2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

The Guacho Grill at Palms closed down a few months ago because the whole hotel is being renovated but this weekend while at the Avenues I noticed that Gaucho Grill there had shut down as well. It would suck if it turns out they’ve closed down for good but that currently looks to be the case since I just checked the Alshaya website and there is no sign of Gaucho Grill there. I’ve already contacted someone at Alshaya to try and get some more information so if I find out anything, I’ll update this post.

Update: According to Alshaya, Gaucho Grill has closed down for good. No reason was given.

Kuwait has revoked the licence of a Kuwait Airways pilot who had invited a porn star and her “glamorous” friend into the cockpit.

The decision announced by Transportation Minister Eisa Al Kindari in a report to the parliament was taken following an investigation he ordered in July when news about the unprecedented security breach and ethical violation broke out.

The report, a copy of which was obtained by Kuwaiti daily Al Jareeda, said that the co-captain was demoted over his role in the case that shook Kuwaitis to the core. The plane crew was not aware of what was happening inside the cockpit and no punitive action was taken against any member, Al Jareeda said on Saturday. [Source]

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised by this. I thought for sure this incident was going to be swept under the carpet. Not bad Kuwait Airways, I’m impressed.

Thanks @mentabolism

The better the weather the more events that take place and this weekend is a prime example. A few cool things taking place this weekend with my personal favorites being the Holiday Bazaar at Pink Moon, the Ahmadi Music Group Concert the Unbirthday Picnic and the KBSC Yard Sale. KBSC is the new name for the Kuwait Little Leagues and I passed by the same event last year and loved it. You get to watch some baseball games, eat a hot dog and then check out the yard sale, a very not Kuwait like experience so I’m definitely passing by again this year. Check out the full list below:

Thursday
Exhibition: Behind the Crisis
Exhibition: People vs Architecture
Holiday Bazaar at Pink Moon
Pulse: Health and Fitness Expo

Friday
Exhibition: People vs Architecture
Holiday Bazaar at Pink Moon
Pulse: Health and Fitness Expo
Theatre: Around The World In 80 Days
The High Street
Ahmadi Music Group: Family Seasonal Concert
KBSC Yard Sale
Chill-Out Fridays

Saturday
Pulse: Health and Fitness Expo
Theatre: Around The World In 80 Days
The High Street
Ahmadi Music Group: Family Seasonal Concert
Qout Market
Madeenah Tour: Mubarak Al-Kabeer Street
Camel Races
The Secret Garden Project
Protein Sheikhas: Bootcamp
Unbirthday Picnic

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

Note: Sometimes events get canceled, postponed or have details changed but the organizers don’t inform me of the changes. I also always try to make sure all the information is accurate but mistakes can happen.

I’m assuming they were drunk, that or they were texting since both look the same from behind. [YouTube]

Thanks Salem

Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium will be officially opening on December 18th by holding the Kuwait Champions Challenge, which according to their website is the largest entertainment and sports event of its kind to ever take place in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti All-Star Team will be playing a friendly match against the Football Champions Tour which will be a team made up on international football stars.

They haven’t listed the international players that will be coming but right now voting is open on choosing which players you want to be on the Kuwaiti All-Star Team. Tickets to this event will also be available next week. For more information check out the official Kuwait Champions Challenge website [Here]

I guess whatever issues the stadium had they’re all fixed now.

via sala6a

Update: The international players are being announced, so far the following players will be coming

Keep checking the official website for more details [Here]

Dogmatic is a new hot dog place that opened up at The Cube in Salmiya. It’s the second dedicated hot dog place to open this year with the other being Haute Gourmet Hot Dogs in Kuwait City. I haven’t had the chance to try Dogmatic yet since my cheat day is on Friday (and I’ll be stuffing down lobster rolls at Burger & Lobster) but I did take a picture of the menu for those of you who might be interested [Menu]. They’re open from 11AM to 1AM and they deliver. Here is a link to their [Instagram]

Back in July I posted that Lulu had launched an online store and the problem I had with it was that the store contained mostly electronics and lacked any food items. Now though that’s fixed, a reader emailed me to let me know that the food and household sections of the website are now online and fully functioning.

Just to see if they had all their products online I tried searching for the Dove Men+Care Antiperspirant, a product I buy and know they carry but I couldn’t find it on their website. So my guess is they’re still adding their products one by one.

Still, by just randomly browsing I can tell they are carrying a ton of stuff and they seem to finally be a better alternative to Taw9eel. Check out the LuLu online store [Here]

I pretty much know my neighborhood inside out but every now and then I find out about a new place that ends up completely catching me by surprise. Zeri Crafts is one of those places.

Zeri Crafts is a small boutique located on the Gulf Road near the soon to open Dar Hamad restaurant. Back in the day when the Gulf Road used to still be a sandy beach, the location used to be a boat chalet. The place is still mostly all original with beautiful wooden window frames and the hooks to which the boats used to be tied to still embedded into the ceilings.

Zeri Crafts don’t have a lot of products but what they do have is very tasteful with a lot of thought going into them. All their items relate to the local culture be it with the designs or the materials they use. Their most recent collection which you can see in this post is very colorful and consist of textiles, objects, paperware, and leatherware.

You really need to pass by and check the place and their stuff out. They’re open from 10AM to 6PM and here is their location on [Google Maps]. You can also check out their website to get a better glimpse on some of their items as well as more information on Zeri Crafts. Here is the [Link]

Out of curiosity do you guys leave tips at restaurants? Someone on reddit was asking for info on Kuwait because he was planning to move here and a person replied with a few pointers with one being that tipping isn’t something we do in Kuwait. I hope thats not true.

I tend to tip anywhere between 10-20% depending on the quality of service. It’s obviously not mandatory but the salaries of waiters in Kuwait (and anywhere else for that matter) isn’t very high so most live off the tips. The tips are also generally shared amongst the staff so that way the chefs in the kitchen also get a cut from the tip pool. So if you aren’t tipping you really should be.

Dinosaur is a local short film that was produced back in 2013 but due to it being entered in some film festivals, it just became available for the public to watch online a few days ago. The film is directed by Meqdad Al-Kout who’s behind another popular local film, Mustache (Shanab). Dinosaur follows a government employee who is trying to change his job title to a higher position before retiring.

I have mixed feelings about the film, overall I liked it but I did find some of the scenes a bit cheesy and I really didn’t like the film visually. But Dinosaur did have some hilarious moments with my favorite being at 15:43 minutes into the film when the employee walks into an office full of niqab ladies. There are a bunch of great moments like that in the film which made me enjoy it overall. The film is in Arabic but has English subtitles. It’s also not too long just 20 minutes so if you’ve got the time check it out on [Vimeo]

Areej International Est. is a small business that has been around since 1994 supplying gourmet products to restaurants, hotels and hypermarkets. Last week they decided to launch a website so they could sell their items directly to consumers. I checked it out and I don’t think I’ve run into their products/brands anywhere in Kuwait before which is a good thing since it makes their website more useful.

If you’re interested, check out their website [Here]

The Kuwait Air Force have posted a 360° video from inside one of their fighter jets. It’s not that exciting a video but nevertheless it might have just been a test or sample and more interesting videos are coming. I wouldn’t mind watching a flyby view of Kuwait City from inside the cockpit.

In case you don’t know how it works, with 360° videos on YouTube you can move around the video using your mouse curser or if you’re on your phone you can move around by moving your phone around. [YouTube]

Thanks Haneyl

“Ghaseel” is an app that allows you to order and pay for a car wash using your phone. The way it works is fairly simple, after signing up and filling your address, you proceed to order a car wash. You choose your date and time you want them to come and wash your car and then you’ll get a list of different companies that are available at your specified time. You choose the company and package you want and then check out and pay.

It’s not a bad idea at all but there are a few things I think they can do to make it even better. Firstly the way the different carwash packages are featured is not very consistent. Some are written in Arabic, some English, some are very detailed information wise while others are very vague. It makes the app feel very amateurish. Secondly there is no rating system. So if you had a good or bad experience with one of the carwash companies there is no way of let other users know.

Still not a bad first attempt. The app is only available for iOS devices at the moment and is free to download from the App Store by searching for “Ghaseel” or by visiting their website [Here]

Star Wars is one of the most recognizable entertainment brands with a huge cult following 38 years after the first film was released. The gaming studio DICE is also a great studio with a reputation for making fantastic large-scale multiplayer shooters. So you’d think putting these two together you’d get a home-run of a game but for some odd reason, Star Wars Battlefront isn’t the game it should be. Instead, it’s an online-only bare bones multiplayer shooter.

DICE for the uninitiated, are the studio behind the critically acclaimed Battlefield series, a game known for its online multiplayer. It features large scale maps, destructible environments, vehicles, and objective based modes that encourage team work. Battlefield also features a character class system: assault, engineer, support and recon classes. Each class has unique abilities, for instance engineers can repair vehicles while support units can revive fallen soldiers. The Battlefield games also feature an unlock system that encourages you to play more to gain more weapons and more customization features, like skins for your guns, new camo for your soldier or new attachments for your weapons. Battlefield has been my favorite multiplayer shooter because of all these things. All in all, if any studio was going to make a new fantastic Star Wars game, DICE would be it.

But DICE played it too safe. Star Wars Battlefront feels like an introduction to online shooters for the casual gaming audience which in itself, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There are nine multiplayer modes with some of these multiplayer modes having up to 40 player battles (so 20 v 20). Each mode has up to four or five different maps based on the Star Wars worlds Tattoine, Hoth, Endor, Sullust and Jakku. You can choose to either be a Rebel soldier or a Stormtrooper and as you level up you unlock new weapons, gear and abilities. When you’re fighting you’ll also come across various items you can pick up on the battlefield which includes things like shields, turrets or the ability to control certain vehicles. Once in a while though, you’ll come across an item that will let you take control of a hero or villain like Han Solo or Darth Vader, depending on which side you’re fighting for.

Elevation Burger approached me recently and offered to let me takeover their Al Bida’a location once a month. I could basically host any kind of event I wanted as long as it wouldn’t get them shutdown and me deported (so sadly no local winemakers meetup and no speed dating event). I’ve been trying to brainstorm and see what I could do, I’m not great at organizing things and socially awkward in general so not sure if thats the perfect skill set for something like this. I can choose between their indoor space upstairs our their outdoor space.

So, I figured I’d ask you guys for ideas, what kind of event could I host once a month that you would be interested in attending? I held a 248AM meetup back in 2006 and 35 people attended which was pretty cool. It might be an interesting way for people to meet new people? I don’t know I’m horrible at this. If anyone has any ideas let me know below.