Asian meal offers that make us (and our wallets) happy

We’re both bargain hunters. Lovers of The Entertainer vouchers, a business lunch deal or a happy hour (ok that’s just me). If I can’t find the Mr in a store, I can be sure to find him checking out the sale rail or the discounted aisle (oh how he loves Mega Mart). We just never feel comfortable spending a lot of money on one meal alone. We can’t justify the expense. Hence our lack of hotel brunch reviews: we don’t want our blog to become something that isn’t true to us and our lifestyle, we want to really share the stuff that we go out and enjoy on a regular basis.

So here goes, a post that combines some of our favourite things: Asian food, feel-good prices and newly-discovered spots. Good ingredients for an enjoyable experience, right?

Sabai Thai, The Westin Doha
Business Lunch 99QR: 3 courses and tea or coffee

Meal portions are on the light side, which for us is a good thing as we want to enjoy lots of different flavours in one sitting without feeling stuffed. The quality of the food, the pretty presentation, modern interiors and attentive service make Sabai Thai stand out as something a little special.

To start we recommend the Som Tam Thai (shredded green papaya salad) and Yaam Som-o (herbed pomelo salad). We’ve stuck to the same mains on both visits as they were SO good – the Gaeny Kiew Wan Neua (Beef green curry) and the Pad Thai Goong (traditional stir fried rice noodles with prawn and tofu). And to finish? Well we’re both ice cream lovers and we like to cool down from the heat of the chili and green peppercorns with their coconut ice cream and condiments – it’s delish. This is five-star dining at a fraction of the price, so of course it gets our vote.

Maison De Sushi, 01 Mall
Buffet: Business class 80QR, First class 130 QR

We read Qatar Eats review and knew we had to go there. This place twists the traditional all-you-can-eat buffet by offering you a menu that your order from – so you get freshly made meals brought to your table. We do like just sitting and enjoying your dining companions’ company rather than getting up and down and breaking the flow of our chat, and the table service means you get a little more explanation about the food you’re ordering and any recommendations. We were advised to start slowly. Order a few things, and then go for more, because one thing you will spot on the menu is that they charge 5QR for every item you leave – now that’s a great way of stopping unnecessary food waste.

Portions are small which again is ideal – this way you get to try lots of different to determine your favourites. Maki sushi comes in six pieces, while sushi is ordered per piece, so you could just take two or more if you’ve still got lots of space. Our faves were the Thai beef salad, the shrimp tempura (we went 2 orders of this ) the Golden Dragon maki (spicy fried shrimp, this was also ordered twice) and Shake Terimaki (grilled salmon and teriyaki sauce) and the Spicy Salmon sushi. Also included was a pot of green tea to help us digest our feast – we spent a happy couple of hours there and can’t wait to try it again.

We also liked the fact that although it’s in a mall, it isn’t the normal depressing set up of eating in the midst of utter chaos (like at Villagio), we felt like we in a restaurant far from the madding crowd.

Thai Cuisine, Fereej Bin Mahmoud
3 course lunch offer from 45 – 55 QR (chicken, beef or seafood) from 11am-2pm

Soup, starter and main served with rice

There’s no airs and graces about Thai Cuisine, which is a big part of why it’s always very appealing. It’s clean, tidy and the service is always prompt and welcoming, and if you’re after a satisfying lunch then here’s somewhere that will probably serve you enough for a carry out bag too.

The lunchtime special serves up two choices of starter: spring rolls and meatballs. Two choices of soup: Tom Yum Kung and Tom Khai Kai. And then nine mains including spicy options such as Phad Prik Kheng, sweet and sour and yellow curry. You just choose whether you’d prefer chicken, beef or seafood and pay accordingly. We opted for the Chicken Pad Phring and the Beef Phad Prik Kheng which came with two bowls of rice. The portion sizes were bigger than our bellies, yet it meant we had enough for a meal to take home. So really 2 meal deals can easily feed 3 for just 100QR. Smiles all round.