A day begin with me trying to move my butt to the bathroom in order to get ready for a walk at Souq Waqif. It was 9 in the morning, and
Tante Rosi and
Tante Tika were in the living room, just arrived to pick my Mom and I up. It took me no longer than 15 minutes to get ready, all clean and dressed up, with my camera bag on my right shoulder. With no further ado, the four of us hopped into the car and drove away from Matar Qadeem.
After a 10-minute-drive, we finally arrived at the heart of Doha. Souq Waqif, a standing market which reminds you of a scene in Disney's Aladdin, where Princess Jasmine strolls around at the market in Agrabah in which was crowded with sellers and products. The thing with Souq Waqif is just that the environment here is a lot more modern, judging from the fact that the place also has numerous cafe and restaurant, instead of just merchants selling traditional Middle eastern goods. They even have a Haägen-Dazs Cafe here!
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| Fancy some rugs? |
The reason why we came to the Souq is to have breakfast at a restaurant named Zaatar W Zeit.
Tante Rosi told me that she has dined at the restaurant before, and that the restaurant serves great food in her opinion. It took us a while to find the restaurant because of all the alleys and small streets. When we finally arrived at the restaurant, it was a bit surprising to see the outdoor tables were occupied even though it was still early in the morning.
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| Zataar W Zeit |
We started the day with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. I was going to order myself some Hot Chocolate before, but I was a bit nauseous that morning, so I had to drink something fresh and juicy to make the uneasy feeling go away. It turned out, my decision was right to pick the orange juice, because it really was fresh and thirst-quenching. It was really really sour, the orange juice, but in a good way.
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| A glass of freshly squeezed orange juice to start the day |
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| The Orange Juice was very sour in a refreshing way |
We decided to order some dishes and share them, instead of having one dish for each person. For appetizer, we had ourselves a bowl of Simply Caesar Salad, a bowl of fresh and crispy Romaine Lettuce, garnished with Parmesan Cheese and Oven-baked Croutons, coated with delicious mayonnaise. The Italian cheese had a nutty flavor for some reason, while the Croutons were toasty and delicious. The greens were crunchy and juicy, and they made me feel good for consuming them!
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| Simply Caesar Salad |
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| Very juicy and crispy leafs |
Our breakfast was then continued with a pan of Traditional Pizza and BBQ Steak Wrapz. Both dishes was delicious as heck! The pizza was thin, yet very stomach-fulling. It was decorated with tomato sauce, Mozzarella Cheese, ham, Oregano, and mushroom. I hardly spotted any Oregano in the pizza, but maybe they were contained under the ham, or under the melted Mozzarella cheese. Cheesy, doughy, floury, and delicious describe the pizza perfectly! The only thing that destroyed the pizza was the mushroom. I seriously tried to love mushroom, but I just can't seem to find anything delicious about it. So, I hereby declare that I dislike mushroom and that it doesn't go well with anything!
BBQ Steak Wrapz is the second thing we had as main course. The tortilla was soft and slightly fluffy, yet also crunchy. Inside, you can find a handful of beef with barbeque sauce, along with red and green bell pepper, and also onion. All in all, the beef wrap was delicious, but I love the pizza more even though it had mushroom on it. I actually ate three slices of pizza and a couple of beef wraps.
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| Traditional Pizza |
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| Delicious melted Mozzarella and ham! |
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| BBQ Steak Wrapz |
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| Stuffed with sweet and savory barbequed beef |
What's a meal without some dessert, right? The four of us decided to order two kinds of dessert to share with. They were a bowl of Chocolate Chip Brownies and a cup of Strawberry Cheese Cake.
Chocolate Chip Brownies are three bars of chilly brownies, served with chocolate syrup. I thought I would have an encounter with some sweet chocolate chips, but I stand corrected. The chocolate bars were not fudgy, they were a slightly dry and airy. Them brownies tasted sweet and quite delicious.
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| Chocolate Chip Brownies |
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| A very nice dessert to begin with |
Unfortunately, the Strawberry Cheese Cake was not as delicious as the brownies. They were painfully hard to swallow. The strawberry jam on top was beyond sweet and nauseating, it tasted like cherry-flavored cough syrup. Underneath it was a blob of, what it's supposed to be, cream cheese.. which tasted as excruciating as the jam! It didn't taste like cream cheese at all, it was milky and agonizingly sweet. At the bottom of the cup was very very few cake crumbs, which taste savory and nice, yet the cream completely destroyed it. I do not recommend you this particular dessert at all!
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| A cup of not delicious Strawberry Cheese Cake |
After breakfast has ended, we stroll around the market. Tante Rosi and Tante Tika was planning on buying some Abaya, so we made a few pit stops to some Abaya shop to fit and bargain. It took us a while to find the perfect Abaya, along with the perfect size and price. I have to tell you, some of them were really attractive and beautiful, despite the fact that they only come in one color!
After some fitting and bargaining, Tante Rosi and Tante Tika finally got the Abaya that they love. We had breakfast, we shopped, we took some pictures, and we went home with a big joy. It was a nice morning at the Souq!
So, for those of you who happen to life in Doha, you should definitely go to the Souq and dine at Zaatar W Zeit. Great food, good service, and free WiFi! But, watch out for the chief-in-charge, he likes to make jokes about toilet at the wrong time. Been there, done that!
Zaatar W Zeit
Souq Waqif, between Musherib and Al Rayyan Road
Doha, Qatar
Phone: +974 4431 5224
Opening Hours:
Monday - Sunday : 24 Hours
