by: Faisal Al-Nashmi (PofR Food Critic)

Edo, Faris’ all time favorite Japanese restaurant the target of the night. Delivering Japan’s original cuisine to Kuwait with many orders ranging from miso soups, salads, and rolls, all on the table for us to destroy. The order that really stood out from the others was the Kyoto Roll, and as I mentioned in my Sushi Samba post, I’m not really a big sushi person, however the Kyoto Roll was a perfect choice. Very light yet extremely savory, combining great fresh flavors in a bite-sized roll, finished off with a tiny squirt of creamy spicy mayo.

I would guarantee any eater that one order of Kyoto isn’t enough, two might be acceptable. The minute my back teeth clamped the sushi I got a fresh burst of mint all over my mouth with a crunch from the ginger side-kick, then slowly kicked in an aromatic yet distinctive sharp spicy flavor… Oh Wasabi! The extreme creaminess of the mayonnaise and crab, deliberately added, turns off the startling tongue fire for the wasabi haters, and lastly a nutty after taste from the browned sesame seeds on top. The combination of flavors is what makes me eager enough to take time in analyzing and posting my critiques on the best foods out there. Ingredients such as sesame seeds, fresh mint, wasabi, mayonnaise, and ginger all come from completely different cuisines, yet, chefs and food fanatics really take time in producing food that hum in a completely new note. I would definitely recommend this roll for all sushi lovers, thus placing it in my top 10 best sushi rolls.

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by: Faisal Al-Nashmi (PofR Food Critic)

I’m in Kuwait for summer and I finally had some time to look at the endless restaurants we have here. I started off placing Slider Station on my ‘Star’ critique restaurants list, because it has to be one of the most important and famous burger joints in Kuwait. I myself am a huge Slider Station fan, and have tried nearly all of their recommended sliders, however, I stumbled upon what has to be the tastiest and most flavorful slider I’ve tried so far. Ancho & Maple Braised Short Rib was the target of the night, who would have thought of inserting so much flavor in something as small as my palm. As usual I can’t order something from any menu that doesn’t attract the reader, and from reading the slider’s description my mouth watered from imagining its great combination of flavors. Finally my plate of wonders arrived in front of my eyes, and just as I expected, took a bite… as described, a fresh burst of braised short rib tenderly braised screaming to be eaten. Short rib is a very tender piece of meat cut from the ribs, so to keep the braised beef from falling apart, the beef is cooked again adding this amazing charr flavor. What actually makes this slider my favorite is their special Ancho & Maple sauce, marrying their sweet and tangy taste with the braised charred short rib, and being topped off by an extremely crispy golden brown onion ring. Ancho, for you that don’t know is a mild Poblano Pepper grown in Mexico, and this name is given when it is dried, Maple is the sweet honey like sauce drizzled on pancakes. Thus, infusing both ingredients (chili and maple) creates somewhat of a new era in sauces. Thank you Mr. Slider Creator for this prodigious slider creation.

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I know Kuwaitis love their mother’s cooking the most but ever wondered what people in Italy love to eat at home? I find it quite interesting to see what people everywhere eat. Sometimes the things they eat surprise me and I’m all like, “That is so not laayig!”. Anywho, I posted the pictures down there in the lovely picture viewer we so happily have been using since day one of our beloved Puddle (your welcome).

Thanks Tima.

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I promised myself I’d learn how to cook a few dishes this summer and stumbled upon an interesting blog filled with simple recipes. I haven’t tried any of them myself yet but everything looks delicious in the photos.

http://gimmesomeoven.com/

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What you see in front of you are two innocent Oreo cookies stuffed with 36 stacks of Oreo fillings. I would never try this, but it would be interesting to see someone attempting to eat the whole thing. I love Oreo cookies, but not to the extend where I would stack them up!

Here are some nutritional facts for you:

Each Oreo filling has 20 calories, so 20 x 36 = 720 calories

Each Oreo cookie has 15 calories, so 15 x 2 = 30

Total: 750 calories

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by: Faisal Al-Nashmi (PofR food critic)

It’s been a while since I had time to analyze and criticize the endless list of Miami restaurants. However, this multi-cuisine restaurant is surely worth the wait. Sushi Samba one of Miami’s top rated cuisines, lies in between Lincoln road creating and setting off the hype of South Beach’s night life. Found in NY, Chicago, and Vegas, Sushi Samba unifies two completely different cuisines (Japanese and Argentinean) to create this simple yet luscious menu, working on two different kitchens, one cooking the hot sustenance (Argentinean), and the other cold (Japanese).

For starters settling on the Chicarron de calamari, cornmeal fried calamari with its exotic tamarind sauce, and Rock Shrimp. Just to make things clear and get it out of the way, this calamari simply was the best calamari I ever had ! The sweetness and sourness diffusing out of each crunch literally gets the eater emotionally attached to this dish, combining the succulent Tamarind with the sensational calamari taste creating a whole level of taste into the culinary world. Tamarind, for those who aren’t really familiar, is a Tree originally found in Africa, and has cultivated its way through India, locally called (Tamir-Hindi) as in (Indian-Date). The fruit pulp is the one used in many Indian dishes, releasing its rich succulent sour taste, adding its mark into many cuisines. I would definitely recommend this calamari, and would give it a definite 10/10.

To sooth and relax the taste buds, in I sank into the Rock Shrimp smothered in Sushi Samba’s famous spicy mayonnaise. The crunchiness, creaminess, and spiciness uniting together really appeals to my personal preference in food, rating it a two thumbs up for todays contemporary comfort food. Chopsticks fighting over each piece, a shrimp is stuffed in the mouth, crunch is heard, Paprika and Chili powder are what dominate the tongue, creaminess soothes the buds, a guilty smile is seen.

In came the two orders of the Argentinean based sushi. Samba Dromo roll consisting of Lobster, mango, crispy rice, and peanut curry, while the other Ezo roll consisting of Salmon, asparagus, red onion, and wasabi mayonnaise. I personally don’t like ordering rolls when expecting a large plate to arrive, however, the sushi here is just something out of the ordinary. Again, a mixture of sweetness, sourness, and saltiness all combined together to create this unforgettable distinct flavor.

Then came the 14 oz Churrasco Picanha, perfectly sliced, garnished with fresh watercress, all resting on Sushi Samba’s amusing leaf presentation. A side of their secret vinegar sauce breaks the usual steak taste, while mouth salivating through the heartfelt steak recipe. I just enjoyed consuming the whole steak with chopsticks, while sinking my teeth in their creamy roasted/fried fingerling potatoes. Taste buds started to control personal action in which order the food should be consumed, first the saltiness of the steak gets dipped in the sourness of the sauce, and is then topped off with the creamy potato that settles and calms the buds to a neutral level.
Sushi Samba’s lounge atmosphere sets Lincoln Road’s mood of the night, showing off their sexy attractive waitresses with their bright orange colors. This has to be a pleasant experience that would definitely be visited again.

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Mark if you’re reading this then be warned because what I’m about to show you defies your whole “Healthier Lifestyle“. I used to be overweight once and I can tell you that it was extremely difficult losing weight because I just loved food so much! I don’t just don’t fill up my stomach with random food I find in the fridge; I like to eat really good food from every where. Now I find my self sitting here looking at this website and I get on the floor and thank the big guy in the sky for not exposing me to such a culinary fiasco!

Some people who are a kind of on the heavy side always ask themselves why they get fat while eating a delicious cheesecake smothered with whip cream and a side of ice-cream and chocolate syrup. I did that a lot so I should know. Not the cheesecake thing but the questioning ones self kind of thing. Then I landed on this website where they answer that question I asked my self when I was heavier. And here you go, “This is why you’re fat.”

This website is basically the Lookbook of food only gross. Don’t get me wrong Lookbook people; I love you. What they do on This is why you’re fat is post pictures of the most fattening foods your brains can’t even imagine possible. I look at this website and I’m simply left in shock and I ask my self, “What the F#$!?” Do they actually eat this stuff?! Who ever thought about deep frying bite size Milky Way chocolate (deep frying yummy chocolate fat with more fat). Oh and it doesn’t stop there. The Milky Ways are just the least of it. You have people on there that conjured up a parfait of pulled pork!

I’m so grossed out yet I find my self scrolling down page after page! Check the website out and tell us what you’re favorite dish is.

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Remember this Pepsi can? I found this can in the back of my friend’s fridge and it brought back a lot of Bnaider beach memories. We would be in the sea with our taste buds filled with salt, and these Pepsi cans would be waiting for us in the coldest icebox right on the beach. Even though this new edition is made with real sugar rather than sugar syrup, I was more happy with the design rather than the new ingredients. Each can has 10 more calories, so instead of the regular 140 calories per can, this one has 150 calories.

Pepsi used this design from 1987 up to 1994. With the cans changing in 1995-1996 to the blue cans we know today, most of the co-ops and baqalas did not change the signs outside. When I was in Kuwait last June, I still saw some baqalas in Al-Zour that had rusty old signs with this design. When I was on the way to Bahrain a couple of years ago, I also saw signs with the same design. It would be amazing if they can repaint and maintain them.

I’m not sure if they brought Pepsi Throwback to Kuwait, but you got to try them along side the current Pepsi. Maybe I’m over analyzing the after taste, but the Pepsi with the real sugar leaves the sugary taste behind but the corn syrup one just dries up your mouth.

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With all the Frozen Yogurt and the ‘Healthy’ beverage companies suddenly coming up over the past year or so, I could barely keep up with the new ones. First, it was Pinkberry, then Red Mango, then Yogurtland, then Golden Spoon, then I stopped even remembering their names.  I realized that each brand is not only competing for the best designed store and frozen yogurt ingredient, but also there is website design battle going on in the background as well. For the past month, I’ve realized that Pinkberry, Yogurtland and D’Lush have been changing the music, content, some design elements and news on their website almost on a weekly basis. Here’s Pinkberry’s new store location update:

Either Bahrain conquered Kuwait and the Avenues is now officially part of the Kingdom of Bahrain, or Bahrain are trying to rip our Avenues off with their own version, or Pinkberry needs a geography lesson.

There is also a 3 minute Pinkberry song, which they were playing as I was browsing their website, but I couldn’t believe the lyrics were actually saying ‘Pinkberry’ over and over again until I started listening in more closely. Its like they made this song so people could sing along while they’re waiting in line for their frozen yogurt.

Check out these websites and you’ll see what I mean by web design battle:

• Pinkberry
• D’Lush
• Mojo
• Red Mango

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For our New Venture Finance class, the professor assigned us in groups to work on a Series A investment pitch for different private companies. At the beginning, all I knew was that I was going to work on was a private company called “Vita Coco”. I had no idea what the company did and what products they sold. After researching more on Vita Coco, I found out that they specialize in making natural coconut water drinks. A new concept for drinks that has practically gained popularity in 2006. There are about 6 flavors of Vita Coco including acai berry, pomegranate, pineapple and mango. Surprisingly, Madonna, Demi Moore, Mathew Mcconaughey and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have shares in the company. The drink is available in a lot of stores in the US depending on which state you’re in and can be ordered on Amazon.com. I tried the drink yesterday, and if I were to only take the taste factor into consideration I would honestly give it a 6/10 rating. The strong point of this drink is not only the taste, but also the nutrients in it, and after finding out about the nutrients in the drink, I changed that rating to a 9/10. Maybe it needs some getting used to and you’ll be able to drink it like any other juice. To me, tasting Vita Coco for the first time was sort of like when I first tasted Gatorade or Red Bull, I didn’t like the taste at all when I first tried them, but after getting used to them, now they taste great. Here are the benefits of Vita Coco:

• Each serving has 15 times more electrolytes than Gatorade, and even better, these electrolytes are naturally available in coconuts
• Each serving has the same amount of potassium in two bananas
• It helps keep your body at cooler and proper temperatures
• Good for weight loss, that is if you drink coconut water as an alternative to soda
• Helps replenish your body fluids after exercise
• and the list goes on Vita Coco’s website

My recommendation is to either go for the Mango & Peach flavor or the Pineapple flavor. Drink them when they’re ice cold!

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