2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Last week I passed by Rice to Riches in Avenues to check the place out. It’s a New York based dessert place that serve a variety of flavored rice puddings. A friend of mine who is friends with the owner wanted me to try the place out and then write a positive review of it on the blog. Obviously that’s not how this blog works and I explained to him that I hadn’t even tried rice pudding before so I’m not sure I’ll even like it. And that’s actually what made me want to pass by the place. I get invited to a lot of places all the time but unless it’s something different, I’m not gonna find it interesting and so I’m honestly not going to go and try it out (sorry burger joints).

So Thursday after coming back from Qatar I headed to Avenues to see what Rice to Riches was all about. The owner and the operation manager were there so they ended up showing me around the place before taking me to their kitchen and showed me how their rice pudding was made. After the little tour they brought out I think like 12 different flavors and wanted me blind taste them. So I started going through the flavors one by one guessing the flavors while giving them feedback on what I thought. I wasn’t really sure how rice pudding was going to taste, I just imagined the rice I make at home mixed with chocolate and figured it would taste really gross. Luckily, it didn’t taste like rice at all. The rice pudding is served cold and the hazelnut flavor for example to me tasted like chocolate mousse and was my favorite flavor alongside the cheesecake flavor which was just as good. My least favorite flavor was the old fashioned which didn’t have any flavor added at all.

I wasn’t expecting to like rice pudding but I did (at least some of the flavors). If you’re calorie counting though you’re going to have to leave that at the door since this isn’t some frozen yogurt alternative. They have random humorous signs hanging proudly with messages like “Eat what you want, you’re already fat”, “Think with your stomach” or “If you want to look young and thin, hang out with old fat people”. Rice to Riches is officially opening on January 15th in Avenues Phase III on the top floor next to Elevation Burger. They’re going to be soft launching before that date so check their instagram to stay posted.

Earlier tonight I heard a rumor that Entertainment City was shutting down to get privatized and that Six Flags was going to take it over. A few moments ago I got confirmation from a source at Touristic Enterprises Company that the rumors regarding the privatization are true, Entertainment City is sadly going to be shutdown.

The whole park had fallen into disrepair over the years with many popular rides not working like the Water Log, Oasis Express (AKA the Death Train) and the observation tower. The only thing left really was our childhood memories and I have many of those since I’ve been frequenting the park ever since it opened back in 1984.

My source wasn’t able to confirm if Six Flags was actually taking over but it wouldn’t be too far fetched of an idea since last year they announced they were opening in Dubai. But then again, we neither have the tourists nor the popular number of the UAE so I can’t imagine it being feasible for them to open in Kuwait.

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The past couple of weekends were fairly quiet but this weekend the events have picked up once again. Lots of things to do this weekend but here are my personal picks: The GulfRun Car Show at 360 Mall for sure, if you pass by on Friday or Saturday the Snodrops Market will be taking place alongside it so you’ll hit two birds with one stone. I’m also curious to visit the Marina Market as well since it’s the first time they’re holding it. On Saturday I’d start off the day with the Secret Garden Brunch and follow it up with the Madeenah Tour. Oh and I’d also recommend the rooftop movie Man on Wire as well for Saturday. For the full list of events taking place this weekend check out the list below:

Thursday
GulfRun Car Show
Marina Market
Rooftop Movie: Rosemary’s Baby

Friday
GulfRun Car Show
Snodrops Market
Marina Market

Saturday
GulfRun Car Show
Snodrops Market
Marina Market
The Secret Garden Brunch
TICA Cat Show
Guided Tour: Grand Mosque
Character Design Workshop with Thuraya Lynn
Madeenah Tour: A Kuwaiti Haven – Reinvention of Bneid Al Gar
Rooftop Movie: Man on Wire

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]

Earlier tonight while in Doha I took an Uber cab and as I usually do I opened up a conversation with the driver. I love Uber so I’m always being nosy and asking the drivers questions about the service like how much interest Uber takes, how many hours they work and other Uber driver related questions.

Anyway we were talking about Uber in different countries in the region and he asked me about Uber in Kuwait and I told him we didn’t have it yet. He found that odd and asked me if I was sure. After convincing him that I was he told me two months back he picked up a women who told him she worked for Uber in Kuwait. I thought that was interesting. It would make sense if they did come to Kuwait since they’re already in Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Riyad, Manama and Beirut. Even though I have a car there are occasions where I’ve needed a cab and I just hated the fact that I need to negotiate with the drivers for a price because they didn’t want to turn their meters on.

I was invited to Doha by Qatar Airways to check out their new Airbus A350 XWB plane which they’re going to be revealing to the press tomorrow (or technically today since it’s 1AM now). It’s my second time experiencing their new airport but the first time I actually leave it to enter the country.

I love their new airport but their First and Business Class immigration area has to be the most impressive aspect. It’s basically a lounge with immigration counters at the far end, I was completely shocked when I saw it. I mean their regular immigration area is one of the nicest I’ve seen but this is just insane.

The Kuwait national football team had to be escorted out of the Robina Stadium in Australia’s Gold Coast by police on Saturday after refusing to play a friendly against the UAE. According to sources, Kuwait took exception to the fact the Asian Cup warm-up game couldn’t be filmed by their technical staff and so abandoned the friendly match in protest. They stayed on the field for an impromptu training session instead. [Source]

Did I read that correctly? Because the game wasn’t going to be filmed the Kuwaiti team decided they didn’t want to play anymore? Kinda reminds me of a story my friend told me about this guy who goes to his gym. The guy always comes in, starts lifting some weight while taking selfies and then once he is done taking selfies he leaves the gym.

I mean I might be able to understand how a pigeon can sell for KD45,000 but what I can’t understand is why the venue in such poor shape. If I was throwing that much money around I’d expect a 5-star venue and I’d also probably store the pigeon in something fancier than a cardboard box. [YouTube]

I hadn’t heard of this bookshop until my friend took me to it recently. It’s supposedly one of the oldest bookshops in Kuwait and it’s called “المكتبة الوطنية” which translates to The National Library. They sell Arabic books and comics, mostly new but they also have a bunch of really old stuff.

While flipping through one of the old comics I found the Hardees advert above. My very first memory of Hardees is that kids meal box, I think I was around 6 years old and I remember getting it from the now demolished Hardees near my house in Salem Mubarek Street.

If you’re interested in checking out this old bookshop it’s located in Souk Mubarkia, here is the location on [Google Maps]

I got a lot of emails over the holidays from readers (mostly Qualitynet users) complaining about how their internet has been really slow. According to two people, Qualitynet told them its because of a fiber optic cable that was cut. I couldn’t find any information on this but as a WiMD internet user myself, my connection has also been slow averaging less than 1Mbps instead of my usual 10Mbps.

So if you’ve been having connection issues, let me know below.

BitFils is a startup based out of Kuwait and comprised of three engineers who worked for over a year to make this project happen. BitFils is a website that allows people in Kuwait to instantly purchase Bitcoins by paying directly with their Knet cards. If you’re interested in getting Bitcoin I can’t imagine a more user-friendly way. Check out their website [Here]

A few days ago I found out Lu&Lu is opening up down the street from my house in the basement of the new AlSalam Mall. This will be their 5th location in Kuwait and this one will be walking distance from my house making it super convenient for me. For everybody else good luck finding parking. [Map]

“In It 2 Win It” is a new local reality show that just started airing on YouTube. The show follows a Kuwaiti husband and wife on their journey to lose weight for 120 days. The show is in Arabic (without English subtitles) and will be composed of 12 episodes with the one above being their first. Subscribe to their YouTube channel if you want to be notified once a new episode is out. [YouTube]

“There is a plan to set up a new link with the interior ministry to deport the foreigners who break the municipal laws, including barbecuing on the beaches and public parks,” Ahmad Al Saubaih said. “The municipality had designated specific spots at the beach and in public gardens where people could barbecue. It has also imposed a ban on having a barbecue in certain areas. However, several people fail to comply with the laws and regulations, even though they are aware that those who cause any form of damage to public utilities and facilities are punished,” he said, quoted by local daily Al Rai on Sunday. [Source]

I personally hate it when people barbecue on the Gulf Road since I end up smelling like a kebab after my bike ride. It’s one of the main reasons I don’t ride my bike on the Gulf Road on weekends. But, I do think deporting someone for barbecuing is ridiculous in the same way I thought it was ridiculous when they introduced the KD1,000 fine two years ago. In comparison, the fine then for dangerously running a red light was just KD300.

Photo by Michael Milosits

A friend sent me the video above of a Volkswagen XL1 at the local dealers garage. The XL1 is a hybrid car that costs around KD40,000 and is limited to only 250 units worldwide.

Definitely an eye turner since it looks like a car from the future. [YouTube]

Thanks Manae

Back in October I wrote about Keith Wells, a British journalist who was living in Kuwait back in the 70s. Keith used to work for Arab Times and in his spare time he also used to write books about Kuwait, including a witty series on a character named Wizr who was Kuwait’s greatest driver. Between 1979 and 1984, Keith released three Wizr books which I’m lucky enough to own all three. A few days ago Keith got in touch with me and I asked him if he could tell me how it all started. This is what he shared with me:

I originally wrote the stories for the Arab Times which became very popular. Then I met Peter McMahon at a party, and he hadn’t read any of the stories and asked, “Who is this Wizr character?” “I said, he’s the young, trendy Kuwaiti guy with the scarlet Transam with the eagle decal on the bonnet.’ So Peter picked up a sheet of paper,scribbled away for a minute or two, then held it out and asked “Him?” It was perfect. Thereafter we became close friends. I’d write a story, take it to his flat every Friday, and he’d give me the cartoon from the week before’s story. He somehow drew exactly what I’d imagined. The combination became very popular indeed and after a month or two we were approached by Tony Jashanmal, who owned a department store on Fahed Salem St, and Bashir Khatib, who owned the Kuwait Bookshop to publish a book full of the stories. We had a 3 way partnership to print the book at The Arab Times and Launched it at the British Embassy Garden Fete in November 1979, a week or so before I married Suzi. We sold 428 copies in about two hours… amazing.

We carried on for just over a year, then Peter was murdered by Saddam Hussein’s goons, long sad, sad story… but the upshot was that I sort of lost the fun, we put out the second Wizr book with cartoons we hadn’t used in the first one. And the third book with odd scraps and recycled pics. By then it was getting a bit heavy with the Iran Iraq War getting very dangerous and I left the Arab Times and took a very low profile job teaching at the university of Kuwait. After 4 years there I went back to the paper and wrote more stories with an Indian cartoonist called Edgar, but they were never collected in book form. I left Kuwait in June ’87. We emigrated to Oz in Oct 1989, and the following March I had a massive heart attack in a small town in southern Queensland. After recovering, we spent the rest of our working lives doing PhDs in Communication Studies, and setting up Comm Depts in various universities and colleges in Macau, Singapore, Morocco, The Bahamas and Puerto Rico.

I’ve been a bit of a hermit since retiring in ’07, but am beginning to re-emerge and was very surprised and grateful for the interest in Wizr and Dozi and his pals. Someone told me a few years ago that the fabulous cartoon of Dozi with the two rubber stamps “PERHAPS” and “PERHAPS NOT” is to be found in many offices to this day. Peter would have loved that.

– Keith Wells