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The Torch Hotel - The Flying Carpet Restaurant

After the disappointing experience of the Grand Heritage Hotel, my wife suggested that we head to the Aspire Hotel instead. Easy to park at that time of day (9am) outside Villaggio and we were shown to the second floor and the Flying Carpet restaurant.

The decor was a bit strange. You are sitting in a glass tube with sort of 1960's white furniture but with carpets suspended over your head. However this all seemed to work! We were welcomed, the place was not too crowded and we had our buffet breakfast.

Every need was attended to, I enjoyed my breakfast and there was everything that you could need. The cost was 135 Riyals a head but it was worth the price to push the boat out a bit.

The Head Waiter said that not many people knew that they were open. We were also told that the restaurants are generally fully booked so you need to make a reservation in advance.

A good experience and we will go back and try the restaurant sometime.



Grand Heritage Hotel - A mixed bag

This is a fairly recently opened hotel on the other side of the Aspire Park. It is easy to park your car there (for free of course) or you could do like we did and park your car by Villaggio and take a very pleasant stroll on the pathway round the football pitches.

We had a fantastic time at the Blue restaurant. We had taken the stroll route to get there and sat under a canopy outside on a lovely January day. I had the best Caesar salad I have ever had while my wife tucked into tomato and garlic soup with some chips. She enjoyed this too. The service was impeccable, we were given an Ipad as the menu (this was good fun) and we had a great time. The bill (including two small waters) was 158 Riyals.

Having had this good experience and chatted to the waiters, we decided to head on over there a couple of days later for brunch, this time in the restaurant called Flavours. Breakfast there is 135 Riyals and the hotel boasts 5 stars.

When we arrived there was no one to greet us so we just wandered in. The tables that were free (the restauarant seemed a bit small) were nearlyall dirty - there were other people's breakfast things on the tables. We wanted to sit at one table, the waitress ushered us elsewhere rather than clean the table. My wife called the waitress by her name tag only to be told that it was not her name tag. When we came to sit down at the "clean" table the chairs were dirty, covered in crumbs.

There only seemed to be the one waitress, although there were plenty of staff milling around reception. After this bad start, and only seeing one waitress, we decided to cut our losses and left. We took our business elsewhere.

Not to sure what to do now, Blue was fantastic but the breakfast experience was awful.

School Uniforms

My wife's friend has a shop that sells school uniforms and it is in the mall that is called:

VIK Uniforms (Very Important Kid)

and the fantastic website will tell you more about their offerings than I can.

This is the Website Link

So if you are looking for school uniforms, games kit etc, this is the shop to head for. When I have been there I have been overwhelmed with the number and types of uniforms available. I feel sure that they will have the uniform for the school and the size that you require.

Jewellry Shop in the Souk near the Bus Station

This is the jewellry shop that my wife adores going to. The stock on offer is pretty extensive for a fairly small shop but the main attraction is the owner who very patiently shows you the goods and explains them to you too. This also keeps me entertained while my wife chooses things as it is good to see a master at his craft.

What is the shop called? It is: DIAMOND MAGIC JEWELLERY - Doha Jewellery & Gold Center - Doha

It is just near the bus station that is the other side of the road from Souq Waqif. Worth a visit and trying to find the exact shop.

If (or maybe it should be when) you get lost the phone number is: 4442 3948

Getting your printing done in Doha

My wife had some splendid business cards printed at:

DIGITAL - PRINT CENTER - Souq Najd, Salwa Road

The shop is situated up from Ramada Junction on the Salwa Road and is on one of the parades of shops on the right before you get to the flyover. On the day we went they had a huge banner across the car park that they were inspecting, therefore no job too big or too small.

The phone number is: 4443 3099

Hummus Recipe

One of the specialities of the Middle East, you can make your own at home fairly easily.

I saw the following advert for this in the Giant Supermarket:

For those of you wishing to make your own rather than supermarket bought, here is my wife's receipe (that someone gave to her) that I can personally vouch for:

Traditional Hummus Ingredients

For this recipe, you'll need:

• 15 ounce can chickpeas or garbanzo beans
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 cloves garlic
• half of a lemon

You will also need a citrus reamer.

Prepare the Hummus Ingredients

Drain a can of chickpeas and reserve the liquid. Extract the lemon juice with a reamer by turning it left and right. You may notice that the seeds from the lemon go into your lemon juice dish. Strain the pulp and seeds using a simple metal strainer.

Take two cloves of garlic and crush them with a side of the knife.

Blend the Ingredients

Now we are ready to assemble our dip. Put in a blender chickpeas, tahini, two cloves of garlic, and lemon juice. You should also add about 1/4 cup of your reserved liquid, and turn the blender on high.

You will notice that the blender mixes the bottom ingredients well but not the top. You can stop the blender, mix up the hummus, and turn it back on.

Add 1/4 cup of reserved liquid and two tablespoons of olive oil until you get the loose consistency of the dip. Turn the blender off. Now your hummus is ready.

Serve the Hummus

Put the hummus in a serving dish, then make an indent with a spoon and pour the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with paprika. You can serve it with pita bread or chips.



Comfort Music

There are a resonable number of CD's in Virgin in Villaggio and a few other outlets in Doha but if you are still using CD's then you are best advised to buy what you are missing when you next go home. Alternatively have them sent over by a relative or via Aramex etc.

However, you are maybe much better advised to switch over to an MP3 player like an iPod. You can then just download to your heart's content from Apple etc. A little bit expensive but you get what you want there and then.

This can mean that some complete mugs replace their entire CD collections with digital versions as they have left some key albums in storage in the UK. Not that I would do this of course but I now have two copies of all the Beatle albums!

Do not be scared about going digital and using an Ipod. I bought one for my 50th birthday and it is a very much used present. I use the Ipod in the car (hooked into the car system), in the gym and for looking at my photos on the TV via a docking station.

Get your comfort music etc now!!!!

Qatar Moto GP (Motorcycles!!!)

This is for all you two wheel petrol heads. The MotoGP is held at the Lusail Circuit and seems to be in April each year. I have visited the website below to try and get some more information but this does not seem to be updated since 2010, however maybe there are some detials there that are of use to you:

Qatar MotoGP website

Here is the website for tickets and the event for this year (2012) will be 13 to 15 April 2012:

MotoGP Tickets

Also here is the official MotoGP website for a list of all the events in the championship, not just in Qatar, tickets can be purchased from here too:

MotoGP Website

GNC Vitamin Shop in Villaggio Mall

This shop is situated outside Go Sport in Villaggio Mall, near to the entrance of the Mall that looks like the San Siro stadium. It is in the middle of the avenue in a sort of a cabin. It is stocked full of all sorts of vitamins, supplements etc.

My wife always go there to get such things and tries to feed me with them.

I believe that this is a chain of stores? We went there once and there was a sign on the door that read "Back in 1 Hour". From when? A tad confusing but generally they are open most of the time the mall is open. If not there is always an ice cream parlour or the food court nearby :-)

Dried Jew’s Mallow

So now you know too!!!

I had absolutely no idea what this is. However they seem to stock loads of boxes of this in Giant Supermarket in the Hyatt Mall. If you are a fan of Jew's Mallow then hurry down there now while stocks last.

This is described in Wikipedia as follows. So if you did not know what this was either, now you know!!!

The leaves of Corchorus have been a staple Egyptian food since the time of the Pharaohs and it is from there that it gains its recognition and popularity. Varieties of mallow-leaves stew with rice are a well-known Middle Eastern cuisine. The leaves of Corchorus are rich in beta-carotene, iron, calcium, and vitamin C. The plant has an antioxidant activity with a significant α-tocopherol equivalent vitamin E.

Corchorus olitorius is used mainly in the cuisines of southern Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa, Corchorus capsularis in Japan and China. It has a mucilaginous (somewhat "slimy") texture, similar to okra, when cooked. The seeds are used as flavouring, and a herbal tea is made from the dried leaves.

In North Africa and the Middle East, the young leaves of Corchorus species are known in Arabic as malukhiyah and are used as green leafy vegetables. Malukhiyah is eaten widely in Egypt and some consider it the Egyptian national dish. It is featured in cuisines from Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Tunisia. In Turkey and Cyprus, the plant is known as molohiya and is usually cooked into a kind of chicken stew.

In Nigerian cuisine, especially amongst the Yoruba's, it is commonly used in a stew known as ewedu, a condiment to other starch-based foods such as amala. In Sierra Leone it is known as krain krain (or crain crain) and is cooked as stew. The stew is usually eaten with rice or foofoo (a traditional food made from cassava).

In India, it is locally known as nalta sag. It is a favourite food during the summer months, especially in Sambalpur and the western part of Orissa. Usually it is lightly sautéed and eaten along with rice or rice gruel.

In the Philippines, C. olitorius is known as saluyot. It is commonly consumed as a leafy vegetable together with bamboo shoots.

In Kenya, it is used as a leafy vegetable consumed as a traditional (non-fried) stew in accompaniment with starchy foods like ugali, and is called murere or murenda.

Hair Removal Clinic in Doha

Not a place I can personally recommend but my wife has visited the Silkor Laser Hair Removal Centre that is opposite the Hyatt Shopping Mall next door to Villaggio.

My wife says that the staff are nice and the treatment is good too.

Check out their website for further details: Silkor

They also do: skin care therapies and body remodelling.

Talking Matters Toastmasters Club Website

I have been a member of Talking Matters Toastmasters Group since January 2011 and I thoroughly enjoy going along to the fortnightly meetings and listening to speeches and also overcoming my fears by making some speeches too or undertaking some of the roles there too.

Meetings are held on the second and fourth Monday of each month starting at 7pm at the Oryx Rotana Hotel that is near the Airport.

I am also on the Executive Committee (The Excom) as Secretary and we are proud to announce that Talking Matters now has a website too. Please click on the link below and check it out and make sure that you come along and join us too!!!

Talking Matters Website

Some special Tea Towels in Giant Supermarket

Saw these in Giant Supermarket in the Hyatt:

The top part reads:

"Have the better sop up water and decontamination. Breathe freely is better, easy to desecration and almost unable bacilli."

I am glad we cleared that up.

Cuddle Carts Sign

Probably true for some kids????

A Sign in Carrefour

I just found this amusing!!! I don't understand it, but I found it amusing!!!

200th Meeting of Talking Matters Toastmasters on Monday 23 January 2012

A very special meeting of the fantastic Talking Matters Toastmasters Club is being held next Monday, it is our 200th MEETING SO PLEASE COME ALONG AND JOIN IN THE CELEBRATIONS

The details are:

Date: Monday 23 January 2012

Time: 7pm to 9.30pm

Venue: Oryx Rotana Hotel (near the Airport)

Come along as a guest and hear the wonderful prepared speeches from the P1 Ice Breaker to the more advanced speakers. Understand how the speeches are positively evaluated. Maybe you will get the chance to participate in the lively Table Topics session too?

As a guest you get in free, get a nice drink at the interval with biccie as well as getting the opportunity to network and make new friends.

Come along and join us!!!

Arabic Cuisine

And the spelling mistakes continue:

Lovely Bread Here!!!

This is in Carrefour at City Centre. Enticing "Industrial Bread" yummy!

Qatar Movie Group in Qatar Living

There is a group in Qatar Living where you can find out all about all things movies in Qatar. Plenty of posts and members to garner information from and give information. Doha has the Tribeca Film Festival in October each year so there is some movie interest here.

To find out more visit and join the Qatar Movie Group

Talking Matters Toastmasters Meeting NUMBER 200 - Monday 23 January 2012

A very special meeting of the fantastic Talking Matters Toastmasters Club is being held next Monday, it is our 200th MEETING SO PLEASE COME ALONG AND JOIN IN THE CELEBRATIONS

The details are:

Date: Monday 23 January 2012

Time: 7pm to 9.30pm

Venue: Oryx Rotana Hotel (near the Airport)

Come along as a guest and hear the wonderful prepared speeches from the P1 Ice Breaker to the more advanced speakers. Understand how the speeches are positively evaluated. Maybe you will get the chance to participate in the lively Table Topics session too?

As a guest you get in free, get a nice drink at the interval with biccie as well as getting the opportunity to network and make new friends.

Come along and join us!!!

The Garden Group Indian Restaurant

My work colleague Aloma (she is from Sri Lanka) recommends the Garden Group Indian Restaurant. The telephone number is 4436 5676.

Tried to search for this on the Internet and I came up with the following links:

Reviews at Qatar Living

And here is some further details at a blog too:

Expat Wanderer

Insurance on your rented out property in the UK

We have been renting out our property in the UK and as it is mortgaged we have been required to obtain buildings insurance (I would probably buy this anyway irrespective of the mortgage angle). We had been paying about £12.50 per month then the renewal shot up to about £65 per month.

I then discovered this company called CIA that do landlords insurance and this was very reasonably priced at just over £200 for the year.

If you are renting out your property in the UK I can recommend this company as far as price and ease of setting up the policy. They also do other types of insurance too.

CIA Website

Maya-la-Chocolaterie

This chocolate shop is quite big and is opposite Marks and Spencer and BHS in the Landmark Mall. Tends to have a lot of locals in it who seem to really love chocolate.

Have been there a couple of times with my wife who loves it, I find it all a bit too much. However you can get all sorts of chocolates, drinks, ice creams etc.

If you are already off of your New Year diet then head down here to boost your calories and see what you think. You can always start that diet again tomorrow!

La Notre restaurant/café on C Ring Road

This restaurant/café is in a new building just as you start to go up the hill from Ramada Junction on C ring road towards the Hamad Hospital. It is on your left hand side.

We visited in November 2011 when it had only been open a couple of months. There are tables outside but we opted for inside. We just wanted a coffee and a snack really but the snacks were more than that.

Therefore we shared a wrap that was OK with some wedges as well. Before this we were given some complimentary bread and dips that were really good. The service was fine and the staff tried hard.

However, the coffee (a latte) that I was given was absolutely the worst. Their second attempt was not a lot better. My wife's juice too was not good either. An instant coffee would have been much nicer and if we ever go back there (doubtful due to the very low standard of drinks) then I will get a drink out of a can or a bottle.

The entrance to the café is not very obvious and the route to the toilet is also not very well signposted.

Lagoona Shopping Mall

The Lagoona Shopping Mall has had what the touchy feely marketeers call a soft opening in late 2011. Visited there in early November 2011 and it was easy to park as there were not too many people there, I also noticed that there was an underground car park too, however there was plenty of room on the ground level.

The Lagoona is next door to the Zig Zag Towers at the entrance to the Pearl and the road to the Ritz Carlton/Grand Hyatt Hotels.

The decor and feel inside the shopping centre is very nice. They have comfy seats for you to sit on where I can wait for my wife while she does research (thanks for this, so many shops/malls seem to think that everyone loves shopping that goes there and all I want is somewhere quiet to sit and read), the toilets also are very plush.

However, as to the shopping, for me it is the same old same old. Another Pari Gallery, another McDonalds, another chain store, and another chain store. All up market, no bookshops, no cozy coffee shop (with non smoking too for everyone) and no independent stores, curios etc. Does Doha really need another Mall like this one? Not for me.

The layout/design is good, but the shops are so so so so.

Qatar Living Photography Group

So many groups in Qatar Living, however quite a few of them hardly have any members or posts, not so the Photography Group with many members and posts. I know that there are a lot of photographers out there so get on down and join the Group, make new friends and gain more knowledge.

Doha is going to change rapidly over the next few years in the build up to 2022, and to take photographs of the disappearing world, the appearance of the new one together with the people is a challenge for Doha photographers. You need to take action now.

Qatar Living Photography Group

Funny names in Doha

This has always been one of the small amusements of living overseas is the strange names that appear and the often misuse of English. I cannot really speak other languages so I am not one to mock but there is some amusement to be had in and around Doha with spelling errors and words that in translation are funny to us. Worth keeping a lookout for these.

When travelling in Japan I was told that the Japanese consider it posh to use English in their names of businesses etc. Hence, there is a chain of supermarkets in Osaka called "The Big Off".

A couple in Doha that I noticed prominently displayed are along Haloul Street:

"Vella for Sale" and "Nada Lawyers". Nada means "nothing" in Portuguese so the lawyers are working pro bono (I don't think so!) or they will get you nothing?

Keep your eyes peeled!

ExpatFinder.Com

This is a useful website for all things Expat not just Qatar but living away from home generally. I occasionally get emails from them too.

The website has details of housing and property, insurance, money, moving, education, telecom, jobs, city guides and newsletters. Basically a mine of information for all things Expat that maybe you were seeking?

ExpatFinder.com website

Exhibition Centre in Doha

This is a pretty big facility that is clearly visible on the right hand side of the road on your journey from West Bay out to the Pearl area. They often hold conferences and exhibitions there as well as shopping opportunities.

We have been there a couple of times but been a bit disappointed. The car park is not big enough for popular events so that you find yourself parked on rough ground if you are not early.

We visited the Book Fair but this was mainly Arabic books and the few English books were not really of much interest to me. Also, Shop the World was a bit of a disappointment too, the world seemed to mean the Middle East and China. And I did not want to buy any honey.

Has a nice Costa Coffee though, worth popping in when there is no event on as parking is very easy and it is not too crowded either.

Best to make one visit and make up your own mind.

Events Calendar at Qatar Expo

Talking Matters Toastmasters Meeting on 09 January 2012

The next meeting of the fantastic Talking Matters Toastmasters Club is being held next Monday, the details are:

Date: Monday 09 January 2012

Time: 7pm to 9.30pm

Venue: Oryx Rotana Hotel (near the Airport)

Come along as a guest and hear the wonderful prepared speeches from the P1 Ice Breaker to the more advanced speakers. Understand how the speeches are positively evaluated. Maybe you will get the chance to participate in the lively Table Topics session too?

As a guest you get in free, get a nice drink at the interval with biccie as well as getting the opportunity to network and make new friends.

Come along and join us!!!

DESS Car Boot Sales

We met with some people at the Exhibition Centre at a book fair and they recommended to get cheaper English Language books (I love murder/mystery/thrillers) then you would do no better than to try DESS car boot sales that are held periodically.

DESS stands for the Doha English Speaking School and you need to check on their website for up and coming sales, not just for books but other odds and ends that you may be seeking.

DESS Website

Desert Safari

When in Qatar you need to do the desert safari and you need to do this while the weather is OK and not in the heat of summer (when they probably don't run either).

We went with Qatar International Tours and the driver picked us up on time from our compound in his 4x4 and took us out to the Inland Sea. They let the tyre pressure down and then head out like maniacs across the dunes taking all sorts of risks. It is not for the feint hearted and you maybe need to take an extra pair of underpants :-)

On the way to the safari we stopped somewhere to have our pictures taken with camels and falcons (for a price) and then after having been frightened witless we went to a compound on the Inland Sea where we were able to chill out with some soft drinks. The guys then did a barbecue for us that was OK too.

The day out that you must do.

To contact Qatar International Tours ring 4455 1141 or 4452 2242 or visit their website

Katara Cultural Village

This is situated between the Exhibition Centre and the entrance to the Pearl islands. It is an area set off for exhibitions, shows as well as having some restaurants as well. It was "soft opened" in 2010 and at the time of writing (end of 2011) it appears to now be going full tilt.

This year (2011) it held the Tribeca Film Festival and we have visited there a couple of times. It seems quite big on exhibitions of photographs and you need to keep an eye out in the local press for these. Also in the centre there is a big ampitheatre that will probably have outdoor shows and events.

Here are some details about Katara:

Official Website

A movie on You Tube

Talking Matters Toastmasters Meeting on 09 January 2012

The next meeting of the fantastic Talking Matters Toastmasters Club is being held next Monday, the details are:

Date: Monday 09 January 2012

Time: 7pm to 9.30pm

Venue: Oryx Rotana Hotel (near the Airport)

Come along as a guest and hear the wonderful prepared speeches from the P1 Ice Breaker to the more advanced speakers. Understand how the speeches are positively evaluated. Maybe you will get the chance to participate in the lively Table Topics session too?

As a guest you get in free, get a nice drink at the interval with biccie as well as getting the opportunity to network and make new friends.

Come along and join us!!!

Comfort Movies in Qatar

You would be well advised to think about having a stock of your favourite comfort movies in Qatar while you are here. The films on TV (that you usually have to pay extra for) are not great and the turnover is pretty slow. Also the selection of old films is pretty meagre. Even the cinemas not all the films I would like to see come to Doha and what does is often heavily censored (even Johnny English with Rowan Atkinson was censored at one point)

I am currently investigating getting a multi media box to download films what I want but have not got too far with my research.

You can get some DVD's at Virgin in Villaggio etc or the DVD shop in the Hyatt Mall but the selection is fairly limited. You can also try and import them from the UK/US via Aramex etc or via relatives. However for those more difficult to find movies that you find such a comfort, and if you are stil using DVD's then best to stock up when you go back to your home country.

Mums in Doha Group

Whether you are a Mum to an ankle biter or a Harry Enfield "Kevin" then this is probably the group for you. This is the welcoming message to the Group:

This group is not only for Mums, it is open to all ladies. Any nationalities, age and race. Married or single, kids or no kids.

I will organize monthly meets (coffee mornings) with hope the newbies can get connected with the old timers in Doha and make new friends.

When you attend my coffee mornings - breakfast meets, do feel free to exchange contacts details with other ladies :)

Welcome to everybody!!! I hope you all have a wonderful time and feel free to contact me if there is anything I can help you with or to post a sensitive topic on our Mums Forum.

Alumnar :)

Sounds delightful, get down to the group right now.

Qatar Living Mums in Doha Group

Brigadeiro sweets

Happy New Year 2012 !!!!

Brigadeiro sweets are from my wife's homeland Brazil and she makes these for us on special occasions or when I can persuade her on not so special occasions.

They are pure chocolate soft sweets covered in chocolate hundreds and thousands. They are easy to make (so I am told!!!) and absolutely the king of sweets.

Here are a couple of receipe pages for you:

Maria Brazil

All Recipes