Craig Ferriman enjoys a culinary journey delivered to his front door.

While we are essentially confined to our homes again during this latest phase of the pandemic in Qatar, there are reasons to be cheerful, as I’ve recently discovered. With disposable income that we aren’t spending in cafes, restaurants, bars and spas, we owe it ourselves to enjoy the time we spend at home. I recently decided to spare myself the chore of cooking and washing up, and instead veg out in front of the TV.

I did just that with a delivery of food from the Marriott Marquis City Center Doha Hotel. They sent over two boxes of tasty goodness for me to sample some of the greatest hits from Crossroads Kitchen. I’ve been there in person a few times to try out their theme nights, which include an Asian Street Food day, though I’ve never gone when that was on, so I was eager to see what was in store.

The box was packed with goodies accompanied by an instruction guide for reheating, as most dishes were best served warm. I thought this was a very clever idea! The Tom Kha Gai soup was a lovely start to my evening and the sheet suggested placing it in a pot on the stove for six minutes and stirring continuously. I put some of the other items in the oven to warm up and enjoyed the Honey Glazed Ginger Chicken which got the taste buds singing.

The spring rolls were great for sharing with my housemates and the Singapore Chilli Crab was excellent, because it was exactly the sort of thing I miss and couldn’t easily source or cook myself at home. The Nasi Goreng is an everyday dish but isn’t universally well done.

Luckily the one I received hit the spot and only needed three minutes in the microwave. Meat and seafood were provided in equal abundance which is just as well in my household because we’re evenly split! I tucked into a Stir-fried Beef and Broccoli which had a bit of a kick and was generous in size. The Kung Pao Shrimp went down a treat at the other end of the table.

In a separate box, was an array of dishes from their vegan feast. Any vegans should take a look at this because it’s literally the delivery version of their themed night in the restaurant and there is so much good food that is healthy, nutritious and vegan-friendly. There was wholesome Penne Bolognese and a ginger carrot soup to enrich the soul. The smoky carrot dogs and barbecue jackfruit sliders were my favourite and showed flair and fun.

The Thai Vegetable Curry and the Sweet and Sour Cauliflower were very yummy and again the instructions for reheating, along with the generous portion sizes, made for a perfect evening at home. Plastic was limited and cardboard and tin foil were used to transport the food and keep it warm, so plenty of sustainable and reusable materials which wins environmental points from me. Amazingly, little was leftover , there was no washing up required and I was impressed by the portion sizes. ✤

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