2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
A friend showed me this instagram account yesterday for a local Japanese restaurant called Yamamoto and I found it the most bizarre thing ever. The restaurant is meant to serve Japanese street food but their menu from what I can tell is mostly composed of British Fish and Chips and Spanish Churros for dessert.
So weird. Check it out yourself @yamamoto_kw
There’s a restaurant in Crystal Tower in Kuwait City called Hala Hummus which I keep passing by on my way to my gym (Core Fitness, now called XAthletic moved there recently). I haven’t tried Hala Hummus yet but I love the way the interior looks. For some reason, I think because of the way the ceiling is arched but the space looks like a restaurant you’d find in an underground subway. As you can guess from the name, they specialize in hummus dishes so if you want more info, check out their instagram @halahummus_kw
If you’ve been hanging out in the city recently, you might have spotted various yellow colored posters around the coffee district with the hashtag #FilipoTakesKuwait. Typing the hashtag in instagram will lead you to @filipothefilipino where you’ll find very little information as well. So what is it all about?
Filipo The Filipino is going to be a pop-up event thats going to be taking place over two days early next month. The guys behind it are bringing in a Filipino chef from the Michelin Star restaurant “L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon” to serve a menu he created that will include deconstructed popular Filipino dishes like Adobo and Halo Halo.
The event will be taking place at the beautiful Al Khaled Diwan thats located right next to the Sadu House on the Gulf Road. For more details on the event including exact date and a map, click [Here]
If you’re looking for a new Mexican place to try out, a Tex-Mex place called La Flor recently opened up in Abu Hassiniya. It’s a small authentic restaurant that’s currently in it’s soft launch phase since they’ve only been open for around a month now. I passed by with a few friends for dinner, one of which had been there a few times already and loves the food. I’m not big on Mexican food myself but their table side prepared guacamole was pretty good and their soft taco was alright. Maybe @randybgoos’s can let us know what he thinks about the place since he’s a big foodie himself AND from Texas.
If you want to try the place out yourself, they’re located in Divonne Complex and their instagram account is @laflorq8. Here is their location on [Google Maps]
There is an underground pedestrian passageway in the city that connects four different street corners together. The passageway is located across from Pick Yo and I was just telling a friend of mine a few weeks back that they should start opening up cafe’s down there. Now it looks like that’s going to happen since a hoarding was recently put up down there teasing a new concept. I tried to find out more about the place but all I was able to get is that they will have coffee and some communal aspect. I’m curious to see how the place will function in the summer since the underground area doesn’t have functioning AC and I doubt whatever opens there will have interior seating. Maybe with all the recent foot traffic the underground has started getting because of all the coffeeshops, the municipality might have decided to fix that area up.
Photo by Junichi Yamaguchi
My favorite coffee place Arabica just opened up their second location in Kuwait and it’s HUGE. The new location which they’ve called the Arabica Roastery consists of two main areas, the main coffeeshop with interior and outdoor seating, and the roastery where they’ll be selling beans to businesses (B2B) as well as offer training on how to make coffee.
Photo by Junichi Yamaguchi
Arabica will also be selling coffee making gear at this location. So for example you’ll be able to buy an AeroPress or a coffee dripper from them, and they’ll show you how to use them properly and get the best tasting coffee out of them. With the new location they’ve also introduced new items on their menu, most notably Matcha Latte and baguette sandwiches.
The new Arabica Roastery is located in Shuwaikh on the same street as Lilly Center and right next to the newly opened Healthy Feast. Their opening hours as of this post is from 4PM to 10PM. Here is their location on [Google Maps] and their instagram is @arabica.kuwait
One of my favorite healthy restaurants just opened up in Shuwaikh a few days back. Healthy Feast is a whole foods restaurant that serves fresh, local, organic and gluten free dishes. I probably pass by their Bneid Al Gar location once a week or so but that location is pretty tiny and difficult to have a conversation with someone without everybody around you eavesdropping. Their new location is a lot bigger and they’ve even added new dishes to the menu.
The new Healthy Feast is located in Shuwaikh on the same street as Lilly Center and right next to the newly opened Arabica Roastery. Their opening hours as of this post is from 3PM to 10PM. Here is their location on [Google Maps] and their instagram is @healthy_feast
If you want to read my previous post on Healthy Feast, click [Here]
The new VOL.1 location in Mayar Complex (what I prefer calling VOL.2) is now open daily from 12PM to 7PM. I was invited to the pre-launch event a few weeks back and I fell in love with the place. Not only is it the best looking coffee shop I’ve ever been to, but I also think it has one of the best looking interiors of any place I’ve been to in Kuwait.
Here is the location for Mayar Complex [Google Maps]. Super/Foods is located in the same building so you could stop by Super/Foods for a bite and then VOL.1 for coffee. Thinking about it, thats probably what I’m gonna do for lunch today.
Sultan Center have finally launched their online shop so you can order your groceries online and have them deliver it to your home. Their delivery charges aren’t that bad either:
The minimum order value is 10KD per order Charges: Delivery charges differs with respect to the type of delivery whether express or next day delivery. Express delivery: We charge 1.5 KD for the express delivery, if the order is 40KD or above the delivery will be free. Next day delivery: This delivery is Free of charge.
I live right next to like four Sultan Centers so I’ll always prefer to stop by my local branch but I’ll definitely start checking their website whenever there is an item I can’t find. Actually, maybe you guys can help, right now I’m having trouble finding Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa Light which seems to be out of stock everywhere. It’s delicious hot chocolate and just 25 calories!
Anyway, their website is still in beta so there might be a few issues here and there but you can check it out right now by visiting [sultan-center.com]
Super/Foods is a new whole foods bar that just opened up this past weekend in Shuwaikh. It belongs to a friend of mine and so I’ve know about the concept for sometime now and I’ve eagerly been waiting for it to finally open.
Whole foods is defined as foods that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible and thats the main philosophy behind Super/Foods. It’s a vegetarian place with a lot of vegan, gluten free and raw options as well. Their menu is pretty straight forward, you have the create your own greek yogurt or chia pudding bowls, they’ve got savory toasts, sweet toasts, a number of salads and finally drinks that include smoothies and cold pressed juices. Oh they also have a ton of dessert bites as well as pre-bagged nuts and chips.
Their chef was based in the UK and had previously worked at Nama Foods and Tanya’s Cafe, both popular raw food restaurants in the UK so even though the place is new, there is a lot of experience in the kitchen. They’ve only been open for four days now and I’ve already been there twice so far and I’m hooked on two things, their avocado on toast as well as their beet-hummus on toast sandwiches. I’m also in love with their sparkling Blue Majik drink although I think it has to do more with my obsession over its color than its magical properties.
I’m also in love with the branding of the place as well as all their packaging and all the copy thats written on them. The feel of the place along with the good food has made Super/Foods one of my favorite restaurants at the moment alongside JOA, Habra and Table Otto. So many good places at the moment, I don’t remember the last time I was so excited over food like this.
Super/Foods is currently in their soft launch phase and are open from 10AM to 6PM. They’re located in the new Mayar Complex in Shuwaikh [Google Maps] and you can follow them on instagram @superfoodskw.
And here is a picture of their [Menu]
Some of you might already know JOA since they’ve been on Carriage but they just opened up their first physical location and it’s located right next to Habra in Kuwait City. For those of you who don’t know, JOA is an ORA creation that serve sushi but also specialize in poke bowls. I had previously only ordered sushi rolls from them but over the weekend I passed by their location for lunch and finally got to try one of their poke bowls. I fell in love instantly.
I ordered the regular sized “Tuna on Fire” poke bowl with extra protein and it was so damn good that I ended up ordering it again for dinner that same night from Carriage. They’re soft launching their new location today and their timings for now will only be from 12PM to 7PM. The place is tiny with no indoor seating but they do have an outdoor seating area.
So if you’re interested, their instagram account is @joa.kw and here is their location on [Google Maps]
So Habra is officially my new favorite restaurant in Kuwait alongside Table Otto. I’ve been going to both on a weekly basis now but realized Habra needed a dedicated post with some tips so here it goes.
Getting a Table
Get there early! If you’ve been holding out on Habra until it starts dying down, well good luck with that. So far the least amount of time I’ve waited was 1h 15min, while the longest I’ve waited was last night which was 2h 45min. I haven’t even tried going there on a weekend. They only have 5 tables, 2 of them fit 4 people, 2 fit 2 people (or 3 really squeezed), and the last one is a communal table that holds around 12. The place is tiny and the host currently has the most dangerous job in the world, seriously the amount of people who get into fights with him on a daily basis, I’d hate to have his job. So get there early, put your name on the list and then head over to Coffee Boulevard and go coffeeshop hopping.
Ordering
Order what you want when you want it. The food doesn’t take long to be prepared and served so they have a habit of bringing you a large number of your dishes all at once. Last week I got into an argument with the waiter because they served me and my friend all 5 of our starters and 3 of our mains at the same time. We literally had no room on the table to put all the items and it’s just physically impossible to eat everything at once. So this is the best tip I can give you, order the first few dishes you want to have first, like all your starters. Once you’re done with your starters, order your mains. Nothing takes long to be served, I think 6 minutes is the longest you have to wait for a dish to get served. Trust me, you’ll have a better experience this way.
What to Order
I always order different things but the items below are staples that will always be included:
– Bone marrow (I can’t say this enough, don’t share! Everyone order your own)
– Four and a half hour braised rib
– Three-way Kalbi
– Foil-baked mushrooms
What Not to Order
Resist the urge to order their charred cantaloupe dessert. It sounds good but there is no way on earth you can eat it. I’ve ordered it twice and twice I was just going to take the cantaloupe and hit someone with it. It’s nearly impossible to eat which is a shame because it has potential. My tip for them is to remove the cantaloupe from the shell by chopping it up, then put it back in the shell, top if off with the rest of the ingredients and serve it like that. Or just remove it from the menu completely.
Vegetarians/Vegans
lol
Bathroom
They don’t have one, you’re meant to use the one in the parking lot a few stories above them. Takes forever to get up there and the bathrooms are super gross. So if you need to use the bathroom, get it done somewhere else before your dinner or after. The bathroom in the basement of Crystal Tower is the closest nicest bathroom, while the bathroom at Arabica is the coolest because of their high-tech toilet. Be nice and order coffee if you’re gonna use that one (they have decaf).
Parking
I hate the parking lot in the Habra building since leaving it takes forever and the elevators are the slowest. Personally, I like to park behind Arabica and head to Habra walking. The walk back after a big meal is always appreciated and there is no long queue when leaving the parking.
So these are my tips, if you’d like to read my previous post on Habra then click [Here]
Bonchon Chicken is a popular Korean fried chicken and wings restaurant and it’s opening in Kuwait soon. They’ve got locations mostly in Asia but they do have branches in New York and Bahrain as well.
I’ve never eaten there but a friend has and told me their fried chicken is really good so now I’m curious to try it out. They’re opening at the new Dhai Complex in Bida’a which I thought was a sort of a high end food complex so that location choice seems a bit odd. I don’t know when they’re opening exactly so if you do, let me know in the comments below.
Update: According to a reader they might be opening end of February.
The Argan Square project is located in Salmiya right across from AUK and is nearly complete and will be opening soon. Below is a list of brands that will be located there:
12 Chutneys (Indian Restaurant)
American Copy Center (Print Shop)
Ananas (Juices and Smoothies by Ubon guys)
Arabica (Coffee Shop)
Backyard (Restaurant)
Bean to Bar (Chocolates)
Big Smoke Burger (Burgers)
Bowl’d (Acai bowls)
Caribou (Coffee Shop)
Coffee Masters ME (Coffe Shop)
Diet Center (Pick Up & Go)
ICAF (Coffee Shop)
MANA (Mediterranean Restaurant by Ubon guys)
Muscle Maker Grill (Restaurant)
Rockhouse Slider (Burgers)
Scoop-a-cone (Ice Cream)
Ubon (Thai Restaurant)
WH Smith (Bookshop)
Since I live in Salmiya, from the list above I have to say I’m looking forward mostly to Ubon, Arabica and 12 Chutneys opening up in the area.
