Dining Reviews with JeanneinDoha: Post-Lockdown Lunch at Crossroads Kitchen

Lunch at Crossroads Kitchen
Mezze Selection | Chicken Biryani | Mac 'n' Cheese 

Hello everyone!

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything for JeanneinDoha. Between being a mother to a rambunctious one-year-old, working full-time, and attempting to maintain a healthy lifestyle, I've found my free time to be in limited supply. COVID-19 added its own set of challenges, as my husband and I sought to navigate parental responsibilities with working from home.

However, with lockdown coming to an end in Qatar, now seems as good a time as ever to revive my blog. And what better way to recommence writing than by sharing our return to restaurant dining, more than four months after our last meal out?

A selected number of Doha's restaurants reopened for dine-in on July 1st. As readers of this blog will know, I am a loyal customer of the Marriott Marquis City Center Doha Hotel. My husband and I had our first date at Cucina. Less than a year later, we celebrated our wedding reception there. So as we make peace with our new normal, we thought it fitting to return somewhere familiar and comforting.

My husband, daughter and I were joined by two friends for lunch at Crossroads Kitchen. We had a wonderful time. the staff were attentive and portion sizes were generous. 

• At present, seating is limited to five people per table. Children are allowed. Our toddler was provided with a high chair.
• Advance reservations are required. Bookings can be made via WhatsApp on 66001315. 
• Click here for the dining and drinks menu.
• On the day of our visit, Happy Hour commenced at 12 PM, with selected beverages priced at 30 QR each.
• Corporate discounts are offered to employees of Qatar Foundation and Qatar Airways. If you work for a major national company, it’s always worthwhile checking if a discount deal is available.
• Current regulations mean that the restaurant cannot pack up your leftovers for takeaway. You might find it useful to discreetly bring your own Tupperware boxes!

Happy dining!

JeanneinDoha’s Guide to Working From Home

With the contagion of coronavirus on everyone’s mind, it appears that organizations in Doha have finally accepted working from home as a viable option. As someone who has worked from home for the past two and a half years, and who successfully manages a team of close to twenty, here are my top tips for making a home office arrangement work.

Focus on your routine.
Start your day as you would were you going to work. get dressed, have breakfast and get to your home office early.

Write out your to do list for the day. Commit to what you are going to do, tick off items on the list as you go along. Be realistic when constructing your goals and resist procrastination. Structure in breaks for coffee and lunch as you would at work. 

Find yourself a quiet space and eliminate distractions. No, you cannot work productively whilst watching Netflix. Successfully working from home relies on adopting a conscientious attitude. The more time you waste, the more time you’ll need to make up. Discipline yourself.

Start early and finish early. I love working from home because I can start as early as I want, avoid a commute, and finish my hours with enough time to spare to pursue my hobbies. 

Handle childcare efficiently. This is the hardest part. For me, successfully working from home has relied on having accessible childcare. However, there is one day each week when I am required to work and for which I do not have external childcare. If you and your partner are both working from home with limited access to childcare, it is imperative that you support each other with childcare responsibilities. If your partner cannot change a diaper or finds themselves unable to put a meal together for the children, it's time to learn, so that you can both juggle your professional and personal responsiblities. That said, we all do the best that we can in difficult circumstances. If your child interrupts your conference call, smile, apologize and move on.

If you manage a team, make sure you have great tracking in place to review work output. Schedule weekly video calls and use chat tools to communicate with everyone on a daily basis. Keep your eyes open and your monitoring tight. 

Don’t slack! You’ll just have to catch up over the weekend. Trust me, I’ve been there.