Category: Information

Staged in Kuwait are getting ready to start their 6th season, continuing the long legacy of community theatre in Kuwait that started in 1948 out in Ahmadi at The Kuwait Little Theatre. To welcome the start of season six, Staged in Kuwait are having a lunch to get you excited about all the activities they have planned for the year ahead.

So if you’re interested in learning what shows they have scheduled, when the auditions are, want to know how to get involved behind the scenes or if you just want to meet other theatre inclined friends, then join them for lunch next Friday September 15th. To RSVP and more details, visit their website [Here]

I just got back from having dinner at Dai Forni, the new Italian restaurant at the newly opened Four Seasons Hotel. The hotel just opened up a couple of days ago along with the restaurants Dai Forni, Elements, Al Bandar and Al Soor lobby lounge.

Dai Forni is currently fully booked for the next 5 days because of Eid, but you could call and reserve spots for after Eid. Sintoho the Pan-Asian restaurant is still not open for now but will be opening in the next 2-3 weeks.

Four Seasons is located in Kuwait City opposite Discovery Mall [Google Maps] and their instagram account is @fskuwait. Their phone number is 22006000.

For more pictures of the hotel, check out my previous post [Here]

Now that Game of Thrones finished for the season last night, I thought it would be an appropriate time to share some great new shows I recently watched.

13 Reasons Why
This show first aired back in April but I just got around to watching it a couple of weeks ago. I wasn’t sure at first if I’d like it but I got hooked right away. 13 Reasons Why is about a high school girl called Hannah who ends up committing suicide. Before she died, she recorded 13 tapes with each tape discussing one of the 13 reasons why she decided to commit suicide. The show is 13 episodes long with every episode covering one tape and I loved that format. Although a lot of people found the show disturbing when it was first released, but I don’t think it’s that bad. Actually the only thing I found disturbing in the show was her suicide scene which I forwarded through anyway since I don’t like watching emotional scenes like that (or rape scenes for that matter). If you have Netflix, watch this if you haven’t already.

Atypical
Atypical aired a couple of weeks ago and I binge watched all 8 episodes back to back in one day. I loved it and its right up there in my top 5 or 6 shows of this year but thats probably because the show deals with autism, a subject I’ve been fascinated with for some time now. The show follows an 18-year old high school student called Sam, who is autistic and has decided to try and find a girl friend. The result is a lot of super awkward scenes and some really great development of characters including the dad who’s played by Michael Rapaport. This show is also on Netflix, and is also a must watch.

Ozark
Starring one of my favorite comedians Jason Bateman, this show is far from being a comedy. Ozark is a super dark drama in which Jason Bateman plays the role of a financial advisor that ends up relocating his family to the Missouri Ozarks after his dealings with a drug cartel go wrong. It’s such an out of character role for Bateman especially when he’s mostly know for his character Michael Bluth on the television sitcom Arrested Development. But Bateman played the role so well that now its going to be awkward for me getting used to him again as Michael Bluth when the 5th season of Arrested Development premiers. This is the last show on my list here but if you had time to just watch just one, this would be the one I’d recommend.

The Kuwait Municipality have launched a campaign asking citizens to take photos of violations and send it to their social media accounts so they can fix the issues. They don’t mention the kinds of violations to report, but based on their instagram it looks like garbage related issues, abandoned cars, illegal banners and food related violations. To report an issue you’ll have to photograph the violation and then send it to their instagram or twitter accounts @kuwmun.

It’s a pretty great crowdsourcing initiative, but I just wish the process wasn’t so clumsy. A better solution would be a dedicated app like Deera. The Deera app allows you take photos, share the GPS location, mention what kind of issue you’re reporting and it doesn’t require you to have a social media account allowing you to remain anonymous. It would also make the municipality’s life easier since managing instagram messages isn’t the most practical thing in the world and instagram messaging lacks basic features such as flagging.

What I’d really love is an app like Metrash2 which allows citizens in Qatar to report traffic violations. Now that’s an app I’d have a lot of fun with.

If you’ve been to Murouj then you’ve probably noticed the construction taking place next to their large parking lot. That’s part of the Murouj expansion project and yesterday I was able to get a list of some of the places that are opening there:

Beit Shoukri
Blaze Pizza
Dean & Deluca
Häagen-Dazs
Illy Coffee
Katsuya
Mana by Ubon
Shake Shack
Shishawarma
Solia Mediterranean Food

There will also be a space available for pop-ups. I’m still trying to find out when phase 3 is expected to finish, and once I have that information I’ll update this post.

If you’re expecting a package to arrive to Kuwait through the local post office then this info might be beneficial to you. There is currently an issue with the post office internal tracking system and so at the moment they won’t be able to track your packages. Neither you nor them will know where your package is until they get the issue sorted out.

Previously when a package arrived to Kuwait you would be able to check on the status by visiting tracking.moc.gov.kw but now you’ll just get a “No information, please check your item identifier” error.

No timeline on when this will get fixed, supposedly they’re waiting on the Minister who is currently MIA.

Thanks Abdulaziz

Savour is a new food sector accelerator that just launched based out of Kuwait. Their aim is to help food entrepreneurs and food startups bring their products and services to market at super speed. Think of it like Shark Tank but locally and for food related businesses.

Savour partners with early stage companies from any part of the food supply chain, including: farming, ag-tech, food distribution, retail, wellness, consumer-packaged goods, food-related apps, and green/clean tech. Savour can help you reach your potential.

The way it works is say you’ve got an interesting food related business at the moment, like a small hole in the wall Vietnamese restaurant, or a hydroponics growing system, or even an app that calculates tips. And this business is new and doing relatively well but you have no idea how to grow, or what options are available to you.You apply for the Savour accelerator program and if they think your idea is interesting with potential to grow, they’ll take you onboard, accelerate your concept, focus on your main points, connect you with all the right people, give you access to their network and to funding so they can help take your business to the next level.

The main Savour team is composed of 3 members but there are also 22 mentors for the program including the likes of Basil AlSalem, Mohammed Jaffar and Essa Behbehani. The 8-week program is free and is open to Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis alike including those residing outside of Kuwait.

Savour is holding a Q&A this coming Wednesday, July 12 at Richard’s Coffee Bar at 7PM. So if you have a food related startup and are looking for more information on this accelerator program, drop by their Q&A. You can also visit their website and apply to the accelerator since the application process is currently open until July 22nd. Here is the link to their [Website]

A short while ago fire was reported at the construction site of Avenues Phase 4. Firefighters are currently arriving at the scene, no open flames can be seen from the main road (as of now) but theres lots of smoke.

According on an engineer from the site, the fire is located in the “Forum” area of Avenues Phase 4 which you can see on the map above.

I’ll update this post with more pictures and information as I get them. Hopefully this doesn’t turn into a major fire like last weekend.

update: Looks like the fire was put out before it spread

Thanks Dragos

If you’re not fasting and want to order food before Iftar, then below are some restaurants that will deliver early. It’s not a big list but it’s still better than nothing.

China Garden
Deliveries start after 11AM
Telephone: 25720010

China Kitchen
Deliveries start after 11:30AM
Telephone: 25738754

Marina Thai
Deliveries start after 12:30PM
Telephone: 23720040

Noodles
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 25749933

Osaka
Deliveries start after 10AM
Telephone: 22637331

Pastamania
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 1828585

Sea Taste Restaurant
Open 24 hours
Telephone: 66395655

Ubon
Deliveries start after 1PM
Telephone: 22260848

Upper Crust Pizzeria
Deliveries start after 11AM
Telephone: 22943200

I’ll be updating the list above as I find out about more places, if you know of a place that delivers before Iftar (like 3PM or earlier) let me know.

Update: Removed Poele from the list since it turned out they only had desserts and bread 12PM onwards. Also removed Beit Dickson since they had originally told me deliveries start 12PM onwards but now are stating 5PM onwards.

Every year I put a list of Ramadan buffets together and every year the list grows. Since it was becoming a bit cumbersome to navigate, I’ve decided to split the list up this year into two to make it slightly easier to go through. Below is this years list, the first half is a list of hotels with their buffet prices while the second half of the list are restaurants. Like always I’ve highlighted the price increases over the previous year in red, and the decreases in green. Check out the full list below:

Hotels

Al Jahra Copthorne Hotel & Resort – Taima’a Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD10 (-2.000)
Telephone: 24590000

Courtyard by Marriott
Buffet Price: KD14 (+1.000)
Telephone: 22997000

Crowne Plaza – Al Ahmadi Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD14.950 (+0.950)
Telephone: 1848111

Hilton Resort – Teatro Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD17.500 (+2.000)
Telephone: 22256222

Inn & GO Hotel – Al Dallah Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD9.9 (+0.900)
Telephone: 22436686

Jumeirah Messilah Beach – Garden Cafe
Buffet Price: KD19
Telephone: 22269600

JW Marriott – Al Thuraya
Buffet Price: KD15
Telephone: 22455550

Millennium Hotel & Convention – Lamar International Restaurant
Set Menu Price: KD14
Telephone: 22050505

Movenpick – Free Zone – Bays Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD12
Telephone: 24610033

Movenpick – Al Bida’a – Breeze Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD15
Telephone: 22253100

Radisson Blu – Al Bustan Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD14
Telephone: 25673000

Safir Hotel – Fintas
Buffet Price: KD14.500
Telephone: 25455555

Sheraton – Coral Tent
Buffet Price: KD17.750 (+0.500)
Telephone: 22422055

Symphony Style Hotel
Buffet Price: KD12 (+1.000)
Telephone: 25770000

The Regency Kuwait – Silk Road Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD18
Telephone: 25766880

Restaurants

Abdel Wahab
Buffet Price: KD10
Telephone: 1821000

Al Noukhaza Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD14.950
Telephone: 24757775 or 1823888

Al Sanawbar Lebanese Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD9.000 (-0.950)
Telephone: 25756273

Applebee’s
Set Menu Price: KD7.950
Telephone: 1844466 or 25381481

Assaha Lebanese Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD10 (-1.000)
Telephone: 22533377

Avanti Palace
Set Menu Price: Vegetarian KD3.100 – Non Vegetarian KD3.500 (both min 4 people)
Telephone: 25751081

Burj Al-Hamam
Buffet Price: KD12.5
Telephone: 22529095

Dar Hamad
Buffet Price: KD15 (+1.500)
Telephone: 22275555

Enab Beirut
Set Menu Price: KD12
Telephone: 90009874

Jeans Grill
Buffet Price: KD8.500 (+0.550)
Telephone: 22264503

Kababji
Set Menu Price: KD5.950 (+0.450)
Telephone: 1861616

Kosebasi
Set Menu Price: KD9.750 (+2.250)
Telephone: 22251303

Kuwait Towers
Buffet Price: KD11 (-3.000)
Telephone: 22081999

La Brasa Argentinian Grill
Set Menu: KD11
Telephone: 99052419

Leila
Set Menu Price: KD10 (+0.500) – min 6 people
Telephone: 22996414

Naranj
Buffet Price: KD12.5
Telephone: 22268666

Palm Palace
Buffet Price: KD9.250 (+0.350)
Telephone: 67009575

Pop A Loop
Set Menu Prices: KD9 to KD14 (+1.000)
Telephone: 22271439

Qasr Al-Saraya
Buffet Price: KD9 (+0.500)
Telephone: 25711101

Ruby Tuesday
Set Menu Price: KD7.950 (-2.000)
Telephone: 22444454

Saladworks
Set Menu Price: KD2.750 to KD4.750
Telephone: 22201888

Tallu Hbabna
Buffet Price: KD10
Telephone: 51113700

Tandooriwala
Set Menu Price: KD6.750
Telephone: 25745458

Vapiano
Set Menu Price: KD6.000 (+0.450)
Telephone: 22597171

Veranda
Set Menu Price: KD12.450
Telephone: 22283141

Villa Fayrouz
Buffet Price: KD9.500 (-0.500)
Telephone: 22650052

Zafran
Buffet Price: KD8 (+0.500)
Telephone: 22285203 or 97281007

If you’d like to add a restaurant to the list above [Email Me]

Note: The prices listed above are for adults. Some restaurants offer special prices for children. I will add more restaurants to this list as I find out about them.

Below are some important Ramadan timings, if you’d like add anything leave it in the comments below.

Banks: 10AM to 1:30PM (Airport 9:30PM to 12AM)
Government: 9:30AM to 2:30PM (Approx)

Al Shaheed Park: 3PM to 2AM

Cinescape: 8PM onwards
GrandCinemas: 3:30PM onwards

360 Mall: 11AM to 3PM and 8:30PM to 1AM
Avenues Mall: 10AM to 4PM and 8PM to 1AM
Gate Mall: 10AM to 4PM and 8PM to 1AM
Marina Mall: 11AM to 4PM and 8:30PM to 1AM
Salhiya: 10:30AM to 2:30PM and 8:30PM to 12:30AM
Souq Sharq: 10AM to 3:30PM and 8:30PM to 2AM

Carrefour: 10AM to 2AM
Geant: 9AM to 12AM
LuLu: 9AM to 2AM
Saveco: 24 hours
Sultan Center: 24 hours

Last time I posted about Wataniya Airways, I mentioned they were supposed to start flying early this year but that didn’t happen. Now my contact at Wataniya Airways has reached out to me to let me know that they might start flying from next month, if not by August at the very latest.

Wataniya Airways have applied to travel to 16 destinations and are just waiting approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The airline will have three different classes this time around; Wataniya Business, Wataniya Premium and Wataniya Seat. Wataniya Premium is their premium economy while Wataniya Seat is their regular economy class. Their first aircraft is ready and there are some videos and pictures of it already floating around on twitter. You can check them out [Here].

Once they start flying again, they’ll be flying out of Sheikh Saad Airport Terminal exactly like they used to. For now, you can follow them on their instagram account which went live last week @wataniyaairways

The alarm has been sounded again in Kuwait after figures for 2017 show that around 60 per cent of Kuwaiti marriages have ended in divorce.

Figures released by the Ministry of Justice indicate there were 2,001 marriages in January and February, down from 2,425 in the same period last year. The figures also show there were 1,193 cases of divorce in the first two months of 2017, up from 1,180 last year. [Source]

That would put Kuwait with Luxembourg in 6th place on the World’s Most Divorced Nations list:

1- Belgium (71%)
2- Portugal (68%)
3- Hungary (67%)
4- Czech Republic (66%)
5- Spain (61%)
6- Kuwait and Luxembourg (60%)
7- Estonia (58%)
8- Cuba (56%)
9- France (55%)
10- Lithuania (53%)

If you’re a PostaPlus MyBox user then here’s two pieces of good news:

1) They now have an iPhone app that will allow you to track your packages without having to log in every time to the app
2) You can now pay for your packages online (website and app)

The online payment is what I’m the most excited about since they’ve been promising it for a few years now. I hate carrying cash and if I’m not in the office when the delivery guy comes, it always meant someone else had to pay for the package on my behalf. Now at least I can get the payment sorted and just have the delivery guy drop off the package.

If you’re interested in downloading the app, here is the [Link]

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Kuwait Airport terminal is currently on the way as I type this post out. For those of you who have recently been to the Sheikh Saad terminal, you might have noticed the new road that diverts around the site of the new airport.

If you look at the location with Google Maps you can make out the triangle which will eventually become the new airport (check below for a visual overlap). The new airport is not only happening, but it’s expected to be completed by 2020!