AROUND THE WORLD IN 90 MINUTES

Visiting MANDARIN ORIENTAL has always been our local editor, ANUSHAY TAIMUR KHAN’s favourite place to go. This month she stepped back into Mosaic for a midweek date with her family and our selfproclaimed foodie has officially spoken.

Downtown Msheireb has been upping their game since the beginning of this year and Mandarin Oriental is one of the main contributing factors. Once you enter this prestigious hotel, you’re welcomed by a huge mandarin fruit inspired fan on the wall next to the most beautiful flower décor. The ever-so-lovely staff guides you to the lift and ‘ting!’ we set foot inside Mosaic.

Prior to this visit, it’s imperative that you note that I’ve been here before, but the way the restaurant lights up at night is a completely new experience in comparison to their lunch offerings . Their open kitchen allows you to see your food getting prepared and the huge space is the perfect backdrop for your ideal selfie and the balcony is prepped and waiting to give you a view of one of the chicest properties in Doha.

My culinary journey at Mosaic started with the chef bringing out the fanciest assortment of Sashimi. The classic mandarin segmented fan gave the entire sashimi basket such a resplendent look. So, the tone is set; Mosaic is going to be all about the aesthetics! Once the starters rolled in, my hunger pangs were given a new life. From the good old cold Arabic mezze, the heirloom tomato and truffle pide that I inhaled, and the oh-so delicious volcano sushi; I experienced sheer joy as I kept digging from one platter to another. The plump, air filled bread with the Arabic platter was just the warmest welcome that I never knew that I needed that night.

When the main courses came in, I was already smitten by the Vietnamese BBQ beef short ribs – a speciality in Doha that I have grown to love. It came with sweet caramel and fish glaze that brought richness to the dish and gave my taste buds a joy ride – absolutely exquisite. Now, I’ve tried the Hyderabadi biryani of Mandarin Oriental before and it is already one of my favourites when it comes to fine dining Indian dishes in Doha, and it didn’t disappoint. Set up fashionably in hot bread – which you have to cut to see the warm smoke come out of – the delicious biryani proves itself as an unparalleled contender. . It feels like this foodie came back home. To make this experience even more delightful, the assorted tandoori kebab platter filled me with nostalgic memories to Eid – BBQ’d to perfection and tasting like a treat from above!

The beautiful view and the pleasant conversation with the multicultural staff allowed me to truly experience the ambience of the place. The level of detail in the finishing touches made this experience even better. For example, my table setting was replicated for my toddler too! How absolutely adorable.

Once we started on the desserts, I had an entirely new appetite. I engulfed The Berry Pavlova with raspberry sorbet and enticingly perfect strawberry syrup. I usually do not like pavlova since it is dry, but the chef made sure there was enough syrup and softness in my ice cream to help me experience the true joy a sweet tooth person can have; the pleasure of being able to call this the reason I am coming back to the restaurant! As for my second dessert (because who only eats one dessert?) the good old pistachio brownie and ice-cream was served. I found chunks of hedonistic caramel and pecans in each bite, that enhanced the flavour of the dark chocolate sauce making this an awe-inspiring dessert. I absolutely love it when a restaurant takes the everyday meal and gives it a twist of its own and that is exactly what Mandarin Oriental presented to me; a twist in the middle of the week to get me excited about food again.

 “From the good old cold Arabic mezze, the heirloom tomato and truffle pide that I inhaled, and the oh-so delicious volcano sushi; I experienced sheer joy as I kept digging from one platter to another”

The comfortable seating, the beautiful chicly designed restaurant and the attention to detail is exactly what you expect from Mandarin Oriental and like always, Mosaic took me on a magic carpet ride around the world with this gastronomic experience of dinner.

For more information, please call +974 4008 8888
@mo_doha

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