ubon

ubon

@kuwait city

what was consumed: green papaya salad (extra spicy), healthy fresh rolls, banana leaf chicken, crispy thai fries, pad thai, chicken green curry, cashew nut chicken, chocolate cake (molten!), sticky rice with mango

as much as i like oriental cuisine (see below), i find myself frequenting ubon when i want to enjoy thai cuisine.

the first time i went to ubon, i didn't know what to think of it. it was in the middle of a pretty banking/ministry heavy area kuwait city (quite a few restaurants have popped up in that block since then), but it was pretty hip with contemporary decor, a catchy playlist, and, of course, delicious food.

now, everyone has that one thing per cuisine that they use to determine whether that restaurant will be up to par. for me and thai restaurants, it's papaya salad. admittedly, i didn't eat a whole lot of papaya salad that one time i was in thailand years ago (honestly, i didn't know about it back then), but i have since come to love it and use it as my gauge as to whether i will enjoy any given thai restaurant. ubon's? delicious. the fish sauce they use as a dressing is present, but not overwhelming. the papaya is pickled, but not too much (so it's still a little crunchy). and you can order it pretty spicy! that's good. imo, i can go for a few more peanuts and green beans, but i'm still ok with it as is.

a friend of mine once said that one should never order a dish that one may easily make at home because that defeats the purpose of eating out. now, while i don't necessarily agree with the entire statement, i agree that i should enjoy foods that i can't/don't make at home. and so, while i've tried quite a few items on the ubon menu, the tried and true menu item that i enjoy the most is the chicken green curry. if you're a fan of coconut based curries, this is the way to go. be sure to order the steamed jasmine rice (they're served/sold separately) ... and enjoy!

i have since returned to ubon on countless occasions and am happy to each and every time! and so, ubon, don't you worry! i'll be back. have your papaya salad, healthy fresh roles, and chicken green curry waiting for me. yum!

online: http://www.ubonkw.com/

solo pizza napulitana

solo pizza napulitana

@sharq

what was consumed: garlic bread, pizza pizza pizza! and nutella dario (nutella in bread)

the ambassador was invited to a pre-ramadan event where the local organization highlighted their summer internship program with kuwaiti-owned businesses. solo pizza napulitana was one of the participants. and so, after the pre-ramadan event, friends and i got together for some dinner at solo pizza to check it out.

now, i love love love pizza. so i may not be the best judge when it comes to how good pizza is (i.e., i will generally enjoy most pizzas. it falls in line with my love of fried potatoes  no surprise). but the vera pizza napulitana association has approved its authenticity and that means a whole lot, don't you think?

solo pizza isn't huge - just a handful of tables calling everyone to squeeze around. but that's ok - i don't think anyone minded. the delicious scent of the pizza overtakes all and any crankiness quickly flies out the window. we sat and ordered some garlic bread (thin slices of garlic baked into pizza crust bread with olive oil) and waited for our pizzas. the garlic bread was delicious. i guess you can't go wrong with slivers of garlic in bread, but the combination at solo pizza was super tasty - garlic-y enough, covered in well kneaded and seasoned bread.

our pizzas were delivered shortly after. the pizza crust was light and baked well (in the wood-fired oven!), toppings were generous (though, sadlly, no pork products. sigh), and deliciously placed on the pizza. as much as we said "oh, i couldn't eat this all," we certainly put a huge dent into our order and took very little home (let's face it - napulitana style pizza doesn't do well the next day. a great reason to enjoy it all right from the oven!).

of course, we couldn't go without nutella. nom nom nom. basically, replace the garlic and olive oil with nutella in the appetizer and you get dessert. i don't see the problem. delicious bread filled with nutella. yum.

something to note: very rarely will you see kuwaitis waiting tables, slugging dishes, taking orders, etc. but you do see this at solo pizza. there's a sense of pride in their service, their quality of food, and the overall experience. i'll say that that was a true bonus, imo, at enjoying solo pizza's fares.

and so, while i miss the likes of red rocks, 2amy's, graffiato, and the like, i will enjoy solo pizza i the meantime. nom nom nom ...

online: http://solopn.com/

mustard

mustard
@52 degrees in shuwaikh

what was consumed: hamburger, fries, rocket salad, crunchy shrimp, orea shake, orange fanta!

the Q8 'burger challenge continues!

in the hip "52 degrees," degrees space out in shuwaikh (i know, i went all the way out there!), mustard has the hip and cool feel of being a "pop-up" hamburger place without actually being a pop-up, from what i understand. friends and i visited mustard on a hot summer day. i had heard about the '52 degrees' space, but had not yet gone out there, so this was a double whammy of goodness.

for as hip and cool as the space supposedly is, we walked in to a virtually empty space (we met up around 7pm, so maybe business picks up later in the evening, or on the weekends?) so finding seating was pretty easy. we put in our order and waited for our (hopefully) delicious fare. i had heard that the inspiration behind mustard was the east coast chain "five guys," which i frequented while living in wdc (note: while i'm still a die-hard in 'n out fan, i am happy to see five guys have make appearances on the west coast because five guys fries >>> in 'n out fries). mustard is different from five guys - the burgers are different, the options are different, the bread is different, etc. but having five guys as the basis for your burger joint isn't a bad place to begin. and i was happy to try out the local variation.

i started out with a salad that was nicely dressed with just the right amount of dried fruit and nuts. real simple, but a good (and healthy?) start to the meal. the fries also came out at the same time (not fresh cut, but i enjoyed them anyway). i should have explicitly said that i wanted the fries with the burger (i thought that was a given, but my mistake for making that assumption). next came the crunchy shrimp. this was the one thing from our large order that we didn't finish. there was something about the shrimp that made them ... a little off. i couldn't tell what it was, but i kept trying to figure it out. maybe it's the oil the shrimp was cooked in? i dunno. finally, our burgers!

i ordered a pretty simple burger - extra lettuce, extra tomatoes, and cheese. no sauce. of course, it came with mustard (which i didn't want, but didn't mind). the bun was soft, the burger didn't come with extra veggies (sad day for me), and the patty was cooked well done (the only option) but in a pretty good way. it (the patty) could have been seasoned a bit, but it didn't matter as the flavor of mustard pretty much took over everything else. no biggie - the entirety of the burger was pretty delicious - fresh tasting and clean, more like an in 'n out style burger than five guys. i enjoyed mine and gobbled it right up. note: the burgers were accompanied by salt-pickeled cucumbers. e and i were saying that it reminded us of korean style pickles! nom nom nom ... 

the service at mustard, sadly, was below par. i don't know what's better though: the totally unavailable (and uninterested) wait staff at mustard or the overly indulgent tcn staff at other places. why can't there be a happy medium? i tried not to have this affect my thoughts on my burger, but you know how it goes. oh well.

it's also next door to chewy gooey, so be sure to pick up some cookies for me on your way out :D

pickles

pickles
bidaa, near the movenpick hotel

what was consumed: classic burger with extra tomatoes and extra lettuce, chili cheese curly fries, classic poutin, "bread&butter" fried pickle chips

kuwaiti burger challenge ... the challenge continues!

before a quick weekend jaunt to muscat, friends and i got together for dinner at "pickles." i happy not only to continue my "Q8 burger challenge," but also to enjoy fried pickles (who doesn't enjoy that?). so, we fought through thursday (the new friday) night traffic and head to the movenpick area in bidaa. note: we didn't get the memo inviting bikers (mostly sport vehicles, not harleys (harlies?), sadly ... ?) to the movenpick/bidaa area. and so, we had dinner with what felt like a billion bikers (it was probably closer to 30. that's a lot!).

the pickles menu, while simple (burgers, fries, pickled stuff), there were a few variations within each category (e.g. bbq burger, mexican burger, mushroom&swiss burger, etc.) which allowed for each of us to satisfy our cravings. i went the classic route - classic burger and classic poutin.

the burger was nicely cooked, though cooked "well done" when i asked for it to be medium (silly me for making that request to begin with). i also asked for no cheese, but my burger came with it (which is fine). i was more concerned about it coming out with no sauce, which it didn't (success!). the burger was served on a soft roll which stayed in tact and didn't fall apart as buns have a tendency to do. otherwise, the burger was exactly what i was looking for - simple and plain.

as for the poutin ... admittedly, i ordered it because i was curious what i would get. while i haven't actually had 'real' poutin a la canada (one day, i say, one day!), i've heard about it and have a good idea what it should taste like (& look forward eventually to tasting it, myself), i will continue my quest to find it outside america's neighbor to the north.

but ooooh, fried pickles! totally delicious. the "bread&butter" ones were sliced, like chips,   breaded and then fried. the pickles are totally delicious and the breading is a nice touch. they were accompanied by a delicious aioli (which we proceeded to smear on everythign else). i'm not sure about the "midget pickles" that are also on the menu; i'll have to try them next time.

we did try to order plain pickles (i.e., the ones that are not fried). why, you ask? why not! i blame t, but admittedly, the pre-fried pickles were pretty delicious as well. the servers, however, told us that they didn't have any, which made no sense. what do you use, then, to make the fried pickles?! of course, they were able to produce them later on. and i was 2-seconds away from doing what i do when i'm at 'matchbox' back in wdc (ordering bowl after bowl after bowl of pickles. nom nom nom).

and so, while i will likely venture to pickles again, for their fried pickles and for a classic burger, i do caution you : their special sauces (& their gravy for that matter) are ... sweet. not "whoa, awesome!" sweet, but "hmmm, why is there a strange sweetness?" sweet. weird ...

coco room

coco room
seef strip

what was consumed: halloumi bruschetta,  rancheros, migas, eggs menemen, breakfast burrito, bbq brisket hash ... and red velvet pancakes

one of the things friends and i enjoy is brunching (as i used to do in WDC), and restaurants in Q8 are happy to accommodate.  when feeling particularly ambitious (& when friends come to visit), we frequently put 'coco room' on the schedule. located in the "seef strip," opposite the seef palace, coca room is ideal for a tasty brunch before a windshield tour of the parliament building, the grand mosque, and other local gems in kuwait city proper.

so, upon being seated (i recommend some outdoor seating when the weather is nice. the seating inside is ok, but it can get a little noisy (the acoustics inside aren't great) and crowded), our server came over with some menus - some paper versions, some ipad versions (with nicely shot photos).

coco room has quite a large menu, but we limited our ordering to their brunch menu, which is also quite large. they have some tradition (arab as well as standard breakfast-y) options, but much of the menu is filled with tex-mex-inspired fare. my favorite is the huevos rancheros: poached eggs (and they are really poached! nice.) on rustic bread, served with refried beans, red chilli hollandaise sauce, mexican herbs (aka cilantro), and sprinkled with pumpkin seeds. nom nom nom ...

as is the case with many restaurants, coco room does a very decadent job when it comes to dessert-like fare. yes, i'm talking about velvet pancakes: a stack of 4 pancakes made with red velvet batter, topped with a dollop of whipped (& sweetened) cream cheese and a healthy drizzling of a nutella/caramel sauce. each time i've ordered this, i've split it with 2, 3, 4 other people - definitely the recommended way to enjoy (but one i highly recommend you enjoy ...!)  that said, why it's not ok to have a red velvet cupcake for breakfast, but it's ok to have these pancakes is beyond me as they are essentially the same. if you got for that sort of thing, anyway.

a couple of things i don't see/get: coco room has a hash, but no hash browns. sadly.  love hash browns! also, i'm not a fan of their coffee - they charge for their black coffee by the cup (yes, i'm still a spoiled american when it comes to wanting bottomless drip black coffee :/). there is a coffee bean in the seef strip complex and maybe i'll get coffee from there before sitting down at cocoa room.  maybe.

i add the "ambitious" part of the requirement because 1) if you don't get within the first round of seating, you can be sure you'll be waiting for a while for tables to turn and 2) if you end up waiting, you may end up getting seated once brunch service is over (at noon, i believe) which might be ok, unless you're there specifically for brunch (or red velvet pancakes).

so, enjoy! i will see you there ... !!!

leila

leila
phase 1 @the avenues


wow. it's been some time since i've posted about my eating adventures. that isn't to say that i haven't been eating because that would be grossly incorrect.  i've been busy, but mostly lazy - thank you, b, for the reminder and push!

so ... here goes!

i can't seem to break the very american attitude regarding restaurants in malls. that is, if a restaurant is in a mall, in my mind, there is no way it will be good. that's what i thought until i came to kuwait. i'm slowly, but surely, coming around. much of this is due to the way life runs here in this desert town. especially in the summer (of course), when it's so gosh darn hot, malls become mini city centers. people go to malls to spend their days. it's also convenient because the 2 favorite kuwaiti pastimes are eating and shopping. hahaha ... and so, some really good places to check out are in malls, shopping centers, hotels, etc. the eateries in malls are far from the food court spaces i'd grown accustomed to (yes, there are food courts as well); rather, they are just like more typical restaurants and just happen to be attached to (and have entrances into) the larger mall/shopping areas.

as a result, when i have guests from the states, the last place i want to take them to eat is to the mall. there are lots of really great places to eat in kuwait, why go to the mall? i even "yelled" at one of my local colleagues (it was more like insisting, though it sounded like yelling in my head) about not taking guests to eat at the mall. sigh. it's taken me almost a year to "get over" the stereotypes of eateries at malls; i can't imagine taking "foodies" to a restaurant at the mall (unless, of course, i could go through my entire explanation as to why i would opt to take them to eat at the mall).

and so, when c&j visited me here in Q8, where i did get the chance to explain to them the whole mall situation and because we were at the mall to run a few errands, i was less hesitant about going to lunch at leila (wow, that was a huge huge huge introduction to my lunch here).

the aforementioned colleague told me that there was a good restaurant at the avenues serving lebanese food. i couldn't get that out of my head. so, when i got the chance, i wanted to check it out.

seeing that we were early for lunch (or for any meal according to local standards), we were quickly seated and our servers were immediately attentive (as is the way with lots of places here). we made a selection of a variety of lebanese dishes, all to be consumed family style. there were the standard favorites - hummous, fattoush, etc. and then some of my favorites, including chicken liver (yay iron!). there isn't a whole lot of culinary creativity or "art" that went into the dishes, but each one was solid and definitely satiated our appetites for local (as local as you can get in kuwait, anyway) cuisine. and besides it being in a mall, leila gave a sort of "home cooking" feel, something we all seem to look for. even the "pita" served out of plastic bags sort of reminded me of funny things moms often do (and the rolls, not served in plastic bags, were delicious). all of that aside, i will likely visit leila again and put it on my list of recommendable restaurants.

note: if you look closely at the first photo, there's a young lady, in pink, totally giggling. that's because she had photo-bombed my photo of the leila store front - my new favorite person! my camera was too slow to catch her in the act, but i'm all for it. photo-bombing ftw!

oriental cuisine

oriental cuisine

location: bibi tower, sharq, ibn misdah street near dasman model school

soon after my arrival to kuwait, new friends took me to what they described as "the best thai in kuwait." admittedly, i was skeptical (i still hadn't learned that food is delicious in kuwait, but that very little of it is actually "kuwaiti"). friends mentioned they were looking forward to it since the night before; as a result, regardless of whether they were judges of good food, i started to look forward to it too.

oriental cuisine isn't in a very obvious place (i.e., it's not in a place where there are a collection of restaurants or is a popular hang-out spot), so much so that when we tried to go, we got lost. twice (if that's even possible). hahaha.

oriental cuisine is larger than some of the smaller places that are popping up in kuwait, but not sprawling. we had a large group and the staff was really accommodating and pushed tables together so that we could all sit with each other and (imo most importantly) share food.

oriental cuisine is known for its authentic thai food. their menu highlights more of the typical thai fare that i am used to seeing on thai restaurant menus (admittedly, i've been spoiled in wdc with the great (and creative) thai food i was able to enjoy there). you can some pretty good standard fare (pad thai, fried rices, etc.) as well as some things that i hadn't had until i'd come to kuwait (i.e., morning glory. apparently it's bigger among the chinese community? new to me, but delicious). our party ordered a variety of different dishes; i was happy to taste the dishes we ordered (of course, i made sure to ask for my own order of papaya salad - that's what i use to determine whether i like a thai restaurant or not. you know, the bar i use. oriental cuisine's was pretty stinkin' good).

some days, all i want is a good papaya salad and some garlic fried rice. that's when i think about oriental cuisine. i think if it were closer to the residence (the residence!), i would frequent it more often; sadly, i do not as kuwaiti traffic is the last thing i want to deal with at night and i'm outside of their delivery radius (sadly). but maybe it's a good thing as i would be twice my size if it were closer. haha. but don't fret, oriental cuisine. despite my desire to visit a variety of restaurants, you are definitely one that i will frequent. 

elevation burger

elevation burger

location: the avenues, al-hamra tower

on with the Q8 burger challenge!

while i'm doing my best to seet out "locally" owned restaurants and restaurants, i can't tune out recommendations that others have. that's what took me to elevation burger for the first time. i'd heard people talk about this virginia chain for quite some time, but never got out to it when in WDC (i'm an in 'n out type of girl). but people were telling me that elevation burger had the best burgers in town, so off i went.

ok, so their burgers are pretty delicious. nothing fancy, but a really solid simple burger. the ingredients are of good quality, the size of their fare is just right (not overly large, not ridiculously small), and the burgers are not too expensive. they have a pretty simple menu (a variation of burgers is pretty much it) which makes it easier to focus on the quality of their burgers. they also have vegetarian options; i have not yet tried it, but from meat-eating friends who have, they approve.

elevation burger serves really skinny fries. i'm a fries addict, so there are few fries that i don't like. that said, i'm not a huge fan of skinny fries (i like more meatier fries, if i can say that i have a preference). nevertheless, i have been known to polish off my elevation burger fries and slyly reach over and nosh on friends' leftovers. they're left over, right? someone has got to enjoy the deliciousness and it might as well be me, right? right.

whenever i go to elevation burger, i also notice that they have a gaggle of people in the small area behind the counter - making burgers, taking orders, cleaning, etc. sometimes, it's a little daunting because it's as though their staff overflows. but hey, as long as my burger is delicious and the place is clean, who am i to say what their administration behind the scenes looks like!

so, yeah. a solid simple burger. which i have returned to (already) quite a few times. and plan to, again. frequentlly. nomnomnomnom ... 

online: http://www.elevationburger.com

caramel

caramel

bneid el gar, block 1, street 96, al manar complex

hours: monday-thursday 7am-10pm, friday 12pm-10pm, saturday-sunday 7am-10pm

tel: 2253 3258

i'm always up for incredible culinary technique, delicious flavor combinations, and amazing presentation (preferably all three together, not separately), even for lesser preferred (imo) cakes and other sweets. and while i'm not a fangirl, i know others are; so, when i bring sweets over, i want to suggest deliciousness. my new favorite cake shop is caramel (thanks T for the heads up about this place!).

they have cake bites (about 1"x1"), mini cakes (about 3"x3"), and regular cakes in their display cases. they have a variety of different flavors ready for purchase. i selected 3 mini cakes (pumpkin, red velvet, and caramel) and paid KD5 and some change. i proceeded to go home, cut each of the 3 mini cakes into quarters, and consume a quarter of each cake. per others' recommendations, i was sure to ration the cake for fear that one would consume all cakes in one sitting. i'm glad i did because, let me tell you, i was super duper tempted to eat all the cakes.

the cakes are moist and flavorful, each bringing out their various flavors (as opposed to tasting only like sugar, or honey, as so many sweets are wont to do). the frosting was light and complemantary, not overwhelming. yum.

i warn you - their cakes aren't cheap. if i consume at my usual rate, my wallet will take a hit and i will need to get new clothes as i expand horizontally (more than usual, anyway). but don't worry, caramel. despite it all, you will see me often. very often.

eataly

eataly, eataly, eataly! 

when living in a place where certain foods are not allowed, one can't help but to crave those things more. especially when you come from a history of having had enjoyed such ... (now) delicacies. let's face it, there's very little like delicious cured meats, especially to accompany some fancy cheeses. what do i think of? eataly.

friends had been surprised that i'd never been (i surprised myself, even). so when C, K, and i decided to do a weekend in nyc, eataly was one of the first places we visited.

right as we walked in, we all grabbed a glass of wine and started walking around (the rose was delicious, of course). we looked at the variety that eataly had to offer, as it is a cross between a department store of italian delicious-ness and a food court, all in a way fancy and yet comfortable way. when we couldn't stand all of our salivating and drooling any longer, and as we tried to figure out how the place "worked," we finally found poached a table and made ourselves comfortable. we ordered food, we ordered wine, we talked a lot, we laughed a lot, we did a lot of people watching. best. night. ever.

we started with a combination of cured meats and cheese and finished with breaded/sauteed shad roe - thinking about it (and reviewing the night via photos) is making my mouth water. the smokiness/saltiness of the cured meats, the creamy cheese, the dense and yet light shad roe (i hadn't had it prepared this way!), all very delicious. as we anticipated a long night of eating ahead, we didn't fill up completely at eataly, though we could have stayed for many more hours. a part of me, i'll admit, wanted to stay. that part super duper looks forward to the next trip to eataly. sigh.

i don't know why i thought it was so funny to eat with a napkin around my neck, but there i am. and there ya go. considering how clumsy i am, it makes a lot of sense that i do it and should, in fact, do it more often ...

eataly, i can't wait to visit again ... !!! among other things, it'll mean that i'm with great friends in a great city enjoying great food!

online: http://eatalyny.com