Thai Chi-- Villaggio

namabiru
By namabiru

Last night I called into Villaggio after work, and decided to patronize Thai Chi for something a little different to eat.

While I am not aware of Thai food pricing in Doha yet, I felt the prices were reasonable for the types of food being served. I ordered a Thai Chi ice tea, which is ice tea with lemon and mint and something else, fo 20 riyals. It was served in a tall glass with lots of ice, and had a nice taste. The minty refreshment was a good pairing with my main course, the Singapore-style noodles. This is rice noodles with barbecued chicken, shrimp, bean sprouts, chilis, peppers, and onions, at 30 riyals. The serving was attractive, adequate, and tasty. I was also provided with a complimentary appetizer of prawn crackers with a choice of sweet or spicy sauce. As I can't have super spicy food due to digestion issues, I stuck to the sweet sauce. The sweet sauce had a nice initial taste, followed by just enough of a kick to make you remember you were eating Thai-style food.

The service, however, seemed a bit lax. The restaurant wasn't so busy, and my pre-food and food were brought in a timely fashion by a very polite waiter, but I found it a bit odd that I wasn't asked if I wanted a coffee, or something else, following my meal. Also, after my plate and serving pieces were taken, it was as though I had been completely forgotten about. My check wasn't delivered, nor could I get anyone's attention to receive it. After I finally asked the hostess if I could pay, it then took a long while to calculate the 50-riyal cost of my meal. This, however, may have been a one-time occurrence, not representative of the restaurant itself.

I would return to Thai Chi once in a great while when I was in the mood for something a little different, but I don't think I would be a regular patron. All the same, though, it was a nice treat to celebrate the end of my first week of work.

By anonymous• 23 Oct 2007 18:24
Rating: 4/5
anonymous

thai chi isnt thai food...it should be called euro-thai or something in that line. I first ate in thai chi in dubai in wafi village. good food nevertheless, but not thai. the spices were extremely mild. besides, the food is overly expensive. far east is much better. thai snack in the other hand has gone to shit.

By Hummers_rock• 9 Oct 2007 12:58
Hummers_rock

I found Thai Chi to be very westernised. Maybe that's why it is so popular, some people like that others prefer the real thing. It lacks that real authentic Thai flavour, and just doesn't have that kick to it like Thai Snacks does.... I think it lacks the use of galangal...and palm sugar...oh and is so overpriced considering it's next to a food court in a mall!

'Our freedom is but a light that breaks through from another world'

By Ragnarock Raider• 9 Oct 2007 12:54
Ragnarock Raider

At QR16 a plate....best Phad Thai in Qatar.

Stay safe all.

Perfection does not exist. The question therefore, is: what level of imperfection are we willing to settle for?

By Xena• 9 Oct 2007 12:51
Rating: 3/5
Xena

Wok is terrible..... Thai Chi anyday....

By jockaroo• 9 Oct 2007 12:09
Rating: 5/5
jockaroo

Tried this last night and menu is different than used to in Chinese. I can honestly say this is the worst "Chinese" food I have ever tasted very bland and the meat was of a very poor quality. Saying that it was cheap but nowhere near the quality and taste of thai Chai which is 10 times the price but a 100 times better.

By SharonD• 5 Oct 2007 20:27
SharonD

Well, if that's it, I feel guilty about complaining! Sounds like the Chinese might be worth trying out next time though

"Always look on the bright side of life"

By namabiru• 5 Oct 2007 16:15
namabiru

You know, now that I think about it a bit more, it *could* also be that there are staff members at the restaurant who are fasting. This would be a perfectly logical and acceptable explanation for what I mistakenly perceived as 'slow' service. While I realize they would have broken the fast by the evening (or I am certainly hoping so), following a smaller diet with limited fluid intake over a period of time *can* eventually start wearing even the healthiest of people down. Especially as we're coming to the end of Ramadan...

It just didn't quite dawn on me until sharon stated they had a slower-paced service, later at night.

By SharonD• 5 Oct 2007 01:37
SharonD

Experienced exactly the same kind of "lax" service about a week ago at Thai Chi. It was late in the evening and very quiet, so we couldn't understand the delays

"Always look on the bright side of life"

By kennethpotato• 3 Oct 2007 03:11
Rating: 5/5
kennethpotato

Yup i would agree with you guys the price is higher than expected but the service was good anyway. Visit Thai restaurant in Farij Al Nasr , simple place but the thai foods are great!!! as well as the price...

By namabiru• 29 Sep 2007 08:06
Rating: 2/5
namabiru

Yeah, it's definitely not authentic Thai food at Pad Thai, if that's what you're after. I know this is a bit stereotypical, but they didn't even have simple Pad Thai on the menu!!! That's how I ended up ordering the Singaporean style noodles

Thank you very much for the Thai restaurant recommendations. I have written them down and look forward to going there the next time I am in the mood for Thai food. I kind of also wondered if it wasn't a bit high-priced, which I suppose is to be expected with the joint being in a mall, so I'm also glad you said the pricing wasn't the best value. Oh well, though. I was there, I was hungry, and I didn't feel like doing the Iftar buffet at Sarai next door. Although, on an aside, the food there was nice too when we went in July.

Honestly, for me (I came from rural Montana), it's such an International food orgy here that I can't wait to get out to some more of the restaurants. I think it would be fun to try that Chinese place in Villagio, where you go and sit over the canal.

By novita77• 28 Sep 2007 13:59
Rating: 5/5
novita77

we been there only once ... for us we had a very good service. But the taste and the pricing is not worth it. If you want to genuine thai food ... you can drop by in Amjad (Thai Snack) or Far East Restaurant. Both in Al Mirqab street.

Me think the taste in Thai Chi been altered alot for western target consumer. :-)

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