Category: Food & Drinks

The British crêpes chain CrepeAffaire is opening their first location outside Europe here in Kuwait. They’re opening up in Bida’a right behind Elevation Burger. According to their website they’re opening this month. Maybe we’ll finally get some decent crêpes in Kuwait.

A friend of mine told me about this instagram account that sells fresh home made pasta. I found that different from the usual baked goods people are selling so I thought I’d share it here. They have three kinds of pasta, lemon, pumpkin, and tomato and garlic. Costs KD3.5 for 200 grams and you need to order it at least 48 hours in advance since it’s made to order. The account is @mariarustica

Update: A reader informed me of a professional Italian pastry chef that sells 300 grams of fresh pasta for KD3.5. You can check that account as well by clicking the following link [@italiafoodk8]

Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers have opened up their first location in Kuwait at the Avenues opposite The Cheesecake Factory. A friend of mine passed by and tried it for lunch and according to him they only have two items on the menu, chicken fingers and a chicken burger. His recommendation? Skip the chicken burger and order the chicken fingers instead.

Thanks @Qatami

They still have the best chicken tikka in Kuwait. That’s all I’m going to say. [Map]

Gia are opening a new location in Kuwait City on the corner of the Souq Al Kuwait building opposite the Kuwait Stock Exchange. It’s a pretty good location since the area is surrounded by lots of financial offices. The new location will have some pre-packed takeout items for easy pickup as well as delivery within the area. If everything goes according to plan the new location is expected to open sometime in October.

I usually tend to have brunch on weekends at either Cocoa Room or Street but this weekend I wanted to try something different and so ended up at the Wah Ji Wah Pakistani restaurant for breakfast. I had heard about this place from some comments on the blog awhile back so when my friend suggested it as an option I was like maybe it’s about time I pass by and try it out.

They stop serving breakfast at 11am so we got there by 10:30 and found a table inside to sit on. We ended up ordering the Aloo Paratha (potato stuffing), Keema Paratha (meat stuffing) and Sada Naan with Chana (a kind of Indian bread with a chickpeas side dish). We also ended up ordering Kashmiri tea and regular chai. I didn’t even know Kashmiri tea existed but it turns out it’s similar to chai except they make it with a different tea and add a couple of more ingredients which also turns it pink. It was odd looking because of the color but it was actually delicious to drink.

From the different dishes we ordered the Aloo Paratha was my favorite and it was also the lightest since the other dishes just felt too heavy to have in the morning. In hindsight I regret not ordering the egg stuffed paratha instead of the meat one because it would have made more sense as a breakfast dish. I’m also surprised they didn’t have a cheese stuffed paratha since that would also have made more sense for breakfast.

The total for everything came to around KD1.5 which is cheaper than a cup of coffee at my usual breakfast spots. But I doubt I would go back to Wah Ji Wah for breakfast because it’s just too heavy for me to have. It’s still worth experiencing though especially for the pink Kashmiri tea. They’re located in Salmiya Block 10 near the park and here is their location on [Google Maps]

There’s a weird looking building on the Gulf Road right before Marina Mall which I was trying to figure out what it was. When they were constructing it I thought it was someones home but after completion they put up a sign that said Dar Hamad. I thought it was possibly a museum but then over the weekend I found out it was going to be a restaurant. It’s actually going to be a high end Kuwaiti cuisine restaurant serving traditional dishes created by Kuwaiti chef Janan Al Assfour. The opening date? Supposedly September.

The Onam Festival is back and will be taking place this coming Friday 28th of August. Onam is the biggest and the most important festivals of the state of Kerala in India and it’s also celebrated here in Kuwait. A few Southern Indian restaurants in Kuwait offer the traditional vegetarian dish the Onasadya during the festival and below are some of those restaurants.

Caesar’s Dakshin Restaurant – Jeleeb Al-Shuyoukh – Al Jawhara Building
Time: 12PM to 3PM and 7PM to 11PM
Price: KD3
Telephone: 24319191, 24310303 [Map]

Udupi Restaurant – Fahaheel – Green Tower
Time: 10AM to 4PM and 6PM to 11PM
Price: KD2.250 (KD2.500 takeaway)
Telephone: 25456565 [Map]

Saravanaa Bhavan – Fahaheel – Humoud Towers
Time: 11:30AM to 4PM and 7PM to 10PM
Price: KD2.500 (KD2.700 takeaway)
Telephone: 23929099 [Map]

If you know of any more places please let me know.

Thanks Ahmad Arafa

A couple of nights ago I was over at a friends place when I was introduced to Noor AlObaid, the young Kuwaiti behind the nonprofit charity organization Bake and Educate. I was so fascinated with the story that I couldn’t wait to post about it on the blog.

Noor started Bake and Educate at the age of 14 years old. She grew up with a mixed background, her father is Kuwaiti while her mum is Syrian so she got to see life from both perspectives, the easy privileged life of a Kuwaiti and the struggle of a Shami in Kuwait. Ever since she was a kid her mother used to teach her that because God had given them a good life, they have to give back to people who aren’t as fortunate. So she started giving a few dinars from her allowance to less fortunate children and when she grew older it just became a habit.

Noor went to a private American school and her tuition at one point had reached around KD5,000 a year. On the other hand the tuition fees for some Arabic private schools in Kuwait were only around KD400 to KD500 per student per year and yet several families had difficulty affording that. In 2009, Noor’s mum received a list 21 pages long of students that were financially unable to cover their school fees. The overdue payments ranged anywhere from KD20 up to KD400 so they came up with the idea to create a baking exhibition where all proceeds would be used to cover the student fees. At first it was a difficult concept for people to understand, why would a 14 year old be running a non-profit? Why is it for education? People didn’t realize the significance of a diploma and how without one, many places wouldn’t be willing to employ a non-Kuwaiti.

At first Bake and Education started off as a yearly exhibition and then it became bi-annual until they started doing delivery. By 2012, Bake and Educate had started to gain a reputation after working closely with the Ministry of Youth and EQUAIT. In the 6 years since Noor started Bake and Educate the program has helped cover the tuition of 389 students while also helping refugee camps in Syria.

How does it work?
With each donation or order you will receive an official Bake and Educate receipt. When payment is received, Bake and Educate contact the schools and send the money over either on the same day or the morning after. Once the money is received by the accountant of the school, they deduct the amount from a students overdue payment and provide Bake and Educate with a receipt which they file. Bake and Educate is an officially registered non-profit organization. Some of the schools they work with are AlJamil School, AlRiqqa Elementary School and AlWataniya School, however, they try to work with any school that is willing to accept financial aid for students.

So if you’re interested in what they’re doing, follow them on instagram @bakeandeducate

Yesterday I popped into KIPCO Tower to use the ATM machine and on my way out I saw something that looked pretty cool. It was a sandwich shop built into the wall, at first I thought it was part of Caribou Coffee which was located near it but when I got closer I noticed it had it’s own branding and the place was called ‘Walls’.

While I was getting a closer look at the items a guy popped up behind me and was like Mark? I turned around and turns out the two partners in the place were there and they had recognized me. So I ended up getting a small tour of the place along with a brief on their concept. ‘Walls’ opened up around three days ago and KIPCO Tower is their first location. They have fresh daily made food ranging from soups to sandwiches and salads along with some low calorie options for calorie counters. They also have freshly grounded coffee as well as other cold drinks like soda, water and cold brew coffee. None of the food is reused the next day so if anything is left by closing time they’re donated to an organization.

It’s a very simple concept with good branding and great looking packaging, kinda like a mini ‘Pret A Manger’ for the office tower. They’re open from Sunday to Thursday, 6:30AM to 5PM. If you’d like to find out more about them check out their instagram account @gowalls.

I heard through the grapevine that Five Guys are opening their first location in Kuwait at Al Tijaria Tower in the city. I passed by yesterday to see if I could find a coming soon hoarding and didn’t find one, but I did find a large location in the basement that was under construction. Five Guys already opened in Dubai back in May and so it makes sense that we are next in line.

One of my favorite brunch places Street have expanded their Saturday morning brunch menu with a lot of new items. Under their “Egg” category they’ve now have Shakshuka and they’ve also created a new category called “Toast” where they’ve added a bunch of new items as well. I had the shakshuka and honestly didn’t like it so I’m going to continue sticking with my favorites, the egg shroom bao or the ribs & egg. Check out the new menu over [Here]

When I got back from my LA trip I had major jet lag so I was waking up at the oddest hours wanting to have breakfast. I couldn’t figure out where to go since most of the places I went to between 4AM and 6AM were closed. So I decided I would put together a list of breakfast places along with their timings so that if anyone ever googles breakfast places they get a nice comprehensive list. Check out some of the popular places below:

Baking Tray
8:00 AM – 1:00 AM

Baker & Spice
Weekdays: 8AM to 1PM
Weekends: 8AM to 2PM

Breakfast Club
KIPCO: 6AM to 12AM
Mahboula: Open 24 hours and breakfast all day

Cheesecake Factory
Friday & Saturday: 10AM to 4PM

Cocoa Room ★
8AM to 12PM

Dar Hamad
8AM to 11:50AM

Dough Cafe
8AM to 2PM

Early Bird ★
Fahaheel: 5AM to 3PM
Jabriya: 5AM to 5PM

Eggcellent
Weekdays: 6:30AM to 2PM
Saturday: 7:30AM to 3PM
Friday: Closed

Gia
Weekdays: 9AM to 12PM
Weekends: 9AM to 1PM

IHOP
Jabriya: Open 24 hours and breakfast all day

Johnny Rockets ★
Salmiya: Open 24 hours but breakfast only from 7AM to 12PM

Ladurée
360 Mall: 9AM to 2PM

Le Pain Quotidien
Marina Crescent: 7:30AM to 11PM

McDonalds
Gulf Road: 6AM to 11AM

Prime & Toast
Seef: Open 24 hours and breakfast all day

Q at The Yard
Weekdays: 7AM to 1PM
Weekends: 8AM to 6PM

Ryoog
6AM to 11PM

Street by Al Makan ★
Saturday: 9:30AM to 2PM

Yellow Lemon
Sunday to Tuesday: 8AM to 4PM
Wednesday to Saturday: 8AM to 7PM

Zaatar W Zeit
Marima Crescent:7:30AM to 12:30AM

★ My favorite places

Update: List updated on 02/01/2017.

One of the first things I did when I was in LA earlier this month was pass by In-N-Out burger. I hadn’t had it before but I’d heard so much about it from people online and from friend. Everyone kept saying it was the best burger ever so I wanted to check it out for myself. Did it live up to the hype? Not really.

During the 3 weeks I was in LA I think I had In-N-Out 5 or 6 times. I tried it a bunch of ways until I found my perfect combo which was a 3×3 (3 patties x 3 cheese) with just grilled onions and their special sauce. It’s a pretty good burger and mostly because of their kick ass special sauce but no way the best burger ever. Quality wise its a step up from McDonalds but in line with other burger joints like Five Guys, Elevation and Shake Shack. I didn’t like their fries at all but their chocolate shake was really good and was around 500 calories which wasn’t too bad.

So basically, if we never get In-N-Out in Kuwait it’s fine, we’re not really missing out on much.

According to the blog Kuwaiti Trailmix, Kuwait recently subsidized gluten-free products making it the first Arab Muslim country to do so in the Middle East. Kuwait Flour Mills have started selling wheat-free products for reasonable prices including:

Hamburger Buns: 690 fils
Vanilla cupcakes: 390 fils
Hot dog rolls: 590 fils
Loaf of Bread “Toast”: 700 fils

Check out the full post [Here]