Bateel – gourmet dates and chocolates

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Travis

We decided to spoil ourselves and visit the Qatar Bateel on the weekend. Bateel is famous for their gourmet dates and Arabic influenced chocolates.

We tried the following selection of chocolates and dates, which cost us thirty Riyal.

Dates

Khidri with Candied Orange Peel
Kholas with Caramelised Pecan

Chocolates

Date Tea Ganache
Dark Pistachio Piemont
Dark Coated Traditional Nougat
Date Rocher White and Dark
Dark Pecan
Date Fig Roll Milk and Dark

The dates were sweet and very rich. The chocolates were well presented with and the date and fig flavours were interesting. Overall it was a fun experience.

Update Monday 26 September 2011
Those that received the Bateel Bianca Boxes at our reception would now know why we did this tasting.
In them were the following chocolates;

Dark Pistachio Piemont Ganache (Origin Chocolate)
Dark Rosewater Marzipan (Origin Chocolate)
Kholas Caramelised Pecan Milk (Date Chocolate)
Date Rocher Dark (Date Chocolate)

I would also like to thank Mohammad Bagher Pashmi, manager of the Dubai Mall Bateel who was very helpful and professional placing the order. Didn’t mind at all the twenty or so emails I sent him.

Royal Arabic High Tea, Doha, Qatar

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Sonya

Life in Doha seems to revolve around eating. We have visited a few restaurants around town (particular when we first arrived and were staying at a hotel), but recently we have generally been enjoying cooking and eating in. Afternoon high teas are numerous and populous across Doha. I was intrigued about the Royal Arabic High Tea at Al Jalsa lounge, located at the Sharq hotel, an Arabic-style hotel which I had heard was famed for it’s opulent decor and lavish restaurants. Below are the photos of our decadent afternoon of canapés, scones, pastries and of course, Arabic sweets. I particularly enjoyed the fruity, fragrant Oolong tea blend.. almost challenges my love for the Earl Grey, but not quite!

Gianni’s Restaurant, Perth, Australia

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Sonya

This post is long overdue! We visited Gianni’s for the first time a few months ago and then again more recently (last weekend) to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

The cosy, family run restaurant in Mt Hawthorn was our first introduction to Balkan food. Given that Travis and I had been there once before, this time round we thought we would try the mixed platter for two which consisted of samples of a variety of dishes:

cevaps – grilled rolls of beef minced meat
pljeskavica – veal meat patty flavoured with salt, onions and peppers
kobasice – smoked grilled, pork and beef sausage
shishcevaps – grilled rolls of spicy minced beef and
raznjici – skewers with cubes of chicken meat.

The platter was served with some homemade bread, dips and a salad – more than enough food for the two of us, particularly as our table had also ordered garlic bread and lepina (air dried beef and homemade bread) for starters.

Our friends ordered pizza, burek (layers of pastry filled with meat or other filling) and sarma (minced beef meat, rice, onions, herbs and various spices mixed together then rolled into large cabbage leaves).

Overall consensus was that the food was enjoyable, abundant (dishes were extremely huge!) and we were all simply very full post consumption. While we didn’t have desserts this time, we did try the baklava on our first visit which was delicious but the small slice didn’t quite satisfy my appetite for the sweet pasty!!

Turning Japanese, Tsunami Japanese Restaurant, Perth, Australia

Posted on October 5, 2008 by Sonya

I few weeks ago Travis and I ventured into a little restaurant on the edge of Stirling Hwy called Tsunami. It was a cold wintery night – we both felt like a sashimi fix and had heard many a good things about this restaurant. We arrived to find the place quite full, albeit it was a Saturday night. Fairy lights twinkled in the back of the cosy dark wooded restaurant. We sat at the front of the restaurant and inspected our menus.

Feeling quite hungry we decided to share a sushi and sashimi platter for entree, followed by Patagonian tooth-fish for Travis and a hitori sukiyaki for me. The tooth-fish was accompanied with enoki mushrooms, bok choy, kayaku gohan (mixed rice and vegetables) and leek. My sukiyaki was made of wagu beef, vegetables, tofu and udon noodles. We also shared a pot of green tea between us.

The platter was delicious, beautifully presented and satisfied my fishy cravings. We also enjoyed the mains, although Travis noted that the tooth-fish was somewhat oily (however he did acknowledge the health benefits of oily such fish). All in all the food was enjoyable, service was friendly and the outing pleasant. We were quite full and decided not to have dessert. We finished the night at our friends’ house, playing poker and eating mango pudding.

Sonya and Travis

tales of travel and adventure

Category Archives: Restaurants

Bateel – gourmet dates and chocolates

Royal Arabic High Tea, Doha, Qatar

Gianni’s Restaurant, Perth, Australia

Turning Japanese, Tsunami Japanese Restaurant, Perth, Australia