QATAR - My one year in Qatar

I have resided here in Qatar almost a year now. Currently, I’m on my summer holidays in Europe and I’ll just summarize some of the places I went during the weekend.
   


Come to think of that, I have actually not set foot out of the capital of Qatar. Why? I don’t have a car yet. The only public transportation I take is the taxi.



In general, Qatar has not established itself as a main holiday destination. Even in this region, Qatar still trails behind most of its neigbours in attracting tourists, losing out to Saudi Arab, United Arab Emirate, Bahrain and Oman.
So how do I spend my weekends? Well, its basically food and shopping .


Mid of last month was Ramadan, the fasting month for Muslims. In Qatar, nearly all restaurants will be closed during the fasting time which is generally from 3 am till 6.30pm. That includes McDonalds and Starbucks! Only a handful of hotel restaurants will be opened for breakfast or lunch. Shopping malls will remain open throughout the day, but the shops will be open from 10am till 1pm and will reopen from 7.30pm till 1am.   



One of the hotel restaurants that was open for lunch during Ramadan is Coral at the InterContinental Hotel. Two thumbs up for these restaurants. If not I will need to hibernate for a month.



Curtains covering the restaurant. You are not allowed to eat openly!



The buffet spread for the Saturday lunch at Coral was good. There was one live station there which cooked my spaghetti.



Well, as a rule of thumb, having food in a five star hotel won’t go wrong. Price for the normal buffet lunch cost me QR 175 per person (48 USD) without drinks.



The dining area of Coral. Reservation can be made at 4484 4919.



Another hotel located beside InterContinental is the prestigious St Regis Hotel. Comparing between these two hotels, the St Regis is very much better. 



Coral All Day Dining has a nice pool view.



Located in the Westbay area, InterContinental has the longest private beach in Qatar.



Should be fun lazing at the beach during Spring and Autumn.



These people are mad. Now is summer and the temperature is like 45 degrees Celsius (113°F). It was really hot! Well, it didn’t stop them from sunbathing under the sun.



Copthorne Hotel Doha is advertised in their website as a 7 storey hotel above the vibrant neighbourhood of Doha International Airport and is quickly taking its place among the city’s most admired Five Stars hotels. The website is quite misleading actually.



Yes, Copthorne Hotel is near to Doha International Airport, but since May 2014, all airlines have moved to the newly constructed Hamad International Airport which is about 13km away from the hotel. Doha International Airport is no longer operational.

Five Stars? The hotel is more of a 4 stars hotel actually.



Tried out the only restaurant of the hotel, Choices.



The quality of the lunch buffet spread is ok.



Well, at QR 130 (USD 36) per person including a bottle of mineral water, you can’t complain much.



This should be a one off case, but I spotted a fly in one of the dessert at the buffet table. I took it back to my table and took a photo. The fly was still alive. Frankly speaking, there are actually very few flies in Qatar. Unlike back home in Malaysia where there are flies everywhere. One more thing, there are no mosquitos in Qatar.



Reservation for a seat at Choices can be made at 4449 3333.



The indoor swimming pool of Copthorne. If you can’t stand the heat or cold during the summer or winter, but still want to swim, this is the pool to be. 



Will I go back to this hotel to eat? Well, this hotel is near to where I live and the food is ok. Why not!



Located just 150m (2 minutes walk) away from Copthorne is Concorde Hotel.



Some websites advertised this hotel as 5 star hotel. To me, its just another 4 star hotel.



Tried the lunch buffet at the Olives. Sad to say, the buffet has the worse food of all the buffet I have tried in Doha’s hotel and there were so few dishes.



On the bright side, Olives restaurant opens to an open air terrace adjoining the swimming pool.



My son was very happy to play around the pool.



My son was surrounded by Arabic girls.



Intercontinental Hotel has two hotels in Doha. One is InterContinental Doha and another one is InterContinental Doha The City.



Also located in West Bay, InterContinental Doha The City has no beach but is is strategically located at the heart of West Bay. 



City Centre Shopping Mall and Gate Mall is located within walking distance to InterContinental Doha The City.



Tried their lunch buffet at the Square.



Price was at QR 150 (USD) 41per person without drinks.



The buffet spread was good but not as good as the InterContinental Doha.



Reservation for the Square at the InterContinental Doha The City can be made at 4015 8888.



Also at the InterContinental Doha The City, Hwang is one of the few Chinese restaurant in Qatar. I was really craving for some Chinese food and Chinese food is not widely available in Doha. Moreover, eating at a Chinese restaurant is not cheap.



The Chinese staff from Hwang was really friendly and they played with my son.



Ordered a fish and beef. Hwang is most definitely recommended if you want to eat authentic Chinese food. Price was approximately QR 200 (USD 55)  per person. Reservation for Hwang at the InterContinental Doha The City can be made at 4015 8888.



Marriott Marquis City Center Doha. Marriott Marquis should not be confused with Doha Marriott Hotel. Both the hotels are located at a very different location and they are 10 kilometres apart. Marriott Marquis City Center is located at the heart of West Bay. In fact, the City Center Shopping Mall is just located adjoining Marriott Marquis Hotel. Both the buildings are linked through a walkway.



Cucina is an Italian Restaurant at the hotel.



Cucina offers simple and authentic Italian dishes with ingredients sourced directly from Italy. 



My son having a grissini (breadstick). All types of Italian bread was provided free of charge with your meals.



My beau had the chicken. Well, the food was not up to me beau’s expectation. This meal cost QR 89 (USD 25).



I had the linguine allo scoglio. Basically its a seafood pasta with white wine sauce. This plate cost QR 90 (USD 25). It was delicious!



There’s also a kids menu. 



My overall experience in Cucina Doha is good. I’ll definitely return to have a meal here.



If you prefer to have buffet at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, head on to Crossroads Kitchen.



The lunch buffet was delicious and the price for the buffet was QR 170 (47 USD) per person.



Because of its location, I would definitely recommend the Marriott Marquis City Center Doha Hotel for those who will be heading over to Doha.

Most of the residents in Doha actually uses The Entertainer voucher when dining in hotels. It basically is a buy one get one free voucher. The price I ate at the Crossroad Kitchen will actually cost QR170 for two person. In fact I used the voucher for all the hotel’s restaurant I mentioned  You can purchase The Entertainer book for QR 350. For me, I got it free when you have a HSBC credit card.



The Holiday Villa Hotel Doha is located close to where I live and even nearer to where I work.



Holiday Villa Doha is actually a gathering place for Malaysian expatriates during the weekend. Those who crave for a plate of Nasi Lemak or cup of Teh Tarik head to the Kafe Ole. Those who prefer Malaysian buffet head to the Legenda Restaurant.    



For me, I missed the Dim Sum. So I went to the Chopstix Restaurant.



Chopstix was awarded the Highly Commended Best Chinese by Time Out in 2013.



The Dim Sum Brunch is offered every Friday which offers unlimited Dim Sum and Sushi. At QR 130 (USD 36) including a pot of Chinese tea, the price is actually quite steep. Restaurants in Holiday Villa is not part of The Entertainer voucher, so the total bill for me and beau was QR 260 (USD 71)! 



I really do not mind the price if the Dim Sum was delicious. But frankly, the taste is nowhere near any Dim Sum I have ever eaten in my life. Maybe because they are missing the main ingredient . Pork is not allowed to be served in any restaurants in Qatar! Well, at least the sushi was there to save the day. 



This was my second time eating at the Corniche at the Marriott Hotel. The usual lunch buffet cost QR 170 per person but this was my first time eating a hotel’s Friday Brunch!



Friday Brunch is being offered in most of the hotel’s restaurants in Doha. The restaurant was packed with diners. 



There were 4 live cooking station. Chinese, Mexican, Indian and Dessert live cooking station.



There were prawns, lobster, Peking duck, sushi and everything else. There is basically everything I wanted to eat.



The desert bar with unlimited gelato.



Of all the buffet I have ever eaten, this was the best. Of course I cannot say that this is the best Friday Brunch Buffet since this is only my first one I have ever tried. Vouchers will not be accepted for Friday Brunch and the Brunch is expensive! The Corniche Friday Brunch, cost QR 270 (USD 74) per person.



During the buffet, I brought my son over to the KidZone.



My son had a blast there.



Reservation at the Corniche is required as they are usually full. Their telephone is 4429 8404.



Dining here at Doha Marriott is definitely recommended. Two thumbs up!



After eating I played a game of table tennis with my beau.



There is a also a small strip of beach at the Doha Marriott Hotel.



My son giving a big peck to my beau. He’s just so adorable.



The Doha Marriott Hotel is most definitely one of my favourite place to spend my weekend.



Eating in a hotel is an expensive affair. No worries, there are abundant of restaurants in Doha. Little Sailor is a restaurant located near to where I live.



Seafood is the restaurant’s speciality. First of all, you choose the seafood you want and tell them how you want to cook it.



For our appetiser, we had salad and seafood soup.



For our main course, we had a fish, some prawns and fried rice.



Overall, the food was delicious.



Paid for the meal and we were on our way. No need to worry about hailing a cab. It’s just a 5 minutes walk back to my apartment.



If you really want an affordable meal in Qatar, the best option is eating at a Indian restaurant. For QR 10 (USD 3), you can have a plate of Biryani. It is basically rice with meat and vegetable. For Malaysians, they head to the famous Oriental Kitchen. 



This Malaysian owned restaurant is always packed with people during dinner. Moreover, there are limited tables. Reservation can be made at 3336 3279 or be prepared to wait for an hour or two for a table.



As an average, a plate will cost about QR 35 (USD 10). Oriental kitchen is known is to be the best Malaysian restaurant in Doha.



Of course there are many other international restaurants in Doha such as Nando, McDonalds, KFC, Fridays and etc. Food is definitely not a problem in Doha.



How about shopping malls? There are a a few big shopping malls in Doha. Well, I usually go to City Center Shopping Mall as it is the nearest to where I live and I’ve covered Landmark Mall in my previous Doha posting. Ezdan Mall is just located opposite Landmark Mall.



Ezdan Mall is a 3 storey shopping mall.



Opened since 2013, Ezdan Mall is considered one of the latest mall to be constructed.  .



There are numerous shops in Ezdan Mall, but the shops are not to my liking.



After a while, I went to Landmark Mall to have my lunch.



Noodle House is located in numerous shopping malls. The noodles served in this restaurant can be considered to be one of the best in Doha.



With over 220 stores, Villaggio is a favourite among the people living in Doha. It is one of Qatar’s largest mall.



Villaggio is themed to resemble the city of Venice. Well, its not grand as the Venetian in Vegas or Macau, but it is definitely a joy to shop in this mall. 



There is a large food court with a variety of restaurants serving different cuisines. I opt for the famous Butcher Shop and Grill. True to the word of mouth, the burger and grill beef is exceptionally delicious.



The gondola boat ride at the 150 meter long canal. No pedals being used, its gondola is motorised.



I consider Villaggio Mall the best mall in Qatar.



Other than eating and shopping, are there other places to visit in Doha? Well, of course. I’ll write about it in my next post.