Category: Food & Drinks

I was just reading a post from a blogger in Beirut and I found out two interesting things about Sultan Center.

The first which was a surprise is that Sultan Center is now operating the large supermarket chain in Lebanon called Geant. Geant is a large French based supermarket chain like Carrefour which is why I found that interesting. Could Sultan possibly open Geant in Kuwait? Or will they rebrand Geant’s to Sultan Center in Lebanon? I don’t know if Sultan operating Geant in Lebanon will have any effect here in Kuwait but nevertheless a lot of interesting things could happen.

Now the second thing which I found funny actually is that it seems the problem Sultan has in Kuwait with expired produce has worn off onto Geant in Lebanon. The Lebanese blogger purchased rotten meat from the supermarket and had a bad experience with the management there which is why he posted about Sultan and Geant in the first place. This blog by the way is my favorite Lebanese blog so it has some pretty interesting stuff. [Link]

Update: I just found out about another local blogger who found expired food at Sultan Center and was able to document his finding with pictures. He took it up with management and when they found out about his blog they threatened to sue him if he didn’t remove the post. I think thats extremely bad for their image. Threatening a blogger for posting about expired food he found at their supermarket. If anything they should thank him for highlighting the problem. Here are his posts on his experience with Sultan Center…

Sultan center in trouble!
Sultan center did It AGAIN!!!!
Sultan center STRIKE 3!

Note: Please take into account that the above information might not be true. There is no way for us to verify that the bloggers above are telling the truth and we haven’t heard Sultan Center’s side of the story. I for one only shop at Sultan Center.

The stylish British cafe Napket is going to open at the Avenues phase 2 before the end of the year. I’ve never tried Napket but I passed by it a few times while in London and the place was packed. supposedly they’ve got amazing sandwiches. Now if only Pret a Manger would open up…

Q8 Loco has posted images and information on Dhiafa Village which is the new location near the Kuwait Towers that has Trader Vic’s. I was wondering what the other two restaurants were and it turns out they are going to be French and Italian. The Italian (pictured above) seems like its going to be pretty cool. Check out Q8 Loco’s website for more pictures and details. [Link]

Picture above taken by Q8 Loco

I am not sure if I should try the KD55 burger next week while I am in Thailand so I decided I will let you guys decide for me. The Trilogy Burger at Trader Vic’s in Bangkok costs KD55 ($200) because of the very expensive ingredients. If you guys vote that I should try the burger then I will do it, take pictures of it and post my feedback on this blog. Since I’ve already gone through most of the best burgers in Kuwait as part of my Best Burger in Kuwait Challenge then I think it would be interesting to see how the Trilogy Burger will compare. If you guys think its a stupid idea and not worth it then you can vote a no.

[poll id=”2″]

Update: Some readers suggested it would be better not to waste money on this burger and to feed the needy instead. So what I’ve decided to do is also donate $200 to the World Food Programme. That way if the result is YES to having the burger I won’t have to feel guilty. $200 will be enough to feed 133 children for a week. You can also help by donating to the WFP. [Donate Now]

I am going to be in Thailand next week for work and there isn’t much I am looking forward to except for this burger I read about once that costs like KD50. Someone had a posted a link to it under my Slider Station burger review and ever since then I’ve been wanting to try it. So I was just checking online to see what place that burger was available in and to my surprise it turned out this special burger was being served at Trader Vic’s which is located in MY HOTEL! From all places in Bangkok that I could have stayed in I ended up staying at the exact same hotel where one of the most expensive burgers in the world is served. If that’s not a sign I don’t know what is.

Why is the burger so expensive? Well here is a run down of its ingredients:

Matsusaka beef (KD52 per KG)
Morel Mushroom (KD107 per KG)
Black Truffle (KD70 per KG)
Foie Gras (KD15 per KG)
Gold Leaf (KD2)

Only thing I am worried about is that I am a fast eater so paying KD50 for a burger I am going to gulp down in 5 minutes is a bit too much. Maybe this week I should start training myself to eat slower… [Link]

Update: I just called the hotel, the burger now costs around KD55. I guess even this burger is effected by inflation. I was also told I need to book the burger ahead of time which makes sense.

The shawerma place called Weekend that is located in front of AUK in Salmiya got demolished. Supposedly the owner of the building demolished it so that he could drive off the owners of the shop. You can read more about it on the Al Rai Alaam newspaper but its in Arabic. I wasn’t a fan of Weekend, I prefered Malek Al 3aseer which was right next to it but it still sucks. They are doing the same with the shops in old Salmiya. For example Family Bookshop is still open but you can barely get to it. The entrances are blocked by rocks and sand because the owner of the building is trying to drive them out. [Link]

Thanks LunarDream

I passed by Saso Lounge yesterday for lunch. They are going to be placing a banner on my blog soon so I figured I would pass by and check the place out. The place is located in a strategic location, during lunch while I was there the place was full of business people since its close to many offices. The food was also pretty good and very reasonably priced. Its an Italian Asian menu which although sounds strange made perfect sense to me since while I was in Lebanon I had a habit of ordering Sushi and Pizza for dinner. The dish pictured above is the Shrimp n’ Hammour which was great and a dish I would order again. Check out their website for more details and their location. If you work in Kuwait City you should pass and try it out for lunch. [Link]

Hardees is selling ice cream cones for only 50fils. I tried it and although its not as good as McDonald’s 150fils ice cream cone, for 50fils its really great.

Naif have an offer now where you can get three chicken shawermas for only 500fils. Thats around 166fils per shawerma which I think is the cheapest in Kuwait or at least the cheapest I’ve ever seen.

Marks & Spencer in Kuwait is pretty strange. Its been open for a really long time and they seem to be doing pretty well but they’ve yet to open up in a popular mall. I usually pass by Marks & Spencer for their food section, they’ve got a ton of munchies and random items like jams, salad dressings and cornflakes. Their food packaging is also beautifully designed so I just buy random stuff because they look good. If you haven’t been to Marks & Spencer its worth checking out, they’re located right next to Marina Mall, I am not sure they have another branch elsewhere.

Anyone who’s played a Mario game should recognize this immediately. The recipe is after the jump. [Link]

There is a cool post on the New York Times blog on 11 food items we should be eating. I am going to start eating more blueberries since supposedly it improves memory and mine needs a lot of improving. [Link]

My favorite person to go out eating with is Choowy Goowy guy since we both have similar tastes in food and all his recommendations usually leave me with a happy stomach. Yesterday we decided to pass by and have lunch at Burger Boutique, I hadn’t been there since Slider Station opened and since I am finishing up the Burger Challenge it was on my to do list.

It wasn’t easy trying to choose a burger to have. I’ve had nearly all their burgers before and they were all great but for the burger challenge I need to choose just one. I decided to go with one of their new burgers which came highly recommended, the Madison. I’ve had it before as a slider at Slider Station and loved it so I couldn’t wait to try the burger version.

The Madison’s ingredients are a chargrilled rib eye infused beef patty, processed American cheddar, pickles and west coast sauce. I ordered mine without pickles and fries as my side dish.

I love how Burger Boutiques burgers look like and the Madison is no exception. Although a simple burger the presentation was very appetizing with a great looking bun and nicely melted cheese on what looked like a perfectly sized patty. But not all was perfect. Although I loved the Madison slider I don’t think it works well as a full sized burger. I had the same issue with their Midnight slider, it was one of my favorite sliders but when I had it as a full fledged burger it didn’t come out as good. I think the sauce is great in small quantities but once you have a lot of it then it becomes a bit too heavy. The bun was excellent though and their beef patty is seriously one of the best.

I think Slider Station which also belongs to the same owners raised the bar on burgers in Kuwait and now a good burger just doesn’t cut it anymore. I am giving the Madison a 3.5 out of 5 which is still a really good score but just not as high as I was expecting it to get. I think the Madison is one of the best looking burgers so far in this challenge, I will definitely be having it again… but as a slider.

Burger Boutique is located in Alraya Mall
The cost of the Madison Burger is KD2.950

It’s been a while since my last burger review and I was hoping to start it off again with a great burger but that didn’t happen. I passed by Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) today for lunch, it was my first time and probably my last.

Their burger menu is pretty big with lots of different styles to choose from. I asked the waitress what their most popular burger was and she told me it was the Cajun Burger. She also told me they had a special offer now where they gave away a drink and fries with the burger. I thought that was cool and I went ahead and ordered it.

The Cajun Burger is made up of Black-Angus beef, smoked chili mayo, salad, and Cajun relish. It didn’t take too long to arrive and at first glance it was disappointing. The burger looked very dry and unappetizing while the bread itself looked very poor and thin. It didn’t get any better from there. Once I had my first bite I realized that although looks can be deceiving, it wasn’t in this case. The burger didn’t taste good, the Cajun relish was slightly sweet and I didn’t think it went well with the chili mayo while the bun was the worst part. The upper half of the bun was very thin and was breaking apart while I was having the burger as if it was old. The burger was also pretty messy to eat which didn’t make things any better.

For a place like GBK which specializes in burgers its strange that their buns are so bad. Maybe GBK is a popular place in London but with strong local creations like The Burger Hub and Slider Station, GBK doesn’t have a chance here. I gave the burger a 1.5 out of 5. The burger patty was good but everything else around it wasn’t.

GBK is located in The Avenues and Marina Mall
The cost of the Cajun Burger is KD2.950

LoFat now have a dine-in branch open and its located in Kuwait City. I didn’t pass by the place but its supposedly near Holiday Inn next to Burger Bar. I wonder if Burger Bar is still open, I haven’t heard about them in a while and I don’t know anyone who goes to the place. Last time I went I didn’t have a good experience. My burger challenge should hopefully continue this weekend, I think I have like 6 more burgers I need to try!

Thanks Ansam!