canary
various locations
what was consumed: falafel sandwich
when i first got to kuwait, i was determined to do quite a few things. finding my favorite falafel and being able to order in arabic. i was not successful at the latter, but you can be sure i did my darned-est to do the former!
while falafel (i've learned) is a breakfast food, or a snack, it's an anytime food for me. and so, i was happy to try the falafel at canary. and their falafel sandwiches are simple, without a lot of the other additions that other places offer. i prefer the simplicity! i wish i had returned more frequently to eat more falafel and to try their other fare. next time!
seven burgers
traveling
what was consumed: burgers and fries ... go to!
on a cold winter day, at a kuwaiti film festival, the seven burgers folks were in attendance, in their food truck, serving burgers. i had heard about the truck and seen it driving around town, so after a bit of mulling over (and by a bit, i mean 2 seconds) i was happy to try it for myself. even though i had post-film festival dinner plans.
ok, so my food came out a little smashed. it jostled on my way back from the truck and rattled as i was chattering in the "cold" (user error. i was unprepared). but oh boy, was the burger delicious. the potato bread was nice and soft and the patty was cooked just right, with the juice in tact. i like that they give you quite a few sauce options for the fries, but i would recommend you either order the sauce on the side or no side sauce as they cover the fries with sauce.
oh, seven burgers, where are you going next? see you there!
smashburger
the village (and other locations)
what was consumed: smashburger, fries, fried pickels
okokok, so smashburger hails from colorado (i believe). but the first time i had it was in Q8, so it counts as being part of the Q8 burger challenge, right?
some friends and i head over to smashburger even thought we knew that each burger contained an exorbitant number of calories. but there's something about a burger whose meat hangs over the side (i.e., is larger than the bun). and with the requests for additional veggies met, i thoroughly enjoyed my burger. i tried the arabic version and while i'm happy for that experience, i prefer the more usual standard smashburger. classic. on top of everything, there was the super duper fried pickles! what's not to love? i wish i had gone to smashburger more frequently. so, in my stead, please enjoy!
the porch cafe
the avenues' grand avenues
what was consumed: arabic spread on flatbread, eggs benedict (i think), coffee
m (who i used to work with) and i met one day to have "drinks" while meeting with one of her proteges (i miss m!) we sat at the home-y and comfortable porch cafe.
when kdk came to visit, i was determined to find the porch cafe, mostly for the ambiance. the decor is really nice and people watching from the 2nd floor is also loads of fun. while it was a bit of a goose chase, we finally found the cafe and made ourselves at home.
we enjoyed the arabic spread on flatbread. yes, there was probably little that went in to preparing the dish, but that it came out together was the key. i wish they served it with another piece of large bread as we tried to make the spread last as long as possible. i try to find ways to mimic the flavors with the zaatar i've purchased. we'll see how close i can get. the eggs benedict, on the other hand ... i'd forgotten to tell them that i didn't want any hollendaise, so we got a very interesting spread on top :/ that didn't prevent us from eating, though. hahaha!
i like that porch is by deer and dear, a kuwaiti company. i'm all for encouraging kuwaiti youth to do more with their time and more out of their lives. yeah!
lebnani
in sha'ab, off gulf road
what was consumed: lebanese food! including hummus, tabbouleh, kibbeh, liver, potatoes, grills ... YUM
one of the many great things about eating in kuwait is the availability of some delicious middle eastern cuisine, especially lebanese. i could eat lebanese cuisine all day, every day (i did eat A LOT of it).
and so, in conversation, friends mentioned that lebnani had some amazing fare, so i of course had to try! and i was not disappointed. the creamy hummous, the crispy kibbeh (love kibbeh, especially potato kibbeh!), the fresh tabbouleh ... geez louise, my stomach is growling just thinking about lebnani's cuisine.
the only thing about lebnani is that i'm not sure i would be able to find it again. but that's mostly because the kuwaiti roads and i will never get along. but i would get a little lost if i am able to eventually make it there - so delicious. thank god for gps and google maps - hehehehe.
coco cafe
grand avenue, the avenues mall
what was consumed: shrimp caesar salad, panini, mushroom soup
when kdk came to town to visit, we of course had to do at least one "hip" new cafe brunch. coco cafe had recently opened (and different from cacao, though close by), so i was excited to try it out.
kdk and i were quickly seated (we did get there early) and were given quite a bit of attention by the wait staff. our food was brought to us in a timely fashion and we definitely enjoyed our selections. the shrimp in the salad, in particular, was marinated so deliciously! i also really enjoyed their version of fries - so very crispy on the outside, nice and soft on the inside. i wish they gave me more (both of the shrimp and the fries) ... !!! yum yum yum ...
i can see why people see coco cafe as being pretty chic and hip - good location, good decor, good attention to some of the little details. we also got the kuwaiti version of prime seating - right in the view of everyone passing by. i.e., as much as we were "being seen," we did a whole lot of veeeeery interesting people watching. hahaha. kdk, let's do this again ... soon!!!
chocolateness
grand avenue, the avenues
what was consumed: molten chocolate cake! and other delicious desserts, coffee, etc.
i'm not a big dessert person, but if there is chocolateness, i will most definitely make sure i get at least one for me.
the first time i had chocolateness was when i attended diwaniya samiya, sponsored by training gate international. turns out, chocolateness does a lot of work with local organizations, especially ones like training gate (TGI works with and advocates for people with disabilities).
chocolateness is individual servings of chocolate molten cake, served in cups and served warm. even if delivered, the cups stay warm for a while (or heat them up!) as they are delicious-er warm. they're also pretty darn good after they cool. they also have a number of different flavors (e.g. nutella), but i like the classic chocolate. delicious cake on top, gooey (and warm!) chocolate in the middle. i want one NOW!
chocolateness initially had a storefront in kuwait city and did most of their business via delivery. they then opened a cafe in the grand avenues of the avenues mall. the cafe serves the delicious molten cake in addition to a series of sandwiches and beverages. but seriously, go for the cake.
online: https://www.chocolateness.net
diner
al tijariyah building, kuwait city
what was consumed: sriracha wings, loaded fries (andalous and monster), and ... burgers! including the ramen burger :O
the Q8 burger challenge lives on!
and once we heard someone was doing the ramen burger in Q8, the group could not NOT check it out. and so, for "take out tuesday," we head to kuwait city to check it out.
we started with their wings and loaded fries. there were quite a few of us, so i instated the "no doubles" rule which allowed for us to try lots of different ones. i really enjoyed the sriracha wings - not too spicy and not sweet (the way i like it!). the loaded fries were also good (but remember, i love all fries). they were on the sweet side, which some people enjoyed, but i'm more about the savory. that didn't stop me from eating my share of fries (and then some).
and the burgers! yum yum yum. l and i went half-sies so that we could enjoy a 'regular" burger and the ramen burger. double decker with cheese and egg? love~ and the ramen burger was interesting - i love ramen noodles so i loved that the "buns" were made of noodles! i have some suggestions for the patty, but none of that stopped me from gobbling up my half of the burger. hehehe.
when we visited the diner, construction on the al tijariyah building was still going on. that didn't deter us from enjoying our meal, which we definitely did. lots of laughs, lots of good conversation, and lots of yummy eats!
online: http://dinerkw.com/
(life with) cacao
grand avenue, the avenues mall
what was consumed: coffee, open faced sandwich, pesto gnocchi, club sandwich, and the nutella brioche (which, i think, was a special) ...
each time i raced through the avenues' grand avenues to run my errands as quickly as possible, i couldn't help but notice that the tables at (life with) cacao were always filled. it couldn't be just the prime location, right? i had to try.
my brunch bunch made sure to make it to grand avenue early - we wanted to avoid the crowds and get in on the first seating. and i'm glad we did. we were quickly seated and shortly began drooling at the various dishes that started coming out of the kitchen.
while it was brunch-time, we started with dessert (the nutella brioche with ice cream and candied bananas), or maybe we can categorize it as a sweet breakfast? a sweet and delicious way to start the meal. and then our more lunch-y foods started rolling out.
all in all, i'll say that (life with) cacao has an enjoyable menu. the ingredients were fresh and cooked well. and the gnocchi was as delicious as it was pretty (loved that shade of green!). we gobbled up every last fry and enjoyed the sandwiches, only to wish our stomachs were bigger so that we could eat more. and that we (life with) cacao essentially only has the prestigious "outdoor" seating the avenues-goers love (be seen in the right place doing the right thing), i bet, is icing on the cake.
online: http://lifewithcacao.com/
the breakfast club
kuwait city
what was consumed: sweet hash benedict, full indian breakfast
after much searching, b and i finally found the kuwait city location of the breakfast club (i only later found out that their fintas branch was first). and by much searching, i mean i went around the building no fewer than 5 times trying to figure out how to get into the parking lot :/ user error.
b and i went on a week day (i took the day off - it was b's visit to Q8!) and yet the breakfast club was so full that we had to wait for a table. what? but as we were soon served our food, we could see why. some inventive twists on classic favorites (eggs benedict on top of a sweet potato hash? delicious and healthier!) and a long list of decadent pancake variations (though we opted out of that part) would make the breakfast club a shoo in for sought after breakfast places ...
majbous time
salmiya
what was consumed: majbous! and potato kibbeh and grape leaves and ...
l and i went to a Q8 film festival (they exist!) where we watched a short film poking fun at dudes' lives in Q8 (conversation about that is for another time). point is, in the film, they sat around and ate majbous and it looked delicious. and so, in the spirit of trying new things, l and i decided to check out a kuwaiti restaurant that caught her eye as she was discovering the city, mostly because it was called "majbous time."
located i old salmiya, i hadn't really seen it before, even though i had passed it probably over a hundred times (i think it's because the store front was in arabic). and upon entry, there are hardly ever more than a few customers. maybe that's why we always received such great service (also probably because we're very obviously foreigners - haha). or maybe it's because we would always eat (and super enjoy) an inordinate amount of food.
they serve pretty solid standard arab food - grape leaves, hummus, baba ganouj, etc. i like their potato kibbeh as they are pretty healthy servings. and the majous! we always ordered the one that came with the whole chicken, on a bed of rice, served with an accompanying soup. we would eat it separately, we would eat it all mixed together (the chicken, rice, and soup), but most importantly, we would eat it all. and after we finish our meal, they always bring out a few kuwaiti sweets and some tea - a nice final touch to a tasty tasty meal.
since that first time, and in the last few months of my time in Q8, i probably went back every couple of weeks, sometimes with l, sometimes with others. it turned out to be my go to place for kuwaiti eats, even though we always end up getting the majbous. and, of course, we eat with our hands :D
