2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003I had no idea who Emmy was until a reader emailed me telling me about her. Emmymade in Japan is a YouTube channel where Emmy usually reviews different kind of candies (mostly from Japan) while eating them in front of the camera. Well it seems she has some Kuwaiti viewers because someone from Kuwait sent her a box full of treats all the way to Japan. It’s really fun watching her trying to figure out what everything is. [YouTube]
Thanks Teeba
I’ve only been to Spain once and it was a couple of years ago on a work related trip. There are two things I still remember from my trip, the fantastic food and the unbelievably amazing Sangrias. Luckily for us both will be available really soon in Kuwait… and yes, even the Sangrias.
The new place that’s opening up is called Bubó. Bubó is a popular pastry store in Barcelona created by Catalan Pastry Chef Carles Mampel and he’s opening his first location outside Spain here in Kuwait. Carles is an award winning pastry chef with a number of achievements including “Best Master Pastry Chef in Spain in 1999” and winning the prize for the world´s best chocolate cake in 2005. In 2008 he was also incorporated into Relais Dessert. I had no idea what that was until today. It turns out Relais Dessert is like the Michelin Star of pastry chefs and it’s very difficult to earn and keep since they limit it to just 80 members around the world at any given time. In the Arab world for example there is only one Relais Dessert chef and it’s Lionel Pelle of Pâtisserie Cannelle in Beirut. In England there is only one and in the whole of the US there is also just one Relais Dessert chef. So Bubó will be the second store in the Arab world with a Relais Dessert so that’s pretty cool for us.
In addition to pastries the local Bubó will also serve over 20 different kind of tapas. Tapas are very popular in Spain and they’re basically appetizers, kinda like the Lebanese mezza. As I mentioned earlier they’re also going to have Sangarias… virgin Sangarias without any alcohol which should be interesting.
I sat with the local GM of Bubó as well as Carles Mampel and they really sold me on the whole concept which is why I can’t wait until they open next month. Carles explained to me how they have three important things they focus on with their food, health, quality of the food and presentation. Their food isn’t healthy as in diet kind of healthy but their food is healthy because it’s all made with natural ingredients. They do everything in house be it their mustard or the roasting of the hazelnuts. Carles is a control freak and the only way he can control the quality of his food is if he controls the ingredients as well.
The restaurant is located in Al-Ghunaim Tower in Kuwait City. It’s right opposite the parking entrance of Souk Al Watiya which is located behind Sheraton. When you first walk in the area on the right is similar to a casual lounge. It’s in case you just want to meet up with some friends, have coffee and dessert and just chill out. The middle section is made up of tables and chairs for dining be it lunch or dinner. Finally on the far left is where all the pastries will be displayed in jewelry like displays. The place looks pretty cool with a partly black angular ceiling which I think adds the most to the place design wise.
After sitting with Carles and understanding how he thinks and how he dissects ingredients and puts them together, I’ve realized to him the dishes are like an art and science. For example the Relais Dessert group of pastry chefs get together every year and they share new techniques they’ve each created. Carles for example created something called the Balsamic Caviar Vinegar. You can watch a video of how it’s made [Here]. It’s a different and more creative way of adding balsamic to dishes. They always have to innovate and set a certain bar or else they’re out of the Relais Dessert and someone else takes their place. I’ve heard a lot about how stressful a Michelin star is to a chef so I can only imagine how much stress these Relais Dessert members are under since theres only a limited amount of spots.
Price wise they’re still finalizing things but I was told they’ll be competitively priced. They gave me some price examples which I’m not sure I can share but lunch for example with friends would cost less than if you went out for sushi. The reason I’m using sushi as an example is because it’s the only other cuisine I can think of right now where you sit down and order a variety of dishes to share. Actually the Lebanese mezza is another one so their tapas will be priced somewhere between mezza and sushi dishes.
Left to right: Najla Yassin the GM, Jesus Arcas the executive chef and Carles Mampel
They’ve started tastings a few days ago and this is going to go on for another week or so until Carles thinks everything is up to par. I’m most likely going to pass by next week with Nat to try it out but will post another update later on once they officially open up. Should turn out to be pretty cool.
Pei Wei the fast food Asian Diner owned by PF Changs opened last night at the Avenues food court. I passed by earlier today for lunch and tried them out and as a first experience it wasn’t bad. They serve 5 different kind of Asian cuisines: Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Korean and Vietnamese. It’s half self service so when you first walk in you need to go to the cash register to place your order and pay. But, once you place your order you can wait at your table and they’ll bring the dishes to you and pick up the plates once you’re done. For the soft drinks they hand you empty plastic cups and you fill them up yourself from their soda station.
I ordered the Chicken Thai Dynamite (pictured above) and thought it was good but needed more sauce while the rice should have been stickier since I had trouble picking it up with my chopsticks (then again I’m really terrible with chopsticks). Price wise I think it’s on the high side for a fast food joint. My dish cost KD3.750 but the portion was pretty decent so that make things a bit better.
I’ve scanned their menu and uploaded onto the blog so if you want to check it out you can do so by downloading it from [Here]
I was going to pass by Kout Way this weekend but Me Blogging beat me to the punch. Kout Way is a new restaurant located on Baghdad Street right next to DoDo and La Baguette. They’re sort of a fast food restaurant but specializing in Kuwaiti dishes like machboos and murabyan.
Me Blogging has some great pictures and a bit more info which you can check out [Here]
A few weeks back I was having a quick bite at Hashtag when Dari the owner sat down with me and started telling me about PlusOne. It’s a fairly simple concept, anytime you order a burger just tell the cashier to PlusOne and they will add one Dinar to your total bill. The one Dinar you add will be matched by the restaurant and then a meal similar to the one you just had would be given to a low income worker. He invited me to pass by again when they were preparing the meals so I could volunteer and see how the system works for myself. So I did.
It was a pretty dusty day when I met up with Dari at Hashtag but that wasn’t changing their plans. I arrived just as they were starting to make the burgers. There were three other volunteers including the super nice Ms. Bibi Al-Ayoub from “Draw a Smile,” a charitable campaign that inspired PlusOne. Once all the burgers were ready we headed out to a location where street workers were coming together before being taken by a large bus to their compounds. As we arrived to the location so did a car from Chocolateness who were also participating that day.
The workers right away got in a very organized line as the volunteers started handing out the food one at a time along with a drink. Sadly that day there were more workers than there was food to give but hopefully as more people are aware about PlusOne that won’t happen again.
Right now the following restaurants are participating in this year long campaign:
If you’re interested in helping, just PlusOne to your bill when ordering from one of the restaurants above. If you’re a restaurant owner and want to participate, you can do so by clicking [Here]
[YouTube]
Our friend TJCfilms shot a short documentary about PlusOne which you can also watch above.
Finally, for more information on the campaign and to find out how you could also volunteer, visit their website [Here]
Back in May I posted a rumor that Alshaya was bringing Garrett’s Popcorn to Kuwait and now it’s been officially announced. Alshaya signed an exclusive Middle East franchise partnership agreement with Garrett’s and they’ll be opening their first store later this year in the Avenues. [Link]
Gourmet Magazine have a feature article listing some of the best burgers from around the world and Kuwait made the list. The featured burger from Kuwait is the Kuwait City edition burger from Smashburger. I haven’t had Smashburger yet so I can’t vouch for them but I am curious to try it now. Here is the link to the full list [Link]
Thanks Nasser
Social Slave put together a short list of restaurants serving Iftar buffets along with their prices. The list needs more hotels but it’s a good start. [Link]
Shani, for every occasion.
Local tshirt brand Capital District have a new line of tshirts which were done in collaboration with Slider Station. From the 3 different colored shirts I ordered the burger one pictured above since I thought it was black but disappointingly turned out to be brown. You can check out the tshirts on the Capital District website, the Slider Station ones start with “SS”. [Link]
Trying to be Fahad is back and from now till Friday he’s going to be sharing various tips on how to surivive Ramadan with your health intact. He already started today with Pre-Futoor tips which you can read [Here]
Had lunch today at OFK and tried their new no-frills burger called The Emperor. It comes with a thick 8oz beef patty, cheddar cheese, roasted onions and a soft milk bun. No ketchup, no mustard and no special sauce, just a pure real burger. The verdict? Right now I think it’s the best burger in Kuwait.
After posting about On Cost the other day I decided to pass by and check it out myself. From the pictures (and logo) it looked like Kuwait’s version of Costco and on some level it is but mostly it isn’t. The place turned out to be a lot smaller than I was expecting it to be. There also isn’t an electronics section, a clothing section or a hardware or home-ware section. The way everything is displayed thought make it looks like a Costco but it’s more of a supermarket then a full fledged all in one retailer. I picked up a label maker from their small office supply section. I got it for around KD3 less than I had seen it somewhere else.
Finding the place was easy. Just take the 6th Ring Road and if 360 Mall is on your right keep heading straight past the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium. Keep driving until you pass the new Kuwait University campus on your left (currently just hills and hills of sand) and then after that in a bit you’ll see a sign for the 604 exit. Once you take the exit stop at the traffic light and then take a left and pass under the bridge. Then keep driving straight until you get to a roundabout, you should spot what looks like a huge ass mall in the middle of the desert on your right, that’s the vegetable market and On Cost is located there.
Update: Here is a link to the location on [Google Maps]
This is going to be a somewhat strange review since I have no idea what I ate or what ingredients made up my meal. I don’t even like vegetables but when I found out about the place from @basilalsalem’s Instagram, I decided to pass by and try it out.
Green Land is an Indian restaurant located in Souk Al Mubarkia. It looked pretty trendy based on Basil’s picture but my first impression got a bit tarnished since the table cloth on my table had food stains on it. Turns out they don’t change them after each customer but instead just brush off the dirt. That’s just gross.
I ordered a bunch of things for me and my brother, most of which were recommended by Basil and some by the waiter. Here is the whole list:
Masala Dosa KD0.900
This is pictured above, it looks like an oversized crepe but instead of it being filled with Nutella it’s filled with a potato mash of a sort and comes with Marak sauce on the side which is spicy and full of flavor.
Subzi Maharaja KD1.600
I believe this dish is the one pictured at the bottom of this post. No idea what’s exactly inside just that it’s a mixture of vegetables and topped with a bit of cheese. It kicked ass. Definitely worth going back for.
Dal Makhni KD1.250
I also have no idea what this dish was. It’s picture in the photo below (it’s the pot on the right). It was also great, my brother preferred the Subzi Maharaja but for me both are equally as good. If the Subzi Maharaja has one slight advantage it’s that it’s less saucy and so easier to eat with bread.
Poori KD0.300
Easily the best poori I’ve ever had. The order comes 8 in a basket each around the size of a CD. They aren’t very oily and are delicious.
Butter Nan KD0.400
Again the best butter nan I’ve ever had. The order comes 4 in a basket.
Phulkas (Chapathi) KD0.400 (for 2 orders)
Great but waited for the poori and nan to run out before ending with these.
Mango Juice KD1.250
They have a juice stand in the middle of the restaurant that makes fresh juice by order. I went with the Mango juice and it was great since the mangos used were ripe.
Water Melon Juice KD1.250
My brother ordered this and I tried it. Tastes exactly like you’re eating water melon so it’s very refreshing.
Small Water KD0.450 (for 3 orders)
———————
Bill Total: KD7.800
Although we started off on the wrong foot with a dirty table cloth, I have to say the food made up for it. As I said I don’t like vegetables but these dishes were so delicious that I realized I probably don’t like vegetables because I’ve been having them the wrong way. Kinda like how I grew up hating zucchini and then I tried it grilled a few months back and now love it. All the breads we had were great, even the dough of the crepe looking dish was delicious and kinda makes me want to go back with a jar of Nutella and ask them to spread it all over the inside. Price wise they’re on the affordable side with just the juices adding a bulk to our bill. The service was fast and the waiters friendly and helpful. Their menu is huge with no descriptions so you either have to know the dishes or get recommendations like I did. I had a good time and I’m definitely going back to try more stuff.
Green Land is located at the edge of Souk Al Mubarkia in Kuwait City in the block behind Shater Abbas Restaurant. If you ask around for Shater Abbas everyone knows it. They open from 8AM to 4PM and then again from 6PM to 11PM. Their phone number is 22424246 or 22424247
Update: Forgot to add an important point. They don’t accept Knet or credit cards so make sure you bring cash with you.
