We caught up with Hind Al Rumaihi, the Bahraini foodie behind The Cravelist, which offers independent food reviews and great recipes, to find out what makes her tick and how she’s built an Instagram family of more than 17,500 followers. Make sure to try the delicious recipe she’s shared for WTM readers.
The Cravelist has been running for three years now. What gave you the idea to start it?
My mum and friends would always come to me and ask about where and what to eat and I’ve shared a list with them which included the best restaurants in Bahrain. Then, one day they said: “Why don’t you share this with everyone else?” I got Forky [the Toy Story character] as a Secret Santa gift from a friend which really gave me the push to start an Instagram page sharing all my restaurant experiences.
Where did the name come from?
I’ve had a list of restaurants, categorised by area and cuisine, for the past seven years on my phone notes, which really came in handy amongst family and friends – who, luckily for me, trust my taste in food. According to our cravings on a given day, we would go through the list and unanimously agree on where and what to eat.
You now have more than 17,000 followers. Has that growth been steady or did it burst onto the scene and then slowly gain traction over the years?
I would say it has been a steady growth over the years. I would have never imagined it to reach this far which is why I was initially hesitant about going public.
How old are you and what’s your food background? Do you have a day job too?
I’m 29. I’ve been dining out at high-end restaurants since I was 13, with my grandfather. My love for food and dining was realised at a young age at Monsoon – when I met my first stalk of lemongrass! From then, it has always been the most exciting part of my life. Going out and trying different foods from different places, high-end to street food.
I’ve also worked in the F&B [food and beverage] industry for about three years and been in some of the largest, most prominent kitchens and bakeries in the Kingdom, which really helped shape my understanding of how food is made and delivered.
In my day job, I’m a civil servant/ government administrator.
Have you always loved cooking?
To be completely honest – no. I always believed that you either have it [the skill] or you don’t and I firmly believed that I didn’t – after burning and ruining a simple four-ingredient Betty Crocker cake in my early 20s. But prior to the current situation [corona], I mustered up the courage to go back into the kitchen and try something simple, Dan Dan noodles – which I got off the internet, and they were incredible! That gave me the courage to go back and experiment with different and slightly more complex recipes. I can safely say that now, yes, I do enjoy cooking.
Where do you find your recipes? Do you use other people’s as well as your own?
Pinterest, allrecipes, blogs, Instagram. Yes, of course, I use other people’s as well as my own.
How do you choose which restaurants to review?
Whatever restaurant appeals to me and sparks an interest. I have an intuitive feel about whether a restaurant would meet my expectations or not and I am almost always right. Haha.
A recent recipe mentioned sourdough discard – for the uninitiated, please explain.
Ok, so with all that’s been going on, I decided to venture into new territory and make sourdough bread. To do that, you need to raise a sourdough ‘starter’ which involves three staple ingredients: flour, water and patience. You have to feed this starter on a daily basis for about a week, to activate the yeast and stimulate fermentation, and during the process, before feeding, you have to discard most of the ‘starter’ – which is flour and water converted to active yeast. I do not like to waste food, so I decided to use that discard [active yeast] and make pancakes. Super delicious!
The blog is beautiful, do you take your own pictures?
Thank you very much! Yes I do.
What are your favourite things to cook and to eat?
Favourite things to cook would definitely be pasta, salmon, rice and curry and pizza – they’re versatile and you can do so much! I’m also more into savoury than sweet foods. Favourites to eat: salmon, greens – give me all the veggies! – and sushi, in its raw fresh form.
Would you share a recipe for our readers?
With pleasure!
What five things do you always have in your kitchen cupboard to make a simple and tasty meal?
1- Spices: namely Maldon sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2- Pasta
3- Tomato paste
4- Marmite
5- Condiments: Sriracha, mustard, Islanders (local Bahraini hot sauce).
LEMON SOUR CREAM CAKE
This has been the best tried and reviewed recipe on the blog – it’s fool-proof, easy and delicious!
Ingredients:
250g butter
2 tsp lemon zest
2 cups castor sugar
6 eggs
2 cups plain flour
¼ cup self-raising flour
200g sour cream
Method:
Add sugar, lemon zest, butter in a stand-mixer and beat until pale and fluffy.
Add eggs to the mixer one at a time.
Detach the bowl from the mixer and add 100g of sour cream and half the flour. Use a spatula to mix. Continue adding the second half of the sour cream and the flour.
Spread mixture into a greased cake pan and bake for one to one and a half hours, ideally 75 minutes, at 160-180 degrees (ideally 160°C), dust with icing sugar before serving!
Tips: Place cake in the middle shelf of the oven. Sift flour to avoid clumps.
