Category: Food & Drinks

A twitter follower sent me a link to a picture he took of a Shake Shack now hiring sign he spotted at the Al Bairaq Mall food court. I really hope they aren’t opening their first branch there. [Picture]

Thanks Nawaf

So we can now mark off Red Lobster and Olive Garden from our restaurants we need to have in Kuwait list. What’s still missing? Wendy’s, A&W, Five Guys, Jack in the Box, White Castle, Arby’s, Cheese Cake Factory, In-N-Out and Taco Bell. [Link]

via SomeContrast

Cute. [YouTube]

I was showing a friend of mine a couple of weeks back a post a friend of mine did on Blog Baladi about a popular taouk place in Lebanon called Massaad. My friend told me that the brother of the owner of Masaad actually has a small place here in Kuwait where they made similar taouk sandwiches and that the place was near my house. So I decided to go there and try it out.

I am a huge fan of a place in Lebanon called Malak al Taouk. They’re another popular Lebanese taouk place and they’re known for their HUGE sandwiches (check picture above). Tilal Lebanan doesn’t have sandwiches as big as theirs but they do have taouk sandwiches that are the closest thing to a Malak al Taouk sandwich in Kuwait.

Finding the place was pretty easy for me but I drew a map for anyone else who’s interested in finding the place. It’s located on traffic light street in Salmiya, I don’t know what the name of the street is but if you are on the 4th ring road and you take a right to exit Amman Street, head left on the first traffic light and then you should find the place tucked off the side of the road after I think the second or third traffic light. The place doesn’t look fancy at all, he has a few tables outside and inside but I just pass by pick up my sandwich and leave. He does a taouk platter and other variations of the taouk but I’ve just tried one of their sandwiches which is their regular taouk sandwich. It usually comes with garlic and pickles but I tell them to make it with fries and cabbage salad (similar to Malek al Taouk). I would recommend you have the sandwich my way since for one thing you don’t have the garlic issue.

I think their taouk sandwich is really great. I’ve had it a few times already and I love it. I do wish their cabbage salad was a bit better and they added more of it (an easy fix) but overall I think it’s the best taouk sandwich I’ve had in Kuwait. Price? Just KD1. One sandwich can be filling, I usually have around one and a half though. Their telephone number is 25615218

Update: I was just informed that Tilal Lebnan no longer belongs to the brother of the Lebanese Massaad restaurant. Seems he recently got into a fight with his partners and he has left Tilal Lebnan.

Salad Creations are opening their second branch at 360 Mall. Their first branch is located near my office in Baitak Tower which is practical during work days but not on the weekends or evenings since Baitak Tower is like a ghost town after working hours. The 360 Mall branch should make their healthy salads and wraps easily accessible to a lot more people and hopefully start a trend with more healthy restaurants popping up at shopping mall food courts. They’re soft launching this Monday and I wish them the best of luck. [Link]

Was also craving a Big Cookie from Hardees but already cheated and had that.

This is chicken.

Say hello to mechanically separated chicken. It’s what all fast-food chicken is made from—things like chicken nuggets and patties. Also, the processed frozen chicken in the stores is made from it.

Basically, the entire chicken is smashed and pressed through a sieve—bones, eyes, guts, and all. it comes out looking like this.

There’s more: because it’s crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color.

[Source]

Thanks Fahad

NYC artist Sally Davies took a Happy Meal, put it on her living room table and decided to take a picture of it over a period of time. The shot above is the Happy Meal after leaving it out for 137 days. [Link]

A reader spotted the above at the Mall of Emirates map/categories. According to my contact at Alshaya, the opening of Shake Shack in Kuwait has been pushed till Q1 of next year so they better not open up in Dubai before Kuwait.

Thanks xeonali

To be served next to the world’s biggest bowl of chicken curry.

The record-breaking naan was 10ft by 4ft and has a total area of 40 sq ft – the equivalent of 167 normal size naan breads – and took bakers over five hours to make and 8 staff to carry.

[Link]

I get emails all the time from people asking me to post about their new website but majority of the time they’re very poorly put together that I just can’t post about it or recommend it to anyone. Yesterday I did get impressed though when the guys behind a new website called Yalla Wain emailed me.

It’s actually a pretty nice looking site, no flash (that’s a very good thing), it’s fast, simple and practical. YallaWain.com is a site where people can go read and find out about restaurants in Kuwait. You can also sign up and write your own reviews or leaves tips for other people. Even the way its setup so you could navigate around the site is easy since you can choose by location, type of food or country the food is from.

The only negative thing I have to say is the fact you need to be invited to be able to write a review and not just a simple sign up like most sites. I think that’s NOT a great move. The site just launched today and it needs as many reviews as possible to make it successful. Locking up registration and having it invite only means its going to take a lot longer than it should to get some decent reviews in. Anyway check out the site, I like it. [YallaWain.com]

Hamburger expert and filmmaker George Motz meditates on meat and makes the perfect burger. [Link]

I passed by Pinkberry last night and noticed they’ve increased the amount of staff from the usual 4 to 15. I am guessing the majority are being trained for the other two new stores that are opening up but with 15 employees the line was nearly non-existent.

In other frozen yogurt news, I spotted what looks like a frozen yogurt machine being installed and tested at IKEA!

This is just amazing! I can’t stop laughing. The Arabic lines read:

Istanbul in Hawalli
Restaurant and coffee shop under Turkish management
Hawalli – Beirut Street
Next to Al Ameed Coffee, in front of the Pakistani School

Thanks Phoenix

I took the picture above outside Costa at Marina Crescent but I’ve noticed quite a few restaurants have also closed down during Ramadan for renovations. I never liked that Costa branch since I found it too bright and uncomfortable. I’m not a fan of coffee shops anyway but I do prefer the cozy feel I get from Starbucks.