2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

It’s been a while since I put together a breakfast list and since my last list, some new places opened up, some closed down because of the pandemic, and some just stopped serving breakfast due to lack of staff. Below is the latest list I’ve put together along with their breakfast timings (note: breakfast timings, not operating hours). This is also not a list of every single place that serves breakfast in Kuwait, this is a curated list. If there is a restaurant you think should be added here, let me know in the comments.

My two go-to places are still Cocoa Room and Baker & Spice but check out the whole list below:

Angelina
9:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Baker & Spice
Weekdays: 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Weekends: 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Bakehaus
8:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Cocoa Room
8:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Dar Hamad
8:00 AM – 12:15 PM

Cheesecake Factory
Friday & Saturday: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Frankie’s
9:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Gia
Avenues: 7:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Avenues)
City / Salmiya: 6:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Ladurée
9:00 AM – 10:00 PM

Lazy Cat
Weekdays: 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Weekends: 7:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Lunch Room
360 Mall: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
City: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Madeleine
Wednesday to Saturday: 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Madison & Heig
8:00 AM – 12:45 PM

Magma
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Mana
Avenues: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

The Breakfast Club
6:30 AM – 3:30 PM

The Early Bird
Crystal Tower: 7:15 AM – 2:30 PM
Jabriya: 5 AM – 3:30 PM

The Kind Ones
6:00 AM – 6:00 PM

The Social Table
8:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Notably absent: Johnny Rockets, Barba, Bouchon, Princi and LeNotre. I couldn’t get a hold of them.

Since last week’s list proved to be popular, here are some more new places for you to try out.

Baba G – A shawerma place located in the city
Beef & Liberty – A smashed wagyu burger concept
Chickz – A delivery only fried chicken concept
Crust Pizza – A tiny pick-up and delivery only Neapolitan pizza concept
Eli’s Burgers – I don’t get their instagram account 🤔
Frank’s Steak Sandwiches – A delivery only concept based around Philly cheesesteaks
Good Fillings Pie Shop – They have 3 kinds of pies (definitely need to try this)
Robin’s – A European style cafe & bistro located in Massaleh Towers

If you want to share any new places, please do so in the comments.

Since the weather is getting cooler the Kuwait Offshore Sailing Association (KOSA) is kicking off its new season this weekend. No sailing experience is needed, neither is a boat since the club has various ones which you get assigned to depending on your experience.

If you’re a non-member the cost to sail is KD20. They have three different outings this weekend with limited spots so if you’re interested, go to kosakwt.com

Also follow KOSA on instagram to stay posted on upcoming outings @kosakwt

This is the latest footage shared by the Ministry of Public Works showing the progress on the construction of the new Kuwait Airport terminal (T2). It looks like there is still a lot of work to do but, construction of the new terminal is currently on track to be completed by next summer, August 2022.

MajorSamm is a YouTube account where they make anti-war music videos with the intention of introducing both music fans and history fans to lesser-known conflicts or aspects of conflicts by giving a glimpse into their look and feel. His latest video is a mashup of “Simon & Garfunkel – The Sound of Silence” with footage of the burning oil wells that were set on fire by the retreating Iraqi army during Desert Storm in 1991.

Thanks @syedfraz

A 3 meters wide micro-apartment was just featured in the popular design and lifestyle publication Wallpaper*. The duplex apartment was designed by Studio Madouh and looks pretty cool in the photos. Sadly, there strangely aren’t any photos of the rooms but you can check out some exterior shots and some other interior shots on the Wallpaper* website here.

via @zaydoun

Kuwait Little Theater started back in 1948 in Ahmadi under the name KUOCO Independent Players and is considered to be the oldest community theater in the region:

The first recorded theatrical activity in Kuwait’s oil era dates back to 1947 when a group of Kuwait Oil Company employees met in the old Magwa Club and called themselves “The KUOCO Independent Players”.

Their first production in 1948 was staged in a large nissen hut located in the Ahmadi Industrial area. Rehearsals were usually held in the producer’s or a member’s home. As the building was also the local cinema the sets were often built and painted and then assembled on stage at the last minute.

In 1950 KOC provided the group with a small hut next to the cinema with a mere 18-inch high platform serving as a stage. The hut was so small that it came to be known as Kuwait Little Theater.

Two years later the group moved to larger premises, (the former KOC food store known as Spinney’s on the Main Street), and this nissen hut has gone on to become the permanent home of ‘Kuwait Little Theater’.

Sadly, KLT no longer exists having closed down years ago (I think 2014) because the KLT hut which was still being used contained asbestos and so was no longer safe.

Recently I came across old photos as well as a list of every production that KLT held from 1950 up to 1990 which I’ve decided to upload to flickr. You can check everything out by clicking here.

Also back in 2010, I posted about a documentary that was released to celebrate KLT’s 60 year anniversary. You can check out that old post here.

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

New This Weekend:
Prisoners of the Ghostland (6.1)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (8.0)
Till Death (5.8)

Other Movies Showing Now:
A Quiet Place Part II (7.3)
Alone (6.2)
Black Widow (6.8)
Candyman (6.2)
Cruella (7.4)
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (6.1)
F9: The Fast Saga (5.2)
Free Guy (7.7)
Reminiscence (7.4)
Rogue Hostage (3.1)
Space Jam: A New Legacy (4.4)
Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (6.6)
The Night House (7.0)
The Protege (6.6)
The Suicide Squad (7.5)

Classic Movie Showing Now:
Thief (7.4)

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)
Turtle Odyssey (7.2)

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

The local band Galaxy Juice recently released their third album “and the forty thieves”. This is their first album where they sing in both Arabic and English and they also experimented with traditional khaliji/Gulf percussions. They infused the traditional beats with synthesizers and guitars and managed to create their own unique sound.

If you want to listen to their new album, it’s available to stream on: Spotify, Anghami and Apple Music.

You can also follow them on Instagram @galaxyjuiceband

Barmaee is a new outdoor sports shop that opened up recently. I found out about it by chance since it’s near my garage where I’m getting my Datsun restored and I kept noticing kayaks and paddleboards through the display window so I decided to stop and check the place out.

The store is fairly cute and clearly being run by someone who’s an outdoorsman but the physical store really is just a small display area, their real store is online where they carry so many great brands including YETI, Thule, Marmon, Osprey, Salomon, Black Diamond, Shimano, and many many more. It’s actually pretty insane how much cool stuff they have on their website. They describe themselves as the Middle East’s largest outdoors store and I believe their website could very well be that since I haven’t come across anything like it in the region. (UPDATE: Turns out it’s not true! Read the update below)

The only confusing part is that their physical store is called Barmaee while their online shop is called Just Outdoors. I don’t know why that is, maybe because the physical store doesn’t carry many items but it just confuses things.

If you’re looking for outdoor gear definitely check these guys out. Their instagram accounts are @barmaee.q8 and @justoudoorscom, while the website is justoutdoors.com

Update: So it looks like the whole thing is misleading and not true. They aren’t the largest outdoor store in the region because they don’t have any of the items listed on their website. Their website is just an affiliate store for a US website so everything needs to be shipped from the US store to Kuwait. It’s similar to websites like uBuy and Desertcart which are just affiliate stores for Amazon. Disappointing.

The popular used bookshop Q8 Books which at one point was located at Bayt Lothan has now rebranded and opened in a new location. The bookshop is now called Bliss and Paper and last week they opened their new location in the city.

The new location looks great and is divided into a few sections. There is a room for children and full of kids books, another room which has a locked cabinet full of old important books on Kuwait but can also be used as a meeting room. Finally, the new location has a cafe with healthy sandwiches and vegan desserts.

The new location is open daily from 10AM to 9PM and if you want to pass by and check it out they’re located in the basement level of Dasman Complex (Google Maps). Also check them out on Instagram @blissandpaper

I recently came across the picture above of a Kuwait Airways plane crash dating to 1966. Only a month after Kuwait Airways received their brand new plane, it crashed on landing due to pilot error and was written off.

On 30 June 1966, the Trident 1E registration 9K-ACG was destroyed when it crashed 4KM short of the runway at Kuwait International. The plane was on its way back from Beirut when the plane descended at a high rate and the pilot didn’t follow the proper regulations. No lives were lost.

A higher resolution of the photo is available here, and a full report of the incident can be downloaded from here.

Kuwait’s traffic authorities imposed a ban on delivery motorbikes on highways and Ring Roads starting from October 3, 2021 due to a rise in accidents. According to the Traffic General Department, the new regulation, issued to ‘streamline the delivery motorcycle service’ in the country, prohibits bikes delivering items to use the first, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh Ring Roads, in addition to roads 30, 40, 50, 60 and 80, as well as Jamal Abdul-Nasser Road and Jaber Causeway. source

No idea how delivery bikes are going to get around now, maybe just take the Gulf Road to everywhere? What should happen instead of banning them is to make the motorbike license test harder and at the same time enforce traffic rules (for everyone). But obviously banning things is always our go-to fix.

Also for those emailing me asking me to post a complaint about Deliveroo’s new service charge, I’m not going to. It’s a small fee and you can always use Carriage or Talabat if you don’t want to pay it.

I have such a long to-do list of places to try but honestly, just haven’t been in the mood to pass by and try most of them. Since my list isn’t getting any smaller, I’m just going to share it here in case anyone else is looking for a new place to try:

Bakehaus – They just opened up at The View Mall
Bob’s Drive-In – Burger place with branding thats a bit too similar to Big Boy
Bonjiri – A yakitori spot by the chef behind Tampopo
Deep Dish – A deep dish pizza place (might be an alternative to Boccini)
Its Hidden – A secret restaurant that seems over priced
Koto – New Japanese delivery concept
Madeleine – A brunch concept thats open only on weekends
Pb – Just opened and serving both pizza and burgers
PETE’S – Another pizza place but this one serves NY style
Phet Phet – A thai food concept thats delivery only and the only place on the list that I’ve actually tried. I like it and think they might have the best Pad Thai ever.
Top Notch – Another burger place, this one near AUK in Salmiya

Anything else new? Let me know in the comments.

Why are sidewalks so disliked in Kuwait? As a person that likes to walk to places, especially since I live in a commercial area, I find it so frustrating that I can’t walk one street down my apartment building unless I’m willing to walk through garbage bins, a sandy lot, and on the street with cars racing by. But this isn’t new, it’s always been like this and nobody cares obviously or else sidewalks would have been an important part of the urban planning. What is new is the fact there was an important and heavily used sidewalk a couple of blocks down from where I live which recently got removed. The issue is that they didn’t provide the pedestrians with an alternative sidewalk and this has now created a pretty dangerous situation.

Right outside the Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre (Map), there was a sidewalk that runs from the inside road, around the museums, and then connects to the Gulf Road. It was a heavily used sidewalk because it’s the only road that connects the densely populated neighborhood with the Gulf Road while also connecting Salmiya to Shaab. But, due to construction work taking place there, they temporarily (I hope it’s temporary) removed the sidewalk to make more room for the cars. And that’s fine, except for the fact they didn’t temporarily provide an alternative route for pedestrians. So pedestrians are continuing to take that route (to get home or get to the Gulf Road), but now instead of walking on the sidewalk, they’re forced to walk on the road with cars speeding by dangerously. At night the strip is also poorly lit making it even more dangerous.

I’ve seen families walking on the road, young teens, and employees heading to or from work. I wouldn’t be surprised if there haven’t already been multiple incidents where pedestrians were hit by cars on this strip. Hopefully, someone reading this post can help sort this problem or let me know who to even complain about something like this even though I doubt they would care.