Category: Food & Drinks

Since this is a burger challenge I should be reviewing burgers from the popular burger joints in Kuwait like Burger Hub and Slider Station yet so far I haven’t done that. I guess its because I know what to expect from them and I’m more interested to see whats available elsewhere. I will be reviewing the popular burger restaurants of course but maybe towards the end of the challenge. For now I’m enjoying trying out burgers at non burger places and todays review is no exception.

I passed by Bredz in Souk Sharq for lunch and fumbling through their ugly menu I found the page which included the burgers. With only two options to choose from the decision wasn’t too hard. It was either the regular Bredz Burger or the Bredz Mushroom Burger, not wanting an experience like yesterdays I decided to go with the regular Bredz Burger. The Bredz Burger is a beef burger grilled on an open flame, topped with mozzarella and cheddar cheese, tomato, lettuce and Dijonaise mayonnaise sauce on a chipotle bread.

Once the burger arrived I got a big grin on my face. This is what a burger is supposed to look like, big fucking patty covered with a lot of cheese on a plate full of fries. Finally a burger that looked like a burger and I was hoping tasted like one. With the bun top on, the burger looked gigantic and getting my first big bite into it wasn’t easy. After my first mouthful I was relieved, it tasted like a burger! Now it wasn’t really great but it was pretty good. The bun was fantastic, the beef tasted good and the dressing although slightly over powering wasn’t annoying. I think without the salad like dressing the burger might be even better plus they really had too much lettuce on the thing. The burger was also messy to eat specially near the end when the bun started falling apart but it is a burger so some messiness is to be expected.

Now as I said previously, I am going to be tough with these reviews because I am looking for something really special. This burger although good wasn’t extraordinary and thats why I’m giving it a 3 out of 5 which is still a really good score. I would definitely go back again for lunch.

Bredz is located in Souk Sharq, their telephone number is 2407707
The cost of the Bredz Burger is KD2.750

Today I decided to pass by Prime & Toast and try their burger since it was recommended by a few readers. It was my first time there and I was eager to see what they had to offer. It was 3PM, I was hungry and a good burger is exactly what I needed.

They only had one burger on the menu so I ordered it medium well. Twenty minutes later my burger arrived looking pretty cool. The presentation of the burger was impressive, it was big, came on a small wooden plank and had a good amount of fries on the side. I quickly dug into the burger really expecting to be stunned by the flavor but instead I was greeted with a messy burger that just tasted too complicated.

The Prime Burger as its called on their menu is made up of the bun, cherry tomatoes, rocket lettuce, mushrooms, cheese and a meat patty with some kind of red colored spice covering it. The problem I had was that I couldn’t really taste the burger. The mushrooms and baby tomatoes were cut up into large chunks so their taste was overpowering the patty. If that wasn’t bad enough the strange spice that was part of the burger really just confused things. The burger just felt fake, like they tried really hard to make it special. I was very disappointed, I had just plunked down KD5.750 for a burger that didn’t taste like a burger.

I really wanted to give the burger a good score, it had everything needed to be a great burger. It looked good and was pretty big in size but the taste let it down. I wanted to at least give it a 3.5 or even a 3 but the thing is, I wouldn’t have the burger ever again, even if it was for half the price that still wouldn’t be enough to entice me into having it again. Not that price is playing a role in these burger reviews but its just something I was thinking to myself to see if it was the price that was putting me off. The burger wasn’t exciting and I really wanted a thicker patty just so that I could at least taste the meat. And whats with their red powdery spice they cover everything with? It was on my burger and all over the fries. Pretty weird. The final score for their burger is a 2.5 out of 5. The place is nice and cozy but I wouldn’t go back for their burger.

Prime & Toast is located on the Gulf Road opposite the Seef Palace
The cost of the Prime Burger is KD5.750

The last time I had Wimpy was pre Gulf War and even back then it wasn’t a really popular place. Today I think they only have one branch in Kuwait which is in Nouzha and thank God for that.

Nibaq recommended I pass by and try their burgers which I happily did yesterday during my lunch break. The place looks shabby on the outside but since their burgers came highly recommended I decided to still go ahead and give them a shot. I ordered the two most popular burgers according to the cashier, the Quarter Cheese and the King Size. One’s a rip off of McD’s Quarter Pounder while the other the Big Mac. I picked up the burgers and went across the street to Shrimpy where my friends were having lunch.

Once I sat down and opened the bag the first thing I noticed was the smell, it was horrendous. It smelled like a cat thats been dead for a week in a public bathroom. Even my friends sitting next to me asked me what that awful smell was. Even with the terrible smell I still went ahead and tried the burgers because they were recommended by my so called good friend Nibaq.

Just yesterday I mentioned that its impossible to go wrong with a burger yet Wimpy have managed to prove me wrong with just a day into this burger challenge. These had to be the worst burgers I ever had. Now I’m a big fan of cheapo burgers so don’t think I am a burger snob or anything of that sort. My favorite burger place in Lebanon was called Gringo and was one of those shipping containers turned into a eat and die place with a large orange mexican looking horse painted on the side. But the Whimpy burgers were really nasty, like really bad. I honestly thought I would get food poisoning and thats why I waited till the next day to post the review. Their burgers are so bad that I decided if I got food poisoning they would get zero stars but if I survived unharmed I would give them a half a star and thats what they got. Its been nearly 24 hours since I had the burgers and I am still walking and talking without any side effects. It’s a good thing I didn’t listen to Nibaq and order the Quarter Cheese with Eggs thats for sure. I am going to end this post with an advice to everyone, stay away from Wimpy!

Wimpy’s telephone number is 2531372/4
The cost of the Quarter Cheese burger is 750fils
The cost of the King Size burger is also 750fils

I am going to start “The Best Burger in Kuwait” challenge with a burger review from a place that many haven’t heard of. The Little Oven is a take out and delivery restaurant located in Bneid Algar. In the office we usually order sandwiches and maneesh from them but a friend recommended I should also try their “Famous House Burger”.

The Little Oven burger is made using homemade patty, caramelized onions, emmental cheese and grilled mushrooms. It arrived inside a rectangular box which made me expect to find fries on the side but it turned out to just contain the burger which came cut in half.

Visually the burger looked appetizing and the bun felt soft and wasn’t covered in sesame seeds just the way I like it. The general size of the burger wasn’t very big but the beef patty itself was pretty thick. I could easily devour two burgers and very possibly a third if I was really hungry so its not really a filling burger. The burger was surprisingly good considering it wasn’t a proper restaurant nor a burger place. It was delicious and the caramelized onions didn’t over power the burger with flavor while the bun was pretty good although I highly doubt they bake the bread themselves. When done I felt like the burger was a bit dry and might have used some Heinz ketchup but it was too late for that plus they didn’t provide any ketchup packets.

It was a really good burger, one that I am craving for right this minute but I am going to be hard with these burger reviews because really I can’t imagine any burger being really bad. Its very hard to fuck up a burger unless you’re really an idiot. When reviewing these burgers I am NOT going to take into consideration anything except the burgers. Location, service, price and quantity will not matter since its not a restaurant review its a pure and simple best burger review. I am hovering between a 3.5 and a 4 for the rating but I am leaning more towards a 3.5 because I truly believe when it comes to burgers in Kuwait its going to be a really tough competition. We have a ton of places here and I am expecting to be truly impressed. So the final score is a 3.5 out of 5.

The Little Oven telephone number is 2517899/8
The cost of the burger is KD2.400

I was talking to a friend of mine two weeks ago and he pointed out to me an article in TimeOut Dubai magazine on the best burgers in Dubai. Their winner? Johnny Rockets. I thought that was very sad since although Johnny Rockets burgers are great they’re no where near being the best burgers in Kuwait. Thats why I decided to start my own “The Best Burger in Kuwait” competition. I will hopefully be having at least two burgers a week from places you might or might not have heard of and once I decide I have enough burger reviews (maybe after 15 reviews?) I will crown a champion.

If anyone has a place they want me to try out, please leave a comment below with the name and location of the restaurant and I will try to make sure I check it out.

Update: Here are the burgers I have reviewed so far…
Applebee’s
Bredz
Burger Boutique
Eighty 6 Bistro
Fauchon
Fuddruckers
Hashi
Gaucho Gril
Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Johnny Rockets
Munch
Napket
Nino
Papa John’s Burgers
Prime & Toast
Ruby Tuesday
Slider Station
Sheraton Hotel
Smoke House
The Burger Hub
The Butcher Shop
The Little Oven
The Meat Co.
Wimpy

A history of wars from WWI to the Gulf War with food representing countries. For example Kuwait is a Kebab while burgers are Americans. [YouTube]

While watching the video if you can’t figure out what food item represents what country, here is the cheat sheet. [Link]

Thanks Rawad

Last week I got a pack of frozen edamame from Sultan Center and tonight I decided to have it for dinner. As I mentioned previously the instructions for cooking the edamame are in Japanese but a lot of users helped me out by telling me how they prepare edamame.

I decided to boil some water in a large pot first. Once the water started boiling I dropped the edamame inside and let it boil for 6 minutes. I then removed the pot from the cooker and drained all the water. I placed the edamame in a large bowl and then sprayed a lot of salt all over it.

Result? Restaurant perfect. It tasted exactly like the edamame I have at Maki and Wasabi. The only problem is you need to eat them before they cool down and since Nat is in Beirut I had to eat the whole pack as quickly as I could before the edmame got cold. Took me 14 minutes to finish the whole pack and I think I’ve overdosed on the edamame, but it was worth it.

Does anyone know how I can make the spicy sauce Maki use with their fried edamame?

According to one blog reader, it seems Alshaya are not the ones who will be relaunching Arby’s and Wendy’s but they are planning on launching Red Lobster in the phase 2 of Avenues. Not as cool as Arby’s or Wendy’s but still cool.

I don’t know how accurate this information is but over the weekend I heard that Alshaya is going to enter the fast food business and they are going to do that by relaunching Arby’s and Wendy’s in Kuwait. I hope the rumor turns out to be true.

After reading the replies to my edamame post I managed to find edamame at Sultan Center. They were located in the frozen vegetables section and the packet has Japanese writing all over it and costs KD1.695 for a 400g bag. Hopefully I will figure out how long to boil them, the instructions on the back are all in Japanese!

Is there a supermarket in Kuwait that sells edamame?

Someone had told me before that the Chili’s in Kuwait was the largest in the world and a lot of people told me that wasn’t true. Well I emailed Chili’s last week asking them if the Kuwait branch was the largest and this is what they replied back:

Dear Mark:

Thank you for your email and interest in Chili’s.
Our Kuwait location is our largest Chili’s restaurant.
Again, thank you for your email.

Sincerely,
Pharisa Smith-King
Guest Relations

I guess that settles it!

Al Mayass is a very popular Lebanese and Armenian restaurant in Lebanon but for some reason I hadn’t heard about it until it opened up here in Kuwait. Since I’ve been hearing only good stuff about the place I decided to try it out and see what it was all about.

Al Mayass is located inside the Shiik Resort which I think is a pretty strange location because I can’t imagine girls in bikinis walking by conservative families on their way into lunch not end up being a problem. Anyway once you walk into the place you will notice it doesn’t look very Lebanese but thats not a big deal since the colors and design of the place is leaning more towards Armenian. What would be a Lebanese look anyway? I don’t think we have one for restaurants.

I only found three problems with the Al Mayass and one popped up right at the beginning. Its not actually a problem more like a nitpick. I found the napkin too small to properly place over the lap. If I am complaining about napkins then you already have an idea on which direction this review is heading. The second problem followed nearly instantly, they don’t have soup on the menu. I was eager to start off with their lentil soup since it was cold outside and wanted something to warm me up. I even asked the waiter about it hoping they had a soup de jour which wasn’t on the menu but he apologized telling me they sadly didn’t have soup on the menu. I think this is a permanent thing and not just temporary which is disappointing.

We then went ahead and ordered a bunch of cold and hot appetizers including hummus, hummus with meat, labne with garlic, tabboule, batata harra (hot potato?), cheese beurek and ras asfoor which translates to bird head although the dish is actually meat chunks. For our main course we ordered chicken taouk and kabab with cherry.

One by one the dishes started to arrive and everything was tasting great. The hummus with meat was probably the best I had ever had and the batata harra was also really great although pretty filling. The cheese beurek is basically a cheese puff and from all the appetizers is the only one I wouldn’t order again. We ordered two cheese beureks at KD1.500 a piece but they were really tiny pieces, each the size of two matchboxes placed side by side. Actually now that I think about it I wouldn’t order the ras asfoor again since that dish cost KD5 and really wasn’t that great.

Once we were done with our appetizers our main courses arrived. The chicken taouk (KD4) was good and very tender but really didn’t grab my attention as much as the cherry kebab (KD4.5). I hadn’t had cherry kebab before but a friend of mine told me I would love it and he was absolutely right. The cherries turned an ordinary dish found everywhere into something much more interesting. The combination of kebab with the sweetness of the cherries resulted in a very flavored kebab which I would definitely want to have again.

By the time we were done with all the food we were pretty full but we still went ahead and ordered the Mayass knefeh which needed 15-20 minutes of preparation time. I guess the waiting period raised my expectations because usually my knefeh gets served instantly but to wait 20 minutes for one meant it had to be really special. It wasn’t, the knefeh tasted like regular knefeh although it did come in a different shape from the usual. My feelings are its just not worth the wait, if you want it make sure you order it while your main course is being served.

Overall I liked Al Mayass even though I am not usually a fan of Lebanese grill. I usually find Lebanese kebab and taouk dishes pretty dry and bland but the cherry kebab has sparked an interest with me. The Lebanese waiters were very friendly without being the talkative type and their service was fast. The lack of soup is a disappointment and the prices of two of the dishes I ordered were expensive. As you can tell though if I am picking on the size of the napkin its because there isn’t much to pick on. The place is great and is probably the only Lebanese restaurant I would want to visit again. The final score is a 4 out of 5.

The biggest surprise is at spot number two which is Chili’s Awesome Blossom. One of my favorite starters but I had no idea it had over 2,700 calories! [Link]

Note: The pasta dish at number four looks pretty good and luckily for us Macaroni Grill just recently opened at the Avenues.

Note2: I think I just discovered how Kuwait is the 8th fattest country in the world. 3 out of the 20 most fattening dishes are available at Chili’s and Kuwait has the largest Chili’s in the world. Everything makes sense now!

via

Choowy Goowy sent me the following email regarding their Valentines offer:

On the occasion of Valentines Day Choowy Goowy have assembled a ChoowyLove Basket.

The basket contains:
– a jar of Choowy Goowy heart shaped cookies
– 16 heart shaped brownies boxed
– 2 special valentine gold boxes containing 2 pieces of cookies and 1 piece of brownie in each
– a red rose

Price of the basket is KD25

For any questions send us an email
or just call us on 2626559 / 2620011