Category: Kuwait

The Kuwait Stock Exchange, the second largest in the Arab world tumbled at opening today. I don’t know what that will mean for us regular folks (more price increases at McDonalds?) but there are currently investors outside the stock exchange demonstrating. The 4th Ring Road blog are dramatically calling this the “KSE Bloodbath” and are currently tracking things and posting pictures of the demonstration, here is their [Link]

I have a feeling Virgin is going to end up closing down at Marina Mall. I don’t think they’ve been doing good for a long time and the only thing they really have left is their electronics and video games section. Today I was at Marina and noticed Alghanim was opening up right in front of Virgin. Alghanim sells both video games and electronics for cheaper so whats really left for Virgin?

After having lunch at Quiznos yesterday in Baitak Tower I found this cool place called The Nut Tree. Unlike regular nut shops in Kuwait The Nut Tree had flavored nuts like glazed, honey dipped and more. They even had some dipped in chocolate, I ended up getting dried banana dipped in chocolate and also hazelnut dipped in chocolate. Both were REALLY good. When I got back home I googled them and it turned out they’re a small British chain, you can check their website [Here]

Quiznos, the American franchise opened up recently at the Baitak Tower (weird name). I passed by for lunch and it was pretty good (I had “the traditional” sandwich). The staff seemed a bit lost and they have a serious ventilation problem but as long as you sit outside the store its not a problem. 7inch subs were around KD1, 12inch subs around KD1.600 and to upgrade to a combo (fries+coke) its 500fils. Baitak Tower is in Kuwait City, next to the ABK tower where KFH and Alghanim X-Cite are located.

This looks like its going to be a really cool hotel but its strange that they’re opening the first Missoni Hotels in Edinburg and Kuwait. I thought I had posted something about it before but can’t seem to find my post. This is the hotels launch movie which is beautifully done. [YouTube]

I just heard that the radio dj Latina Mina on the Super Station 99.7 was drunk on air. Supposedly there was a doctor on the program and she was hitting on him then when another radio dj told her she was embarrassing the radio station she replied by cussing on air. They then killed the broadcast. If anyone has a copy of the session we are offering money for the recording!! CASH!

Update: I just got the following in my email

You have to report about what just happened on 99.7. Mark, it was unbelievable. This latina DJ was soo drunk on air and was slurring throughout the whole show. Suddenly, a caller calls in, which is when the radio station "thinks" they were off air. The caller swears at the DJ, telling her shes making a fool of herself and that she’s a "drunk hoochie". What does this smart DJ say? Go fuck yourself, go fuck your father and your brother. This was all on air. about 15 minutes ago. the sad thing is, they thought they were off air during that since she came back on air closing the show and telling "all the haters out there" to get a life or somethin. Now, that was something you had to listen to. Wonder what will happen to her, AND 99.7!!

Local blogger Ansam sent me the following by email to share with everyone:

You are cordially invited to celebrate the Grand Opening of “FIVE60”

An introductory event for our new concept, an opportunity to tour our indoor showrooms and patio area, and a chance to get to know the main purpose of the group activities.

Thursday & Friday – October 16-17, 2008
From 12:00PM TO 10:00PM

The location is Al Rawda, Block 5, Street 60, House 4

Looking forward to seeing you
FIVE60 Group

I posted about Five60 back when they held the Charity Ghabga. The event above will contain many things including a display of furniture, photos, illustrations, food, clothes, and more.

Wok Master is a tiny Chinese take away and delivery place I found out about just 3 days back. I got an email from the owner of the place last week asking me to try it but I didn’t think it would interesting so I ignored him (yes I know, its not nice). The owner emailed me again and I replied the second time asking if the place had dine in. He replied saying no it didn’t so I replied apologizing telling him the only food I ordered delivery was either Papa Johns or Hardees. So the owner gave up and passed me the home delivery phone number and address in case I ever got interested. Thats when he grabbed my attention. Wok Master turned out to be just two streets away from where I live which made things interesting so I decided to give the place a shot.

Yesterday night I passed by and ordered sweet & sour chicken and plain fried rice. The place was easy to find and it looked very clean but I really wasn’t expecting much from the food. When I got home and opened the package I was caught by surprise. The sweet & sour chicken looked amazing. The sauce was a nice red color and looked pretty thick which is exactly how I like it. I quickly mixed my chicken with the rice and dug in and it was actually really good. I was so impressed I passed by and picked up dinner again tonight. This time I had the Manchurian chicken and plain fried rice while Nat decided to try their shrimp noodles. Well it looks like I am probably going to pass by again for dinner tomorrow evening and try something else since everything I’ve had so far I’ve liked.

I didn’t have any major issues with the place. Their menu is pretty ugly and has over a hundred dishes listed (where is Gordon Ramsey to see this). The packaging was ok, the rice and noodles came in those typical Chinese food packaging while the chicken plates came in the less impressive aluminum foil dishes. One thing i noticed tonight is that they charged me 950fils for the rice although in the menu it says it should be 750. Which brings me to their prices. They’re pretty decent, the sweet & sour chicken and the Manchurian chicken each cost KD1.950 while the shrimp noodles costs KD1.750. Overall I really like the place and I love how out of no where its suddenly became one of my favorite Chinese places in Kuwait. And its right next door! For the final score they’re going to get a 4 out of 5 from me.

To order from Wok Master call them on 5750081
They’re located right behind Kuwaitana restaurant on Baghdad street which is nearly right in front of La Baguette .

I passed by TriStar over the weekend to pick up a battery charger. I hadn’t passed by them since the beginning of summer and was surprised to see they’ve actually redecorated and expanded their showroom. The KTM section now is larger and actually has a quick service section while the rest of the showroom was shuffled around to create more room. I’ve got more pictures after the jump.

Dalal & Dahlia are holding their 2nd annual furniture exhibit entitled ‘Delusions’ at the Al-Tilal Complex in Shuwaikh on Oct 12, 13, and 14. The exhibit is from 10AM to 1PM and then 5PM to 10PM. Their first exhibit was held at Villa Moda and completely sold out. The furniture is a mix between art and sculpture, and is designed and created by Kuwaitis in Kuwait. For more information on Dalal & Dahlia you can visit their website [Here]

Picture is from their Thouq magazine spread.

According to the blog Kuwait Black Market, Slider Station will be opening up at the Avenues. Their new location will be much bigger than the current one and which is pretty tiny. No mention of a launch date though. [Link]

Update: Ok I spoke to the owner and this is not true. Slider Station is not opening at the Avenues only 360 Mall. But, it seems they are planning something for the Avenues, my guess is a new project which is good news for us.

Picture taken by Dakdoka

Just found this interesting photoset on Flickr which contains photographs that were taken in Kuwait around 1950. All the pictures were scanned by David C. Foster from the photograph album of Francis Hadden Andrus. The picture above is of Yousef Ahmad Al-Ghanim on the left and Tom G. Mohney on the right. [Pictures]

Update: In case you missed it the shot below was featured on SomeContrast.com awhile back. Its a picture that dates back to 1956 and is of the first Porsche in Kuwait. The owner Murad Behbahani is sitting behind the wheel, and his brothers Mohammed and Redha Behbahani next to him. In a way it’s kinda similar to the shot above. [Link]

Obika the Mozzarella bar had their soft launch today at the Avenues. I passed by after lunch so I wasn’t able to try them out but I did take a look at their menu and their prices seem decent at least when compared to Napket. They are open from 9AM till 12AM except for Thursday and Friday when they stay open till 1AM. Their phone number is 2597887.

Miss Ghesquiere sent me a link to this video 5 days ago of a teacher in one of the local schools singing the Bird song but I didn’t find it funny until I watched the latest Family Guy episode below. Pretty cool teacher.

I took my car yesterday to the Al Falah car wash to get it detailed by their Showhine service since everyone I know takes their car there. Marzouq posted about them before and last year it was the official Gulf Run car wash so it was a no-brainer choosing them to do the detailing.

I took an appointment on Saturday to drop off the car on Monday but I got lucky since someone canceled their appointment and I ended up dropping my car off on Sunday instead. The whole detailing process took 24 hours and when I went to pick up the car they told me to take all the time I wanted and to go over every inch of the car to try and find a spec of dust which as expected I didn’t find. They then told me to remove this small tape from the seats which revealed a dark red spot. Turns out that was the color of the seats when I brought it in and they were able to return it to the original red color. The exterior of the car got polished, the rims got polished, the seats got conditioned and the whole car was just sparkling.

They were really great and very professional but the best part is they aren’t an international franchise but a local business. The detailing cost me KD40, originally they quoted me KD50 but since the Z4 is like half a car I was able to negotiate the price down a bit. I would definitely recommend them so try them out if you need detailing done.. They’re located in Kuwait City (if Tri-Star is on your right, keep going straight past where Al-Mulla used to be, past the first traffic light and then take a right on the second traffic light where you will find them on the right corner). You can call them on 22452432 for an appointment.