Category: Food & Drinks

Spotted the above pack at Sultan Center and couldn’t resist picking it up. After Sultan stopped getting Count Chocula, Cocoa Puffs became my favorite Friday morning cereal so when I saw this muffin mix I decided to grab a box to try out.

Making these muffins was super easy. There are two packs inside the box, one for the muffin mix the other for the Cocoa Puffs toppings. You take the muffin mix and empty it into a bowl. You then add an egg and some vegetable oil and mix it all up and that’s basically it. You then just pour the mix into muffin cups, add the Cocoa Puffs toppings on top and bake the muffins for a few minutes in the oven.

The result wasn’t that great. I thought the muffin tasted pretty good but the Cocoa Puffs toppings didn’t actually taste like the Cocoa Puffs cereal. I actually would have preferred the muffin without the Cocoa Puffs toppings. What I would do next time is make a proper home made muffin (not the ready made stuff) and just add Cocoa Puffs on top from a cereal box.

Organica Fish & Chips has been open for a couple of years now but I just got to pass by and try it today. I ordered the large fish & chips platter which included 2 pieces of fish along with chips in addition I ordered an extra side order of calamari. I went to the Salmiya branch which has a lot of seating inside but since it was a nice sunny day I decided to sit outside.

While waiting for my meal I got served lemonade which I thought was a nice thing to do. Once my fish & chips basket came I snapped a few pictures before I dug in. I thought the whole basket tasted pretty bland and between the calamari and the fish I think I preferred the calamari. The tartar sauce which I personally believe makes or breaks a meal wasn’t that great either but it did help add some much needed flavor to the meal. On a side note if you want to know what good tartar sauce tastes like go to try it at Sheraton Hotel. Finally the chips were the most disappointing part of the meal, they were undercooked and soft which was a let down.

Overall, even though the fish basket didn’t awestruck me I still think it’s a good place to pass by for a quick bite. It’s not located in a mall, there’s lots of seating, places to park and the food was above average. Price wise the large fish & chips platter goes for KD3.750 (KD2.750 for the small) while the extra calamari cost me an additional KD1.400. They have three locations around Kuwait and if you want to find out more you can visit their website [Here]

Just before Christmas I decided to get myself a KitchenAid mixer. Originally I wanted to get the regular 4.8L mixer similar to the one I reviewed back in 2011 but it turned out there was a new larger 6.9L KitchenAid mixer and I ended up getting that instead.

I used to think the regular KitchenAid mixer was pretty hardcore but once I saw the 6.9L version the regular one started looking pretty tame. Other than the obvious size difference the other thing that sticks out is the fact with the 6.9L KitchenAid the head doesn’t tilt. Instead, the bowl is locked into place and then lifted up towards the mixer head. Not sure what the advantage of this is but I like it better this way.

Since I got the mixer I’ve baked an apple pie, five different brownies, a cake and muffins. I could have done them all with the regular sized mixer but I realized my mixing is a lot less messier using the 6.9L mixer since with the larger bowl, whatever is inside it tends to stay inside. Also because you can raise or lower the bowl to the mixing head I tend to lower the bowl first before I stop the mixer and that way whatever is stuck on the paddle or whisk gets released into the bowl.

The 6.9L mixer has one major disadvantage over the regular 4.8L KitchenAid mixer and that is the lack of colors. While with the 4.8L mixer you have 29 different colors to choose from, with the 6.9L version you’re limited to just 5. The other more obvious downside is the price. The 6.9L mixer is more expensive than the smaller 4.8L mixer and it’s selling for KD283 here in Kuwait. Whichever you end up getting be it the 4.8L or 6.9L they’re both a lot of fun to use.

I got my KitchenAid from the dealer Mabrook in Shuwaikh but I also spotted them for sale at Williams-Sonoma. If you’re interested, here is a link to the Kuwait KitchenAid page on Facebook [Link]

Spotted this new Cadbury chocolate at Sultan yesterday. It contains three individual milk chocolate coated wafers with a milk chocolate flavoured filling. It was pretty good (I’m a wafer guy) and it’s currently ranking pretty high on my personal Top 10 chocolate charts.

A reader emailed me regarding this China Garden ad that appeared in the latest Bazaar’s Dining Guide. Him and his friends found it very offensive. What do you think?

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Bazaar released their 2013 Dining guide this month and for the first time ever they’re making it available as a digital download so you can read it on your iPad, computer or any other device that’s capable of reading PDFs. It’s 500 pages big and if you want to download it just follow this [Link]

Note: You need to create an account or login using your Facebook account to download the PDF.

Choowy Goowy will soon be opening a second branch of their restaurant in Avenues Phase I (near Deer & Dear). They’re going to begin tasting this week so if you’re interested in being part of the tasting you can by sending an email to [email protected]

Note: There are limited spots available

A reader spotted the above melon at Sultan Center.

Thanks Paul

Last night I got to discover and try Mandi for the first time. I hadn’t heard about it before so was pretty intrigued when my friend told me about it. Mandi is a traditional dish of lamb and rice. The way they cook the lamb is they lower it into a pit in the ground filled with hot coal. Right underneath the hanging lamb is a large pot of rice. They then close the hole and cover it with sand so that the smoke doesn’t escape. The lamb then starts to cook slowly with all the fat dripping into the rice underneath. Finally once the lamb is ready it’s raised from the ground and served. The meat was super tender and absolutely delicious. Even the rice was just incredible.

Below are some pictures I took when they were pulling the lamb up from the ground. If you ever get the chance I highly recommend you try Mandi out.

I spotted the Ballpark hot dogs above at Sultan Center. I guess they’re no longer banned.

I was invited to pass by Magnolia Bakery today for a sneak peek and while there I met with Bobbie Lloyd, the president and operating partner who filled me in on the brands history as well as what’s in store for the Kuwait location. The Kuwait store will be the 10th Magnolia Bakery in the world with seven branches located in the US, one in Dubai and one that recently opened in Beirut. If you live in Doha you’ll be pleased to know Magnolia will be opening there next month as well.

Those of you who know Magnolia Bakery will notice one big difference with the Kuwait location and that is they’ll be serving savory dishes like pasta and sandwiches alongside their desserts. This will be the first Magnolia Bakery branch that will be serving savories with the second being the Beirut location.

While getting a tour of the location I was asked if I wanted to ice a cupcake. Since I’m a klutz and I didn’t want to embarrass myself I politely said no but they insisted I give it a shot. After a short lesson I was handed a bucket of icing, a cupcake and a spatula. Even though the Magnolia Bakery staff make icing look really easy I knew it wasn’t going to be but I gave it my best and my cupcake actually didn’t turn out THAT bad.

Magnolia Bakery is located on the mezzanine floor of Hamra Tower and will be opening up this coming Wednesday. If you want to find out more about the brand you can visit their website [Here]

The Lebanese burger and wings chain, Lord of the Wings is opening soon at Discovery Mall. I’m not a fan of chicken wings but I’ve heard theirs are pretty good. Their burgers on the other hand I’ve tried and didn’t think much of.

Thanks Ali

China Kitchen is another Chinese restaurant recommended by my readers to try out. They had an outdoor seating area and since the weather was good thats where I ended up sitting. When I got the menu I found it slightly confusing at first because they have the meats and sauces separate. So instead of having a chicken section with all the chicken dishes under it, they have a “Meats” section where you choose for example either chicken, beef, crab, prawns etc.. and then they have a “Sauces” section where you can choose the sauce you want like sweet & sour chicken, Mongolian, Schezwan, Manchurian etc.. I personally prefer it the old fashioned way.

We ended up ordering the following:
Chicken Spring Rolls KD1.000
Wanton Soup KD1.000
Crab Corn Soup KD1.000
Shrimp on Toast KD3.000
Shrimp Dumplings KD3.000
Vegetable Fried Rice KD1.250
Sweet & Sour Chicken KD2.250
Kindo Chicken KD2.250
Beef with Mushroom & Bamboo Shoots KD2.750

My friend had the Wanton Soup and liked it, I had the Crab Corn Soup and didn’t think much of it but that’s because I compare all Crab Soups to the one I have at Caesars and no one seems to do it better than them. The Spring Rolls were boring but the Shrimp on Toast was pretty good especially since they give you three different sauces for it. The Shrimp Dumplings were ok as well but what really stood out for me were the main courses. Both the Sweet & Sour Chicken and the Kindo Chicken were probably the best I’ve had. They were full of flavor and really really delicious. The Beef with Mushroom & Bamboo Shoots I didn’t like at all but I didn’t really care since I was more than satisfied with the two chicken dishes.

The service was good and friendly and I really liked the fact they had outdoor seating. I do think their shrimp dishes were a bit on the pricey side but everything else was priced reasonably. I’d definitely go back there again just for the Sweet & Sour and Kindo Chicken.

China Kitchen is located in Salmiya and their phone number is 25738756. Here is their location on [Google Maps]

After my post on KDD and the Co-ops yesterday I got an email from KDD today with a map of all the locations that sell KDD products including all the baqalas. It’s actually pretty cool because I now have all the numbers and names of the baqalas in my neighborhood. Check out their interactive map [Here]

No completion date but it’s going to be a new entertainment hub located in Al Mahboula and will have restaurants and gyms. [Link]