Category: Kuwait

A friend just told me that there is a KD35 burger at Burgan Bank’s Chairman Club. Can anyone confirm that?

The Animal Friends League in Kuwait recently rescued 15 dogs that were living outdoors on a farm in Kebd. The dogs were never taken indoors not even during the extreme summer heat. AFL have some pictures and more information on their website plus a YouTube video. Fourteen of the dogs were Saluki’s and are now being prepared to be transported to the USA where they will be handed over to the Saluki Tree of Life Alliance. They are seeking donations to help with this and you can get more information about that on their website [Here]

I also found an article on the Saluki Tree of Life Alliance website on this rescue and on other rescues in Kuwait. The article contains a slightly graphic picture. [Link]

If you would like to help them out with donations please call them on 7001622

Houston we have a problem! When I first started this burger challenge I thought it was going to be a pretty easy task but now that I am approaching the end I’ve realized I am going to have a difficult situation on my hands.. who to crown the winner. Originally at the start of the challenge I anticipated either Fuddruckers or Burger Boutique would win but as it stands both of them are out of the picture and its Burger Hub and Slider Station that are currently rated the highest. So I had my hopes in the Gaucho Grill burger to make my decision easier and it didn’t.

I’ve only been to Gaucho Grill during the evening but for the burger challenge I’ve been trying to have the burgers during the day so that I could have decent pictures to attach to the reviews. Gaucho Grill during the day is a completely different experience, its quieter, emptier and of course much more brighter. There was only another table occupied so finding a place near the window wasn’t a problem.

Once I got the menu I flipped through it till I got to the burger section and decided I would order the Gaucho Burger with Roasted Mushrooms and Cheese (medium well). I ordered a side order of baked potato but no appetizers since I have yet to try any appetizer at Gaucho Grill that I liked. The burger arrived soon after and my first impression was whats up with the bread? The bread didn’t look very appetizing and actually looked a bit burnt so that put me off. But, once I took a bite I realized the bread in fact wasn’t as bad as it looked and the beef patty was actually really good. The burger was very juicy and the thickness of the patty was perfect. The burger came with lettuce, tomatoes etc.. on the side and thats where I kept them because the burger really didn’t need them. The bread although as you can see in the picture was slightly burnt on the edges really didn’t bother me much and it was crunchy or anything of the sort. I do think though that if they had used a better kind of bread this burger could have been the winner.

While thinking of what to score this burger I considered the fact if I’ve been too hard with my ratings. I tried some incredible burgers and so far the highest score has been a 4 out of 5. I was actually starting to believe that I’ve been too hard until I realized there was one burger I had that I would have given a 4.5 but that burger isn’t in Kuwait sadly. While I was in Jordan back in April I had the most amazing burger at the Four Seasons hotel. I think it was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. I truthfully don’t think I could give a burger a perfect 5 out of 5 but at least I know I could give a 4.5 rating if needed be. The Gaucho Burger although a great burger was let down by the bread and if it wasn’t for that I do think it could have gotten a higher score. The final score is another 4 out of 5. There are only two or three more places I still need to try out so there is still hope that a burger in Kuwait will get higher than a 4.

Gaucho Grill is located at The Palms
The cost of the Gaucho Burger with Roasted Mushrooms
and Cheese is KD6.750

The Villa Moda warehouse which was originally located in the free trade zone recently moved to their Mubarakiya branch since they outgrew the original location. But, according to a Villa Moda employee by the end of September the Villa Moda warehouse will be moving to their new branch in Hawally. Many of you might have seen the building already, its next to the Qadsiya football stadium and originally was rumored to be a new Sultan Center. The new location is around 2000sq/m which is more than three times the size of the Mubarakiya branch but I think the building looks like crap and so very not Villa Moda like.

Update: Seems like they won’t be moving…

Dear Mark & Others,

Thank you for your comments and views, they will be duly noted.

On behalf of Villa Moda I would like to announce we will not be moving to Qadsiya location or relocating the warehouse to any other site.

Since moving to the Mubarakiya store we have had a great response from our customers. Enjoying the ability to shop for vintage or previous season merchandise whilst being in a unique environment.

Thank you once again.

I got an email from the Kuwait & Food group on Facebook today and according to the email The Butcher Shop & Grill will be opening in Kuwait soon specifically at The Avenues. I tried it before in Dubai and it was ok (I’m not a steak guy) but I keep hearing that The Meat & Wine Co. is even better.

Picture by Amro ABDOUN

Can you guess what supermarket I found this in?

It was bound to happen, Qualitynet has now also blocked Skype.com and even Fring.com!

Trader Vic’s and the other two restaurants in Dhiafa Village, Letter D’amour and Don Mario’s are now open from 6PM to midnight.

Update: Here is their reservation number 2475987

Has anyone by any chance seen a store still selling the original iPods? I suddenly have the urge to get one. I found one still shrink wrapped in the box on eBay but I think its going to end up selling for over $300 easily which is more than what I am willing to pay for one. If a store in Kuwait still has one though they might be willing to let it go for cheap. I remember back in the day Eureka was selling the 5GB one for KD220. I wonder if they still have them in stock somewhere gathering dust?

Update: Wow, found an old post on Gizmodo where there was a competition called “Show us your iPod”. I don’t remember this but it seems I submitted a photo of my iPod mini autographed by the iPod inventor Tony Fadell and it actually was a finalist in their giveaway competition. Don’t know how I missed that, its from back in 2006.

Update 2: While I am being all retro here. The picture above is of Nibaq taken back in November 2002. I took the picture so we could submit it to iLounge for their iPods around the world gallery. Back then they didn’t have any submission from Kuwait. [Link]

At work I’ve got a Fasttelco connection and today I noticed that Skype was blocked. I don’t know how long its been blocked for but I found it strange that it was. Then someone posted a comment on the blog saying that United Networks have also blocked Skype. I’ve got a Qualitynet connection at home and at the moment Skype is still not blocked here but now I’m wondering if Qualitynet will start blocking skype to.

Update: Its also blocked on KEMS/Zajil

Update2: As of today morning the site is no longer blocked by Fasttelco

I just found a post in the coolq8y forum that contains vintage pictures of the Kuwaiti police force. Click the link for more pictures. [Link]

While I was in Thailand I spotted the Acer Aspire One at one of the electronic stores. The Aspire One was recently released to compete with the likes of the Eee PC and I think its got a pretty good shot at it. For one thing the Acer is around $150 cheaper, I just checked Amazon and the Aspire One is selling for KD100 which is pretty darn cheap. It also comes in different colors, the one I saw was navy blue but if I was going to get one I would probably get the white one pictured above.

Also today while I was at Carrefour I spotted the MSI Wind which is also competing in the same category. Carrefour had it priced at KD185 but its cheaper on Amazon although its currently out of stock. Here is the link to the Acer Aspire One on Amazon. [Amazon Link]

It seems ProntoWash is popping up everywhere. I first saw them in the parking lot of Muthana Complex, I then spotted them in the parking lot of Salhiya, SomeContrast spotted them at Mishref Coop and now they’re also in the Marina Mall parking. It seems like a good idea to have them wash your car while you shop but I wonder how long the queue gets if they can only handle two cars at a time?

Just found out from q8loco’s blog that there is a new radio station launching in Kuwait called Mix FM 98.4. No one get their hopes up though its an Arabic station so BBC and VOA News are still our only other options over 99.7 for now. [Link]

A few days ago there was a news article that took many by surprise. A young Kuwaiti football player called Ibrahim Al Faresi got signed to a top Italian football team, the problem is no one had heard of him before. Well by sheer coincidence my good friend choowy goowy guy turned out to be friends with Ibrahim and was involved in the organization of the signing event that took place here in Kuwait. So who exactly is Ibrahim Al Faresi?

A couple of years ago Ibrahim was playing football with his friends in front of the Bulgarian embassy here in Kuwait when an employee at the embassy took notice of Ibrahim and told him he should go play football in the Bulgarian league. He offered to help him and hook him up with the right people so Ibrahim decided to take the chance and traveled to Bulgaria where he tried out for a football team and ended up joining them.

After awhile Ibrahim realized he wanted more and so went to the FIFA website and sent an email to a licensed agent so he would be able to travel and play in any club without issues. His new agent took him to England first where he was going to get signed to Crystal Palace F.C. But due to the fact that if you want to play in the English Premiership you need to have a work permit and also need to have played in your countries league at one point, Ibrahim couldn’t join them.

His agent then took him to try out at A.C. Siena in Italy. While there a very famous goalkeeper scout called Senior Silvano who had previously discovered the worlds best goalkeeper Gianluigi “Gigi” Buffon told him not to sign up with A.C. Siena and instead offered to have him trained more so he could get him signed up in a better team. Ibrahim accepted and went and trained under the guidance of Senior. After a short period Senior took him to try out for A.C. Milan and ACF Fiorentina. Fiorentina where right away impressed and instantly offered him a spot on their team.

And thats basically the story of Ibrahim. In a weeks time he is leaving Kuwait and heading to Italy for some medical test and some more training before officially signing for the club. Its a great story and it just goes to show that there are a lot of untapped talents here in Kuwait. I’ve always believed that there are some amazing football players here in Kuwait but I think the football league here is just not as strong as it used to be to draw in these talents. Hopefully this story will prove to be an eyeopener.

Picture from Al Azraq