Last Bite

Few days ago a friend of mine passed by with two yummy goodies :-D Brownies and some coconut chocolate bites. Apparently someone, who heard how much I love food *guilty*, asked her to bring me some of it to try... and you know what? As usual, I was up for it...

I was so tempted to try both that I actually ate them before dinner was served... I opened the box of brownies and it looked great... I take one piece of each!

Now the brownies are something I would definitely have again... as for the coconut ones, well... I wont be the right person to ask since I am not really a big fan of it. I would say that Chili's Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie is my favorite coconut containing dessert. I think my sister ended up taking the coconut bites.

While the brownies were still in hand, I ate another one the next morning. I heated it up a bit and it was still as good. I wish we had some more left for me to try it a la mode (with ice cream).

To order, simply call 9741-8741

Paid!

I have just received a "PAID" latte and club sandwich in organic bread from CR!
Hmmmm Yumm! And Thanks????

UPDATE:
My blog was acting all weird at work and I could not update it... Turned out it was a treat from Coffee Republic themselves because I received mixed up order the day before ;-)

I <3 Edo

My sisters and I felt like having sushi.... and so we went to Edo! I just love this place and I love their food so much!

I <3 Rustica

I went to Rustica... AGAIN :-D
I LOVE this place.... I can easily say that its my favorite pizza place in town. I talked about it so much to my cousins and they wanted to try it... Actually one of them was looking for THE BEST pizza in Kuwait, and since she just delivered her baby a couple of month back and did a mini surgery, it was hard to go out... we decided to have Rustica Pizza at their place, my cousin's house.

She said: Hmmmm, now this pizza is my favorite in Kuwait too! - Hers was the Margarita

and my other cousin goes: I agree, it got this "Italian" taste and feel to it - Hers was the Veggies

Me: *munch* *munch* *munch* hmmm yes yes yes - Mine was half pepperoni and half mushroom

What can I say? The place is nice, the food is awesome, the staff are super duper friendly....

Pizza anyone?

Chocola-la-la

I have so many chocolates in hand... they just came in from Switzerland :-D
I asked my friend to get me Noir au Thé Earl Grey from Favarger 1826. She was kind enough to get me more yummy spicy stuff too ;-) She knows I love the Lindt with Sea Salt and with Chili.. the bar ones (I cant have spicy food, but with chocolate, it is something else! I swear).. so now I have in addition to what I initially asked for Lindt HOT PRALINES and Lindt MINI PRALINES all in a box, not as in choco bars.

I tried all the chili flavored ones... my throat is tickling as I am typing this! But I love it... does that make any sense?

Anyways... the HOT PRALINES box comes with three flavors, Papaya & Chili + Granatapfel (Pomegranate) & Chili + Maracuja (Passion Fruit) & Jalapeño. Holding the box in my hand I thought to myself.... hmmm I may like the pomegranate ones... surprisingly I loved the papaya the most!!! But all in all... all three flavors were awesome... keeping in mind that I do not like chocolates with fruity filling... I am telling you, its the spiciness thats doing the magic here!

Level of spiciness... I would say the papaya was the spiciest and the passion fruit was the mildest! How do I explain that mixture of strong fruity flavor, dark coco, and chili! OH SO GOD!

More Faloodeh

I went again to Marafie yesterday and got some more faloodeh and saffron ice cream.
It is located on Al Hilali St... I mean Al Shuhada now (the name changed after the invasion but I still refer to it as Al Hilali) opposite the fire station and below Baba Taher Restaurant. Their phone # is 2242-7866/77

Dinner Last Night ;-)

Persian Night turned into Middle Eastern Night.... nevertheless, all dishes were so good and yummy :-D I ate SO MUCH! Hahahaha

Ohhh and I found a Faloodeh place in Sharq. The place is called Marafie, and its in the same building of Baba Taher and across the street from the fire station next to Arraya Mall. I ended up buying faloodeh and saffron ice cream with lemon and pomegranate syrup.

Faloodeh

I am invited to dinner tomorrow (technically today :-P) at a friend's house.... it is not very unusual of my friends and I to have "theme" dinners! Tomorrow's theme is gonna be "A Persian Night" and we are having Persian food *YUMMM*

I was thinking about bringing some Faloodeh with me... I know a place in Kuwait City *Boftain* that sells it, but are there any other options you know of?

Otherwise, I will just get some saffron ice cream from Ice Cream World!

Wok Master

I had a meeting after work in Segafredo of Dar AlAwadi.... It is not the first time we have a meeting there, and best thing about this cafe is that they leave you alone without taking your order. You actually have to call them to your table if you want something to eat/drink... and since we are always busy looking into the laptop screen and paperwork, they assume that we are just "using" their chairs... which is mostly the case hahaha! I was starving, but I was in the mood for some Chinese!

I got home at around 5:10PM and ordered from Wok Master right away... I simply LOVE their food so much :-) I order sweet corn soup, sweet & sour chicken, and Singaporean noodles! *Again, sorry for the picture quality.... no I did not buy a camera yet!*

Daddy's Girl... are those the Chinese boxes you are looking for? :-P


Wok Master
Tel # 2575-0081

Cairo - Part III

After we were done with the Great Pyramids (I wish I had more time to see the pyramids at sunset and at night) but it was a very short trip, and we were always on the go. After hearing so much about Abou El Seid restaurant, we decided to have lunch there... we were STARVING!

The restaurant is located in Zamalek area on the famous 26th July St. The place was almost full that I was afraid they wont let us in without reservations, but since its a place mostly for the hip and young people, and many many tourists, they found us a table which was amazing.

The place looked very interesting! Dimmed lights, cozy, home like, classical furniture with marble tables, wooden window shutters (mashrabiya) background music of Abdulhaleem and Fairuz, friendly staff, and tasty food! Absolutely fabulous! Oh and their restrooms signs are of famous celebrities! Of course a male and a female one ;-)

Many people asked me to try their famous stuffed pigeons, but I am not a fan! So I decided to go with their next best thing, Milokhiya! Its a green leaf kind of vegetable cooked with onions and spices and is so damn good! We also went with many other dishes; Sharkasiya (shreds of chicken with nuts on rice and covered in gravy-like sauce), Kushari (must must must), and okrah stew. I honestly do recommend ALL of those dishes, the best I have tasted in Cairo... taste was very authentic and original....not to mention their very reasonable prices!

Towards the end, the waiter told me that they are opening a branch in Kuwait... and when they do, I am gonna dine there regularly if it was as good as the one we tried!


Relate posts:
Cairo Part I
Cairo Part II

Totally Fish - Avenues

I was at Totally Fish - Avenues earlier... LOVED IT! The atmosphere, the service, the food :-) ALl good. Enjoy the pics*;
1. Maldives
2. Clams and mussels (for some reasons the clams are not showing in this pic!!)
3. Fish and chips
4. Canadian Lobster
5. Sea Bass


You can read my previous post about it here.

*I did not buy a camera yet, sorry for the picture quality *phone* I tried ;-)

Update - Burger King

Here is what happened...

Someone on 248am suggested that I call Mr. Anton Hamchaoui at Burger King HQ. I found Mr. Fame Hamchaoui on Facebook instead, who turned out to be his nephew and the marketing manager of BK. I sent him a msg on facebook, and he responded promptly. He promised me that a serious action will be taken towards what happened (regarding the quality of both, the service and food). He explained that he wont let such mistakes pass away easily, and said that at Burger King the customer is THE king! He asked for my contact and called me on the same day.

He said he read my post along with Mark's and the comments of the readers. He said he wont ask me to remove my post or anything, but would rather try his best to make it up to me.... even though I told him that a lot of people doubted me and question my credibility of that incident, he said he believed me (talking about customer satisfaction and retention)! He apologized and was very polite and professional... something the manager I encountered in Qadsiya lacked. He asked me to save his number and contact him again if something, God forbids, like that should happen again!

I may not look at junk food nor fast food chains for while now, but at least I am not as upset as I was 24 hrs ago!

Thank you Mr. Hamchaoui, I really appreciate you taking the time to call :-) It means something, that I wont give up on customer service completely :-)

UPDATE:
The operations manager just called me as a follow up after Mr. Hamchaoui's call, and he was also very apologetic and concerned and now they wanna invite me to a one day visit to any BK branch of my choice to see their staff and kitchen.

Rotten Burger King

I always like my burgers PLAIN with nothing else but cheese and sometimes whatever special sauce -that is actually good- that I would not mind. I ordered Burger King Whopper Jr. and for some reason I forgot to mention that I did not want lettuce nor tomato. I had a couple of bites and decided to remove the tomatoes.... GLAD I LOOKED! It is disgusting! A rotten tomato :-S

I kept asking myself what if I had a bite of it already... it got me sick, so I drove to Qadsiya branch and asked for the manager, he came in

Manager: Yes ma'am
Ansam: (putting the burger on the counter) Please explain this?
Manager: What ma'am?
Ansam: The rotten tomato sir!!!
Manager: Where? I dont see anything (at this point he removed the bun and still acting there was nothing wrong with it)
Female Staff: Sir... here! (pointing at it)
Manager: Ohhhh that
Ansam: Yeah THAT
Manager: OK ma'am, do you want me to replace it?
Ansam: Is this your way of solving it?
Manager: No I will take care of the kitchen staff, meanwhile do you want a fresh one?
Ansam: NO! (I was thinking, no apologies, no sorries, no how can we make it up to you? WHY DID I EVEN COME)... Give me the number or your headquarters?
Manager: Here, look it up in the poster

I was furious at this point, he was not even polite enough to give it to me

Ansam: FINE! And by the way... I took pictures, that I am planning on publishing online
Manager: OK!!
Ansam: BYE

And I stormed out!

What kind of customer service/retention/loyalty are they seeking?

Arnold Palmer....... The Drink

How come no restaurant in town -here in Kuwait- ever heard of Arnold Palmer (half lemonade/half iced tea)? Shirley Temple seems to be more popular and known! I never ordered Arnold Palmer here without having to explain its half lemonade and half ice tea!

At those restaurants where I am a regular, they would know/understand that I like a "mixed" iced tea and lemonade, but still won't get Arnold Palmer!

Dinner @ Rice

I had dinner with my sister and friend earlier today at Rice and I just wanted to share my experience with you :-) I heard so much about Rice on facebook (Kuwait & Food group) and wanted to give it a shot.

The restaurant is situated in The Avenues Phase II food court right after The Butcher Shop. We got there and chose to sit in the outside area. The place is very inviting, and I loved the rice looking chandeliers, the mix of the so modern looking restaurant with French Country-esque chairs/tables, and very unique way of serving the food in a metal tray... There you have your little metal pot for the rice, a side of yogurt dip or salad, a bowl for your main course, a small bowl for the pickles, and an empty plate for you to eat (well the plate.... not very practical, I hated it). The staff were so quick and so friendly. Bravo!

I ordered the Baby Chicken (I asked them to serve it boneless and they did). My friend ordered Chicken Biryani, while my sister opted for Dawood Basha. My order came with a mixed rice (nuts, ground beef, and rice), yogurt dip, pickles. I got full half way through... their servings are huge and may be enough for two! Non of us could finish it, but all agreed that they were some yummy dishes! I am going again for sure since there were other dishes that I was drooling over (like the okra/bamya stew). I am so looking for my next visit.

Towards the end, they served dessert (fruit salad and Muhalabiya) and Tea. Our bill came close to KD21 which isnt bad at all when you think of the food and portions!

The Food Post! - Dubai

While in Dubai, I made sure to swing by some of my favorite spots to dine in... and two of which were The Meat Co at Madinat Jumaira and Nobu at Atlantis Hotel....

Since it was a short trip the day turned out CRAZY! I wish my break was a day (or two) longer, I also ran into some family and friends here and there. Apparently a lot of Kuwaitis were there during that weekend, some even texted me that they saw me from far away and couldn't say hello! It was funny!!

After breakfast and shopping at the Mall of Emirates, we went to Madinat Jumairah to have lunch and walk around. We had lunch at The Meat Co. We ordered Red Chili Prawns and Rocket & Artichoke Salad for appetizers. I ordered The Petite (USA) Fillets2 X100 gm with a side of baked potato while my friend ordered a cheeseburger! It was so yummy, although I wanted my fillets without the mushroom sauce because it ruins the natural juices of the meat itself, and that is why I ordered it cooked medium (which also was a bit overcooked for my taste LOL I know I am bloody scary!)... but oh well, I was hungry as hell and ate the whole thing! We walked around Madinat Jumaira in the afternoon and headed to Mall of Dubai for some more shopping :-P

At night we were exhausted and hungry again... but did not want to rest and order room service! Instead, we headed to Atlantis for dinner at Nobu! The place is amazing and the food is so good! The pictures look like painting because I could not really take flash photos and disturb everyone there near by every time a new dish is at the table!! LOL! I actually love how they turned out with my editing and enhancing! We ordered Edamame and Mixed Seaweed Salad for Appetizer, Unagi for me and California for my friend. We also tried the New Age Salmon Sashimi *which I highly recommend* and shared a lobster. For dessert we ordered Benta Box Chocolate Souffle with a scoop of green tea ice cream! I loved everything about that place. The atmosphere, the service, and the food :-)

Enjoy the pictures... sometimes I forget to snap right away, so you may notice some missing pieces... ;-)