the grand joud or proof that i've tried local food

i don't think i've mentioned them yet, but i have two new girlfriends here in qatar! caitlin and jocelyn are both from ontario and work in the business side of the company that i am working for. they are friends from home and share a flat around the corner from mine. caitlin normally works out of the barrie office, but has come to be a project manager for the asian games and arrived two weeks before me. caitlin convinced jocelyn to move here and she arrived a few days after me to work as a controller on a one year contract. i am so glad that they are here as we have been having lots of fun discovering doha together.

tonight after work and a stop for groceries at mega mart, caitlin and i took jocelyn to the traditional restaurant we went to my first night here. i should be honest and say that we tried to go yesterday, but couldn't find it, got lost and ended up at chili's. today they got directions and so off we went to the grand joud:

the restaurant is on two floors and all the windows are sliding glass doors which open up.

jocelyn, caitlin & i

we ordered a bunch of dishes for us all to try and share. the first time we were here i was so happy to have caitlin with me, especially since i found out she's scared of weird food too :) tonight we decided that from now on jocelyn can be our taste tester and approve things for us. here's what we ordered:

bread, tabbouleh and grilled halloumi

the bread at the grand joud is so tasty with little bits of cinnamon in it. i really enjoy the tabbouleh salad, it has such a unique flavour. it's all very finely chopped and i think it has parsley, vinegar, lemon and a bit of mint in it. halloumi is the type of cheese that squeaks when you chew it, but very yummy.

under this mound of food is some chicken that has a really nice flavour, especially when dipped in the garlic mayo that comes with it. in the back is zaatar which was almost like a thin crust pizza covered with some combination of very mild herbs and sesame seeds. the colour was weird but i'm glad it tried it because it was really good!