Category: Food & Drinks

Contrary to the rumors, Kei hasn’t shutdown and moved out of Marina Crescent. What’s happened is they’ve just reduced the size of the place by half and sold the other half to Caribou Coffee. I think that’s actually a good move since their Marina Crescent branch was fairly over-sized and I like my sushi places small and cozy. There is no opening date yet but for your Kei fix you can still visit their JW Marriott location.

I am guessing Fahad would not approve this.

Although I’ve been trying out burgers on this trip, I rarely have any when I come to Lebanon since the burgers here aren’t good at all. Instead I usually have other things:

Salads
I think the salads in Lebanon are better than the ones I have in Kuwait. The salads are lighter and taste better, probably because restaurants have access to better produce. I had the one pictured above yesterday and it came with goat cheese, walnuts, baby tomatoes, lettuce and figs for a bit of sweetness. It was great.

Pizza
For some odd reason pizza is extremely popular in Lebanon in the same way burger joints are popular in Kuwait. It seems every place around the corner makes pizza and most of them are pretty good. I end up having pizza maybe every other day and every time at a different place.

The Healthy Alternative
When I’m on vacation I’m off my regular diet but I also don’t like overdoing it since I end up feeling guilty. Other than salads there is one healthy dish that I love having and it’s the one above called the light grilled chicken. It’s delicious and very tender grilled chicken that comes with steamed carrots, mushrooms, broccoli and corn. I also order a side of honey mustard with it and I end up wiping the plate clean since everything on it including the broccoli just tastes amazing.

A few burger places have recently popped up in Lebanon and I decided I would try a new place every day on this trip. So far I’ve tried two places and have ended up with mixed results which you could read about on my Lebanese blog [Here]. Best part is, since I’m on vacation everyday is a cheat day!

They shut down The Noodle House on the Gulf Road at the start of Ramadan. I thought they were going to renovate but yesterday they put up the hoarding above saying the Moti Mahal Indian restaurant was coming soon. I hadn’t heard of the restaurant before but since there is already a Moti Mahal open in the UAE, I’m guessing we’re getting the same one. [Link]

I found out last night that Cheesecake Factory is going to be located in Avenues Phase III right across from where Gaucho Grill is currently located. From what I understood, that whole outdoor area is actually going to get covered in glass and become indoor I’m guessing similar to the picture below which Avenues released last year. I also heard Cheesecake Factory is going to be around 1,000m2 which is pretty huge but not very surprising since they own the mall anyway. No idea when it’s going to open up but my bet is next year with the rest of Phase III.

Am I wrong to think the article below from Gulf News is extremely difficult to read and very confusing to understand?

Manama: Kuwaitis expressed mixed reactions to a decision by municipal authorities in the north-eastern Italian town of Citadella not to allow shops to sell kebabs and other “non-traditional” food.

The council of the medieval walled town in Veneto on Friday said that kebab was not part of their tradition and identity. Mayor Massimo Bitonci of the anti-immigration Northern League party said that the ban was made on health grounds against “dishes cooked and then left in the open for a long time”.

Food savvy Kuwaitis reacted by focussing on the quality of kebab and the possible motives behind the decision.

“They are right since kebab is not healthy food,” Bu Msaad wrote on Al Aan news portal. “It is mainly fat and skin that are well spiced in order to fool clients,” he said.

According to “Kuwaiti Citizen”, Italians are “free to decide what should be sold and what should be banned in their country”.

“An appropriate reaction by Arabs for instance is to ban the sale of pizzas,” he wrote.

However for Mohammad Bu Jassoom, the issue went beyond the quality or origin of food. “It is not about food. The problem is that there are some people in that town who want to hurt immigrants and Muslims. They are willing to use all means to achieve their goal,” he wrote.

Kebab generally refers to shish kebab served on the skewer or döner kebab served in bread with a salad and a dressing.

It consisted traditionally of grilled, roasted, and stewed small cuts of lamb meat. However, as it gained global popularity and depending on local tastes and taboos, it may now be beef, goat, chicken, pork, fish or even vegetarian foods such as falafel or tofu.

Bitonci, who also sits as a deputy for the Northern League, made headlines in 2009 when he introduced measures against beggars and street sellers as well as parking restrictions for caravans to dissuade travelling people.

He has also proposed mandatory public service for under-16s found drinking alcohol. The anti-immigration Northern League is part of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, ruling coalition. [Source]

I am curious to know how many Kuwaitis live in Citadella since their whole population is just 20,000…

Looks like Baking Tray is going to be opening up in Avenues Phase II. They’re opening up in place of where Obika used to be which I think is kind of a dead zone right now. But, with SNOG opening up next door and Phase III opening up next year, that passageway should end up getting more traffic.

For the month of Ramadan, Solo Pizza Napulitana will be supporting Bayt Abdullah’s Childrens’ Hospice as part of their social responsibility. For every pizza and Nutella Dario that is ordered, half a Kuwaiti Dinar will be donated towards Bayt Abduallah. If having the best pizza in Kuwait wasn’t a good enough reason to go there, now you have a bigger incentive. Their opening hours for Ramadan will be from Saturday to Thursday, 10pm to 1am (Closed on Fridays). Here is their website with directions to the place. [Link]

I know many of you feel we already have too many burger places in Kuwait but I have to obviously disagree with that. I think we still have room for a couple of more burger joints and the couple being Five Guys and In-N-Out. From what I was told by one of my readers, it looks like Five Guys is coming to Kuwait.

According to the reader him and his partner were trying to strike a deal with Five Guys and after getting all the paperwork, doing a feasibility study and agreeing on all the terms, they contacted Five Guys again only to be told that they had given the franchise rights to someone else in Kuwait. The rumor is Al Homaizi got the franchise rights and I’ve already sent an email to my contact there hoping to get a confirmation on this but I still haven’t received a reply yet.

What does that mean? It means all we need now is In-N-Out and we will officially be the burger capital of the world.

Thanks Fahad

This is a cool site where you type in an airport and you get a birds-eye view of it along with pictures taken at there. The funny thing is when you search for Kuwait you get 4 pictures, 3 of which are of McDonalds. That’s not a good sign. [Link]

This is a list of confirmed (or at least 99% confirmed) and unconfirmed international food chains that will be opening in Kuwait. If I’ve missed anything out leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list

Confirmed
– Olive Garden
– Red Lobster
– LongHorn Steakhouse
– IHOP (International House of Pancakes)
– The Hummingbird Bakery
– Pei Wei Asian Diner
– The Cheesecake Factory
– Texas Roadhouse
– Potbelly Sandwich Works
– SNOG Frozen Yogurt
– The Upper Crust Pizzeria
– Tim Hortons

Unconfirmed
– Arby’s [source]
– Wendy’s [source]

Wishlist
– Five Guys
– In-N-Out
– Ben’s Cookies
– Pret A Manger

The other day while channel surfing I saw a commercial for a peel-able ice cream I think on MBC. You peel the ice cream like a banana and you can eat the peel and the ice cream inside. Does anyone know if it’s available in Kuwait yet?

I was checking LoYAC’s Blog again today and found a post on a pizza eating competition that was held two days back at Pizza Inn. The winner was Fahad Al-Baroud (pictured above) who managed to eat 13 and 3/4 pieces of pizza in 12 minutes. I’m personally still waiting for McDonald’s to hold a burger eating competition. You can read more on this event [Here]

Does Marina Mall really need another Pinkberry? If it was me I’d open up Shake Shack in that location. The space is large enough to have indoor seating and in the winter there would be plenty of room to enjoy burgers outside in the open.

Update: Alshaya are opening Pinkberry in Selfridges! [Link]