Category: Food & Drinks

Earlier this year, Korea Grill, the small Korean restaurant in New Park Hotel closed down along with the hotel and so they were forced to relocate. Last week they finally reopened but this time at the Radisson Blu and they’ve rebranded to The Kimchi.

The Kimchi took over the location of the Polynesian restaurant Kon-Tiki which had opened back in 2004 when Radisson Blu used to be the Radisson SAS. I believe Kon-Tiki closed down over a decade ago (not sure) and I think its been empty ever since. I remember I saw the place when I got a tour of the hotel after they refurbished it, but I don’t recall what this space was being used for back then. The interior was always nice looking with lots of wood and bamboo and private rooms built to look like small Asian structures. The restaurant is located underneath the Al Boom ship and the hull of the ship is integrated into the interior. The Kimchi updated the space a bit and it still looks good although I do wish the lights were dimmed a bit to give the space a moodier feel.

The menu is pretty huge now so I’m assuming everything that was on the menu at Korea Grill is still there along with a lot more new items. I went for some Korean BBQ and ended up ordering their set menu of assorted cuts for 2-3 people. It was good but I felt it was overpriced at KD28 considering neither of us left full. I actually contemplated passing by Peacock to continue dinner there because I was still hungry. I didn’t want to order any more food at The Kimchi since the service was incredibly slow and disorganized. I know that’s normal for a place that just opened but it was still frustrating having to ask for things multiple of times or watching people get their drinks or food before us even though they had come in later. I couldn’t wait to leave honestly.

I’ll give the place at least month or two before I head back again, hopefully by then they would have worked out all the kinks. Right now The Kimchi is open daily for lunch from 12PM to 3PM and then again for dinner from 6PM to 10PM. The place is big with lots of seating so I don’t think you need reservations. For more information and photos check out their instagram account @q8koreagrill

A couple of weeks back Ice Breaker gum got banned for containing non-halal ingredients and now a bunch of protein bars were also banned for containing non-halal ingredients:

Public Authority for Food and Nutrition (PAFN) has called to ban all imports of several protein bars as it contained non-halal ingredients. Secretary General Adel Al-Suwait said that it was found that products like Snickers, Mars, Bounty and Milky Way protein bars contained non-halal ingredients. Source

The odd thing is I looked through the ingredients and can’t figure out what the non-halal item can be. For example, this is the ingredients list for the Mars protein bar:

Protein Blend (27%) (Soya Protein Isolate, Milk Protein Isolate, Skimmed Milk Powder, Whey Protein Concentrate (from Milk), Egg, Albumen, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin)), Caramel (16%) (Sweetened Condensed Skimmed Milk, Glucose Syrup, Invert Sugar Syrup, Palm Oil, Butter (from Milk), Sugar, Emulsifier (E471), Stabiliser (Pectin), Salt, Natural Flavouring), Milk Chocolate (15%) (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Skimmed Milk Powder, Cocoa Mass, Lactose and Protein from Whey (from Milk), Palm Fat, Whey Powder (from Milk), Milk Fat, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Natural Vanilla Extract), Hydrolysed Collagen (12%), Humectant (Glycerol), Fructo-Oligosaccharide, Humectant (Maltitol), Flavourings, Fat-Reduced Cocoa Powder, Barley Malt Extract, Salt.

So bizarre.

via Reddit

Back in 2010 Sultan Center stopped carrying Lucky Charms because it turned out the marshmallows in it contained pork gelatine. Since then it’s been off the local market but now Lulu has started selling them. Not sure how long that’s gonna last so if you’re craving Lucky Charms you should pick up a box ASAP. It’s being sold for KD2.990.

The popular UK based Italian bakery Princi is coming to Kuwait soon based on job listings by Alshaya. Princi was created by the restaurateur Alan Yau who is behind other popular brands like Wagamama and Hakkasan. I posted about Princi back in 2013 after trying it out and since then the brand Princi got sold to Starbucks a few years ago which is how it ended up on Alshaya’s portfolio. No clue when it’s opening but it’s probably safe to bet that they’ll be opening a location at the Avenues.

The decision was taken by the Assistant Undersecretary for Consumer Protection and Control at the Ministry of Commerce to ban imports because the product contains pig gelatin.
…
The authority stressed the gum products of all kinds are not suitable for people who follow halal food because they contain pig gelatin.
Source

It’s the same reason why we can’t get Lucky Charms and Count Chocula cereal in Kuwait anymore. From what I’ve been told, most gelatin is pig gelatin and if this rule was actually properly enforced, a lot more products would disappear from our supermarket shelves. If you want Ice Breakers you need to stock up on them ASAP before they completely disappear from the market.

Mango soft serve is all the rage right now (well every summer) so I decided to try three of the most popular ones and do a comparison. Here are the results:

#1 Press ( Starting from 950 fils)
Taste: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Looks: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#2 Pick (Starting from 600 fils)
Taste: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Looks: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

#3 Ananas (KD2.450)
Taste: ⭐⭐⭐
Looks: ⭐⭐⭐
Price: ⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐

A few months ago during Ramadan I was driving by the Press location in the city and noticed a long queue out the door. So I called up a friend and asked them why that was and they told me it’s because of their mango soft serve. I ended up trying it a few weeks later and I’ve been hooked on it ever since. From the three soft serves above, the Press one tasted the closest to an actual mango which is why it’s my favorite of the bunch. Pick on the other hand which is usually my goto soft serve place came second for me even though their mango soft serve is really great, it’s just that Press set the bar pretty high on this one. Finally in third place it’s Ananas, their soft serve tasted the most creamy-ish and the least fruity, even though it came with actual mango pieces and mango syrup all over it

What’s your favorite mango soft serve in Kuwait? Also what else do you want me to compare? Best burgers? Best car wash? Give me some ideas.

Since I had a lot of free time over Eid I decided to do a hotdog comparison. My go-to place usually is Shake Shack but decided to try out the Five Guys hotdog and the Johnny Rockets one which I hadn’t had in years. Here are the results:

#1 Shake Shack (KD1.000)
Bun: ⭐⭐⭐
Hotdog: ⭐⭐⭐
Looks: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

#2 Five Guys (KD1.750)
Bun: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hotdog: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Looks: ⭐⭐
Price: ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

#3 Johnny Rockets (KD1.700)
Bun: ⭐
Hotdog: ⭐⭐
Looks: ⭐⭐
Price: ⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐

I had all three hotdogs with just ketchup and mustard. My favorite tasting one ended up being the Five Guys hotdog but in the end, Shake Shack ended up slightly edging out because of the price. Johnny Rockets was easily the worst of the three, the bun to hotdog ratio was completely off and I also thought it was the greasiest of the three.

What’s your favorite hotdog place in Kuwait?

Update: The Shake Shack hotdog is no longer being sold for KD1 and instead now costs KD1.5

Around a month ago, Trolley launched ICEE drinks in its convenience stores across Kuwait. If you’ve never had ICEE before they’re frozen carbonated drinks that come in fruit or soda flavors. At first, Trolley launched ICEE with only fruit flavors which I’m not a fan of, but this past weekend they started rolling out the cola flavor across their stores so I decided to pass by and try it out.

I ended up going to the Trolley location in Mansouriya which is the largest one in Kuwait. I think the gas station it’s located in is also the largest in Kuwait and looked brand new as well.

In the States they have Pepsi and Coke flavored ICEE which is what I was hoping to find but Trolley right now has the generic ICEE Cola flavor instead. Doesn’t taste quite as good as Pepsi or Coke but is good enough if you’re looking for a drink to quickly cool you down.

ICEE comes in three sizes:
Small – 750fils
Medium – KD1
Large – KD1.250

I’m not sure if all the Trolley’s have ICEE machines or the cola flavor, but if you want more info you can always check the Trolley page on instagram @trolley_kw

Over the weekend I passed by a place called Tea Party Sweets that had Sunkist and Vimto soft serve which in theory, sounded like the best idea ever. They have two locations, one in Ardiya and one in Salmiya right off the 4th Ring Road. I went to the Salmiya location since it was nearest to me and the place looked like one of those random dessert shops that open up and never get a single customer. Except in this case, the place was packed and everyone was there for the exact same reason, Sunkist and Vimto soft serve.

I picked up both to try out and was looking forward to the Sunkist one the most but sadly it didn’t really taste like Sunkist. If anything it tasted closer to Tang than Sunkist. The Vimto one, on the other hand, tasted exactly like Vimto but in soft serve form.

It’s a fun idea and probably doing really well since it’s a great Instagram gimmick. I just wish the Sunkist tasted more like Sunkist. You can find Tea Party Sweets on instagram @tea_party_sweets

The popular Italian restaurant and marketplace Eataly opened up last week at Avenues Phase 4. I dropped by over the weekend and although the place was fairly busy I did manage to get seated after a pretty short wait.

I ordered a pasta which was good but one of our other mains arrived fairly dry and the service was pretty sloppy. But, both those issues are understandable since they’ve just opened up. I was impressed by their gelato though (the mango is soo good) and their small market place had a pretty good variety of products. They even had a cold cuts section which I wasn’t expecting since I thought they would only sell boxed items à la Marks & Spencer.

Prices ranged from around 4KD+ for their pasta with I think the most expensive dish coming in just under 10KD. I still need to go back and try a few things once they settle in. They’re located in Avenues Phase 4 near the Mercedes dealership and for more info you can check them out on instagram @eatalyarabia

Yesterday I passed by the newly opened Momo Zaa for a late lunch. I nearly bailed out since I was starving and when I’m starving I generally don’t like trying anything new just in case the food turns out to be crap. But, I was having lunch with my brother and he wanted to try it so he convinced me to try it and I’m glad I did.

Beef, chicken and vegetable momo’s

Momo Zaa is a small hole in the wall opposite Boulevard Park in Salmiya. There were around four tables inside and the place felt cozy with pictures up on one wall and Ashtamangala symbols up on the other. Momo Zaa describes themselves as the first Bhutanese restaurant in Kuwait and I heard the place belongs to the daughter of the Bhutanese ambassador (Update: Turns out it doesn’t). It was my first time experiencing Bhutanese food and I honestly didn’t know much about it, just that they had dumplings which I never say no to.

The menu had a variety of options including noodles, momo’s (dumplings) and curries. I took pictures of the menu and you can check out the front page here and the back here. We decided to go with three kinds of dumplings (beef, chicken and vegetables), a dry chili and cheese curry, Wai Wai Chow fried noodles and the crispy chili potatoes. Everything was pretty good except for the steam vegetable dumplings, I didn’t like it much but I did like the steamed beef and fried chicken dumplings. My favorite item though had to be the crispy chili potatoes.

Crispy Chili Potatoes

If you’re looking for a new place to try or want to experience a new cuisine then you can’t really go wrong with Momo Zaa. The service needs a bit of work since the waiter wasn’t very knowledgable, but the chef was super helpful and took our order while explaining all the dishes to us. Their prices are really reasonable and if you like dumplings then you should definitely check them out. They’re open from 11AM to 11PM but closed on Sundays (but they will be open today from 6PM). Here is their location on Google Maps and they’re also on instagram @momozaa.kwt

After closing down their original location near the Kuwait Towers, looks like Chili’s is reopening again on the Gulf Road but this time closer to Green Island. The place looks practically done and could open any day now and they’re also opening a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf right next door. Here is the location on Google Maps.

This got me thinking if I should revisit all the old school restaurants of the 90s like Chili’s, TGIF, Johnny Carino’s, Nino’s, etc., and do some sort of nostalgic review? The best of the old school maybe? I don’t know, I need to think about this more.

If you’re vegan and are looking for a new place to eat there is a new restaurant that recently opened up called Wilgrow. I haven’t been to the place yet since I’m generally only interested in vegan food when my vegan best friend is in town but, going by the pictures alone, it looks like a cute place.

Wilgrow is located in Al-Bidea area at the Dhai Complex and you can find them on Google Maps. They’re open daily except for Sundays. @wilgrow.kw

Photos from @formkw

One of my favorite treats is the mini sized frozen yogurt topped with pistachio sauce from PICK, so when I found out they just released a sugar-free version of the sauce I decided to pass by and try it. PICK swapped the sugar with the natural and zero calorie sweetener Stevia making it slightly healthier and also keto friendly.

The result? It basically tastes exactly the same! Unless I have both the regular version of the sauce and the sugar-free version side by side, I don’t think I’d be able to tell the difference between the two. Not sure how many fewer calories the sugar-free sauce contains, but I’ll probably have it more often now knowing it’s slightly healthier. @pick_kuwait

I haven’t posted a shawarma review here in nearly a decade but that’s mostly because no new shawerma place has really interested me until now. Recently a new shawarma place opened up in Al Rai called Shakir and there has been a lot of hype surrounding it which is why I wanted to pass by and try it out. I think what grabbed my attention the most about the place was the fact they used freshly baked breadrolls for the shawarma, and after trying it out yesterday, I think that’s my favorite thing about the place.

Shakir is located pretty much walking distance from The Avenues, on the same street as Party Land and True Value. It’s a super busy area all day long so by the time you walk into the place you’re already stressed out from traffic. Your stress level will only get worse once you’re inside since there will most likely be a really long queue to order food. I stood in line at 5:47PM and got back to my car with the food by 6:22PM. That’s over 30 minutes just to pick up shawarma!

The place doesn’t have chicken shawarma, just meat with two sauces, either the regular tahina or the spicy tahina sauce. Other than that the menu only has fries, juices and laban. Pretty simple which I like although as a chicken shawerma guy, I would rather they have chicken instead of meat or the option to choose between either. While waiting for my food I spent most of my time watching them bake the breadrolls and I think that’s just the smartest idea and I don’t know why no other place does it. Plain fresh bread tastes good as is, so imagine how much better it would taste stuffed with juicy meat and tahina.

I ordered the regular shawerma as well as the spicy one along with fries and juice to go on the side. I think the regular shawerma tasted just ok with the spicy one tasting a lot better because of the more interesting spicy sauce. The best part about the shawerma was the bread as expected, and that’s what would probably make me go back, BUT, only after the hype dies down. It was definitly not worth waiting 30 minutes and I went at an irregular hour, so I can’t imagine how long the line would be during regular lunch or dinner timings. At 650 fils per shawerma I’d also expect the breadroll to be stuffed with a lot more meat which they weren’t. They’re pretty stingy with the shawerma which is a turnoff.

Shakir is on instagram @shawarmashakir and here is their location on Google Maps.