Category: Food & Drinks

Is there a place other than Boccini at The Avenues that serves deep dish pizzas which I’m not aware of? Please don’t say Pizza Hut.

After going viral yesterday they’ve now renamed the account to @closed292 and they’ve left the unapologetic message below.

Until just recently, if you wanted good ramen in Kuwait you were basically out of luck. There weren’t many places that had ramen and the places that did usually had a pretty average bowl. But, last week a new ramen place opened up in Kuwait called Tampopo and it’s great!

The chef behind Tampopo is Maryam Alnusif (or Mimi), many of you might have heard of her since she is behind Shakshooka and The Secret Garden project. Tampopo is actually right next to the Secret Garden, it’s a small place with a main seating area composed of a bar running along the kitchen counter, as well as a bar facing the opposite wall and another bar stretching across the main storefront window. The menu is extremely simple with just three ramen dishes to choose from: Chicken, duck and vegan ramen. They also have a few cocktails and surprisingly, really great tasting non-alcholic Japanese Asahi beer.

I was there with some friends and so we ordered one of everything. My favorite ramen bowl was the vegan one followed by the duck and then the chicken. Because we got there early at around 6:30PM, we managed to find seating, but by the time we were done with our bowls, the place was already packed with people waiting to be seated. I loved the food, the atmosphere and all the people behind Tampopo so I’m definitely going back again this week. Plus its walking distance from my home which is pretty convenient.

Because Tampopo is still in a soft launch phase, they’re only open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 6PM to 10PM. But, starting next week they might start opening on Mondays as well. They also right now only accept cash but should start accepting knet next week. For a map of the location and to stay up to date on their store timings, check out their instagram page @tampopo.ramenshop

So last week there was a case of mass food poisoning in Kuwait because of a falafel restaurant in Hawalli. Supposedly the former partner of the restaurant conspired with an employee to poison the falafel and today Kuwait Times mentions they found the food to be contaminated with salmonella and other types of bacteria. Around 300 customers got food poisoned and yet none of the newspapers or news outlets have mentioned which restaurant had their food contaminated (at least none of the English outlets). I really don’t understand why news media continue to shy away from posting the name of the restaurant especially in a case like this where many other people might be infected and not know they are.

When there was an E. coli outbreak at Chipotle in the States, all the news outlets wrote about it, but if the same outbreak had taken place in Kuwait they’d probably just describe Chipotle as an American franchise.

Not sure who’d want this but if you’re interested, they’re selling a box of 12 for KD63. I’m trying to get a hold of one to review just out of curiosity but here is the link to the local dealer’s [Website] if you can’t wait.

Last night I was showing my friend the wine app Vivino (its creepy good btw) when I noticed they had a list of best wines trending in Kuwait right now. The app is super useful when it comes to buying wines since you just take a picture of the bottle label and the app then pulls up information on the wine including ratings, reviews and price. You can even take a picture of a wine list and it will get you the ratings for every wine on the list.

I’m guessing their top chart is based on what people in Kuwait have been scanning and damn we’ve been buying some expensive wines here. If a bottle of wine costs $2,000 abroad, how much does it cost in Kuwait? I’m so curious.

If you want to check out the top 10 wines in Kuwait right now, click on the link below.

Last month Wendy’s opened up at the airport where Pinkberry used to be located, and a couple of weeks back, Pick opened up where Potbelly used to be. I especially like the fact that Pick opened up because at least we have a healthy option available at the airport now. Actually, the options for food now is pretty good with the addition of these two.

If you’re a long time reader of the blog you know about my obsession with seedless watermelons. A few years ago we started getting them in Kuwait but they were just too expensive ranging in price from KD1.4 to KD3 per kilo depending where you got them from. But, last week I noticed Sultan Center started getting Egyptian seedless watermelon and they’re pretty cheap at just 595 fils a kilo. They’re not easy to come by since they seem to sell out quickly, I actually had to visit three different Sultan Centers before I managed to find some.

If you’ve never tried seedless watermelon, they’re just like regular melons but without the black seeds!

A couple of weeks ago there was a very interesting discussion on Reddit called “What if I don’t want to fast?” about the laws that punish people for eating in public during Ramadan. Since Ramadan is nearly over, I wanted to ask my readers what their opinion about this is.

Personally, because I don’t cook, my biggest issue is with the law regarding restaurants having to be closed during the day. I actually don’t know if its a law, or just an unspoken rule, but whatever the case is, I don’t think restaurants should be forced to close, not unless you also want to close other sources of food like supermarkets and baqalas. I’ve basically spent most of this Ramadan having Chinese food since China Kitchen is one of the few places that deliver from noon and they’re located in Salmiya so the driver doesn’t get stuck in traffic. I actually don’t think I’m having Chinese food ever again once Ramadan is over.

Do you fast? Would you mind it if restaurants were open during the day? Do you mind if people drink water in front of you? I’m curious to know.

Back in October, I posted a rumor that the American food concept Eggslut was coming to the Middle East. A lot of readers said that would never happen because of the name, well it’s happening. Yesterday I got confirmation from an inside source that the local company Al-Thiqa (who own Shrimpy) have gotten the rights to the Eggslut franchise. They’ll be opening their first location in Lebanon followed by a second location in Kuwait. They’re targetting Q4 of this year for the Kuwait location and if their under construction website is anything to go by, the Kuwait location will be based in The Avenues.

Eggslut is an LA-based gourmet food concept where all the items on their menu feature eggs. It currently looks like their Instagram account will be either @eggslutme or @eggslutkw so stay tuned.

Dylan’s Candy Bar is a chain of boutique candy shops around the US and they’re now coming to Kuwait. They’re opening their first location at The Avenues and I believe this will also be their first location outside the States.

I’ve only been to their LA location at The Grove and I remember it being pretty huge. Chalhoub Group is bringing the brand to the region and they’re expected to open six to eight stores in UAE, Kuwait and Qatar. They’ve got a few job positions open if you’re interested including a marketing position [Here]

Thanks LadyB

If you’re not fasting during Ramadan and want to order food before Iftar, then below are some restaurants that will deliver early. It’s not a big list but it’s still better than nothing.

China Garden
Chinese / 11AM
Telephone: 1805080

China Kitchen
Chinese / 12PM
Telephone: 25738754

Domino’s
Pizza / 10AM
Telephone: 1800800

Noodles
Chinese / 12PM
Telephone: 25749933

Osaka
Japanese / 2:30PM
Telephone: 22637331

Pastamania
Pasta / 12PM
Telephone: 1828585

Q at the Yard
Various / 1PM
Telephone: 22495067/8

Rock Chipsy
Japanese / 12PM
Telephone: 22218844

Rustic Thai Kitchen
Thai / 3PM
Telephone: 22204758

Sushi Club
Japanese / 2:30PM
Telephone: 25712144

Sushi N Roll
Japanese / 12PM
Telephone: 51168689

Top Dawg
Hotdogs / 3PM
Telephone: ‭67770062‬

The Untitled Deli
Sandwiches / 1PM
Telephone: ‭22273354‬

Upper Crust
Pizza / 1PM
Telephone: 22943200

I’ll be updating the list above as I find out about more places, if you know of a place that delivers before Iftar (like 3PM or earlier) let me know.

A lot of people have been contacting me asking me why I’m late with this list. I’m not late. I tend to put this list together after Ramadan starts since a lot of restaurants (or the people who work there at least) tend not to know about the prices until after Ramadan begins. Once Ramadan starts I usually need 2-3 days to call the 60 restaurants up because its time consuming and I don’t want to spend over an hour and a half on the phone in one go. Like always, I’ve highlighted the price increases over the previous year in red, and the decreases in green. The list is divided into two parts, hotels and restaurants and you can check it out below:

Hotels

Al Jahra Copthorne Hotel & Resort – Taima’a Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD7 (-3.000)
Telephone: 24590000

Courtyard by Marriott
Buffet Price: KD14
Telephone: 22997000

Crowne Plaza – Al Ahmadi Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD16 (+1.050)
Telephone: 1848111

Four Seasons – Jawaher Tent
Buffet Price: KD21
Telephone: 2200 6000

Hilton Resort – Teatro Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD18 (+0.500)
Telephone: 22256222

Inn & GO Hotel – Al Dallah Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD10.5 (+0.600)
Telephone: 22436686

Jumeirah Messilah Beach – Garden Cafe
Buffet Price: KD19
Telephone: 22269600

JW Marriott – Al Thuraya
Buffet Price: KD15
Telephone: 22455550

Millennium Hotel & Convention – Lamar International Restaurant
Set Menu Price: KD14
Telephone: 22050505

Movenpick – Free Zone – Bays Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD11 (-1.000)
Telephone: 24610033

Movenpick – Al Bida’a – Breeze Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD15
Telephone: 22253100

Radisson Blu – Al Bustan Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD14
Telephone: 25673000

Safir Hotel – Fintas
Buffet Price: KD15 (+0.500)
Telephone: 25455555

Sheraton – Coral Tent
Buffet Price: KD20 (+2.250)
Telephone: 22422055

Symphony Style Hotel
Buffet Price: KD14 (+2.000)
Telephone: 25770000

The Regency Kuwait – Silk Road Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD18
Telephone: 25766880

Restaurants

Abdel Wahab
Buffet Price: KD10
Telephone: 1821000

Al Noukhaza Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD15.950 (+1.000)
Telephone: 1823888

Assaha Lebanese Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD11 (+1.000)
Telephone: 22533377

Avanti Palace
Set Menu Price: Vegetarian KD3.100 – Non Vegetarian KD3.500 (both min 4 people)
Telephone: 25751081

Babel
Set Menu Price: KD13.5
Telephone: 22081111

Baker & Spice
Set Menu Price: KD8.750
Telephone: 22407707

Burj Al-Hamam
Buffet Price: KD12 (-0.500)
Telephone: 22529095

Café Bateel
Set Menu Price: KD10
Telephone: 22270204

Dar Hamad
Buffet Price: KD16 (+1.000)
Telephone: 22275555

Enab Beirut
Set Menu Price: KD20 (for two people)
Telephone: 90009874

IKEA
Set Menu Price: KD2.950
Telephone: 1840408

Jeans Grill
Buffet Price: KD8.500
Telephone: 22264503

Kosebasi
Set Menu Price: KD9.750
Telephone: 22251303

Kuwait Towers
Buffet Price: KD11
Telephone: 22081999

La Brasa Argentinian Grill
Set Menu: KD11
Telephone: 99052419

Naranj
Buffet Price: KD10.950 (-1.550)
Telephone: 22268666

Ovo Bar
Set Menu: KD9.500
Telephone: 22272171

Palm Palace
Buffet Price: KD8.900 (-0.350)
Telephone: 25756331

Paul
Set Menu: KD7.250
Telephone: 22208204

Ruby Tuesday
Set Menu Price: KD7.950
Telephone: 22444454

Tallu Hbabna
Buffet Price: KD5 (-5.000)
Telephone: 51113700

Veranda
Set Menu Price: KD12.000 (-0.500)
Telephone: 22283141

Villa Fayrouz
Buffet Price: KD9.500
Telephone: 22650052

Zafran
Buffet Price: KD8
Telephone: 22285203 or 97281007

If you’d like to add a restaurant to the list above [Email Me]

Note: The prices listed above are for adults. Some restaurants offer special prices for children. I will add more restaurants to this list as I find out about them.

We do cooking classes and collaborations once in a while at PantryBee because well, they’re fun. It’s a nice way for us to learn from local chefs as well as being a great way to interact with our customers.

With Ramadan coming up we thought it would be fun to put together a Middle East inspired cooking class. So, we teamed up with Ayyame’s head Chef Ali Mahmoud Bitar at their newest AlShaheed Park II location to create a “Flavors of the Middle East” cooking class and dinner.

It’s a 2.5 hour event where you learn how to make green dough for their traditional fried bread, fattet badinjan, borek, lamb chops and more. Class ends with you enjoying your creations at a sit-down dinner accompanied by some of our favorite Ayyame sides and desserts.

If you’re interested in taking part, the event is this coming Tuesday at 6:30PM. For more details and to register, click [Here]

We’ve got limited seats for the event but for those that cant make it, here’s a fun little recipe to try out for yourselves at home that makes for a good appetizer all Ramadan long!

Fattet Hummus
2 chickpea cans- drained
3 Pita breads- cut into small rectangles
Olive oil
1/2 cup Pine nuts
1 cup yogurt
Fresh mint – small bunch
Pinch of Paprika
2 Garlic cloves – minced
3 Tbsp unsalted butter – melted
Pinch sumac

Heat oven to 400°. Toss pita rectangles with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste then lay on a baking sheet evenly and bake till golden around 10 mins. Toss with chickpeas and place in final serving dish. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a pan on medium-high and brown pine nuts 3-4 mins. Stir yogurt, mint, paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl; drizzle over pita mixture. Top with pine nuts and drizzle with butter and finish with sumac.

Post by Hind
CoFounder of PantryBee where home cooking is made easy.

I’m pretty sure that I’m butchering the pronunciation of the restaurant but, USQUYU (oos-ku-you?) is a new restaurant that just opened up in Shuwaikh. The food is inspired by Peruvian cuisine and the interior looks pretty interesting based on the photos I’ve seen.

I haven’t had the time yet to pass by and try it, but if you’re looking for something new, you could check this place out. They’re currently only open from 6PM to 11PM. They’re on instagram @usquyu and here is their location on [Google Maps]

Photo from @ralfadalah