Pinoy food for the soul

One of the dilemmas during my visit is choosing where to eat. The expats wanted to eat in one of the Filipino fast food. But they worry that I might want to eat somewhere else because I just came from the Philippines and have been eating these food all the time. At this one time, we ended up eating in Max's because of its sinigang.

The menu is mostly the same, but there is no pork. They have sizzling tofu, and it was ok. Do we have sizzling tofu in the Philippines? I better go to a Max's restaurant tomorrow to find out. I also want to know if we can buy the caramel bar in a box. If I remember, there are 12 slices in the box.

And this entry won't be complete without mentioning Jollibee. We go to Jollibee for the spaghetti because I keep forgetting that McDonalds only offer spaghetti in the Philippines. It would have been so convenient because there's a McDonald's near the apartment where I stayed.

So red!

I noticed that the chicken in Jollibee are darker, and the explanation was that the chicken are frozen. I didn't try the Chicken Joy. And I'm kind of glad that I didn't because they say that the taste is different from the Chicken Joy in the Philippines.

It is worth mentioning that the set up of Chowking Qatar is fine dining. I loved the siomai and lumpiang shanghai.

Malls, malls, malls

I read from other blogs that Qataris go to the mall everyday. But really, don't we all (regardless of nationalities) love going to the mall? It's another story, of course, to come home everyday laden with shopping bags.

During my short stay in Doha, I was able to visit four malls. For now, I'm only going to talk about Gulf Mall and Ezdan Mall, in Al Gharafa. These two malls are located next to each other. There's also another mall across the busy street. 

I think there was a sale in Gulf Mall. So, the lines in the check out counter were very long. I remember finding a nice pair of pants, but decided not to buy because of the long lines. And I also reasoned out that my luggage is already full. In one of the stores, as I was paying, there were some candies near the cashier. I don't remember if I asked whether the candies are free or she offered them first. So I tried one. And because she's a kabayan, she urged me to get more. Of course, I didn't refuse.

In Ezdan Mall, on the way to the parking lot, there was a food exhibit. Being a nosy tourist, I wandered in the exhibit. The usher asked if I was one of the bloggers that they invited. I said yes, even if I have no idea what she's talking about. Here are some of the food on display. Ang sarap ng itsura di ba? I think the mall management invited their tenants to participate.

Now, having a kabayan manning the exhibit really has its advantage. In Mrs. Fields' exhibit, while I was taking some pictures, the staff told me that I can taste the pastries. But she probably realized that those on display have been exposed to a lot of people. So she offered a fresh batch of cupcakes to choose from. 

 Who would have thought that I had to go to Doha just to get a taste of Mrs. Fields?