Search: “kuwait”

As someone who interacts with cops on what seems like a weekly basis, I don’t have an issue with the cops being strict, I have an issue with their inconsistency. Either punish illegal parkers all year round and punish them wherever they might be around Kuwait not just the downtown area, or don’t. These short campaigns don’t do anything in the long run. I liked their idea of taking license plates off since it seemed like less work for them when compared to towing a car, and so something they could do on the long run. But even that they weren’t doing consistently.

I got pulled over last month for not using my turn signal but this morning for example I saw a car drive the wrong way down the street and even though she passed a cop car, the cop didn’t pull her over or anything. Why is it ok to break the law sometimes? I love driving in Lebanon because its complete anarchy, you do whatever you want and nobody cares. But I’m also perfectly fine driving in the States or any European country where the rules are pretty strict and everyone follows them. I just don’t like being in this grey area right now where sometimes we’re punished and sometimes we aren’t.

Funny story, a few weeks ago some person cut in front of my friends car while I was with him and a cop happened to be behind us when it happened. The cop pulled both of our cars over and then the cop came up to my friends window and told him to come down and beat up the other driver who cut him off. NO JOKE. My friend told him he had a broken toe and had a cast on so he couldn’t go down so the cop told him ok he could drive off.

The other day on my way to the gym I saw police cars and tow trucks removing illegally parked cars in the downtown area. An hour later after leaving my gym, that same strip had cars illegally parked again. So I don’t think towing illegally parked cars is gonna solve the issue, not unless this is something they’re willing to pursue all day long and all year round. Thats just my opinion though…

The local blog Black Coffee has compiled a list of local Arabic and English book clubs. According to their post, there are 16 Arabic book clubs and only 3 English ones which are Book Therapy, Q8 Readers and The Divan. That discrepancy might explain why we don’t have a large English bookshop, just not enough English readers compared to Arabic ones. If you know of any more let me know in the comments.

For the full list of book clubs click [Here]

M.E’AT is a new restaurant that opened up this past Thursday on the Seef Strip. It’s a small little place and one I hope will do really well (I think it will for sure) because it’s now one of my new favorite spots. M.E’AT is short for Middle Eastern Eatery and it’s a local creation brought to you by the same people behind Pick. It’s a build your own bowl kind of place and I’m loving it.

M.E’AT is tiny, there aren’t tables inside and just a handful of tables outside. It’s more of a takeaway or eat in your car kind of place and I don’t mind that since I love eating in my car while watching youtube or listening to a podcast. They have a bunch of ready made bowls on their menu but I didn’t even look at those since I went straight to creating my own one. They have over 100 different ingredients for you to choose from so to make the process easy for you, they pass you a sheet with all the items you can choose from and you just tick the ones you want. The sheet is divided into 5 parts:

Base (choose up to 2)
Proteins (add as many proteins as you want, each with a different cost)
Toppings (add up to 9)
Dressing (choose up to 2)
Nuts & Garnish (choose up to 2)

So for example for my first bowl I ended up going for the following:

Base: Baby spinach, 3 colors quinoa
Proteins: Tenderloin beef (2 portions)
Toppings: spring onion, grilled zucchini, fresh mushrooms, avocado, roasted squash
Dressing: Mushroom demi glace
Nuts & Garnish: Flax seeds

I loved how many different items I could choose from and this is gonna be the perfect place for me after my gym which is walking distance since I could have my proteins, my good carbs and my greens all in one bowl. If you’re counting your macros you’re gonna love this place even more since if you turn around the build your bowl sheet, you get the exact macros for all the ingredients they use. So say you add tuna to your bowl, you know you’re getting 89 calories, 0 carbs, 20g of protein and 1g of fat from the portion of tuna they add to your bowl. No other place in Kuwait does this from what I’m aware of, and even if they do I highly doubt they do to this extent (100+ items). Here is a link to the front and back of the build your own bowl sheet so you can get a better idea of what I’m talking about [Front] [Back]

In around a months time they’ll also be launching a mobile application which will allow you to create your own bowl while the app automatically calculates your macros. You’ll then be able to save and name your bowl so you could share it with other people, or speed up your ordering process in the store by just giving the cashier the name of your bowl. That’s really smart.

Price wise I think they’re fairly affordable considering the vast amount of food you’re getting. Expect to pay anywhere between KD3 to to KD4 for a custom bowl with protein. I think it’s really good value for money.

The only negative thing about the place is their name. I think M.E’AT sounds like its a steakhouse which it isn’t and I also don’t think it’s short for Middle Eastern Eatery since even on their wall (pictured on top) the initials for that would be M.E’EAT. This doesn’t distract from the good food, but it’s something that has been coming up a lot when I tell people about the place since I have to keep explaining that even though it’s called M.E’AT, they don’t really mean meat.

Other than that though I’m a big fan of the place and hope they open up more locations around Kuwait. If you’re interested in trying them out they’re located right next to Elevation Burger on the Seef Strip. Here is their location on [Google Maps] and you can check out their instagram account @meatkwt

If you’re into comic books and graphic novels you really don’t have that many options in Kuwait. Azgardian is a small store dedicated to just comics and according to them, they’re the first comic book store in Kuwait. The store is located in Rihab Complex but they also have a delivery service if you don’t want to drive into Hawalli. For more information and to check out some of their collection, visit their instagram account [Here]

Somehow my three favorite breakfast spots in Kuwait all ended up next to each other at the cultural center. I used to go there just for Baker & Spice but in the last two weeks Cocoa Room opend up there and then Rococoa introduced a new breakfast menu. Just like that, JACC became an overnight breakfast and brunch hotspot.

Cocoa Room
The new Cocoa Room opened up recently at JACC with an updated breakfast menu and a completely new lunch and dinner offering. I passed by twice during their tastings but haven’t been able to get a table since due to their popularity. This past weekend I dropped by twice at around 10AM but they had already closed the breakfast waiting list because the it got too long. I even got their reservation number last night and tried to book a table for this coming weekend and they’re already fully booked! If you’ve never been they have a large assortment of breakfast items including a huge list of pancakes and egg Benedict’s to choose from along with a huge dessert list. Recently they added an eggplant fetteh dish to their menu (pictured above) which has become my new favorite breakfast item but their turkish eggs and Cocoa Room eggs Benedict are also two of my favorites. If you’re interested in passing by them either do so early, or try and reserve ahead of time by calling 22083195. They only have a few tables available to book by phone, the rest are reserved for walk-ins.

Rococoa
In the past week I’ve gone to Rococoa a total of five times, I went to their breakfast and dinner tasting early on in the week and then back again three times with friends for their breakfast. The last two were because Cocoa Room was fully booked, but also because I really like the new Rococoa breakfast menu. Rococoa launched a new menu last week that include a bunch of interesting items like my favorites, the Scotch Egg Tart (pictured above) and the Cloudy Eggs. Both those dishes are pretty unique and so make breakfast a little more interesting. The service can be super slow at times but the food makes up for it. For reservations you can call them on 55222244.

Baker & Spice
Last but not least is Baker & Spice. Located between Cocoa Room and Rococoa, they’ve got a pretty good breakfast as well. I’m usually there for their Turkish eggs or omelette and since the food is light, it doesn’t feel like a cheat meal and so I never feel guilty afterwards. But like Cocoa Room, Baker & Spice tends to fill up pretty quickly but you could call and reserve ahead of time by calling them on 98002331.

The weather is getting better and better so if you’re looking for a good breakfast or brunch spot to go to, I can’t think of a more convenient place to go to other than JACC. Just try and book a table ahead of time or be prepared to walk around the fountain area while you wait for a table to free up.

A friend of mine moved back to Kuwait last week and we were thinking of a place to go have lunch and she asked me if I had heard of a new plant-based cafe called “Be”. I hadn’t and found it really strange that a friend of mine who didn’t live in Kuwait knew about it and yet I didn’t, so obviously I had to go check the place out. So Friday I passed by the place for lunch and I think I really like the place.

They open at 2PM and we got there a bit earlier so we sat in their garden until they opened. While waiting we noticed they had a small area where they had vegetables and herbs planted, turns out they use them in some of their items. The owners mum was also really sweet and brought us some cold kombucha to try out while we waited for them to open. Once they opened we went in and explored the space. The cafe is located on the ground floor of one of the chalets at the Rimal Resort (next to Mayas). When you first walk in you have the main cafe seating area, and then in the back they have one room which they’ve turned into a little shop with some items for sale and then another larger room which they’ve turned into a cozy seating area.

Their main food menu isn’t that big with just two wraps, a pho dish and a acai bowl. The rest of the menu is made up of smoothies, juices, hot drinks and a bunch of small dessert bites which you could pick out from their fridge. We tried all the food items on the menu and my favorites were easily their tofu wrap and the acai bowl, both of which were delicious. On Saturdays they have more food items as part of their “Soulful Saturdays” menu which usually includes an Indian Thali.

I really liked Be Cafe, the space was really chill and the location is pretty great. Their menu is pretty small for now but it’s not a bad place to just meet up with a friend for some drinks that doesn’t involve coffee. They’re currently open from 2PM to 8PM (closed on Sundays) and you can follow them on instagram @be_kwt. Here is their location on [Google Maps]

Kuwait Wataniya Airways announced launching flights to Beirut, Lebanon, as of November 9, with four flights weekly to and from Kuwait International Airport.[Source]

Has anyone flown with Wataniya Airways? If yes then how was your experience? They’re currently running a buy one get one free offer on all their destinations. [Link]

So there is this small bookshop in the basement of 360 Mall that has been open for I don’t know how long. I never thought about going in since it didn’t really look enticing. But, this past weekend while waiting for a friend, I decided to kill time by checking out what the bookshop had to offer and to my surprise, turns out quite a bit.

One of my favorite publishers is Phaidon Press and I’ve never been able to find any of their books in Kuwait until now. For some odd reason, this tiny bookshop in the basement of 360 Mall carries Phaidon books along with books by the publishers Taschen and Thames & Hudson. So basically the three publishers that have the best design, architect, photography and food related books. They don’t really have a large selection, but at least they carry these quality publishers. For those of you looking for a Moleskin notebooks, they also carry them.

If you want to pass by, the bookshop is called Al Asriya International Publishing & Distribution Co. W.L.L. and they are located inside the Jashanmal shop in the basement of 360 Mall. Near the entrance/exit to the parking lot and opposite the Zain branch.

Forbes released their annual “Top 100 Startups In The Arab World” list and Tap Payments was the only startup from Kuwait that made the list coming in at #66. The majority of the startups on the list are based out of UAE, Lebanon and Egypt.

It’s pretty impressive that Tap made the list, but pretty disappointing overall for Kuwait that we don’t have more successful startups (also why isn’t Carriage on that list?). For the full top 100 list, click [Here]

Last week I started getting comments under an old post of mine on life in Kuwait back in the 1950s (links at bottom of this post). When I went through the comments I found something incredibly cool, kids who grew up in Kuwait together in the 1950s were reconnecting in the comments under the posts. Not only that but other people who grew up during the era were also leaving their stories under those posts. How amazing is that?

If you haven’t read those posts before I’d recommend you do, and once you’re done reading them just go through the comments to read the conversations and other stories from that era. Here are the links:

Life in Kuwait back in the 1950s – Part 1
Life in Kuwait back in the 1950s – Part 2

Just a quick update, if you’ve ordered something online and shipped it to Kuwait via snail mail (USPS for example), you now need to pick up your package from Al Sadiq and not Kaifan. They’ve changed the pick up location and here it is on [Google Maps]

Thanks Meshari!

The other day while trying to get more information on the new Jazeera Airways terminal I checked out the website of the architects behind the project and ended up finding some old photos from really old projects they had worked on. One series of photos I liked was of a gas station they had designed. I couldn’t find any information on this project but I’m assuming it was completed in the 50s or 60s. You can check out all the photos by clicking “read the rest” below or visit their website for photos of their other projects [Here]

It’s been over 6 years since Cocoa Room first opened up on the Seef Strip next to Slider Station. Over the years it went through some pretty major changes but in the end settled down to become a breakfast place, and a great one. On Friday mornings for brunch you’ll usually find me at one of two places, either Baker & Spice or Cocoa Room. It’s one of my favorite breakfast spots and from what I got to see yesterday, it looks like things are going to get even better.

First of all, some disappointing news, the Cocoa Room as we know it on the Seef Strip is gone. A couple of weeks back they shut it down and the location now is just Slider Station. So if you wanted to say goodbye with one last breakfast there, you’re too late. Cocoa Room is now going to be reopening in a much larger location at the Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre instead. I got a sneak peek of the interior and its a complete revamp of the old Cocoa Room look. Not only have they created a new interior style but they’ve also given the brand a much needed facelift and its looking much more cleaner now (gone is the grungy and gritty look). The new Cocoa Room will also now be opening all day since their new menu will include lunch and dinner items instead of just breakfast.

I’m pretty excited about the relaunch which will be happening really soon. If everything goes according to plan they’re hoping to have the new Cocoa Room open by October 14th. To stay posted, you can follow Cocoa Room on instagram @cocoaroom

Khaled Al Baker, or KB for short is the brand manager and head chef at Meem Cafe. He’s also a good friend of mine and I’ve been wanting to post about him and his transformation of Meem Cafe since I’ve been watching it happen from the very beginning. Just over a year ago, Khaled moved back to Kuwait after studying culinary arts at the Johnson & Wales University in Miami. He started looking for work and decided he wanted to join MMC Catering who had a bunch of popular restaurants including LeNotre, Meem Cafe, Over Jar and Three & Barista. When he applied, one of the tasks they gave him was to pass by Meem Cafe, try their food out and let them know what he thought of it. So he invited me along with a bunch of our other foodie friends (including Hind from PantryBee) and we passed by Meem Cafe and tried out as much food as we could. My overall impression wasn’t that positive with items on the menu that didn’t make sense to be there, and what was there wasn’t that great either. But Khaled was busy taking down notes, he saw a lot of potential and so he went back to MMC with his feedback and they hired him, giving him the task to revamp and upgrade the Meem Cafe menu.

Khaled wasn’t always a chef. He originally studied accounting and finance at the University of Central Florida and then worked 6 years as an accountant in the oil and gas industry. Things started to change right after his cousin opened up the upscale butcher shop Prime Cuts. They started grilling non-stop 5-6 times a week and Khaled would have his home cook put together the sides while he did all the grilling. But his cook kept making the same sides all the time which eventually got boring, so Khaled decided he’d also do the sides himself. He started reading up a lot and experimenting and the more and more he cooked the more and more he was loving it. So he started taking cooking lessons whenever he found any and he cooked for his friends whenever he could before he eventually decided to go back to university to study culinary arts.

Over the past year Khaled has been super busy reorganizing and reinventing the Meem Cafe menu. Because I keep popping over to Meem Cafe to see him whenever I can, the whole thing to me has felt like I’ve been watching a food reality show where the chef goes into a restaurant and just overhauls the menu. The first thing Khaled did was remove all the items that didn’t fit in with the theme of Middle Eastern comfort food. After refocusing the menu under the main theme, he started experimenting with modernizing Arabic classics while also fusing others with different cuisines. He loves cooking and he’s been generally just having fun trying to come up with new dishes like zaatar fries, Lebanese nachos, burrata mana’eesh and braised short ribs hummus. The end result is a lot of good food with a lot of unique flavors. Even his chef coat is infused with Arabic by being designed like a dishdasha while incorporating the shemagh pattern.

While sitting with Khaled and interviewing him for this post I realized where all this passion with Arabic food was stemming from. He thinks that as Arabs we’re losing the food marketing war with items like hummus and pita being considered Israeli and not Arab, while Greek yogurt becoming trendy but not labneh. He thinks that if we don’t start modernizing and refining Arabic cuisine, we’re going to eventually lose it all. I never thought about it in that way but now that I do I’ve started appreciating what his doing a lot more.

If you haven’t been to Meem Cafe for awhile now then I’d recommend you pass by and try it out again. They’ve got four locations, one at the Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center, another in Hamra Tower, another in 360 Mall and the last one in The View in Salmiya. You can also follow Khaled on his instagram account @chefkb

This is completely unconfirmed but yesterday I heard that a Kuwaiti company got the rights for Eggslut in the Middle East. Eggslut is an LA-based gourmet food concept where all the items on their menu feature eggs. I had mentioned Eggslut under my “L.A. Eats” post a few months ago as a place to try out if you’re ever in L.A. If anyone has any information on this rumor please let me know!

Update: It’s confirmed!