Meme’s Curry hits different. Sure, there may be various renditions of other concepts of the now-famous Japanese curry sauce since the brand’s inception as a home business in 2013. The restaurant’s early success birthed a trend in Kuwait, yet still, no one has been able to deliver the same quality, flavor, or experience one gets when visiting any of Meme’s Curry dine-in destinations in Salmiya, The Avenues, or Abu Al Hasaniya. Meme’s Curry is simply inimitable.
This is a true testament to CEO Shehab Al Attar’s passion, dedication, and perseverance to create a dining space that’s fun to visit with your nearest and dearest, but more importantly, will always deliver on bags of flavor with every moreish bite of their famous Japanese curry sauce. It’s also important to remember that Meme’s Curry did it first. Shehab laughingly told us, “I don’t follow trends, I like to create them.”
He’s always fully committed to offering Meme’s Curry customers a real experience. Shehab is all for technology, utilizing delivery to expand the business. Still, printed menus, and having a deeper connection with staff are paramount to creating a memorable experience at any Meme’s Curry you walk into. “So many people advised me to digitize the ordering process via QR codes, and I am dead against this. We want our customers to have a friendly interaction and a personal touch.”
Meme’s Curry first began in a home kitchen and having no background in the restaurant industry, Shehab’s role has tremendously evolved from being the key chef behind the delicious curry to CEO of the concept that is growing steadily in Kuwait. It’s a huge shift for him, but one that he takes pride in. “I never do anything without first learning about every single detail said project entails. I can cook the curry, clean the kitchen, do the prep, even take orders and speak with customers.”
Today, he is steering the ship as CEO, but that doesn’t mean that Shehab isn’t as involved as ever. He oversees the operations across three dine-locations and three delivery locations. Detail matters to him. After all, it’s this attention to the minute that sets Meme’s Curry apart from the rest and ensures that every serving of curry is consistent. It is this consistency that he’s maintained in from day one that has driven Meme’s Curry to expand with so much success. He cites the Salmiya location as a key turning point for him to evolve from Chef to CEO, he said, “Once the restaurant became well known, I had to decide to make the shift to grow Meme’s Curry, and not just continue to nurture it.”
Shehab always had a passion for the kitchen and the culinary arts. He recounts cooking with his family at the young age of 14, and how he always enjoyed cooking for his loved ones. “I loved Italian cuisine and trained at the Sheraton Hotel’s (Now St. Regis Kuwait) Riccardo restaurant under the renowned Head Chef Hugo in 2009.” A far departure from his day job, he completed six months of training hoping to learn all the ins and outs of the hospitality trade to open up his dream Italian concept. For Shehab, the culinary world was always going to be a hobby.
It was a trip to Thailand, however, that changed it all for him. Shehab’s obsession with Japanese curry didn’t begin in Japan, or a hotel, or some movie. It was complete serendipity. He was walking by and spotted a Coco Ichibanya, which oddly enough reminded him of his childhood anime favorites like Maroko. He just wanted to try the curry Maroko had, and from the very first bite, he was instantly hooked. “I had tasted Katsu before, but never at this level. I ate the same dish for three days straight! I had it with chicken, shrimp, and rice. I was obsessed.”
Shehab knew that he had come by something special, and from that day, he began experimenting in his kitchen back in Kuwait to recreate the same. In 2012, he went to Japan to learn more. “For 17 days, all I did was eat Japanese curry in every village and town I visited. It was running through my veins at that point.” He laughingly said, “Watching and learning from Masters, I discovered various types of Japanese curry, like curry udon, and even curry bread, and kept watching the chefs behind the counter. While everyone was obsessed with Sushi back then, I learned that Sushi makes up about seven percent of what Japanese cuisine has to offer”.
Shehab took his learnings and started experimenting back home in his kitchen. He made the delicious curry we taste today in Meme’s Curry for fun, friends, and diwaniyas. It never occurred to him to open a restaurant. Fast forward to 2013, and as a parent of two kids, a full-time job, and life, it was his friend who just told him to press start on the dream. Shehab hasn’t looked back since. He takes pride in the concept of just ‘starting’, it’s all you need to realize your dream.
Shehab hasn’t stopped learning since, traveling to Japan many times since then to undertake various trainings to ensure that Meme’s Curry is always on track and that he is fully equipped with the knowledge and tools he needs to expand the business in Kuwait.
So what is the secret behind Shehab’s famous Japanese curry sauce? “It took me three years to perfect the sauce. But the reality is, that keeping it simple is what makes it so good. Japanese cuisine focuses on having the best ingredients, and that’s what we do here at Meme’s Curry.” he said. We also learned the difference between traditional Asian curry and Japanese curry, and there’s a French twist to it. While Asian curries are usually thickened with nut milks, and feature a spicier base, Japanese curry is thickened using a French roux- essentially equal parts flour and butter and that’s what makes it extremely creamy. He told us, “It’s baffling how Japanese people even have curry. It all started when Japan was essentially forced to open up to the world, and when they worked with the British Empire then to establish their Japanese navy, it was the Indian officers of the Royal Navy who brought the spice mix called curry powder to Japan. To this day, the Japanese Navy traditionally have Japanese curry once a week. The initial days of curry in Japan were very different. With time locals have tempered the strong flavor and a Japanese chef came up with the Roux method, essentially combining French and Indian cuisine to create this sauce.”
Meme’s Curry began on Instagram, and people actually did order one day ahead to get a taste of the elusive Japanese Curry and the velvety sauce we can’t get enough of. Slowly after, the famous Rehab Complex location came to be, then Salmiya’s The View Mall. We asked Shehab if the local palate was even ready back then for such a different flavor, to which he said, “Growing up here, the local palate is primed for strong, bold flavors. This is why, from the first moment I ever tried Japanese Curry while visiting Thailand, I knew it could work here.”
Today, the restaurant has three dine-in locations with a complete delivery service via three delivery locations and prides itself on its laid-back atmosphere and food philosophy. “We want to make it fun to go out eating with your friends and family, you won’t get any stuffy fine dining experiences at Meme’s Curry,” says Shehab. He has his dreams set on another concept, but it’s too early to spill the beans. We only expect great things from Shehab and his journey with Meme’s Curry.
Discover all of Meme’s Curry creations where it all began on Instagram @Meme_Curry.
