Category: Kuwait

IKEA isn’t the first place that comes into mind when you think of Indian food but surprisingly, it should. When IKEA was still based in Shuwaikh their restaurant was tiny and had a limited variety of dishes. Now that they are based in The Avenues and have a lot of space they expanded their restaurant not only in size but also in the variety of dishes that they serve.

One of the dishes they used to serve every now and then as their daily special has now become a permanent dish on their menu, the chicken masala.

As I said earlier when it comes to Indian food IKEA isn’t the first thing that comes into mind. Swedish meatballs yes, chicken masala no. Despite how strange the notion of a Swedish furniture chain serving Indian food might sound, they somehow managed to get it right. IKEA serve extremely good chicken masala and they serve it alongside plain white steamed rice. Combined the meal is priced aggressively at only KD1.500! The portion is large and filling and the flavor is pretty darn good. Its currently my favorite dish at their restaurant and a favorite among many. With a cheap price tag, good portion and great flavor there really isn’t much to complain about. Final score is a 4.5 out of 5.

So today morning I received an email telling me that PUMA and Nike were both opening stores in the next few days and two images of the interiors were attached. After corresponding with the sender some more it turns out the stores were actually opening today and that they were in fact individual stores inside the new Athlete’s Foot in The Avenues. So for lunch I decided to pass by and check it out.

The Athlete’s Foot store is located near Va Va Voom. The entrance is around two stores wide but the place is really deep. It’s not as big as GoSport which is humongous but its still around 3 to 4 times the size of Foot Locker. When you first walk in to the place its your typical Athlete’s Foot but after you climb a few steps the store gets divided into 3 smaller stores, a Nike store, a Puma store and an Adidas store (hey are separated by transparent plastic walls).

The Nike section sadly is nowhere as big as the Nike store in the Mall of the Emirates but it’s better then nothing I guess.

I just got an email telling me that in a few days time the first ever PUMA store is going to open up in Kuwait and also for the first time, a Nike concept store. The email didn’t mention where in Kuwait they’re opening but I am assuming The Avenues. Here are two exclusive pictures of both stores.

update: They will either be opening today or tomorrow and it’s confirmed, they are opening at The Avenues.

update 2: OK, another update, turns out they already opened up today morning. Both stores plus an Adidas store are all inside the new concept Athlete’s Foot store next to Va Va Voom. Doesn’t sound as exciting as having individual stores but will pass by for lunch and check it out.

update 3: Hopefully the final update. The stores are SIS (stores in stores). They carry the same exclusive stuff as the individual Puma and Nike stores. Problem with Puma and Nike is that if they open a flagship store they have to be the actual owners which is not possible in Kuwait. So in Kuwait this is the closest we are going to get to having individual stores. Adidas on the other hand are ok with selling you the franchise hence the Adidas store at Marina Mall.

Fatma Ghadban recently represented Kuwait in Miss Arab World which was held in Cairo. She lost to Miss Bahrain. This is not a joke. More pictures and details after the jump. [Link]

Thanks Asooma

I was passing by Mac&More in Marina Mall when I spotted what looked like a cool jacket in the display. Turns out it was the iJacket by Zegna. The jacket has iPod integration meaning you can plug in your iPod into the jacket and then control it via invisible buttons on the sleeve. Its priced at around KD240.

I finally got to try Edo on Friday for lunch and I didn’t find the place that special. With all the hype built up by the “Edo Pride” groupies I was expecting the place to be the place. Everything I tried tasted pretty bland and boring. I still prefer Kei over Edo even though I don’t eat at Kei anymore after Nat found what looked like a thick eyebrow in her maki. I hear Shogun at The Palms is good so I think I will give that a shot this weekend.

Found this Wrangler today and its exactly how I want my Wrangler to look like. Now I just need to find out how much this lift is going to cost me. I should have left a note on the guys car and asked him to call me.

BuzBerry, a blog run by a group of young Kuwaitis are trying to encourage people to read. To accomplish that they’ve set up a competition in which to enter you need to read and review one of the following four books:

1) A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
2) As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
3) Night by Elie Wiesel
4) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Now here is where things get interesting, there will be three winners who will win one of the following prizes:

First place: Nokia 8600 Luna
Second place: Apple iPod
Third Place: Apple iPod Shuffle

If you are interested in participating in this competition you need to email them by August 8th informing them. The deadline for entering your review will be September 1st.

For more information on this competition check out the BuzBerry blog. [Link]

The new Sony Ericsson P1i is in Kuwait and available at the dealer (Barrak) for KD225 or KD204 if you are an MTC user.

Thanks MeHRAJA

I understand why cleavage or nudity is usually covered with a black marker, but covering this man completely from head to toe I don’t understand…

I was checking out one of those “Tarsheed” fliers that they are giving out at malls when I found a funny mistake.

First point they tell you to adjust the A/C to 30 degrees and set it on AUTO mode. Sounds reasonable but then the third point they tell you to turn off the A/C. So which one is it? Do I put it on AUTO or do I turn it off?

update: Some commenter’s are saying in the first point they are talking about central A/C while in third point they are talking about split units. That doesn’t make it any less funnier because no one will get what they meant.

A user called Rakkan posted this picture on his Facebook account. He ordered KFC here in Kuwait and found what looks like a caterpillar on one of the chicken pieces. Check out the picture by clicking [Here]

Warning: After viewing the picture you will never want to eat KFC again.

Thanks Anas

I hate Nokia. I really really REALLY hate Nokia. I think I have hated Nokia ever since my first Nokia, the 2110. Back then I couldn’t understand how Nokia could have released something as large and bulky as the 2110 when Ericsson had the tiny 337. But, I just got a Nokia and guess what? I love it.

I needed a phone with Wifi and I needed a phone with a QWERTY keyboard. With my previous phone, the Sony Ericsson K800i, I could check my Gmail account using the Google Mobile app for example which was cool, but replying back to emails was a long painful experience. There also wasn’t much more I could do when it came to Internet connectivity.

With the E61i, I have a full keyboard, Wifi, a large wide screen and it works with Blackberry. Since its also based on the Symbian OS there are a ton of cool software available my favorite being Fring, a software that allows me to connect to Skype and call people internationally from my Nokia at cheap Skype rates. It basically renders my IPEVO Skype phone useless. Browsing the web is a lot more convenient with the large screen and QWERTY key pad.

On the downside the phone is pretty wide which I am still trying to get used to. The keypad is also pretty packed with both Arabic and English letters so I placed an order for an only English keypad. I think these two are the only problems I have with the phone so far. Battery life is incredible, typing on the keyboard is enjoyable, the included web browser displays pages accurately (no flash though), and the price, the price is a steal. I got the phone for only KD120 but a member in the forum mentioned I could have gotten it for as cheap as KD115. For the amount of features packed into this device (it also has a camera), the phone is extremely well priced. I love it.

Picture of the phone above is by tekgik, he also has a lot more good shots so check them out. [Link]

It doesn’t make sense as it is but when the Arabic version of the poster says “Start with appetizers” then you definitely know something got lost in translation.

Note: Picture taken at Naif

I was surfing the web last week at work when I fell upon a visual that looked familiar. I was sure that I had seen it before and only when I got home I realized where. The cover on the left is from Bazaar’s 2006 dining guide. The artwork on the right was originally designed and illustrated by a designer called Bo Lundberg.

I emailed Bo Lundberg to find out if he had given Bazaar permission to use his design for their cover and according to him he didn’t, the visual was copied from him and Bazaar never contacted him.

Check out Bo Lundberg’s work by visiting his website. [Link]