Kuwait’s global culinary offerings continue apace. The latest eatery to catch our eye is Ubon in the Sabhan district. The restaurant’s setting – overlooking a field, man-made lake and horse-racing track – may not immediately bring the mind the swaying romanticism of its namesake, Ubon Rachathani, an ancient city in Thailand’s eastern provinces, but it’s the architecture that ably sets the mood for something tastefully exotic. The restaurant rises about the flat desert landscape in the form of a slick white cube fringed by ponds and palms. To break the monotony of the shape, architects Rashed Alfoudari and Dawood Albader have inserted towering glass windows that pull light into the shaded interiors. Here, charred timber walls are played off against light grey-pebbled concrete, black mirrors, brass joinery and furnishings by French brand Alki. The effect is of stepping out of the glaring Arabian heat into the welcoming cool gloom of an expansive tent. Meanwhile, the menu is Thai-lite; one gets the impression that the goal is not to stray too far from the tried and tested formula set by the original Ubon in Kuwait City. And so, diners are gently steered through familiar favourites like tom yum soup, green chicken curry, Massaman beef and red ruby though extra-regional dishes like beef satay, shrimp wontons and shrimp stir-fried with black mushrooms in a lemony garlic sauce, and a soufflé cheesecake are reminders that you’re no longer in Thailand.
ADDRESS
Murouj Restaurants Complex
Near Sahara Golf Resort
6th Ring Road
Sabhan
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpieceNow hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
Technogym’s new Pilates reformer blends peak performance with sleek designThe Technogym Reform is the latest addition to the company’s design-led equipment roster, made from sustainable materials including apple-skin leather
-
Kaari Upson’s unsettling, grotesque and seductive world in DenmarkThe Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark is staging the first comprehensive survey of late artist Kaari Upson’s work
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico -
Martim — Wroclaw, Poland -
Tattersalls Hotel — Armidale, Australia -
KLoé Hotel — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -
Casa Hoyos — San Miguel de Allende, Mexico -
Littlenap — Hangzhou, China -
Casa Santa Teresa — Corsica, France -
Swedish studio Claesson Koivisto Rune designs K5, a new hotel in TokyoStep inside Claesson Koivisto Rune’s design as a 1920s bank turns hotel
