Category: Food

Last week I think I had the best brownies I’ve ever had. They were Sea-Salt brownies from The Big Bad Brownie and they weren’t overly sweet at all. I can’t remember the last time I posted about a dessert I liked so you know it must be good. They have different kinds of brownie flavors but I only tried the Sea-Salt which costs 12.5KD for the tray. The only negative really is that you need to preorder at least 24 hours ahead of time so sadly (or thankfully) no impulse ordering. Check them out on Instagram @thebigbadbrownie

A lot of you might have noticed some issues in the food industry over the past year or so. Maybe your food is taking longer to arrive, maybe you’ve noticed more errors with your orders, or maybe you no longer see your favorite staff at a restaurant anymore. What a lot of people might not know is that the local restaurant industry is currently going through a crisis and here is why:

When the pandemic hit last year, restaurants were forced to shut down so a lot of staff left the country and a lot got fired and left as well.

When Covid restrictions were eased and restaurants started to reopen, many had fired their employees and needed to rehire. But, no new employees could be brought into Kuwait, and old employees with valid visas couldn’t come back to Kuwait either.

This caused a major scarcity of employees and meant that whatever employees were left in Kuwait were now much more valuable.

One large company for example started offering double the salaries to poach employees from other smaller companies. A lot of employees also started jumping ship to any restaurant that offered them more money causing high turnovers in the industry.

Many businesses couldn’t afford to pay the new higher salaries or even if they could, couldn’t find the right staff or the number of staff they needed. So a lot are currently understaffed and some companies are being forced to temporarily (or permanently) close some of their weaker performing locations or concepts so that they can move their staff to their more successful ones.

A lot of restaurants went out of business over the past year because of the pandemic and it’s sad. The above are just some of the issues from the restaurants’ side but delivery platforms also have their own set of issues as well.

Platforms have fewer drivers due to many leaving but also have more orders than before due to people being home more. The result is slower delivery times and slower customer service.

I know nobody wants to get their food cold or find pickles in their burger when they specifically asked for no pickles. But hopefully, this post explains why things aren’t perfect right now, and people can be a bit more patient with restaurants and delivery drivers.

Last year when I asked for recommendations on favorite shawerma places, nobody mentioned Ebn 3my but it’s recently become my favorite place.

I think what I like about them the most is the bread they use. It’s freshly baked and similar to Shakir except it’s smaller and slightly fluffier. I only have the chicken shawerma and their garlic is also pretty on point. Because of the smaller unusual size I tend to have 4 shawermas although sometimes I could do with only 3.

The price of the shawerma is 550fils which is pretty reasonable in this day of age where a lot places are hovering closer to the 1KD mark. They have two locations, one in Jabriya and one in Salmiya according to their Instagram but google maps is showing a location in Sabah Al Salem too so 🤷🏼‍♂️

The only downside is they don’t have juices but other than that they’re great. You can check them out on Instagram @ebn_3my

My favorite coffee shop used to be the % Arabica location in downtown Kuwait City, the one across from Crystal Tower. It was their first location, it was small and it used to be really cozy. Since that location closed down I’ve been waiting for them to open a new one on that street and they’ve finally gotten a spot and it’s right next to my office, like literally one building away. They’ve taken a pretty large location, a whole ground floor of a tower a couple of buildings down from where Ora is located so I’m pretty excited. Here is the location on Google Maps, they’ve just put the hoarding up so I’d assume they would need 6-12 months to open.

I was going through some of my old bookmarks and found an article I had saved years ago on the backstory of how Elevation Burger came to be in Kuwait. It was written by Ali Ashkanani, one of the local owners of Elevation and it gives an interesting behind the scenes look into the opening of the brand in Kuwait. It’s worth reading and it’s not too long so check it out here.

There is this really great grills restaurant in the Salmiya Co-op mall that’s been there since the early 80s. What caught my attention the first time I saw it a few years ago was the cool-looking vintage sign outside the shop. It’s a really tiny place with just 4 tables and caters mostly to takeaway. They have Lebanese-style kebab and grills and it’s very affordable. The Kebab plate is 1.250 for 5 skewers, and hummus is 500fils.

The reason I’m posting about this place is the other day while having dinner there I realized something. Nearly everyone working there was over 60 years old. The waiter looks like he’s in his late 70s or 80s and the other staff not that far behind. With the new law that was implemented last year deporting expats over 60 without degrees, none of the staff at the place would remain. I thought it was pretty sad since most of them have probably been working there together like a small family since forever. Now because of the new law, they’d all be forced to separate and leave.

Even the chai haleeb guy in the shop across from the grill’s place is over 60 years old and would also have to leave. It’s so upsetting!

All these old staff you see at your favorite old-school restaurants aren’t going to be there for long. So pass by and appreciate them and the experience before it’s too late.

Here’s a feel-good post to cap off the week. A new cafe opened up in Salmiya called 3-12 and it’s run by adults with special needs. The cafe is located on the first floor of Dalal Mall, the same mall as Sky Cinemas and located across Zahra Complex. You can also check them out on Instagram @cafe_312

After picking up a coffee make sure you pass by Kane Mochi and pick up some ice cream.

I don’t recall this place at all and only found out about it recently. It was owned by Mahmoud Alghanim, the same person behind Pizza Italia and Prego and I believe it opened towards the end of the 80s or early 90s. It was located right next to the Kuwait Towers which is why I find it odd that I don’t remember it.

Last week I found this old 80s KDD advert and one thing that struck me about it was the sheer amount of flavors that don’t exist anymore. And, on top of all the missing flavors, turns out KDD had push-up ice cream (back row, right of the Rockets)which I don’t ever recall. Also if you’re wondering about the blue and green colored ice cream sticks in the back, the green is coconut flavored but the blue I’m not sure. You’ll also notice two Columbia flavors, turns out they’re both similar except one doesn’t have the ice cream center.

I’ve been wanting to try the new sugar-free Vimto out of curiosity but I checked in a couple of supermarkets and wasn’t able to find it. Not sure if its sold out or just not carried everywhere but I did find an even healthier version. Liquid launched a new Vimto flavored drink for Ramadan that’s made with real fruits. Their interpretation of Vimto contains red grapes, pomegranate, pear, beetroot and a dash of rose water.

I tried it yesterday and it does taste pretty close to Vimto but obviously less sugary and with more natural flavors. The only downside is that like with all healthy alternatives you’re gonna have to pay a premium. A 300ml bottle costs KD2.250 while a liter costs KD4.950.

If you want to try it out Liquid is available on Deliveroo, Carriage and Talabat. They’re also on Instagram @liquidkwt

I recently found out about a really good Iraqi kebab restaurant in Salmiya which I decided to try out. Iraqi kebab is different from Persian kebab in that it’s generally not as fatty so you don’t have the same strong aftertaste that stays with you the whole day. It’s lighter which is why I prefer it. The restaurant name roughly translates to the “special (or unique) Iraqi kebab restaurant”, and I think they’ve been open since 2016 since that’s when their Instagram account opened up.

It’s a small little place located in the neighborhood that lies between Restaurant Street and Souk Salmiya. I ordered the normal kebab plate which comes with three skewers, grilled tomato and their freshly baked bread. The kebab meat was tender, tasty and didn’t leave any bad aftertaste. The bread which I think is Egyptian or Egyptian style is baked fresh in store.

Two kebab plates and a side of hummus came out to KD5.750. Due to the pandemic dine-in is closed so you’re either gonna have to eat it while it’s nice and hot in the car, or do takeaway. Their Instagram account is @kabab_iraki and here is their location on Google Maps.

KDD just published their Ramadan commercial called “We Love KDD” and I think it’s great (you’re always gonna win me over with nostalgia). If you’re living in the US and want to order KDD Chocolate Milk, check out my previous post here.

Around a week before they closed restaurants in Kuwait for dine-in, 360 Mall opened up their foodhall. A foodhall is similar to a food court except instead of fast-food restaurants they’re more upscale or artisan. I passed by to check the space out and I thought it looked great with a good variety of places to eat at including some brand new places.

Even with dine-in closed it’s still worth passing by it and picking up food to go. The new foodhall is located at the end of the new 360 Mall extension near Ikea and Nike.

Here is a list of all the places open inside the new foodhall, hopefully I didn’t miss anything:

Alto
Apizza
Bakehaus
Bao
Chotto
Doh!
Elate Tea
GoFresh
Junas
La Maison Du Fromage
Nabat
Natureland
November Co
Off The Menu
Prime Cuts
Raha Stone Mill
Soucolat
Taboonat
Twarrad
Texture
Vol 1
Wachamean
Woop!

The luxury hotel Waldorf Astoria is expected to open towards the end of the year at The Avenues and over the weekend they announced that one of the restaurants that will be opening in the hotel is Roka. Roka is a Japanese restaurant centered around a robata grill and was created by the same restaurant group behind Zuma (a very popular Japanese restaurant).

There is no mention in the press release of where in the hotel it is opening but me and a friend were discussing it and we think it would probably the location overlooking the pool which I’ve highlighted in the photo above.

If Roka does well (which I’m assuming it will do), then I wouldn’t be surprised if Zuma eventually opens in Kuwait as well.

There’s a new drive-thru-only Starbucks that popped up overnight in front of AUK in Salmiya. I think this might be the only Starbucks in Kuwait with just drive-thru and no seating option. The location is pretty great for them, they’re right next to Arabica and Toby’s while also being right off the Gulf Road so it should get pretty packed.