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La Maison Du Chocolat- A Taste of Gourmet Chocolate
La Maison du Chocolat held its 1st Anniversary celebration in Kuwait at the Avenues Mall on Thursday, July 9th, 2015. The world-renowned French chocolatier invited everyone to join in to celebrate the occasion along with His Excellency the French Ambassador to Kuwait, Christian Nakhle.
Everyone present at this convivial event, including myself, got to experience the finest hand-crafted chocolate delicacies that range from their signature ganache, luscious truffles, to exquisite pastries. The cutting of a big chocolate birthday cake commemorated the occasion and attendees got the chance to decorate pieces of chocolate, personalize it, and also have a hand in enrobing the devilishly good chocolate truffles in silky molten chocolate and have them dusted with cocoa powder or specks of gold. A special corner was also allocated for mini eclairs, where the Patissier walked you through techniques on how to master your eclair-dipping skills!
It is worth noting (and tasting) that the velvety smooth truffles filled with intensely rich ganache are absolutely sublime!
Pizzetta, for a Slice of Italian-inspired Cuisine
If you’re looking for Italian-inspired cuisine, look no further than Pizzetta, a local pizza place created by Kuwaiti Chef Ahmad Al-Bader. If your hunger pangs have awakened and are calling for a delightful taste of Italy, you can head over to the Al-Bidaa’ strip of restaurants or drive to the Spoons complex in Mahboula. 
With décor that is modern with gentle hints of farmhouse and rustic vibes creating an overall Italian charm, Pizzetta features a unique menu drawing on Italian staples, classic combinations, and experiments with an array of daring ingredients, each flaunting a unique culinary flair.
Set the tone of your meal with a selection of fresh salads, followed on by a range of appetizers for an enticing prelude for what’s to come. A delicious starter offers Veal Carpaccio, a Venetian delicacy named after a 15th Century Venetian painter known for the red colors in his paintings. The dish consists of raw meat sliced as thinly as possible into gauzy pieces and drizzled with olive oil and special sauce.
Next up are the bite-sized toasted bread loaves called crostini, stacked with a variety of toppings of your choosing. A standout combination is creamy goat cheese paired with fresh bits of pear.
An equivalent but slightly different compliment to an Italian entree are slices of grilled garlic bread called Bruschetta brushed with olive oil and served with fresh toppings.
The fried risotto balls are another common choice to opt for, spheres with a cheesy core layered with risotto and coated with breadcrumbs.
The pizzettas, which are small pizzas, are the centerpieces of the menu and ideal for having a personal-sized pizza that is small-portioned. A popular pick is the Pinocchio pizzetta, consisting of grilled chicken, slivers of mushroom, and creamy sauce. One would be “lying” if they said one slice was enough 🙂
For the main course, an excellent selection of distinct pastas and pizzas await you. For pizzas, choices are abound, ranging from the classic margarita, traditional pepperoni, to gourmet offerings topped with figs and Buffalo mozzarella. In Pizzetta, the pizza is simply a blank canvas of dough waiting to be filled with culinary creations, elevating the thinly crusted pizzas into an innovative and exceptional craft.
As you watch your pizza being made in the open kitchen, your order is whisked away from the fiery oven and onto your table. Be prepared to experience the tantalizing waft of melted cheese laden on warm crust permeating the air and stirring your appetite. The pizzas, charred and birthed by a grill with a pizza specialty oven, come in variations.
If you feel like having something else, there is always the oven-baked Canneloni comprised of pasta shells stuffed with a mixture of meat furled with spinach and a savory cream-based filling. You can also go for the flavorful seafood linguine dressed in red sauce seasoned Italian style.
For a sweet transition, the milky and buttery bread pudding is reason enough to frequent your visit to Pizzetta. A spoonful of this warm, delicious, irresistibly good dessert, is definite to make you swoon. As your spoon breaks into the crust for a scoop, you will succumb to it immediately and from then on your appetite will call the shots 🙂 Other options include the pizza desserts for a sweetened spin on the restaurant’s specialty. 
Kuwait: We are strongly united
The devastating and monstrous incident that ripped through the Imam Al-Sadiq mosque, one of Kuwait’s oldest mosques, claimed the lives of many on June 26th, 2015, and was condemned internationally and has left an indelible imprint in the hearts of all Kuwaitis and its residents, and condemned internationally.
The atrocity was a shock that many did not expect. Sorrow permeated the country.
A ghastly attack against our land that was intended to divide us and disintegrate our closely-knitted society, only united us and revealed the true essence of the loyalty, pride, and strength embedded in the people of Kuwait. It is a tenacious testimony to the imperishable love and bond of the Kuwaiti people for their homeland irrespective of what religion they believe in or what background they are from. The boundless loyalty of the people and the immense determination to protect our homeland will diminish any threat to jeopardize the national unity of this country. In the end, we are all humans united to fight against the evils of this world and to transcend any form of divides.
Street Art: Fly
Birds, airplanes…humans
Wok Hay, New Asian Restaurant in Kuwait
Situated in front of Green Island, Kuwait, is a contemporary Asian restaurant called Wok Hay. The name of the newly opened Chinese restaurant is characteristic of the aromatic flavor imparted by the Chinese wok pan.
You can start your dining with fragrant and refreshing green tea in a modern Asian setting with red and gold accents, as you explore the various dishes and contrasting flavors ranging from sweet, to sour, to spicy that Asian cuisine is known for.
Specializing in Chinese cuisine, the menu is emblazoned with vibrant appetite-inducing dishes based on traditional Chinese as well contemporary twists all infused with flavors of garlic, ginger, lime, and sesame along with the satiating aromas of Asia prepared by the Chinese Head Chef.
Starting with appetizers is the favorite Chinese speciality; roasted Beijing duck rolled inside thin Chinese pancakes called moo shu wraps that are plated with a side of dark duck sauce. Another popular and scrumptious choice that makes for a light and flavorful starter are the chicken lettuce wraps consisting of tender and flavorful minced chicken with a blend of chestnut and shiitake mushroom served with crisp lettuce.
For the main courses, highly recommended is the traditional tangy lemon black pepper seasoning served with a choice of beef, shrimp or chicken.
You can also have your choice of brown or white rice to go on the side, or a choice of egg, rice vermicelli or wide rice noodles. There are plentiful traditional options and sides that can accompany your dish like steamed or stir-fried vegetables and refreshing salads.
The multi-Asian menu does not confine itself to Chinese alone, but also features a variety of Asian dishes ranging from Thai to Indonesian to Vietnamese that guarantee to further take your taste buds on an Asian excursion through the varying bold flavors of the region that are infused in every dish. Among those dishes are the Singaporean glass noodles tangled with an assortment of vegetables and shrimp that leave a lingering spiciness with every bite.
For a sweet ending, you can never go wrong with the lip-smacking banana and mango spring roll, a crispy wrapper sealed with banana and mango fillings, served with coconut ice cream and finished with caramel and mango sauce.
So, sharpen your chopstick skills, rev up your appetite, and enjoy the flurry of Asian flavors at Wok Hay.
Pickles Burgers: An Upbeat Burger Experience
If you wish to get your burger fix, you can head over to Al-Bida’a or to Marina Walk at the Arabian Gulf Street in Kuwait, where you will find a cozy burger place situated in the corner to satisfy your craving. Belonging to The Sultan Center’s Group of Restaurants, and created by Kuwaiti Chef Ahmad Al-Bader.
The restaurant is reminiscent of a contemporary rustic vibe with its woody seating and plating, along with lights enclosed in pickle jars hanging overhead that add warmth while accentuating the name of the restaurant.
For starters, you can choose from a selection of the restaurant’s variously flavored signature pickles to give your burger some company, namely the standard long pickles called the “stackers” or another popular choice the banana pepper rings.
Whichever one you go with, you can have your mouth-tingling pickles either fried or fresh accompanied with a wide range of sauces and dips like honey mustard, sour cream whip, apple sauce and the list goes on and on. The piquant pickles “chips” lend a crunchy and zesty taste to your burgers.
As for burgers, common picks are the BBQ Heaven Burger, and Mexican Burger with guacamole and sour cream, my personal favorite is the succulent shredded short rib mushroom Swiss burger that detonates a fiesta of flavors. The shredded meat is so tender that it disintegrates in your mouth!
The delicious ingredients of each burger are sandwiched between soft potato buns, and what is also special about these burgers is how light they are and not too hefty on the stomach.
With each impending bite, one can also sip on a selection of milkshakes and juices. If you are not in the mood for a burger, Pickles offers a fine selection of well-crafted sandwiches that are equally enticing.
The desserts provide a great end to the meal; indulge in the French toast with a dollop of mascarpone cream topped with shredded coconut and a drizzle of maple syrup. A Pickle’s sundae is also on the menu, but as the name would suggest, the ice cream is not pickle-flavored, but rather a mountain of chocolate and caramel goodness served in a pickle jar.
As you leave, you can still relish Pickle burgers anywhere you go with a summer barbecue box equipped and delivered to you with twelve seasoned burger patties, buns and selected condiments.
The Butcher’s Den- A Taste of Premium Beef Cuts
Located at the Bidaa’ Strip of restaurants, The Butcher’s Den is one of The Sultan Center’s Group of Restaurants, a meat-centric concept developed by Kuwaiti Chef Ahmad Al-Bader.
Upon entering, you are greeted with welcoming and warm staff, and décor artfully decorated with a line of various miniature cattle figurines dressed in different characters, as if to reflect the diverse choices of beef glazed and seasoned based on your preferences and “style”. One can browse several of the tenderized cuts from a glass-enclosed display located in the corner of the restaurant.
The modern steakhouse serves prime cuts and offers an assortment of premium-aged and variously graded meats ranging from sirloin to ribeye and fillets. The Wagyu beef delicacy comes in rankings of red, silver, and the super-luxurious black Wagyu being the Rolls-Royce of all beef, with a lean and buttery texture that’s hard to find anywhere else in Kuwait.
The moment you take your seat, you are given something that you will not expect to find in a restaurant, or steakhouse, a delightful complimentary serving of a cloud of cotton candy. As you are handed the menu, considerable exploration is merited as a cascade of enticing and unique dishes fall before you that stir your appetite.
For appetizers, you can “graze” (pun-intended :)) on a range of dishes, starting with the all-time favorite and infamous Burrata with cherry tomatoes, a delicate and creamy mozzarella cheese sought-after by many.
Followed by the first course, the meaty part comes to play with fall-off-the-bone, rich and tender ribs and steaks, where you can pair your choosing with plentiful sauces, condiments and numerous side dishes to compliment your meal. Before you start devouring your juicy steaks, you are presented with a set of colorful and carefully-curated steakhouse knives to select from.
Along with your carnivorous meal you can add a wild rocket and blueberry salad or red chard and mangosteen (succulent and sweet tropical fruit) with chestnut dressing.
As for the main course, the menu offers an array of alternatives to steaks, where you can opt for the lobster linguine with lemon caper sauce, wagyu short rib ravioli, oxtail potpie, and much more.
More enjoyment can be had from the desserts, particularly the delectable salted caramel ice cream topped with caramelized popcorn fusing the sweetness of the caramel with a pleasantly surprising subtle dash of salt creating a flavorsome combination.
The Butcher’s Den is a unique and exquisite dining experience for friends and family. For a quiet time tucked away from the main dining area, the restaurant also offers a private room for parties and other special occasions, coupled with a live-cooking show station with occasional visits from Chef Ahmad Al-Bader himself.
A Ukrainian Childhood and Fond Memories
Every summer I traveled to my second hometown, Donetsk, to see my grandparents with my mother. Looking back at my memories as a child in Ukraine fills my heart with bittersweet nostalgia. A lot of things in my life trigger my memories of Ukraine. One of the simplest things, like to catch a faint whiff of dill, instantaneously evokes in me a vivid recollection of my grandparent’s house, it was like a gateway to the past, a flashback to my great and active and childhood that I feel so blessed to have had.
Summer was always accompanied by scraped knees and purple-stained fingers. Our neighborhood had a huge infamous Mulberry tree right in the middle of it that stained the ground with purple spots, and reaching out to the highest branches (with the tastiest and most ripe berries) was always risky because they left indelible stains on my clothes! Being sort of a jungle kid I encountered many risks. I lived and spent a large portion of my childhood time outdoors; climbing trees, building tree houses out of branches and scraps of cardboard, rope-jumping with friends, learning how to ride a bike, swinging on monkey bars, playing badminton, and mingling with different kids and neighborhood folks. I’d spend all day outside playing from early morning ’til noon, stepping inside to eat lunch, then bouncing back out again. My childhood experiences in Ukraine shaped me significantly and also helped me learn more about my Ukrainian culture and way of life. I remember being known as the gypsy girl because of my dark-haired/eyed look compared to everyone else, the “Arab” from an unknown far away land.
We commonly played with Chinese jump ropes
At the end of every playful and adventurous day I was an exhausted, worn out but HAPPY kid with dirt on my clothes and bruises on my legs. Then the day after, I’d repeat it all over again and so on. Waking up to the sound of an orchestra of rustling leaves and pigeons cooing on the balcony, I tugged on my grandpa to take me out with him then to get me that delicious waffle ice cream that I always loved and still do. I never had tastier ice cream in my life!
My favorite ice cream in Ukraine as a kid 🙂
There were two benches next to our home from where my grandpa always watched over me so that I didn’t run out of his sight. “Don’t go past the keet!” he always warned. The “keet” used to be an outdoor swimming pool in the playground, and all that’s left of it is a stone in the shape of a whale. The mystery surrounding the disappearance of the pool had to do with a drowning incident..so they say. Beyond the keet was stepping into a danger zone for me, a restricted area that I didn’t dare to cross over. I even remember feeling like a dare devil whenever I attempted to go past that “forbidden” point with my friends.
My grandpa frequently took me to the town’s bazaar and bought me gifts. I still hold on to that cute little blue purse he bought me with an angel or fairy on it. I remember when having a tamagotchi was the craze for kids in the neighborhood, it was a cool gadget to have and everyone suddenly wanted to be your friend. There was a particular one I really wanted; a big, baby pink heart-shaped one which was a rare find. Grandpa promised to go to the bazaar with me to search the whole market for it, but we never found it. He got me an even cooler one with a keychain, that I also kept until this day.
Then I’d come back home to the scent of my all time favorite, grandma’s hearty Ukrainian Borsch soup. I’d put on an apron just like the one she had and help her prepare the ingredients, chopping those veggies and stirring the pot. I loved helping out my grandma in the kitchen, and I always imitated everything she did! Sometimes, if she wasn’t too tired, I would beg her to go outside with me and pick out her outfit and choose the color of her lipstick. I loved playing dress up with her.
On weekends we took trips to the Black Sea along the winding roads overlooking endless sunflower fields and a clear blue sky. On our way there all the sunflowers were facing the East and going back home at sunset they’d be facing the opposite direction. Sometimes we’d stop the car and sneakily grab ourselves a sunflower and pick the seeds inside it. Actually, they taste better raw than they do ripe!
As years of memories passed by, my grandparents passed away and it’s been 8 years since my last visit. I knew that if I ever were to return, the place would not be the same. That is the most depressing part.
Now this very place is a war-torn zone, the same place from which all these dear memories came from and still remain untarnished in my mind. The neighborhoods have turned into a ghost town, most Donetsk residents escaped and moved out, some fearing for their lives and hiding in their homes. What was once the sounds of birds cooing and childrens’ laughters in the morning has been replaced with the loud bangs of firing and explosions. Armed thugs wield rifles and clubs . It feels like only a moment ago that everything was okay, and it was only a moment ago that I was proudly looking at pictures of Donetsk’s newly built airport that served as a sleek symbol of progress. Now it is completely destroyed and what is left of it is a wasteland of rubble.
The airport does not stand today. It is just a heap of rubble.
I would never have imagined that this was going to happen to Donetsk one day, no one did. And it deeply saddens me to see the state it is in right now and I really hope that it returns to the beautiful city it always was.
Mere words cannot do justice to the memories that Ukraine has in my heart.