May 23, 2010 - 'Camelicious Camel Burgers'

DUBAI - 'DON'T miss yummy camel burger' reads the Dubai restaurant's sign, putting a Western twist on traditional fare to entice adventurous tourists into giving camel meat a chew.

Camel meat is eaten throughout the Gulf, but Dubai's Local House restaurant targets visitors who may never have bitten into this edible form of desert transport.

'Most of our guests are tourists from different parts of the world,' says Ramesh, a 44-year-old Indian national who has managed the restaurant since it opened in 2004. He says the restaurant was the brainchild of the owner, a local from Dubai who grew up on camel meat and milk. 'With this restaurant (the owner) wanted to (introduce) that to the world as well. That's how it all started,' said Ramesh, who gave only one name.

Camels, sometimes called 'ships of the desert', are a big part of culture in the Arabian Peninsula. In the United Arab Emirates, there are camel races, camel beauty contests and competitions for the tastiest camel cuisine. Camel meat is cooked many ways and sometimes served as a 'shawarma' - grilled meat wrapped in flat bread.

Local House prides itself on its novel burger, but the menu boasts an extensive camel-based offering. 'We have...camel soup, camel salad, then we have the camel burger, camel kebab, camel steak, then we have camel briyani - that is a mixture of rice and camel meat,' says Ramesh, as he rattles off still more menu items.

The restaurant also offers a camel curry dish, grilled camel ribs and the camel special, which is cooked in oyster sauce. 'Camelicious' brand camel milk, milk chocolates and milkshakes made with camel milk are some of the other offerings. The burger costs 35 dirhams (about US$9 or S$12.6), while other dishes range in price between 20 and 72 dirhams (about US$6 and US$20).

Local House customers described their first taste of camel meat as positive. Alanen, a 60-year-old from Finland visiting Dubai with his wife, described the camel burger as 'good'. He tried it because 'my friends say that this place is the only place where we can eat a camel burger'. 'Excellent,' says Anna, a 38-year-old Canadian who tried the camel soup. Karine, 39, a French national living in the UAE, tried the camel briyani and said: 'It was nice. The texture is like mutton, a bit...without the strong taste of the mutton, but it's a bit hard.' --AFP

Home sweet home

I am such a slacker. I have not been updating my blog so friends, near and far, have asked if I would take up my pen to write again. My answer to that is....why not...I have much to share with my friends, and anyone else who wants to know more about (my on-goings in) Doha.

But my offering to my followers of my blog will be for a limited time only as I will be leaving behind the sun, sand and dune in about 11 weeks time! So, no more tuks and birkhas or Starbucks or Carrefour - I'm returning home to my hawker centres, teh alia tarik (ginger-milk tea) and NTUC supermarkets!

While I am over the moon with having made the decision to return home, I am also sad, that I shall be leaving behind a small group of friends. To these people - THANK YOU for keeping me sane and alive!

To all my followers, stay tuned weekly for a 10 episode run (every Sunday) of the final installment of livedoha.blogspot.com.

To get things started, I shall start with this news article featured recently in the International Herald Tribune. Visit the link to view:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/world/middleeast/14qatar.html?scp=2&sq=doha&st=cse

....and I thought only Singaporeans complained about foreign talent!

Till next time....

Ling & Mag's Amazing Journey to Doha

Panic...what to do, where to bring them, will they get bored...headache! But, believe it or not, it all went rather well and for about four days, Ling & Mag watched the Brazil vs. England soccer friendly at the Al-Khalifa stadium, swam in the Persian Gulf, took to the desert in a land cruiser for dune-bashing, feasted at some of the better eateries in Doha, took the local bus, walked the streets of Doha and picked up some shopping treasures at Souq Waif & Al Saad shopping district! 7 Pearls apartment became a B&B, and I was happy to have my best mates over to spend some time with...just wished it was longer...

Photo journal of Ling & Mag, go to: Part 1 -http://picasaweb.google.com/marthaleemei/FriendsOfDoha2?feat=directlink

Part 2 - http://picasaweb.google.com/marthaleemei/FriendsOfDoha?feat=directlink

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

Here fishy, fishy, fishy...had a really luckless day-out fishing with friends in Doha's rather choppy waters. Others were luckier, catching palm-sized nibblers, but the luckiest fisherman on the boat turned out to be the boat-guide - *sigh*.

Whilst some of my companions were turning a shade of green, kudos to Laurie's 85-year old mum - she was stoic to the end - Lorna's one totally awesome lady! I'm looking forward to the next boat trip, and hopefully better luck at catching my hammour!

Fish-tale photos, go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/marthaleemei/DohaFishing?feat=directlink

Aces, deuces & US$1.5million

MARHABA! I am back on the blog with write-ups on my escapades in Doha. Hope everyone's keeping well.

Summer was sizzling hot, and Ramadan was very quiet at all fronts - for 20days, it was just a five hour per day work week; most or all shops/food vendors operated after 6pm (or when it was time to break fast), and yours truly spent quiet afternoons at the apartment brain-storming on what to cook/eat.

It's still hot and sunny out, but it's a lot cooler in the mornings and evenings. So, with the summer heat out of the way, we can now get down to some serious fun-in-the-sun activities!

I recently attended my first ‘live’ tennis match - the WTA women’s championship . In a word…AMAZING!

Gracing the courts were svelte-like ladies that looked more like supermodels than tennis players! The grounds was covered in royal colours of purple and blue; tennis players were in trendy , colourful sports apparel while balls whizzed by at speeds averaging about 140km/h, and I got some awesome photos to blog about! So what if I didn’t get to watch the famous duo, the Williams’ sisters swatting 'balls of fire'; for QR50 (S$20), I got to watch the Russians/East Europeans thrashing it out amongst themselves. Game, set & match....uber Cool!

For views of the WTA go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/marthaleemei/WTACShip?feat=directlink

Corniche

The Corniche is a waterfront promenade, where you will find everyone and anyone congregating - for a stroll, a run, a picnic, or buying the catch of the day at the jetty, it's a focal point in Doha's city centre.

If you love the walk along the Esplanade in Singapore, it's something like it, minus the sight of a 'durian' structure or a water-spitting merlion! :0)

Walking along the Corniche (beginning from the Sheration roundabout), you'll past by the National Theatre, the Emiri Diwan, the jetty, the 'pearl in a shell' monument, the Souq Waqif, the Museum of Islamic Art and the Doha Port - about 7km, one way. I know of a colleague, living in the West Bay area, who religiously walks the route every weekend morning. I think it's great to live so close to the Corniche, and to enjoy the promenade activities. But if you're not up to stretching your legs too strenuously, you could board a dhow (similar to a Chinese junk, but the arabic version) and have a leisure cruise around the Corniche.

With summer temperatures rising, there are not very many people on the Corniche in the day time. How to describe the heat - it's like I'm walking towards a furnace, and it's just a blast of hot air coming right at you! Burn, baby, burn!

Come evening time, you'll see quite a few people out on the promenade, doing their own thing and enjoying what outdoor time they can before it's just too hot to do anything.

Here's another photo update of the recent Powerboat race that took place at the Corniche last month. It was a good photo/video opportune moment for both amateurs and professionals alike. I got some fowl action in the waters too!

http://picasaweb.google.com/marthaleemei/PowerboatRaceCorniche02?feat=directlink

Till next time, Mart

Things to do in Qatar

It's been an eventful past few weeks - time's a-flying fast; this coming 21st May will be my 3rd month in Doha...wah...I'm still alive, and surviving :0)

I've often been asked about how I spend my free time in Doha - most of what I've blogged about are mostly trips out of Doha and into the desert....yes, desert excursions do take up most of my weekends, but it's really quite enjoyable; life in Doha is about "getting out".

So what's been happening? Couple of weekends back, I was up at Sealine Resort for a day and a night with the Wrights and friend. The chalet setting and beach reminded me of the beach resorts at Port Dickson and Kuantan, ala 70's style. I felt I was taking a trip down amnesia lane. It's a nearby getaway from the hustle and bustle of Doha.

Another weekly ritual for some is to head out North to the beaches of Dukhan or Zirkreet/Abrouq. For the latter trip, you'll need a 4WD. It's good to pack a picnic and to start the day early - you avoid the chaos and mayhem of Qatari drivers (or Indian drivers since there are about 400,000 of them (so I've been told, out numbering the Qatari population).

If you want to get yourself fit (and a booze-boost post-run), and get acquainted with other expats, there's always the Hash House Harriers Doha chapter. I was a hash-harriet when I was 10....yes, that was so long ago, when joints and bones were still intact and I had the lung capacity to hash...ah those youthful days...

Indoor-wise, there's shopping, cinemas and cafes that does not require sun-block application. Just make sure you have a good dose of cash. There are some good bargains to be had at the local stores. But you need to be quick; some items fly-off the shelves fast.

The local food-fare is so-so (the usual suspects of fast food chains are everywhere) but there are some good restaurants about Doha - thai, italian, northern/south indian fare...think my next blog featurette will be on food!

Photo update:
http://picasaweb.google.com/marthaleemei/ReddottersZirkreetOuting?feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/marthaleemei/SealineResort?feat=directlink

Till next time, Mart