QAT: Al Jasra Traditional Food

'Harees' - a newfound love!

On our last day in Doha, Qatar, my BFF and I finally had local cuisine before flying off to somewhere in Africa. Al Jasra Traditional Food, which is tucked away in a contrastingly quiet alley at the bustling Souq Waqif, is an unassuming eatery run by five entrepreneurial middle-aged ladies.

We interacted with two of the five ladies. Though rather reserved, they are pleasant and can speak a bit of English.

Harees (Small) QAR 15.00 (~S$5.60)

Taste: 8.5/10

It might not appear appetising, perhaps to the point of being somewhat disgusting, but the coarsely ground wheat porridge mixed with chicken and butter certainly packed a punch in terms of flavours. It had a nice consistency and tasted pleasant on the tongue. The name of the dish is derived from the Arabic verb harasa (lit. mash).

Margouga (Small) QAR 15.00 (~S$5.60)

Taste: 7/10

As far as I can remember, there was no meat in Al Jasra's stew of bread dough kneaded into thin sheets in light tomato-based gravy flavoured with a bit of dried lemons, resulting in a sweet and sour note. There were potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants and carrots on the plate.

Meat Machboos QAR 35.00 (~S$13.00)

Taste: 8/10

The spiced rice dish came with an adequate amount of marinated lamb that was pretty succulent. It was accompanied by a small bowl of chopped salad drizzled with lemon juice, as well as a condiment made of tomato and chili, which wasn't as spicy as expected.

Custard QAR 12.00 (~S$4.45)

Taste: 8.5/10

We'd wanted to order Mahalabia (Middle Eastern milk-based pudding flavoured with rose or orange blossom water), but it wasn't available. Thus, we ended up ordering what turned out to be liquid custard. It was liquid gold, really, for it was addictively sweet and fragrant as it was mixed with rose water.

Melon's Rating

Taste: 8/10

Ambience: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Overall: 8/10

The restaurant is listed on Google Maps. Pika's advice: Feeling lucky? Why not try a sweet dish called Khanfruc, which is priced at QAR 12.00 (~S$4.45)? I really have no idea what that is.

Al Jasra Traditional Food

Ali Bin Abdullah Street

Souq Waqif

Doha

Qatar

(Sat-Thu: 8.30am - 10.00pm;

Fri: 8.30am - 10.30am, 12.30pm - 10.00pm)

*Prices quoted are nett prices.

Have a nice meal,

Cliff(y)