2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

The movies below are now showing at either Cinescape, Grand Cinemas or Sky Cinemas:

New This Week:
Bleeding Steel (6.3)
Hostiles (7.2)
Jackals (4.7)
Pitch Perfect 3 (6.2) ♦
The Greatest Showman (7.9)

Other Movies Showing:
Coco (9.1)
Crooked House (6.4) ♦
Ferdinand (6.8)
Ghost House (4.7)
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (6.9) ★
Justice League (8.1)
Paddington 2 (8.3)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (8.3) ★
The Mountain Between Us (6.3)
Wonder (7.2)

The movies below are also now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

A Beautiful Planet 3D (7.9)
America Wild: National Parks Adventure (N/A)
Dream Big 3D (7.9)
Extreme Weather 3D (6.6)
Tiny Giants 3D (8.0)
Watermelon Magic 3D (7.4)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.

The administrative court recently issued a verdict by powers of which the cabinet is to issue a decision banning the usage of water guns in National and Liberation Days’ celebrations. The verdict was made in response to a case filed by lawyer Mona Al-Arbash demanding the ban for public interest, on grounds that thousands of water gallons are wasted every year during national celebrations, costing the country – which is already poor on natural water resources – a lot of money. Use of water guns and water cannons during national celebrations have become very popular in recent years after the government banned the use of spray foam for environmental reasons. [Source]

I’ve really hated what the celebrations have turned into over the past years, and I’m sure a lot of other people as well. So glad we’re finally done with this.

Image via Getty

If like me you missed the opening of the 23rd GulfCup, here’s a pretty cool video of the fireworks that took place. [Vimeo]

If you were a fan of the movie Nightcrawler, then you’ll most likely love this Netflix series. Shot in the Dark is a documentary television series that follows three stringing companies in LA competing to get the best news footage to sell to news stations.

Shot in the Dark takes you along on the ride, showing you what it takes to get to the scene first, and what they need to do to differentiate their shots from the competition. I love documentaries and I think in another life, I could easily imagine myself being a stringer so I really connected with the show. It’s pretty intense, the competition is tough and I loved watching every minute of it. If you’ve got Netflix, check it out.

On the other hand, I just finished watching Jean-Claude Van Johnson. It’s a show starring Jean-Claude Van Damme in which he basically spoofs himself. In the series, he plays himself, but although everyone knows him as an actor and martial artist, in reality, that was just a cover for his real job which is a private contractor. The show starts off funny but kinda fades towards the end of the series. Still worth checking out though. Jean-Claude Van Johnson is available on Amazon Video and you can watch the trailer above.

The first phase of the metro will be completed in the year 2025 and is for one line that starts from Salmiya and heads towards the airport. It will be 50km long and have a total of 27 stations, 9 of which will be in the city center. The full metro project which comprises of five phases is expected to be completed by 2040.

2025 is not THAT far away, just 7 more years to go… [Article]

Below is the latest map I have of the metro, no idea if it’s still valid or not, but it should give you an idea of what it might look like.

Thanks lovelykuwait

White Robata, the new Japanese restaurant I recently posted about is opening up at JACC this coming Wednesday. I’ve been there twice so far (they’ve been holding private tastings) and been loving the food and the great service. I know a lot of people are curious to try it out, and if you’re one of those people, then you should know that they won’t be accepting walk-ins (if you want a table). To get a table at White you’re going to have to reserve one online.

Right now with their other restaurants (OFK, Burger Boutique, Cocoa Room etc..) they’re using a regular waiting list where you put your name and number down and they’ll call you when a table is available. But if you’re going out to a nice dinner, the last thing you want to do is spend an hour walking around the fountain at JACC killing time till a table frees up. With the reservation system, you can book your table online at an available time slot, and then just show up. I’ve already booked a table for two nights and found the experience pretty easy.

In case you don’t have a table booked, you can walk-in, but you’ll only be able to sit at the bar and that’s limited to just 12 chairs.

If you’re interested in trying the place out, you can reserve a table by visiting their website whiterobata.com

There are a number of collaborative workspaces in Kuwait like Niu and Reyada, but Wejha is the first one to target artists and musicians. The collaborative space opened up a few weeks ago at Pearl Marzouq in Salmiya, and I got a small tour of it last week while checking out the F160 exhibition.

The space is pretty big, if you attended Qout Market when it was being held at Pearl Marzouq a few years ago, then you’ll most likely recognize it. It’s the area where the kids section used to be. The space is divided up pretty nicely with a large collaborative space overlooking the Pearl Marzouq garden, and then various small studios spread out all around. They offer a number of benefits to artists including offering them exhibition space, both public and private, meeting rooms, workshops and the possibility to meet and interact with other artists that are based there.

The only downside is their prices which might not be in reach for a lot of young artists and musicians who may just be starting up. If you want access to just the coworking space the cost is KD150 a month, but if you’re looking for your own private studio, then the prices start at KD250 and go all the way up to KD450. Actually, KD250 might not be bad for a studio since I’ve seen dodgy spaces in basements in Hawalli going for as much.

If you’re interested to find out more, check out wejha.com and also their instagram page @wejha.arts

Not a lot of things going on but The Secret Garden is back this Saturday. Check out all the events for this weekend below:

Thursday
Alice & Co
Cinemagics Rooftop Movie: IDA
Royal Chick: The Concert

Friday
Holiday Decopatch Weekend
Styloplay Court Kingz 3×3 Basketball Tournament

Saturday
Yoga with the 3
Holiday Decopatch Weekend
Clean Eats Christmas at The Secret Garden
Cinemagics Rooftop Movie: Joyeux Noel

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so always double check with the organizers.

The movies below are now showing at either Cinescape, Grand Cinemas or Sky Cinemas:

New This Week:
Crooked House (6.4) ♦
Ferdinand (6.8)
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (6.9)★
Sweet Virginia (6.3) ♦

Other Movies Showing:
Coco (9.1)
Ghost House (4.7)
Jungle (6.7)
Just Getting Started (5.8)
Justice League (8.1)
Paddington 2 (8.3)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (8.3)★
The Breadwinner (7.5)
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (7.7) ♦ ★
The Mountain Between Us (6.3)
Wonder (7.2)

The movies below are also now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

A Beautiful Planet 3D (7.9)
America Wild: National Parks Adventure (N/A)
Dream Big 3D (7.9)
Extreme Weather 3D (6.6)
Tiny Giants 3D (8.0)
Watermelon Magic 3D (7.4)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.

ORA used to be one of my favorite sushi places in Kuwait before they closed down their location in Arabella. Now, they’re reopening again and I got a sneak peek of the space earlier today, and I’m in love with it. It actually might have the nicest looking interior of any restaurant in Kuwait, and that’s saying a lot since we’ve got some pretty great looking places here.

The new ORA (or what I like to call ORA 2.0) will be located downtown, on the mezzanine floor of an AGi Architects designed building on Ahmad Al Jaber Street [Map]. As soon as I walked into the new ORA, one of the first things that caught my attention was a golden colored wall lamp and right away I asked if it was by PSLab? (it was). PSLab are lighting consultants based out of Lebanon whom I’ve been obsessed with for years. Like super obsessed, to the point, I recognized the wall lamp as being designed by them even though I had never seen it before. They’re insanely talented and you’ll find their lights all around the world in some of the most beautiful spaces including a bunch of Aesop shops. And the new ORA is no exception, their interior is also stunning.

When it opens, the new ORA will be divided into two main areas, a lunch space, and a dinner space. The dinner area is structured in a way where it could be divided up. It could be either one large room, or two medium-sized rooms or one medium-sized room and two smaller ones. So if you’ve got a private dinner party, you would be able to book a room and not have to interact with the rest of the restaurant. You’ll actually be able to get into your private room through a back door so you don’t even have to walk through the main dining area.

I didn’t get to try any food since tastings haven’t started yet but expect your favorite ORA dishes to make a comeback, along with a bunch of new ones. ORA is expecting to open on January 10th and I’m really looking forward to it. Follow them on instagram @ora.kw

Niqashna is a platform for open debates that was launched early this year. Every few weeks they discuss an interesting subject and tonight they’re debating the separation of religion and state. The debate is in Arabic but the Q&A will be in both Arabic and English. If you’re interested in attending (its free), you can get more details [Here]

White is a new restaurant by the owner of Cocoa Room, Slider Station and Burger Boutique. It’s an American robata concept that is opening next week at the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre. I passed by the other night for a tasting and loved everything we tried. The menu was pretty huge so we had a whole variety of dishes to try, from nigiris (including chutoro and otoro) to robatas.

You can check out the full menu minus the desserts [Here] and [Here].

Unless something pops up, they’re currently planning to open on December 27th. To stay posted, follow their instagram account @whiterobata

I found out earlier today that Burger & Lobster are opening up in Kuwait City, in place of where Cereal Killer used to be located.

I like this location and I think it should end up doing a lot better than the Avenues one which always felt too out of the way to pass by for a quick meal. The new location is right next to Arabica in downtown, here it is on [Google Maps]

Although we don’t have Uber in Kuwait yet, we do have various other apps that pretty much do the same thing. Over the years I’ve posted about a few but never in one concise post, and since some have stopped working over the years, this list is of current active ones.

Q8 Grand Limo
This is my favorite app/service right now, and the one I’ve been using constantly. It’s really made my cabbing experience in Kuwait great, the cars are super clean and fancy, the drivers are very polite and tidy, and I haven’t had any issues with them since I started using them back in May. Costwise, they’re more expensive than regular street cabs but the experience really makes up for the price. Plus, they gave me a 20% promo code when I posted about them back in May so for me, trips don’t cost that much more than regular street cabs. They’ve got around 30 cabs in operation including a Mercedes S400 in case you want to splurge. I actually got picked up by the S400 a few weeks back when they were super busy and didn’t have their regular cars available. Let’s just say I forgave them for being late and they can always pick me up late if they’re gonna do so in the S400. You can also book a cab ahead of time which I’ve done when I needed a middle of the night ride to the airport. [Link]

Careem
Probably the closest thing to Uber in Kuwait right now since they’re Uber’s main competitor in the region. I’ve never used them but I’ve got friends who swear by them. Like Grand Limo, they also have a ride later option which many people use to schedule airport rides and they also have their own fleet of cars. [Link]

Q8 Taxi
This is an app I posted about a few years ago and were one of the early ones to launch in Kuwait. I tried using them back then a few times and had a fairly average experience and then one day, it just stopped working. Now it seems they’re back since they’ve been advertising their app pretty heavily. Haven’t tried them and don’t think I will, but they’re the cheapest option in this list since they use regular street cabs to pick you up. [Link]

If there are any other apps I’ve missed let me know in the comments.