Update: 21 August
The Kuwait Union for Restaurants, Cafés and Catering Companies provided a full
explanation to the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition, which met earlier this week with the Municipality and the Ministry of Health concerning the health requirements for restaurants to use single-use (disposable) items. The union has explained the risks of using the disposable items for some hot foods, as they can generate carcinogens, differentiating items that are placed in the microwave oven, and also that the restaurants find them expensive and won’t use them.
The Union has said the authority has removed the requirement of using disposable items from restaurants having dishwashers and dryers to relieve pressure on them and reduce cost. Source
On Tuesday 18th August we moved to phase 4 of Kuwait “return to normal life” and since it had been months since we (and indeed many of us) had been out for a meal, we decided to visit one of our favourite restaurants, Maki, at Marina waves.
We needed to make a reservation, to ensure that social distancing was enabled within the restaurant (too many diners would mean that the 2 metre protocol couldn’t be met). Upon entering the restaurant, our temperatures were taken and recorded next to our reservation, and we were encouraged to sanitise our hands with the automatic dispenser at the entrance.
We were led to our table, set 2m apart from other diners (and many tables were not in use due to the distancing), we witnessed each seating area being fully sanitised as well between diners.
All the waiting staff were wearing gloves, masks, and over the top of the masks a plastic face shield too.
The regular menus (usually on a tablet) were not available, instead a QR code had been generated that we captured with our phones, and enabled the full menu, with photos, to be downloaded to our phones (please note if you own an android phone don’t forget to download a QR code reading app).
Once our order was taken, we were given the options of chopsticks or regular cutlery, both disposable and wrapped to avoid any contamination of the utensils.
When our order was ready, it was served on disposable tableware, the same used for delivery, and tasted as delicious as we remembered 🙂
The experience was a memorable one, and one where we felt very safe and also we noted that the staff too were well protected against infection.
So, if you’re worried about dining out, that was our experience, we have only been to Maki so far, but if everyone are following the same directives, then we feel we’re as safe as can be in these unprecedented times.
If you want to make a reservation at Maki, just call them on: 1823080 and enjoy a well deserved break from the kitchen!
(Please note, Maki were unaware of our visit, and indeed this review, so we know that the experience wasn’t staged at all).