A trip to Doha, the capital of Qatar, located a small peninsula on the western coast of the Persian Gulf, introduced us to its exotic and eclectic foods and dining experiences.

Since almost 75% of Qatar’s 1.85 million people come from different nationalities, its capital is sure to become a culinary haven. As an example, Time Out Doha reviewed 36 cuisine types with more than 400 cafes and eateries on its website 

According to Qatar Tourism Authority, exotic spices have become part of Qatar’s food ingredients through the influence of pearl traders from the Gulf who visited India. Lebanese, Saudi Arabia and Syrian cooking also enrich Qatar food.

Abdul Malik, our Indonesian taxi driver who has worked in Doha for 6 years, suggested Kebab King as a place to go for lunch. “A lot of tourists asked me to take them there,” he said driving us to the branch at Airport Road.

Kebab King, established in 1986, is not a fancy eatery. A simple menu card shows a selection of soup, cold and hot appetizers, oriental grill, seafood, Indian delight, chawal, Chinese delight, rotiyan (bread basket), and the sweet touch as desserts.

We picked Arabic Mezzah as appetizers and Kebab King Special Grill as our main course. The mezzah, a mixture of good taste and presentation, was a good precursor to a plate of grilled chicken and lamb in various cuts. Like any food, the kebab is at its most delicious while still warm.

Souq Waqif, one of the liveliest places in Doha, was our destination for dinner. As a traditional market in Doha with a maze of narrow streets, it used to be a trading place for the Bedouin.

On a windy and cold evening we walked along a food strip in refurbished Souq Waqif that offers a diverse variety of foods in cafes and restaurants to satisfy all tastes.

We visited Le Gourmet in the middle of the strip. The name does not sound local, bu we were attracted by its building, white umbrellas covering outdoor tables, and colorful shisha jars and pipes all over the place.

Shisha, wrote Huma Qureshi for The Guardian is a glass-bottomed water pipe in which fruit-flavored tobacco is covered with foil and roasted with charcoal. The tobacco smoke passes through a water chamber, tastes smooth, smells sweet and is inhaled deeply and slowly.

A familiar mix fatayer as our hot appetizer came in a plate with 2 pieces each of sambousik meat, cheese rolls and spinach fatayer. Vine leaves, as the cold appetizer was our other choice. Kabbab (kaftah) from the main course menu came with lamb, French fries and seasoned pita bread.

Although the thick white smokes and aromas of fruits that filled the air were very inviting, we did not have time to enjoy the shisha but was informed that the varieties include mint, apple and grapes.

Shisha and the ambience of Le Gourmet speak more than its foods, making it a popular place to hang out with friends. 

Hotel restaurants in Doha are popular for the affluent as they provide a different dining experience compared to eateries around town.

We had an invitation for a business buffet lunch on the occasion of Indonesia Climate Change Day at La Cigale Hotel, winner of 2012 Qatar’s Leading Hotel by World Travel Awards.

Located on the 19th floor of La Cigale’s main building at Al Sadd business district, Le Crillon Ballroom, the lunch venue, is beautifully decorated with Murano chandeliers and offers panoramic views of the Doha skyline.

La Cigale chefs created a lunch buffet with a unique combination of Indonesian, international and Mediterranean food.

On the hot appetizer, sambousik, fatayer, rikakat  and kebbe  complemented the cold appetizer of oriental spicy potatoes, hommos, moutabbal and vine leaves in oil.  The salads were completely Indonesian with a selection of Vegetables Salad with peanut dressing, Indonesian Cucumber Salad and Indonesian Chicken Salad. The chef put an extra attention to this event by preparing Sri Wasano’s Infamous Indonesian Rice Salad  a recipe made famous by Molly Katzen in her Moosewood Cookbook, now over 2 million copies in print.

The hot dishes on the buffet ranged from Agnolotti de Ricotta Cream with Tomato Sundried and Arugula,  Sea Bass Filet with Passion Fruits Sauce,  Indonesian Meat Ball,  Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce,  Indonesian Beef Wonton and Guamanian Chicken.

The fine dining set up, the service, the food presentation and the flavors definitely put eating at La Cigale as one of the best dining experiences in Doha.

Doha Food Festival

Doha’s dining scene with tastes of the Persian Gulf and international cuisines is clearly on the rise. Another proof was the Doha Food Festival. This year’s four-day festival brought more than 60,000 food lovers, sampling culinary delights from 75 stands representing hotels, cafes and restaurants around the city.

Qatar Tourism Authority  chairman Mr. Ahmed Al Nuami said: “Not only did visitors enjoy great food and fun entertainment in record numbers, they also had the opportunity to taste dishes from other cultures which all seek to promote cultural awareness in our amazingly diverse community."

--------------------

Images: Paul Cowan, Orwan Cam/Shutterstock, Thai Embassy Qatar, La Cigale Hotel, Omar Niode Foundaiton