Blogging gave me a wonderful opportunity to be exposed to a wide variety of cuisines. Food of other culture and nations that i would probably never get to taste on my own. But somehow, it opened my eyes that aside from the taste of home, there are so many flavors of food aside from soy sauce, and vinegar, and sweets… like the turmeric powder, cardamom, saffron, coriander seeds, curry… and more!
INDI GRILL: Inspired by India’s Popular Street Food
While I’ve been introduced to a lot of Indian food over the years, I was limited to the usual like chicken biryani which we first tasted after 5 years of being in Doha, butter chicken, tandoori chicken, some Indian breads which has semblance to Arabic breads, and also Indian sweets that my colleagues would love to share with me after coming from their vacation.
So an invitation to try out another Indian Restaurant is an opportunity that i wouldn’t want to miss.
INDI GRILL is a fine dining restaurant located in Barwa Towers in Ald Sadd. Along side other Asian restaurants in the complex, Indi Grill offers an authentic alternative for both lovers of Indian foods or those who wants to discover the popular street foods in India.
The restaurant used to be a fine dining Chinese restaurant and nothing much has changed except for some minor retouch in the interiors and a change of name in the facade. Maintaining the cozy atmosphere was definitely a wise idea to provide guests the same intimate dining experience.
THE APPETIZERS
Guests can enjoy unlimited serving of pre-cooked grilled appetizers, color coded into veggies (green handle) and non veggies (red handle) on the table equipped with a grill (just to re-heat the food)… almost the same idea when you are more familiar with Korea or Japan grill restos.
Veggies
1. Subz bahar – grilled mixed veg
2. Dahi ke kebab – yoghurt
3. Parsley Panser Tika – green cottage cheese
4. Salsa Potato – potato nachos
5. Honey Cinnamon Pineapple – grilled pineapple chunks
6. Veg salt and pepper – fried broccoli, etc
Non-Veggies
1. Gulnari Kebab – grilled chicken
2. Jungly Jhinga – grilled prawns
3. Lemon butter fish – you know how it is!
4. Murg ke Taaj – boneless chicken
5. Atishi Chops – lamb chops
6. Chili Chicken – spicy chicken
Upon request, breads can be served as well as the spiciness level can be adjusted.
THE MAINS AND DESSERTS
And when you thought it’s over after the appetizers… wait till they show you the long line of main course featuring authentic Indian cuisines. Our all time favorite is the butter chicken… it’s pure goodness! And yes, the plates are coded. “White” for the non veggies and “green” for the veggie items
THE PRICE
Indi Grill is open everyday for lunch and dinner. Weekends at QR89 per person all day. Weekdays QR69 for lunch and QR79 for dinner (excluding drinks). Call 33395254 or 44833855 for reservation.
MAX’s RESTAURANT: The House That Friend Chicken Built
What started as a simple fried chicken recipe by Maximo Gimenez, which was offered to their American guests during the World War II, later on became popular and has established itself as a household name in the Philippines.
Aside from a number of small canteens and other Filipino restaurant franchises that are now available in Qatar, Max’s Restaurant is one that really embodies what an authentic Filipino food is. So whenever there would be non-Filipino friends who would ask us where to try Pinoy food, Max’s is one of our recommendations.
NEW MENU TASTING
In order to cater to different Pinoy palettes, Max’s is introducing a new set of menu on top of their house specialties. This serves well for the restaurant especially for those who are frequent diners who might want to try something new.
There were a total of 13 new menu whichwere presented to us… like an avalanche of food served on our table one after the other. But the most noticeable is the plating and the presentation which has improved a lot. The serving is good can be shared by 2-3 persons making the cost really affordable.
Among the standouts were CRISPY BEEF TADYANG (RIB). Seasoned beef ribs, crispy fried & served with three sauces – garlic vinegar, chili-soy dip & lechon sarsa, garnished with roasted cherry tomatoes. It was surprisingly soft and delicious when dipped from vinegar to soy sauce then to sarsa. It reminds me of the familiar “lechon” (roasted meat) taste.
Second is the BEEF BALBACUA. Visayan-style beef pochero (Filipino stew). Ox tail, beef tripe, beef ribs cooked & simmered in tomato sauce, pineapple juice, baked beans, banana plantain, roasted peanuts & star anise, topped with chilli and cherry tomatoes. This dish is very popular in Cebu and many other southern provinces in the Philippines. The term “balbacua” is a local translation which means cooking meat very slowly on an open fire for several hours. And yes, you can imagine why it melts in your mouth!
Last but not the least, INIHAW NA SALMON. Marinated Norwegian Salmon charcoal grilled topped with ensaladang talong (eggplant salad) and served with calamansi and chili soy dip. This has to be one of the biggest surprise for us. Soft, chewy, flavourful grilled salmon… even non-fish-eater like me enjoyed it too. Best of all, the plating was impressive… i really hope MAX’S will live up to it and maintain it. Sad i just didnt had a better photo of this beauty.
Here are the other new items and I can say they are all familiar food that brought us closer to home.
PRICE
The Vegetable items cost around QR31-32, Chicken items from QR27-43, Seafood items cost around QR41-49, Beef items from QR41-53, and Desserts from QR13-27. There are also set menu from QR285 for 5 persons to QR530 for 10 persons complete with 5 main course, rice and noodles, plus dessert! For reservation, call 4412 6297 (B-Ring Branch); or +974 4444 6297 (Al Sadd Branch).
