Food in Qatar

Actually, I really did not expect that this would be a topic for me. While I love to eat, I enjoy the eating more when it is mixed with conversation. It is usually the conversation I remember more than what I ate. Well, last evenings dinner was an exception. We ate at Nusantao: Sea Kitchen at the Four Seasons Sheraton in Doha. This restaurant specializes in Indonesian, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Chinese, and Indian food. Our celebration-- end of the semester treat! I have frankly never tasted such good food. We ate for almost 3 hours, so I do not know all we ate but it included a sashimi platter, soup, grilled salmon onigiri, fried prawns, grilled ofu, chilean sea bass, lobster, dumplings stuffed with sea food, chocolate fudge like squares (that even I thought was rich!) and several different types of ice cream and sorbet. The wine was South African --- just right with all the fish. We went home and I even dreamed about fish. We have eaten at some amazing places in Doha. But, this was the best! This is not to say that the conversation was not good. We debated second and third wave feminism and talked about how quickly the time has passed here ----- and how lucky we were to be eating such amazing food!! In America (or, perhaps, the America I know), the best restaurants are not in hotels. Here, some of the best restaurants ARE in hotels. We have eaten at several and they indeed rank amoung the best in Doha. By the time we left the restaurant after 10PM, the place was pretty crowded. Obviously, dinner time is very late here by American standards. Now, to the other extreme. We are having a potluck tonight at 5:30 at our apartment. Stay tuned! The conversation will be interesting---- but don't count on rave reviews of the food. Especially mine. Which reminds me, after my meetings later this morning and this afternoon, I should get home just in time to throw something together and straighten up this place a bit to make room for our neighbors! I will concoct some famous (or infamous) BF dish --- it won't be lobster or sea bass---- but it may be chicken and noodles! You won't find it on the menu at Nusantao! And I have not been asked to stay on as a chef here! I am thinking perhaps I could be a food critic. Sounds like a good job for me. I promise to give all food a chance. In other words, I will specialize in non discrimination cases.