Why can’t they stick to the basic premise of the comic character? As what I’ve said on my previous movie review, it’s ok and understandable for movie producers to change bits and parts of the movie to make it more entertaining and exciting. But this is not true for Green Lantern. I did try not to be biased when the movie started but the movie kept disappointing me the longer it went.

Technical Merits of the Film
As far as the effects are concerned, I can say that they were ok. Nothing that really says that it’s outstanding. The area where the Green Lanterns gather reminded me of “Zion” from “The Matrix”. The training ground for Hal was flat and one dimensional. Disappointing. The green constructs were very simple. It’s understandable for Hal to have simpler constructs but for Sinestro and the other GLs, I was hoping to see bigger and more complex constructs.

The stiff lantern where Hal recharges his ring was also very crude. They should have stuck to a “lantern”. They are called Green Lantern right?

Acting
Was surprised at Blake Lively’s performance. Not award-winning but better than Megan Fox (Transformers) and definitely much much better than January Jones (Emma Frost on Xmen First Class). Ryan Reynolds (Hal Jordan/Green Lantern) did ok. Hal’s comic book character was more serious than his but it’s probably the fault of the screenplay and what was asked of him which made Hal goofier than needed. Mark Strong (Sinestro) was on top of his game as he was smug and as snob as what I have imagined Sinestro to be.

The Director
Martin Campbell isn’t fit to direct this. He might have been good with “The Mask of Zorro” or “Casino Royale” but this was too big for him.

Stuff that defy the comic origin (SPOILERS – For those who don’t want spoilers, stop reading and just watch the movie if you want to.)

1. Parallax is an entity by itself and didn’t take a Guardian to be its host. Parallax was placed and imprisoned inside the main power Battery in OA.

2. The green constructs by the GLs can not affect anything yellow because the rings draw their power from the main power battery in which Parallax (colored yellow) is imprisoned. They didn’t show this weakness in the movie.

3. Abin Sur was not killed by Parallax. He was killed by Atrocitus, one of the 5 Inversions, eventually becoming the leader of the Red Lanterns.

4. Abin Sur landed on the desert. Why did they need to have him crash-land on a swamp??? Also, they didn’t find his body. They were able to get his spaceship.

5. Hector Hammond was not infected by Fear but his powers came from exposure to a meteorite. On GLs 2nd Secret Origins story, he was exposed to a meteorite from Abin Surs’ space ship.

6.  Sinestro actually became Hal Jordan’s mentor and friend before Hal caused Sinestro to loose his Green Lantern status.

I’m not going to elaborate more on these as I would have been happy if they could have made the plot less convoluted that it was. Changing something that improves the story is good but changing it to the point of making it confusing it not acceptable.

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The Food Festival is behind the Doha Exhibition Center

The Doha Food Festival being held at the Doha Exhibition Center started on February 23 but we only had time to visit the festival on its last day today (February 26). I’ve heard a lot of comments from people going to the festival through Facebook and Twitter and reviews had been mixed. We were supposed to visit yesterday but thinking that it was a weekend, we were sure that it would be filled with people so we decided to stay home and wait for today.

No Posters to tell people that the Festival is held at the area behind the building!

We left the apartment at about 12:30 PM and parked in front of the Doha Exhibition Center along with the other groups who were also going to the Doha Food Festival. We didn’t see anything posted in front of the building and we tried opening doors which were locked. The people who were also looking for a way to get in also checked other entrances but all were locked. Seeing that we were probably looking for the Food Festival, a Qatari pointed us to the back side were it was being held.

What??? The posters indicate that it was held at the Doha Exhibition Center so people would assume that it was inside the building. And if they were holding it behind the open ground, the organizers (Qatar Tourism Authority) should have made an effort to direct people going to the front of the building to the back area through some posters.

A stall from Diplomatic Club

Belgian Cafe's Offerings

The Belgian Sausages turned out to be Turkey Sausages

The Turkey Sausage was still yummy!

Time to eat our first set!

So we went back to the car and parked behind the building to find the open area where the event is being held. The setup was really basic; you have several stalls from the various hoteliers and restaurants in the middle of the area and in front of them, areas with tables and chairs reserved for those buying food from them. The premise was that food was supposed to bought through coupons you buy from a stall. However, it was actually the stalls who were selling their own coupons, thus the coupons were basically useless. They should have followed what Food Courts in Bangkok have; several stalls selling coupons and these coupons can be used at any of the food stalls as “money”. If there are left over coupons, they have another set of counters for redeeming back to money.

Food Coupons were actually useless

Shrimp and Cheese Croquettes

Time to eat!

I think we ordered a lot.

Barbeque Pulled Beef

Beef Mongolian Barbeque

The problem with the stalls themselves is that it is difficult to find out what they offer. Others were ok with several posters indicating their menu but several were poorly advertised. We bought and tried several items being offered by the stalls starting with the 15QR Belgian Sausage which turned out to be Turkey Sausage as the cook clarified. It was good, though it wasn’t the advertised Belgian kind. We also had a set of Maki, Beef Mongolian BBQ, Pulled BBQ Sandwhich, a Belgian Waffle, and Indian Chicken Tikka.

Chicken Tikka with Rice

I Scream for Ice Cream!

The selection of the food wasn’t that expansive as a lot were selling burgers, hotdogs, curry, shawarma, and biryani. I was hoping to see some food that weren’t usually served like camel or other local cuisine which people usually don’t get offered in usual restaurants. Still, the experience was better than eating at McDonalds or KFC as you had more choices.

Belgian Chocolate and Strawberry Cheesecake

Overall, there are a lot of things that would have to be improved to make this an event that should be truly successful. As for the food itself, Qatar Tourism Authority should be more watchful of the food being served so that there would be less repetitions in the offerings.

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I’ve just arrived from City Centre and had to go through 45 minutes of traffic to get to the roundabout that was less than a block from the exit. There were several Qataris in (and literally outside) their cars, honking, celebrating, dancing, shouting and spraying fake snow and foam. I’m really glad for Qatar as it is a first for a nation in the Middle East to achieve such prestigious right to host the FIFA World Cup. I’m sure its citizens are prouder than ever though the event is 11 years away. I would be. However, I’m not a football fan and I may not be able to relate much to those who are and what it really means for them. But that doesn’t make me less interested in what changes…improvement, Qatar would and should be undergoing to prove themselves worthy of such.

Qatar Logistics for World Cup 2022

Aside from the obvious need to build World Class stadiums and maintaining a 27 degree temperature, concern goes to the logistics of fans going to Qatar. Would Qatar, as former U.S. national team star Eric Wynalda has pointed out, be able to get an attendance twice its population of 1.7 million to consider its hosting chores a success? If that is the case, where would Qatar place the expected 3.4 million fans once 2012 arrives. Would there be enough hotels, hostels, apartments? How much would greedy landlords ask people for rent 5 years from now? If they were able to triple their asking price for apartments and villas when the Asian Games were held, how much more for the World Cup? With the influx of workers, would the Qatar Government implement stricter humanitarian laws and rules to how blue-collared employees are treated? Would the Sponsor System be abolished like other progressing middle east countries?

Would there be a proven and tested Mass Transit System to ferry fans to each stadium and around the city? Karwa buses are almost useless as they don’t even have proper bus stops across the city. They’d stop in the middle of the road as they don’t have proper loading/unloading areas. Would they expand streets again or actually place a Rail system? Would we have bottlenecks and traffic snarls everyday, starting from when they start digging the roads again, up to the very end of the World Cup itself?

On Alcohol, Clothing and some

I’d be brief on this as you know this is part of the “culture” of World Cup itself. Fans like to celebrate, they like to dress up (or dress “down”), and both may not sit well with Qatar’s religious policies. How many fans would get turned off going to a country knowing that they’d be facing jail time and more if they were caught drunk on the streets? How about dressing provocatively? Those who have been living in Qatar and who would be going to work here knows the dress code and would abide by them. However, going here to watch World Cup and partying in the heat of summer, I don’t think fans would be as conservative as the religion warrants. And If I am a fan knowing these, would I still want to watch the games? Would there be an exemption for Alcohol and dress code once the World Cup starts?

Be Ready Before 2022

I don’t think the goal of Qatar is to be ready for 2022 and hope that it will succeed in hosting the FIFA World Cup. Qatar should start now and should be ready at least 3 years ahead of the FIFA WORLD CUP 2022. The logistics (accommodation and transportation) of fans is important as well as those who are already in Qatar. Stop the greedy landlords before they start charging gold for rent. Make sure that the hotels and mostly the player’s lodgings are complete and to international standards. It has been 5 years since the Asian Games but I still see the Asian Games Hotel (or whatever it is supposed to be called) in Aspire being built! Goodness!

I do hope we see improvements and not just changes. Prove to the world that Qatar indeed deserve to win and that this win would eventually make Qatar as a better place for its citizens and communities. The structures would be built and may get dismantled after the FIFA World Cup but the experience and building Qatar as a nation always striving to be better, would matter most for its people.

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