( CNN ) -- The best chocolate cake I ever ate in Kabul was tucked away on a discreet corner near the city 's diplomatic area . Kamal Hamade , the well-known and loved Lebanese owner of Taverna du Liban , made sure every visitor to his restaurant had a piece of gooey cake on the house , and then some . On Saturday , the Taliban attacked the cozy Lebanese restaurant in Afghanistan 's capital . One man detonated a suicide vest while two others stormed into the restaurant and fired at those inside , killing 21 people , 13 of them expatriates . One of them was Kamal . Taverna had a decent security routine in place : Visitors drove up and knocked . The Afghan guard slid open the peep hole to take a look . The patron was searched before being let in to the restaurant a short distance away from the metal-door entrance . But unlike many other establishments visited by Kabul 's foreign residents , Taverna had one less door , one less pat down and lacked a long corridor away from the street . The restaurant and its owner were what security experts call soft targets -- semi-armored and lightly guarded . I walked through that aluminum metal door many times during my two years living in Kabul and working for an Afghan media company . One of those times , I was on my first date with the man who 's now my husband . Another night , after a leisurely dinner with friends -- most of it on the house under Kamal 's watch -- I was left alone to wait . My ride was nowhere to be seen , and Taverna had closed . Not wanting to bother the servers , who were ready to leave , and Kamal , who looked tired , I slipped outside to the front of Taverna to wait . Kamal tried to lure me back inside , but I also enjoyed the rare few moments outside in Kabul . When I told Kamal I would be fine , he brought out a plastic chair and sat with me . Kamal was originally from Lebanon , but it was clear from all our conversations that he loved Afghanistan . That night , we laughed , talked about Beirut , and watched his cat slink up and down the muddy street . Forty-five minutes later , my ride showed up . I went back to Taverna dozens of times after that visit , always catching a smile and laugh from Kamal -- with a hunk of chocolate cake . It seems like almost everyone who has lived in Kabul has a Kamal story . After the attack , friends , family and frequent patrons of the restaurant immediately took to social media to express their concern . `` Any word on Kamal , the owner of Taverna , or his staff ? '' development worker Una Moore wrote in a Twitter post . Once security officials confirmed his death , photos popped on Facebook as people who knew Kamal and his restaurant shared their memories . Albums with titles like `` Taverna '' were filled with pictures of groups of smiling people gathered around long , wooden tables . Kamal , like most nights that he was in the country , was in the building the night of the attack , wandering around the restaurant with a cigarette or in his office , most likely . He lived above the Lebanese restaurant , keeping a loving eye on the falafel , staff and visitors . For many of us , it 's hard to believe someone who loved Kabul so much -- and who was so much a part of the Kabul we loved -- has become a casualty in a deadly attack . Kamal 's restaurant allowed for quiet dinners or raucous get-togethers after long work days . Kabul , known to the foreign diplomat , aid worker and journalist inhabitants as the `` Kabubble , '' was a relatively safe place compared to the rest of the country . Much of my two years there were spent haphazardly throwing on a headscarf , walking down to the nearest supermarket to buy potato chips or use decent wi-fi at a cafe . The city never felt unsafe . Only one similar event comes to mind in recent years . In January 2011 , a suicide bomber blew himself up in a supermarket popular with expatriates and middle-class Afghans alike . Those of us in the Kabubble were thrown off for a few days , left jarred , vowing it was time to get out . After a few weeks riddled with lockdowns , the event faded into the city 's memory -- a moment of violence that had passed . This attack seems different , though . Perhaps not for the Afghan civilians who have lived through similar attacks for the last decade . But for the people who live in and love Afghanistan out of choice , it does change something . I do n't know what this means for the country 's upcoming election , for Afghans after the NATO troop withdrawals scheduled for later this year , or for the foreigners who flock to the country , investing themselves in the nation and its people . But I do know that without Kamal in Kabul , the city is a darker place .
Restaurant owner Kamal Hamade was among 21 people killed in a Taliban attack . His Taverna du Liban was a beloved spot for expats to gather in Kabul . Visitors got smiles and laughs from Kamal -- with a hunk of chocolate cake .