Kaakati is one of Jeddah’s latest eateries. This Lebanese concept offers up the traditional ka’ak, freshly baked bread rings sprinkled with sesame seeds and filled with a variety of ingredients. This food is ideal for sahoor in Ramadan and the people behind Kaakati have timed their opening well.
We popped in late one evening for a midnight snack, and found our way through twin doors that open into the restaurant. Bachelor seating can be found downstairs while an extensive family seating area is available out of sight on the upper level.
What’s great about Kaakati is that you get to see the cooks at work in the large open-plan kitchen, and watch as the fresh bread rings slowly inflate in the oven, like little hot air balloons, but with the added aroma of freshly baked bread.
The venue is brightly lit with splashes of color throughout, deep reds and bright mustard cushions work well with the black tables and chairs. Traditional red brick walls common in older bakeries arch above the fiery oven and are a great example of old meets new. Flat-screen TVs and modern music quickly snap you back to the present day.
The menu is extensive, with everything from traditional cheeses (Swiss, Kashkawan and Aquaway) all the way to gourmet takes on this traditional sandwich. So if you like your fish, you can opt for a hot salmon ka’ak topped with fresh tomatoes, cream cheese and capers. Or if you are a fan of your meat, options include roast beef, sausage. There are also plenty of vegetarian options.
However it’s not just the savory options that caught our attention; sweet options are also available with fillings like date and chocolate, walnut, banana and chocolate, and even basbousa and geshta (cream).
As for drinks, a local touch has also been added here with regional options including tamer hindi (tamarind), erkesous (anis), kamer-e-dine (apricot) as well as other fruit juices, including more unusual options like blueberry.
For the shisha lover, Kaakati will not disappoint; all the usual suspect flavors are available. We chose to take out our food and didn’t have to wait too long for our order. The restaurant manager kindly assisted us in choosing some ka’aks. We chose the salmon and cream cheese, roast beef, sausage and mustard, chocolate with dates, chocolate with walnuts and chocolate banana. (Yes, we like chocolate). We completed our order with the mango ka’ak with Chantilly cream.
Ten minutes later our hot pies were packed and ready to go. The ka’aks came fresh out of the oven into aluminum containers with cardboard tops, which was a little surprising for the up-market feel of the restaurant. It all made sense by the time we got home, as the aluminum did an excellent job at keeping the ka’aks piping hot!
As for the taste test, the ka’aks were unique, sure to be a hit with sesame lovers, as there is certainly an overwhelming taste of these. Other than that, the bread is much like brown pita bread: soft, light, fluffy, ideal for sandwiches.
When it came to the fillings, the chocolate dates was too rich for us, a sweet mix of ground dates and chocolate, with a chewy texture not too far off from halwa. We preferred the chocolate banana ka’ak that went down well with everyone.
As for the savory ka’aks, the majority of these were more substantial and filling, although in some cases ingredients were sparingly used making for a pretty flat sandwich.
The sausage beef and Dijon mustard sandwich was made up of slices of hot dog sausage smothered in mustard. Tasty, but as we ordered a small, we were left wanting more. The hot salmon with tomatoes, capers and cream cheese managed to fill the gap, and the roast beef sandwich also received a thumbs up.
The lack of pictures on the menu means the ka’aks come as something of a surprise when opened up. Fortunately for us, the experience on the whole was a pleasant one; just make sure you order a few Ka’aks as one is simply not enough!
Location: Rawdah Star — Off Rawdah Street
Tel: 02-665-3065
(Rashed Islam is a food critic who hosts Jeddahfood.com)
