Kuwait

[nikkib]

OK so after 15 blissful months in Beirut i'm moving to Kuwait at the weekend, a bit random maybe but does anyone have any recommendations on where is worth eating or what local specialities i should be looking out for? Any unusual customs i may need to know about specific to this area? Any help from egulleters would be much appreciated...

[nikkib]

OK, not too surprisingly i will go it alone (there must be another egulleter who has passed through Kuwait at some point though i'm sure..) Not too much to report as i've mostly been working since i got here but made it out to one of the larger supermarkets today and snapped a few pics for anyone who may be interested... I want to head to the souks next week at some point as i have a feeling thats where the food action is at..

Fish counter (without the local gulf prawns) so far hammour (not pictured) and pomfret have been the fish i have noticed most locally

A great array of pickles/chutneys (makes a change from lebanon where "spicy" food is few and far between

packaged rice/spice items and the usual array of beans/pulses

And plenty, plenty honey (with nuts etc)

[nikkib]

a large array of labneh in the dairy aisle and a HUGe selection of juices/non alcoholic beer/energy drinks/malt drinks etc - literally 2 full aisles to compensate for the lack of alcohol i suppose...

there is also a place you can have them juice any fruit you want to buy on the spot as well as buying a single juice to take home which looked great...

[nikkib]

And my favourite - somehow i have a feeling its not as sinister as i take it to be!

[heidih]

I know nothing about the area but am fascinated to tag along. Love the fish arrangements.

[nikkib]

Dinner out at a kuwaiti restaurant the other night, i forget the name but it is near the Holiday inn. I ordered tabbouleh, hummus and moutabal for the group to

share and someone else ordered some stuffed vine leaves and a lentil dish that was like cumin spiced baby food - in a good way!(25 of us pitched up without a reservation - sat, ordered and fed within 30 minutes - pretty damn good) As mentioned in the tabouli thread - very green indeed with the scantest smattering of crunchy bulghar, one of the better tabboulehs i've eaten actually,

And then i chose the mumorosh robayan (not quite the correct spelling im afraid but not far off if i remember rightly) which was translated as dry shrimp. A HUGE portion of rice with little dried shrimps scattered through it and a bowl of chillis and tomato sauce on the side - still managed to be a bit bland but was alright.

Other people went for goats heart and liver - almost in a sort of spiced caponata style sauce, actually very good but more well cooked than i would have liked

and something called my mothers lamb which was again LOADS of rice with three huge chunks of meat on top.

The rest of the group had mixed grills (kofte, lamb chop, shish taouk etc) and dishes like kfta aryess ( see my lebanon thread for images of this - arabic flatbread stuffed with mined lamb mmmm) amongst others. Not entirely sure i'd bother going back unless we were such a big group again but the staff were very sweet indeed, so we'll see.Charcoal tea to finish which was ok - i was more interested in trying the thyme tea they had listed though.

[nikkib]

Hit up Avenues mall, a huge shopping centre with every shop you can imagine and restaurants ranging from PF Changs (is it any good?) to an english tea house, assorted italian/french/lebanese places and most excitingly a Pain quotidien and SHAKE SHAKE due to open soon... i went to cafe blanc, a favourite from beirut and had the arnabeet (cauliflower sandwish) with tarator sauce

- also popped into dean and deluca and picked up some mariage des freres earl grey (if i cant drink booze might as well splash out on some nice non alcoholic options) some jalapeno cheddar and a rick bayless chilli sauce - currently the only things in the fridge bar some water, not sure i will be doing much cooking....

[heidih]

I am intrigued by the cauliflower sandwich - was it pieces of fried cauliflower or was it more of a fritter?

[nikkib]

basically fried cauliflower with garlic - no batter or anything, one of my favourite mezzes when paired with some tarator sauce, radish and sumac

[Hassouni]

Gonna be in Kuwait for a week starting tonight, any recommendations of good places to eat? Especially interested in Persian and Subcontinental (Afghan is OK too), as well as any hole in the wall East/Southeast Asian places

[nikkib]

Hassouni - i juest remembered there was a place in the souks that did great tandoor bread and food, cant remember the name but its just outside the souk, in a row of small restaurants with a picture of a tandoor on the sign (wow even worse directions than in beirut! Thats a first)

[ltimmis80]

Thanks for this thread, it has been fascinating to see your pictures of the local food. I don't know anything about Kuwaiti food in particular but as a lover of most Indian/Middle Eastern food I bet you I would like it. Please keep posting. What is the most interesting or unexpected food you have come across?

Laura x

[Hassouni]

Having been to Kuwait I have to say it's the least interesting place I've been, both from a cultural/aesthetic/goings-on perspective as well as a culinary one.

The most unexpected thing I came across was the rampant love of crappy fast food, both western chains and local attempts.