Category: Food & Drinks

I was taking this shortcut through Shamiya today and I accidentally found what I think is the only Filfila branch left in Kuwait. I thought all of them shutdown but it looks like there is one left.

I get emails from people quite often asking me to try their desserts but I always turn them down politely since chocolate is one of the things I am supposed to stay away from because of my acid reflux. But, the past week I’ve been craving chocolate for some odd reason so when I got an email from Hot Pot asking me to try their chocolate pudding I decided what the hell let me give it a shot.

They delivered 4 small pots of hot chocolate pudding to my office and I decided to share it with some co-workers. Firstly I have to say the ceramic pots the pudding come in are very cool. Once everyone was done with their pudding I forced them all to hand me back the pots so I could take them back home with me. I like the very simple design of it. Taste wise the chocolate pudding reminded me a lot of the Slider Station one which is pretty good. I actually think they use the same chocolate because they’re very similar flavor wise so I definitely recommend it.

I got my hot pots for free but their prices are as follows:
Big Box: One big bowl enough for 12 to 14 people KD12
Small Box: Four small bowls enough for 4 people KD5

They officially launched two days ago on the 1st of November. They deliver everyday except for Friday. To order you can call or sms them on 60023030

www.q8hotpot.com

Look’s like Hard Cook has some competition.

Picture taken by k.thekuwaiti

Very cool. [Link]

A friend of mine was passing by Wagamama at 360 Mall and managed to capture this picture of the interior. Looks like they are sticking to their signature long shared tables but they also seem to have some smaller 4 person booths. Wagamama was supposed to open in September but they never did.

Thanks B!

I was being sarcastic earlier today with my worlds largest hummus post in which I also jokingly stated that the next record would be the world’s largest tabbouleh. Well a couple of hours ago they actually went ahead and broke the record for the world’s largest tabbouleh weighing a massive 3.5 ton and kicking Israel’s ass once again who only managed to put together a 2.6 ton tabbouleh. Is the largest shawerma next? We can only hope. [Link]

If breaking the record with the world’s largest kebbe dish wasn’t enough Lebanon has just broken the record for the largest hummus. Take that Israel! Coming soon, world’s largest tabbouleh… [Link]

Note: I am being sarcastic

Update: No fucking way!! I just read this in the news..

Only one day after breaking a Guiness book record with a huge Hummus plate that weighed more than two tons, Lebanon broke today a third Guinness record for food this year, this time with a 3557 Kgs plate of Tabbouleh.

That’s freaky how my sarcastic comment turned into a reality.

Also another news source stated the following:

The newly acquired title surpasses Israel’s 2.6 ton by 3557 kilograms.

So take that Israelx2!

My favorite dessert at the moment is the cinnamon sticks from Auntie Anne’s. I had it for the first time last week and since then I’ve had it nearly every day. If you haven’t tried it you should. 6 pieces for 900fils.

You can now order Choowy Goowy cookies through BBM. Just scan the barcode above or add them the old fashioned way via PIN 2119FB77. According to the owner, if you currently order 3 cookie jars through BBM you get a 4th one for free.

The new episode of The Chef’s Table is out. The burgers in the video look really good and the fact that I am really hungry at the moment isn’t helping. According to the info attached to the video, Eighty6 Bistro is now open in the Avenues. Lunch is served from 1pm – 4pm, and dinner from 8pm to 11pm. [YouTube]

Until Shake Shack opens up in Kuwait next year, here is a link where you can replicate your own Shake Shack burgers at home. I am going to try and make the Shake Shack special sauce this weekend. [Link]

Note: At the bottom of the article there is a link to the detailed recipe.

There are a ton of dessert websites popping up in Kuwait every week but this is the first one in a long time that has caught my attention. Buzberry just posted about Sweet’n Cup, a new dessert start up in Kuwait. They only sell one item and thats a chocolate cup cake covered in chocolate sauce and maltesers. Maltesers by the way are my favorite chocolate so thats why I am probably very attracted to this. I haven’t ordered from them yet since I just found out about them but once I do I will post my feedback here. If you’re interested visit their website sweetncup.com

According to a news article dated June of this year, the Arby’s and Wendy’s franchises for the Middle East and North Africa were taken by a Saudi conglomerate. This sadly means the first branches which are scheduled to open early 2010 won’t be in Kuwait but will be in Saudi.

Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, Inc. (NYSE: WEN) today announced an agreement with Saudi Arabia-based Al Jammaz Group to build 135 dual-branded Wendy’s® and Arby’s® restaurants in nine countries in the Middle East and North Africa over the next decade.

Here is the link to the article. [Link]

Thanks ElHaddad

Sultan is now carrying Pepsi cans with the new logo and design. They are imported not the locally produced ones and they’re also caffeine free but they look very cool. I know a lot of people hate the new designs but I think its a nice direction away from all the clutter and junk that’s currently around.

I started barbecuing during Ramadan but since the weather has improved a lot more people will start barbecuing now. Actually by visiting Sultan Center you can tell its BBQ season since the Sharq branch for example is now highlighting BBQ equipment when you first come in. So here are some tips by me if you want to start barbecuing:

The Grill
One of the best grill brands you can get in Kuwait is Weber. Sultan Center, Ace Hardware and Sears carry Weber brand grills. From the three Sears is the cheapest while Sultan is the most expensive. Problem with Sears though is they don’t have a large variety of grills nor accessories. Ace Hardware on the other hand is just slightly more expensive than Sears but have the largest variety of grills in Kuwait with a ton of accessories. I picked up the 18 1/2 inch Weber grill pictured above for KD34 from Ace. It was KD36 at Sultan and KD33 at Sears. There are cheaper Weber grills and a lot more expensive and bigger ones but if you don’t want to spend you can find some no brand grills for under KD5.

The Coals
Two best places to buy coals are Sultan and Ace Hardware. Again I found Ace Hardware cheaper and they alsonhad a larger variety of coals some of which you can see in the picture above.

Fuel gels, starter cubes or lighter fluid?
Personally I hate waiting for the coals to get ready so I use a combination of starter cubes and fuel gel to light up my coals. Gel is better than lighter fluid since it doesn’t leave any smell or flavor behind. Both Sultan and Ace sell fuel gels, both cost KD2.200 but the one at Ace is a better brand plus if you’re picking up your grill and coal from there you might as well pick up the gel. For cubes Sultan has them while Ace doesn’t. Another tip, have a blow dryer handy since it helps speed up the process considerably. I got a cheap one for KD4 from Carrefour and combined with the fuel gel and cubes I could have a grill ready in 10 minutes.

Accessories
Both Ace and Sultan have a large variety of accessories. If you want a chimney starter to help speed up the coal burning process then you need to get it from Sultan Center where they have two models to choose from. For gloves, BBQ tools, cleaning brushes etc.. I’ve mixed and matched from both Ace and Sultan, it’s really personal preference and both have cheap and expensive options to choose from.

Burgers and more
I’ve been making some great burgers with fresh Sultan Center meat patties. Just go up to the meat fridge and tell the employee you want burgers. They will ask you what kind and what weight, I usually go for the 95% lean and a 200 grams patty for me while a 100 grams one for Nat. I don’t make them add any spices although you can ask them to, I prefer adding my own spices at home. For chicken taouk I get it marinated and ready on skewers from Dean & Deluca. 1KG is for KD2.500 compared to Sultan’s KD3.900. It’s really good and the only thing I do to it is swap the green peppers for fresh mushrooms before I grill them. Finally for kebabs I get them from the butcher which is located between La Baguette and Dodo on Baghdad Street in Salmiya. He makes two kinds, one with onions the other with garlic, I prefer the onions version. 1KG is for around KD2.500 and he prepares it for you while you wait. I can’t recommend any other items to BBQ since I haven’t tried anything else. Actually I did try to BBQ a steak but didn’t like the result because I think I chose the wrong type of meat. If you can recommend me something that would be great, just leave it as a comment below.

And that concludes my BBQ post. The prices I mentioned above are 99% accurate, my memory isn’t that great and I round up numbers so if they don’t turn out to be exactly the same don’t shoot me. If you have any tips, suggestions or questions just leave them below.