2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Reuters have an interesting article today on why Kuwait is falling behind.

When Shawaf al-Shawaf wanted to register his kitchen tools business in Kuwait, the bureaucratic process took six months. In Saudi Arabia, it took him less than a day.

“If I need to go to a government department, I cancel my whole day because I know I will spend the whole time there,” said Shawaf, 24, who set up his company Dolsten in late 2012.

A 2013 World Bank ranking on the ease of doing business puts Kuwait at 104 out of 189 economies, by far the lowest in the GCC. The next lowest, Qatar, is at 48 while Saudi Arabia is at 26 and the UAE leads at 23.

I don’t think its just Kuwaitis who are asking, everyone is. Here is a link to the [Article]

Thanks Ahmed

Back in February I asked for recommendations on Indian restaurants and I now have probably 50 places try out. The first place I decided to go to was Anjappar in Farwaniya (they have a Fahaheel branch as well). I used google maps to help me find the location although google knows it as Anjappar Hotel for some reason.

The restaurant is located on the 2nd floor of the building right across from Metro Complex. The interior wasn’t anything fancy and a friendly waiter seated us right after we walked in. We ended up ordering a bunch of things including:

Mutton Sukka Masala KD2.100
Butter Chicken Masala KD1.750
Anjappar Chicken B/L Masala KD1.600
Steamed Basmati KD0.750
Butter Naan KD0.250
Chicken Kheema Appam KD0.650
Masala Dosai KD0.500
Mango Lassi KD1.000

The food overall was good, I hadn’t had the Chicken Kheema Appam before and loved it. We ordered three main dishes recommended by the waiter and was the Butter Chicken even though the chicken was a bit dry. My biggest issue with the place was actually with the service, and not the waiters who were very friendly but the kitchen who were just too slow. Our rice came out more than 5 minutes after the main courses and then the Mango Lassi and Butter Naan arrived 5 minutes after that. The table next to us were complaining as well since they were there before us but hadn’t received any of their dishes.

The prices were very reasonable and you can actually check out their whole menu online [Here] for a better idea. I’d probably only go back there if I wanted to show someone Farwaniya but other than that I don’t think it’s worth the trip unless you’ve never been there before and want to try something new. Here is their location on [Google Maps]

There’s a new instagram account called @selfiekw with main purpose of posting selfies of people from Kuwait. Its become Kuwait’s version of the old hot or not website where you ranked people on looks and in this case, the hotter the person is the more likes they get. Lots of fun although there isn’t an option to view just the girls or just the guys. [Link]

Kuwaiti Word a Day is an interesting blog where every day they teach you one new Kuwaiti word. Actually I think the writer herself is learning a new Kuwaiti word everyday and sharing it with her readers. What I found specifically interesting about the blog is the fact that the posts are informal, sometimes personal and generally pretty entertaining. You can check it out [Here]

First I’m going to start this post by saying this is NOT an April Fools joke. Phoenix Global, the same guys who’ve been bringing you extreme activities like bungee jumping and the upcoming paragliding festival are going to be bringing skydiving to Kuwait.

The skydiving will be handled by a Finnish team and will take place from May 22nd to May 27th. The plane will take off from Sheikh Saad Terminal and you’ll land at the Green Island. It’s obviously a tandem jump and the cost is KD180 including photos and videos. There are limited spots available so if you want to book yours you can whatsapp them on 94004335 or call them on 22621766.

Photo by Hugo

Edo, the popular Japanese restaurant located in Shaab is opening a new second location at the Sahara Kuwait Resort. The new location is nearly complete and is expected to open in the next couple of months.

I also heard that the Inspire gym will be opening there as well although don’t have much details on this.

I didn’t think much of this video at first but then I thought to myself, where else in Kuwait can you actually jump from that high into the water? I couldn’t think of any other place so now I want to do it. [YouTube]

Employees at the Radisson Blu Hotel noticed an eagle was sitting on a ledge in the parking lot. They knew something was wrong because you could walk up right to it and it wasn’t flying off. They contacted K’S PATH who arrived 20 minutes later and were able to catch the eagle with the help of the hotels security. The eagle had some strings attached to its feet most likely from a poachers trap and because it was so windy yesterday it could have gotten exhausted after escaping from the trap.

K’S PATH have a short video of them feeding the eagle and you can watch it [Here]

Arabian Business released their list of “World’s 100 Most Powerful Arabs” and only two from Kuwait made the list, Mohamed Alshaya of MH Alshaya and Omar Alghanim of Gulf Bank. The 100 people on the list were grouped into various groups, Mohamed Alshaya made it into the “Leaders” group while Omar Alghanim made it into the “Thinkers” group. Check the full list out [Here]

For those of you who were having trouble publishing your ads in the Classifieds section the past two days, the issue has now been resolved. Sorry for the inconvenience.

A completely random but interesting fact, I recently found out the beautifully designed Kuwait Embassy in Japan (pictured above) was designed by the same legendary architect behind the original Kuwait Airport, Kenzo Tange. The building was built in 1966, 13 years before the Kuwait Airport.

via @kashkool_kw

Note: If you click the original Kuwait Airport link you can see photos of how the Kuwait Airport originally looked like.

Although originally set to open back in 2012, Lu&Lu (previously know as just LuLu) finally opened up their Dajeej branch right next to Sears. That large block now contains a Sultan Center, a City Center and now a Lu&Lu. Here is a link to the location [Google Maps]

IKEA recently added a freezer to their little food store near the exit and they’re now selling frozen salmon as well as their popular Swedish meatballs, the KÖTTBULLAR. A packet contains 1KG of meatballs and they’re selling it for KD3 which isn’t too bad. For the healthy eaters, an 8oz of frozen salmon is for KD1.750 which is slightly cheaper than the fresh alternative sold at supermarkets.

@khaliji_woes is a humorous instagram account based out of Kuwait that highlights first world problems from the Gulf. Tons of good stuff so check it out [Here]

[YouTube]

If you missed out on the Red Bull event yesterday, here are two videos that should give you an idea of what you missed.

[YouTube]