Monday 31 January 2011

Benihana Kuwait #FAIL

The latest rage on the blogosphere and twitter land!


so you go to a new place, to enjoy a meal, have a good time, a regular night one, right? well, you might not enjoy your meal, the experience at the restaurant, the waiter is nasty, anything might ruin or get on your nerves... its fine, you just decide not to visit again, but hey let's vent out on my blog about it you would say...


Mark from www.248am.com a popular blog on the Kuwaiti scene, has posted (you can follow him on twitter.com/mark248am) his review on his experience at the recently opened Benihana in Kuwait (full review here http://tiny.cc/q86o4) . . . and behold, Benihana replies, not with a "ohhh thank you for the feedback Mark", "we will take your thoughts into consideration", but no, they show up full knives swinging!!



FILING A LAWSUIT against Mark for defamation and what not... i mean SERIOUSLY ?!!? 


well, i've read the review, and its not that bad at all, complimenting the nice waiters, the fact that the place holds up despite being open for coupla days only... well the GM, with apparently silly english skills, has filed a lawsuit against Mark, instead of investing the effort and words and money into dealing with the constructive criticism the place was faced with.


All this coming when i posted yesterday a review about a restaurant in Dubai (http://tiny.cc/2n7cj), i have my fingers crossed now.


Unfortunately for Benihana, with an established reputation, this comes as a big blow, and i doubt the place will stay in business in Kuwait. I wonder even the ripple effect of this whole shebang across the outlets in the region. 


These days with the power of social media and all the blogging activity increasing by the minute here, with especially a vocal culture, brands should play ball and even offer their hand to be embraced by social media.. it is always and will always remain a two-way and more communication process,, people listen, people watch, people share, people do good. Brands are thus to calculate every step they make, how they talk, how they act, how they present themselves,, a slip is no longer a tiny press clipping to hang on a wall of shame in a GM's office, NO, it becomes the mockery of everyone ! 


Everything is interconnected, the internet and social media just sky rocketed that fact! 


What do you think Benihana is to do to redeem itself? was it right in following this action against Mark? would all this refrain you from stating your opinion or push to shout it louder!? 


Check out other posts on the matter here:


http://tiny.cc/1ahjo on Fake Plastic Souks by @AlexanderMcNabb


http://tiny.cc/mnxlf on Five One Eight by @ansam518


http://tiny.cc/2pklu on His and Hers Q8 by @His_Hers_q8 (co-blog like ours)


http://tiny.cc/04epz on Life In Dubai by SeaBee


http://tiny.cc/qglu2


http://tiny.cc/afy89 on Irrelevant Combinations by @mzaher


MAKE SURE TO HASSLE THEM on their FB page as most are 


http://www.facebook.com/BenihanaKuwait?v=wall


and finally hahahaha 






@Alexi13


Follow me on Twitter.com/Alexi13



Sunday 30 January 2011

Farsi Food (Anar Restaurant Review)

Anar Resturant @ Madinat Jumeirah - DXB




The setting is right on the creek goin through MJ, with duckies passin by, and the busy abras carryin the tourists around the creek! The place has indoor seating as well, which will give you more of a persian feel.


The lovely touch of a fresh orchid flower on your table surely to bring a smile to your face, and a distraction while you wait for ur food :p 




The menu is rich in its selections, and i liked the fact that they had the persian names for the items, extra bit of general knowledge and fun to try and pronounce them!! 



 

We start off with a plate of greenery n walnuts n feta cheese pieces with a nice presentation, along some baked (i think) persian bread or smthn, which is very tasty!!!




I took the Kashk o Bademjan for starters, it was yummmeeeyyyy for anyone into eggplants!! with the yoghurt and mint sauce adding a lovely sting to the eggplant's full flavor, and the onions on top releasing a sugary after taste.




For the main course, i attacked a Fesenjan Ba Morgh,,, The chicken bits come scuba diving in this rich flavored sauce of ground walnuts and pomegranate sauce... laying down those yummy chicken pieces on the very well cooked rice, the meat just slides off from the bones, one of the quickest de-boning i had!! As for the taste, one hell of a sweet and sour mix, to die for!! 




Finally you must keep room for desert and what better thing than to try a persian dessert. Enter the Bastani Akbar Mashti, or basically vanilla ice cream and saffron persian style ice cream... hellloooo the feeling of wanting the desert to never end!! highly recommended!!! 




Now, price wise, hmmm, kinda on the moderate to high side of things... 
Starter + 2 main courses + 2 desserts = AED 510 or USD 140.


@Alexi13


Follow me on Twitter.com/Alexi13







Monday 10 January 2011

Baking Powder!!



And here goes another man into the Kitchen!! 


I must start by saying one of my good friends named Z, is responsible for awakening a passion for the kitchen and not just the plate! He's a self made amateur cook, producing amazing platters.


Today, my love pulled me into the kitchen to bake some Madeleines!! 


The preparation is pretty easy, some baking powder, some flour, some vanilla, some butter some lemon zest and egggggs :D 


Voila the result below!! 











 Bon Appetit! yes they tasted like heavenly clouds!


@Alexi13


Follow me on Twitter.com/Alexi13


That's my Madeleine of the day