Both the Pizza Express and Pinkberry branches at the Marina Crescent are now open. The Pizza Express branch looks to have an updated new look compared to the Pizza Express branches at the airport and Avenues. The Pinkberry branch at the Crescent makes it the second Pinkberry branch there since there’s already another one near the fountain inside the mall.

Leila is my favorite Lebanese restaurant in Kuwait and I’m there usually on a daily basis for lunch since one of their locations is right next to my office. Last week they added a new “light” menu which includes some popular Lebanese dishes that are cooked in a healthier way for example their light taouk dish now uses a mustard based marination resulting in a final dish that contains only 430 calories. Yeah they actually have the calories listed next to the dishes, something I hadn’t seen at a Lebanese restaurant before.

They only have a few items on the light menu right now but they will be adding some more over time. The location I visit the most is the one next to Johnny Rockets outside Salhiya Complex but they have another one at The Avenues near the cinema as well.

It’s about time! The small LoFat canteen above is located at the American International School.

via PinkGirlQ8

Update: LoFat is also available at Al-Bayan Bilingual School

I was surprised to find out that Lita’s the small Mexican food joint in Mahboula had closed down. They literally served the best Mexican food in Kuwait but even their website was down so I figured something really weird/bad had happened. Turns out they closed down because they’re moving to a larger location on the Gulf Road and they should open in a few months time. But, I still think that’s weird. If it was me I wouldn’t have closed down the Mahboula branch since it was very popular with the expats over there so I’m wondering if there is another side to this story. On the bright side, if they do open up on the Gulf Road then that’s better for me since they’d be a lot closer to my home.

Jleeb residents will be pleased to know that Géant Easy Supermarket will be opening up in 2 days time in Souk Al Jleeb. This will be their second Géant Easy branch in Kuwait with their first being in Salmiya. Géant Easy is smaller than the regular Géant.

Another day another burger joint. Smashburger to me isn’t as exciting as Five Guys but, the more the merrier. First store will be opening up sometime next year. [Link]

There’s a new local creation called ubon opening up soon in my office building. I checked out their website and this is the description:

Ubon, a contemporary Thai restaurant specializes in curries, rice & noodles. Located in the heart of Kuwait city, Ubon is perfect for a quick lunch break or for a relaxing night out dinner. Ubon serves flavorful Thai food in a hip, modern and welcoming atmosphere.

Seems like its going to be cool. [Link]

Contrary to the rumors, Kei hasn’t shutdown and moved out of Marina Crescent. What’s happened is they’ve just reduced the size of the place by half and sold the other half to Caribou Coffee. I think that’s actually a good move since their Marina Crescent branch was fairly over-sized and I like my sushi places small and cozy. There is no opening date yet but for your Kei fix you can still visit their JW Marriott location.

I am guessing Fahad would not approve this.

Although I’ve been trying out burgers on this trip, I rarely have any when I come to Lebanon since the burgers here aren’t good at all. Instead I usually have other things:

Salads
I think the salads in Lebanon are better than the ones I have in Kuwait. The salads are lighter and taste better, probably because restaurants have access to better produce. I had the one pictured above yesterday and it came with goat cheese, walnuts, baby tomatoes, lettuce and figs for a bit of sweetness. It was great.

Pizza
For some odd reason pizza is extremely popular in Lebanon in the same way burger joints are popular in Kuwait. It seems every place around the corner makes pizza and most of them are pretty good. I end up having pizza maybe every other day and every time at a different place.

The Healthy Alternative
When I’m on vacation I’m off my regular diet but I also don’t like overdoing it since I end up feeling guilty. Other than salads there is one healthy dish that I love having and it’s the one above called the light grilled chicken. It’s delicious and very tender grilled chicken that comes with steamed carrots, mushrooms, broccoli and corn. I also order a side of honey mustard with it and I end up wiping the plate clean since everything on it including the broccoli just tastes amazing.

A few burger places have recently popped up in Lebanon and I decided I would try a new place every day on this trip. So far I’ve tried two places and have ended up with mixed results which you could read about on my Lebanese blog [Here]. Best part is, since I’m on vacation everyday is a cheat day!

They shut down The Noodle House on the Gulf Road at the start of Ramadan. I thought they were going to renovate but yesterday they put up the hoarding above saying the Moti Mahal Indian restaurant was coming soon. I hadn’t heard of the restaurant before but since there is already a Moti Mahal open in the UAE, I’m guessing we’re getting the same one. [Link]