Perhaps Too Much Westernization?

Photo Courtesy: Club Lounge

While chilling with my friends the other day, we had a hard time deciding on a place for dinner. Some of the suggestions were Applebee’s, Chili’s, P.F.Chang, Smokehouse, Caluccios, Satchi, Kitchen Art and on it went with the American and European restaurants. Being someone who’s been in the U.S. for the last five years, the mention of these restaurants killed my appetite.

What happened to good old Kuwaiti places? On my flight to Kuwait I was excited just to think about all the Yireesh, Gabout, Shawarma, Kebabs and Knafeh that I could devour during my short stay here. Now all the food courts and restaurants are full of American, French, Italian, and other South-East Asian cuisines.

Sure, there are Arab cafes around every corner but it just doesn’t feel right to nibble away at a scrawny shawarma or ignore the oil and sugar that covers the sweets with very little taste to relish. Last week I managed to find out the new location of the Kuwaitiana restaurant and that took me quite some effort.Once a huge store, now it resembles a small hole-in-the-wall look which could be easily mistaken for some random restaurant rather than for the great place it is.

I’m sure that I wouldn’t have been feeling this way if I was settled in Kuwait. But I just hope that among all the westernization taking place, there will still be the fresh aroma of tea and ful hanging in the air in the morning.

PS: If you know of any great Arab places, don’t hesitate in sharing it. After all, sharing is caring 😉

Related articles

• Video: Why are you in Kuwait? By an American lady (buzfairy.com)
• shawarma (mosttasty.wordpress.com)