Author: Mark

Assima Mall located in Kuwait City is expected to open in a few weeks and with that Kuwait’s first official UFC GYM.

The UFC GYM is going to be pretty big at 4,000sqm and in addition to being a regular fitness gym, they’ll also be offering various MMA classes. Their Instagram account went live a few days ago so you could follow them to stay updated @ufcgymkuwait

For a sneak peek at Assima Mall, click here.

If you’ve been to Al-Rai area recently you might have noticed a Nike store that was under construction next to True Value. The construction work is now complete and the store is officially open, turns out it’s their new outlet location.

The Nike outlet is two floors, the ground floor for men and the top floor for women. They had a ton of stuff for sale and all heavily discounted. I was hoping to find some cool Metcons for sale but ended up finding only one color combo which I didn’t like but you might find something you like.

If you want to check the place out they’re open 10AM to 10PM on weekdays and 10AM to 11PM on weekends. Here is the location on Google Maps.

One of the nicest museums in Kuwait, Al Salam Palace opened right at the start of the pandemic and so had to close again soon after. But, after a long delay, the museum is now open again.

Unlike other museums, Al Salam Palace isn’t a walk around freely museum but requires you to be part of a tour. They have two kinds of tours available, a standard tour or a VIP tour.

Standard Tour (English or Arabic)
Duration: 120 minutes
Cost: KD8

VIP Tour (English or Arabic)
Duration: 120 minutes
Cost: KD20

The English tour is only available on Sundays which is going suck for anyone with a day job since they’re only open from 10AM to 4PM. But, it’s a great place to visit so if you’re interested in booking, their website is aspm.com.kw

For a sneak peek at what’s inside, check out my previous post from when I took the tour. Link

This is such an 80s sport which is why I think it would be great fun to get into. The Kuwait Sailing School offers windsurfing classes and the next one is set for October 15th. It’s a 2 part beginners course that will teach you how to lift the sail up from the water to do your first rides in both directions.

The cost is KD75 and if you’re interested you can book a spot by visiting their website kwtsailing.com/learn-to-windsurf

Another week another ban. Over the weekend there was a tragic incident on the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Causeway, a group of cyclists were riding in front of their support and safety vehicle when a car carelessly overtook the vehicle, hitting and killing a cyclist before fleeing the scene.

This was the second time a rider got killed on the bridge. In 2020 a similar accident occurred resulting in the bridge being open only to cyclists on Friday mornings. That turned out to be a temporary solution since Friday mornings reopened to cars again soon after.

Because of the death, a decision was made yesterday to ban all recreational activities on the bridge. Meaning no more cycling, running or any other form of activity anymore.

It’s a really frustrating situation. On the one hand, it is dangerous to ride bicycles on the roads in Kuwait, any road no matter how big or small. Drivers are extremely careless with most nowadays driving with their eyes down at their phones instead of the road ahead. But also, the bridge should have been built with cycling and running lanes similar to most large bridges around the world.

As expected, cyclists in Kuwait are upset with the ban and they have a right to be since there are no bike paths in Kuwait. The only place I’m aware of which is long enough and safe enough for bikes is the Gulf Road walkway, but a couple of weeks ago there were rumours that bicycles were going to be banned on that pathway due to them being “a danger” to pedestrians (Update on this below). So what options do cyclists have?

What’s worse is that the bridge has become a popular spot for illegal car races, and people still tend to dangerously park their cars on the side of the bridge to take selfies.

The whole thing is very upsetting and frustrating but I hope the authorities realize that cycling is a fast-growing sport in Kuwait and needs support.

Update: Rumors regarding the ban of bicycles on the Gulf Road pathway are not true or at least the info being shared got lost in translation. The illegal rental of bicycles is whats not allowed and only illegally rented bicycles are being impounded. Source

A lot of Alshaya restaurants closed down during the pandemic last year and most of those locations got picked up by local concepts. The latest two local concepts to open are Doh! and Thick, they both opened up in place of where IHOP used to be in Grand Avenues. Also, Little Ruby’s and Roto are about to open up where Katsuya used to be leaving only the 400 Gradi location in The Forum area that still hasn’t reopened. That large spot got taken over by Burger Boutique and I’m hoping it’s going to be a new OFK location or a Burger Boutique Black. If you want to see a list of all the Alshaya restaurants that closed down, check out my previous post here.

Not much happening yet but below are somethings you can do this weekend. If I missed anything, let me know in the comments.

Thursday
Exhibition: Between the Walls
Exhibition: HELLA PARAGRAPHS
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
Ocean Minded Extravaganza

Friday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
Kuwait Offshore Sailing Association: Friday Sunset Cruising
ASCC: Night of Telescopes
Ocean Minded Extravaganza

Saturday
Exhibition: Between the Walls
Exhibition: HELLA PARAGRAPHS
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
Exhibition: Maker’s Movement
Miseen Scene Club: To Sir, With Love
Kuwait Offshore Sailing Association: Saturday Cruising
Ocean Minded Extravaganza

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas and VOX:

New This Weekend:
No Time to Die (7.9)
The Adventure of A.R.I.: My Robot Friend (4.4)

Other Movies Showing Now:
Adventures of Rufus: The Fantastic Pet (4.2)
Black Widow (6.8)
Copshop (6.5)
Cruella (7.4)
Don’t Breathe 2 (6.1)
Dune (8.5)
F9: The Fast Saga (5.2)
Luca (7.5)
Malignant (6.7)
PAW Patrol: The Movie (6.2)
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (6.2)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (8.0)
Tom and Jerry (5.3)
Willy’s Wonderland (5.5)
Worth (6.8)

Classic Movie Showing Now:
The Sixth Sense (8.1)

The films below are also now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

IMAX Movies Showing Now:
Antarctica (N/A)
Backyard Wilderness 3D (7.7)
Luca (7.5)
Turtle Odyssey (7.2)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.

I was at JYSK yesterday in Shuwaikh looking for something when I found a sign pointing to an outlet in their basement, so I checked it out. Turns out it was the outlet store for AAW brands and it was pretty huge and packed. Some of the brands I spotted were:

Eastpak
Vans
The North Face
Jansport
Patagonia
Siemens
BOSCH
Coleman
and more..

If you’re looking for outdoor or winter gear for travel, or backpacks for school, you should check them out. Here is their location on Google Maps.

When the iPhone 13 Pro launched a couple of weeks ago I pre-ordered one from the Apple store along with a silicon cover. This is how much it cost me with shipping:

iPhone 13 Pro 512GB (Sierra Blue)
Apple Silicon Cover (Blue Jay)
Total = KD 404

Shipping – MyUS (so I don’t pay US tax)
FedEx 1-3 Days Priority
Customs and clearance fees
Total = KD 16

Total cost = KD 420

I’ll be actually selling this one since I accidentally ordered the 512GB instead of the 256GB. And since the shipping time from Apple is now 3-4 weeks due to high demand, I’m just gonna wait till Digits gets their phones and buy one from them. But, the prices above should give you an idea of how much it generally costs to get a phone directly from the States. There were two cheaper shipping prices with MyUS, but both would have resulted in the iPhone arriving in around 10 days’ time and I’m traveling soon so wanted it to arrive before.

I’ve been meaning to try Bonjiri ever since they opened a few months ago but only got around to passing by last night. Bonjiri is located a couple of streets down from my place in Salmiya, right next to Tampopo. It’s actually for the same owner as Tampopo, Chef Maryam Alnusif (or just Mimi).

Yakitori means grilled bird in Japanese and that’s what the menu at Bonjiri mainly revolves around. The menu has a small appetizer section and a main section featuring a large selection of skewers, each made using a different part of the chicken. For example, you can order a chicken skewer that is made of inner thighs, or back meat, or breasts. If you’re really adventurous you can choose chicken tail, liver, or knee cartilage. There is no meat on the menu but there is duck, and sometimes, depending on her supplier, there could be seafood (there was octopus last night).

Since I hadn’t tried 90% of the chicken parts on the menu I had Mimi choose the skewers for me which resulted in a fairly exciting experience. I didn’t know what I would get until it was served to me and I was down to eat whatever she grilled as long as it wasn’t chicken wings (I’d rather eat chicken ass -which I did last night- but not eat chicken wings). Looking at my bill now, I had a total of 6 or 7 skewers with my favorite easily being the Tsukune Don. Tsukune is a chicken and duck meatball and comes with a side of tare egg yolk. You’re meant to burst the egg yolk using the tip of the skewer and then mix the sauce up before dropping and rolling your skewer into it. Once you’re done with your skewers, you pour the remaining sauce over a small bowl of butter rice and eat that. It was really delicious and like everything else I tried last night, it was a new flavor I hadn’t experience before.

The interior to Bonjiri is also one of my favorite parts. Mimi took everything she learned with Tampopo and created a new space that was similar in concept, just with all the bottlenecks and issues of Tampopo sorted out. The interior has a bar on both sides surrounding the kitchen which is now located in the middle of the space. Visually it looks like nothing else in Kuwait and as busy as the place will get, it won’t feel overcrowded and tight like it does at Tampopo.

Bonjiri has two prices for the skewers, KD1.750 for the main ones and KD1.500 for the “bold” skewers. There are also a few appetizers to choose from and an Eton Mess dessert to finish up with. If you’re interested to check the place out, they currently open only on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays from 3 to 9 PM. So if you can’t make it today, you’re going to have to wait till next Sunday to pass by. Here is their location on Google Maps and you can find them on Instagram @bonjiri.yakitori

Today (Tuesday) is the last day to audition for a featured vocalist in Staged in Kuwait’s upcoming musical theatre showcase. If you’re interested in taking part in the musical, visit Staged in Kuwait for more details. Link

Foundation just came out last week it’s so good! If you’re into sci-fi and are looking for a new epic series to watch, get AppleTV+ and start watching Foundation, only two episodes are out and a new one will be released every week so you can catch up pretty quickly.

If you don’t know how to get AppleTV+ working, I pay for the service with Apple Store cards I buy from Xcite and I use SmartDNS to trick AppleTV into thinking I’m in the US (Same for Hulu, HBO etc.).

Around 12 years ago I was introduced to a restaurant that had Korean BBQ, the only condition was I wouldn’t be allowed to post about it. I didn’t mind that, I had a few places that were just mine and not to share and just added Golden Dragon to that list. It was one of my favorite places and I used to frequent it a lot. It used to always be busy since the Huawei staff lived in a building nearby and they’d always pack the place. But, a few years ago I just stopped going, no particular reason, maybe because it was too far or some other reason I forgot, but I only went back again for the first time last week.

Golden Dragon is a small hole-in-the-wall Chinese/Korean restaurant in Mahboula. It used to be an interesting-looking space because of the network of DIY-looking vents that ran around the ceiling and would drop down to the table (the picture above is an old picture I took). These vents could be pulled down onto the table and be used to extract all the smoke and carbon monoxide coming out of the charcoal grill located in the middle of every table.

The place looks a lot different now, based on images posted up on Google it looks like the change happened 3 years ago around the time I stopped going. The interior is a lot darker than it used to be and the walls are now covered in wood with all the seating replaced with wooden benches and tables. It kinda looks more like a steakhouse than a Korean grill. The other major change is the fact the charcoal grills are no longer in the middle of the table but off to the side with the smoke extraction system built into the grill. It doesn’t work as efficiently as the previous system but does look more professional. I personally don’t like the way the place looks like now, and because the vents don’t work as well, you will 100% leave smelling like a BBQ.

I’ve only tried one thing on their menu, the beef. That’s it, never tried anything else on the menu nor am I interested to try anything else. I just like getting the raw beef and grilling it on the charcoal grill. I hate that the grill is off to the side now since previously when I’d go with friends everyone would grill their own food in the middle of the table. With the new set up you now need to assign a griller to do the grilling and that person is going to be the one closest to the grill.

The beef is still as good as I remember it being. They slice the beef a bit thicker now but it still tastes the same. The price of the dish is KD3.5 and you would need one per person plus maybe veggies on the side to grill (I go for sweet potato). I’m not aware of any other place in Kuwait that has a charcoal grill built into the table so Golden Dragon is unique in that. If you want to check the place out, here is their location on Google Maps.

The all-new Ford Bronco models are now on display in Kuwait. When Ford launched the new models last year they were greeted with a lot of fanfare since Ford went back to the original Bronco design from the 60s and gave it a facelift but kept the retro stylings. The Broncos only started shipping in the US a couple of months back but we now have a few on display in Kuwait but only available to pre-order.

The Ford dealer didn’t get any cars in stock yet and for those who pre-ordered last year, they’re expecting to receive their cars sometime in December or January. If you pre-order a Bronco now then expect to get your car sometime in February 2022 if there are no delays.

The entry-level Bronco starts at KD 12,400 for the 2-door, and KD 14,400 for the 4-door. Here are all the prices for the different variants available:

Big Bend
2-Doors KD 12,400
4-Doors KD 14,400

Outer Banks
4-Doors Cloth KD 17,200
4-Doors Leather KD 17,800

Wildtrack
2-Doors Cloth KD 17,600
2-Doors Leather KD 18,100

Wildtrack with Sasquatch Package
4-Doors Cloth KD 19,200
4-Doors Leather KD 19,700

Badlands with Sasquatch Package
4-Doors Marine Grade Vinyl KD 19,800
4-Doors Leather KD 20,600

If you want more details on the above, you can download the PDF containing the different variants, packages and their options over here.