A night of errands and Hosny Seafood Grill

One thing I like about doing errands in the evenings, specially with my husband, is that it had become our routine to end the night with dinner somewhere. This doesn't usually happen lately since I am usually free during the day that most of the time I already finished everything that needs to be done before he came home from work. And since I have too much time in my hands lately, I was also able to prepare our dinner before he arrives famished coming from his job site about 1.5 hours away from home.

But then our dinner dates had already been part of our marriage for the past 9 years and I don't think we could get it out of our system anymore. So last night, there are a number of things we need to do. Hubby now arrives around 5:30PM, an hour earlier than their old shift schedule, which is a good thing. At around 6pm, we decided to leave, without him having dinner and so we both knew had to think where we'll eat. First stop is the bank,hubby needs to collect some documents to forward to their office the next day. Since we were there early, the queue was not yet very long. But still it took us about 30-40mins of waiting. Then we had to go find an electrical supplies store to get a replacement on our water tank's motor and a technician to install it. We went to the Bin Mahmoud area where all the auto electrical shops were, hoping that somehow there will be one doing other electrical jobs as well. Not much luck there, when we inquired in one of the shops, we have been directed to the Sofitel Hotel area, but we are reluctant to go. Mainly because it's too far and since most of these technicians required to be transported so it meant we would also have to take him back there. We decided to drive around the area and fortunately there were a few electrical and construction materials shops there. I wonder how come those people on the auto electrical area do not know that! I mean they've been there for decades! You would think they would be familiar of what shops they have in the area.

But anyway, so we managed to get the part and the technician and brought him back to the house. The repair was done in a short time since the whole motor needed to be replaced so there was no trouble shooting required. After we drove back the technician to their shop and my sister to her home, we were ready for dinner! 

I remember a couple of days back after we came from Centerpointe (Al Asmakh Mall), driving back home I caught a glimpse of this new restaurant on that road from Centerpointe to Al Sadd. It was a small road leading to a dead end and a vacant lot which served as a parking lot. It was the road between Al Sadd and Centerpointe. Ok, for those of you not familiar with Doha (or Qatar for that matter), street names are not very popular in this side of the globe, to navigate, you have to go by the landmarks, but you can also check the exact location here.
The place looks like an old villa converted into a restaurant as most establishments in Doha still are. The entrance is welcoming with the gate wide open and some structure decors on the grounds. The right side covering about 3/4 of the grounds has been set up with tables. We initially thought the set up was for al fresco dining but realized later on that it was meant for shisha customers. Shisha is a favorite past time in Qatar, just like having drinks or coffee. I think I'd need a separate post on shisha later on when I've tried it :)
The restaurant interiors look like a traditional arabic restaurant and so I wanted to see the menu first before we try it. But just like most of the arabic restaurants in Qatar, most of the staff do not speak English. So I really had to depend on my determination and acting prowess if I want this food trip adventure to be successful. I had good vibes on the restaurant so I didn't want to give up. So I was given the menu ---- and it's Arabic! Now this is turning out quite an effort already. Good thing I managed to find an old guy who is so accommodating to give me an idea of what they offer. He was too friendly that I didn't have the guts to turn away. 

 

We had been led to the fresh seafood on display. He said that we can just choose any seafood of our liking and their chef will cook it for us. I asked if we can decide how it would be cooked (I was thinking more like a Dampa experience in the Philippines), but well they're their own boss so our only option is either it will be fried or grilled. The guy (it seems he is either the manager or the owner) also told us that they will be having the menu reprinted with an English version (but when that will happen, I don't know). So ok, let them do their job. Since it was a weekday, I was not surprised that there are not much options on the seafood spread. Most of the fish are too big though that I was sure Jong and I would not be able to finish, so we just opted for  a decently sized tilapia and I believe 6 pieces of prawns. We had the prawns grilled and the tilapia fried. The manager also recommended for us to try their Egyption rice. He said it's brown rice cooked with some spices the best accompaniment for any fish dish. He said that's how they serve their fish in Egypt, with the brown rice. By this time my excitement and expectations have already waned. I mean I'm not such a fan of tilapia and a grilled prawn is a grilled prawn where ever you are! 

We were then led to the upstairs dining area, which was empty. So I thought that's a good thing, at least we wouldn't have to wait too long for our food. All tables have been set but which I don't find kid-friendly with the heavy dinnerware and the elaborate set-up of the table. Lauren was not with us so I did not find out if they have a kiddie chair (although Lauren wouldn't really fit into a kiddie chair anymore, we still try our luck everytime! hahaha!). The furnitures also were too heavy with the table made of hard wood and marble. The lighting was good though and the space is comfortable. The cable TV was set to an Arabic music channel so I really just have to divert my attention elsehwere, hubby is always good company so that's not such a problem, we always enjoy our chats :)

 

Jong ordered an additional Mutabal . We usually do when we go to Arabic grills since most of the time the kubos (Arabic flat bread) are served on the house and the mutabal is a good dip to accompany the bread while waiting for our food. Mutabal is mashed eggplant blended with some garlic, herbs and olive oil. The kubos served to us has a bit of different texture. It was more on the dry and tough side, so I asked the wait staff it was indeed kubos. That's when I found out that a couple of the servers were Filipino. One guy answered me that it was indeed kubos, but the baker was not in a very good mood in the recent days that's why the bread turned out like that! hahaha! That's a good one! 

We waited for about maybe 15-20 minutes for our food. 

The prawn looks inviting it is served with just some grated carrots on the side. It was perfectly cooked and the flavors of the shrimp are intact. It was not overcooked and tastes really really good! The prawns were so fresh you could taste its sweetness. It definitely was a good choice for us! A very safe dish that couldn't go wrong but not ordinary at all! 

The tilapia was served in a bed of chopped coriander and some slices of fresh tomatoes. But looks burned to me, I mean if it was fried that's too dark and I'm thinking the meat would be too tried. But the moment I forked the meat, wow! It was not overcooked at all. It really was good! I didn't expect to enjoy tilapia as much as I did last night. The meat was so tender and juicy. The fish was so fresh and I wonder how they were able to make it so flavorful in such a short period of time. The fish was stuffed with tomatoes, garlic, onions and some herbs and the chef managed to blend the flavors well with the fish. 

I was a bit surprised with the serving of the brown rice though. When we ordered it I asked how big the serving was and I had been told that it was to be a fairly big serving good for two persons. The guy said Egyptians were big on rice and so their serving would be more than enough for both of us. But then when the rice arrived, it was a cup of rice! And on a good day, I could finish two of those! hahaha! So we ordered an additional cup of white rice. The white rice was not steamed, but I also don't think it was fried rice. But there is definitely some oil in that rice. Both rice were good and indeed a perfect complement to the fish and prawns. Hubby and I finished our food entirely! :)
All in all it was a good discovery for us. We paid QR106.00 + tip (about $30+) for our meal and we were truly satisfied. Although, it was not a high end restaurant, I still didn't expect it would be that cheap. I was gauging it to be around the QR150-200 ($40-50) price range for two persons. Well with that amount of food, adding maybe additional individual serving of rice, we could easily fill another person with us. 

On our way out, the manager introduced us to the chef who's name I didn't quite catch but who gamely posed for a photo with me. We have also been told that the restaurant is quite famous in Egypt with a number of branches there and other Gulf countries. He asked us to try some of their other dishes when we come back (hopefully by that time they already have an English menu so we wouldn't have to play it by ear!)

But yes! We will definitely be back! That was a very good discovery and for a couple who truly loves food that was a very fulfilling experience!


I ENJOYED!


Rating: 4.5 stars
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose, we paid for our meal and I have not been compensated to write this post.