2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

At some point over the past few weeks, you’ve likely encountered Instagram ads about BIGGIE finally being in Kuwait. At least I did, and when I clicked on the ad to find out who BIGGIE was, there wasn’t much information, just a guy holding a banner. Well, last week the mystery was finally revealed: BIGGIE turned out to be a new burger concept and it just opened.

I know what you’re thinking: “Another burger joint?” When the owners (2 brothers) reached out to me, I asked them about this, and they had a pretty good response. Burgers are extremely popular in Kuwait, and no matter how many burger joints open up, there’s always demand for more. Plus, it’s always been their dream to open a burger joint and build a company specializing in F&B concepts, and BIGGIE is their first step. Btw, it’s BIGGIE like the rapper since they’re fans, but they also chose the name because it refers to the size of their burgers.

The menu at BIGGIE is straightforward: five kinds of burgers and five kinds of fries, and that’s pretty much it. They use the highest quality beef, bread, and cheese. Despite the higher costs, one of the brothers is a chef and so his background drives him to maintain high standards without compromising on ingredients. They wants their customers to enjoy a clean, feel-good burger that offers the best value for their money.

So if you like burgers and want to try a new spot out, BIGGIE is now available on all the major delivery platforms including Talabat, Deliveroo, Jahez and Cari. They’re open from 2PM till midnight and you can check them out on instagram @biggie.kuwait

Shandiz, one of the best (might be the best) Persian restaurant in Kuwait is opening a new location in the city. On my way home I spotted their signs up in the same building as where ALOHA is in the city (Google Maps).

The current Shandiz store next to Muthana Complex is pretty small, so I’m guessing they’re either opening a second location to cater to more customers, or the building they’re currently in is getting demolished and so they needed to find a new spot.

Although this new location is near my office, it’s actually a terrible location due to the parking situation (there isn’t any, well there is just not close to being enough). The whole block is heavily congested and at night people just double park on the main road.

Update: A reader pointed out it says seafood on the sign, so it looks like it’s going to be a different kind of Shandiz.

Marks & Spencer are opening a new location at The Avenues. They currently have a small store in Phase I (small for an M&S) but they recently took over the Baroue location and surrounding shops in Phase II, which is a pretty huge area. I think it might be bigger than their 360 Mall location.

No idea when they’re opening but hoarding is up.

This week I started watching the new Star Wars series The Acolyte. It has a 4.1 rating on IMDB and I have no idea why because it wasn’t bad at all. I also watched the movie Godzilla Minus One. I found it on Netflix and started watching it not realizing it was actually a Japanese movie dubbed in English. But something about the way it was shot caught my attention, it was a really beautiful looking film and it’s why I continued watching it. Turned out to be pretty good so glad I watched it.

This long weekend I’m going to watch Presumed Innocent which just got released on AppleTV+ and I need to start the new season of The Boys and finish up Clarkson’s Farm and Palm Royale (have like 2 episodes left I think). I might also watch Bad Boys at the theater, but need to find out first if anything is cut or not.

Oh and Netflix just announced “CHESTNUT VS. KOBAYASHI: UNFINISHED BEEF”. I’ve been following their story since before Kobayashi got banned from the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, and this past week there was a lot of drama because Chestnut was also banned this year because he signed a deal with Nathan’s rival, Impossible Food. In my head yesterday I was thinking both should team up and do their own thing and I woke up this morning to find out Netflix is doing exactly that. It’s going to be such an exciting face-off!

Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Week:
Inside Out 2 (8.2)
The Strangers: Chapter 1 (4.7)

Other Movies Showing:
Bad Boys: Ride or Die (6.8)
Dragonkeeper (5.8)
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (8.1)
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (6.5)
IF (6.8)
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (7.4)
Kung Fu Panda 4 (6.4)
Tarot (4.9)
The Garfield Movie (6.0)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Classic/2002) (8.8)
The Watchers (5.7)

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

Santa Nata, renowned for their delicious pastries and baked goods, has just expanded its dine-in options with a brand-new breakfast menu.

Alongside their popular pastries they now have a wide selection of breakfast dishes composed of classics like Eggs Florentine, Eggs Benedict and Avocado on Toast, but also favorites like Turkish Eggs and Acai Bowls. They also have two special breakfast desserts on the menu, a Creme Brûlée French Toast, and a banana bread with mixed berries.

Santa Nata is named after the home of the original Pastéis de Nata pastry from Portugal. The founder grew up in a family of bakers and left Portugal and moved to London where he opened his first location. He quickly gained a loyal fan base and eventually grew to become an international brand famed for its Portuguese delicacies.

Other than their signature product and breakfast items, Santa Nata also have sandwiches, baked goodies, and a large selection of pastries.

If you’re bored of your usual breakfast spots and want to try something new, Santa Nata are located on the M2 floor of Al Hamra Tower (Google Maps) and are open daily from 8AM to 10PM except on weekends when they open at 9AM. @santanata.kw

Yesterday in the comments, I was having a discussion with a reader about the whole practicality of flying to UAE and back just to use the pool there and I found out from him that a return flight to Abu Dhabi is now just 6.750 KD!

Turns out Wizz Air are having a summer sale right now and if your dates are flexible, you can get tickets as cheap at 6.750 KD this summer. I tried it now and it’s real. As long as you don’t add any options like checked-in luggage and other extras, you can get your ticket for $21.98.

I’ve never flown Wizz Air but I have heard both positive and negative comments about it. As long as you manage your expectations it seems like an OK experience. wizzair.com

There are plenty of public beaches in Kuwait but not that many swimming pools you can access without being a member or staying at a hotel. But, some hotels do offer day passes to their pools so I called as many hotels as I could until I had enough to put a list together. This is the 2024 edition list so the prices are current.

All the pools on this list are singles friendly except for Seashell Julaia Resort which isn’t. None of the pools require you to be invited by a member except for SVN. SVN gets an exception for this list because it’s the nicest place with lots of very cool facilities. So for a very premium members only club, it’s actually great value compared to a lot of other places, so find a friend with a membership.

The list below is arranged from least expensive to most expensive:

Al Jahra Copthorne Hotel & Resort
Telephone: 24590000
Price: 10KD

Seashell Julaia Hotel & Resort
Telephone: 1844444
Price = 15KD

Crowne Plaza
Telephone: 1848111
Weekday/Weekend: 20KD

Symphony Style Hotel
Telephone: 25770000
Weekday: 20KD
Weekend: 25KD

Holiday Inn Salmiya
Telephone: 25760000
Weekday: 20KD
Weekend: 29KD

Hyatt Regency Al Kout Mall
Telephone: 23931234
Weekday/Weekend: 25KD
Ladies only on Monday and Wednesday

Millennium Hotel
Telephone: 22050505
Weekday/Weekend: 25KD

Mövenpick Hotel Resort AlBidaa
Telephone: 22253100
Weekday: 25KD
Weekend: 30KD

Hilton Resort
Telephone: 22256222
Weekday: 30KD
Weekend: 35KD

SVN Club (member invite required)
Telephone: 1876777
Weekday: 30KD
Weekend: 40KD

Marina Hotel
Telephone: 22230030
Weekday: 35KD
Weekend: 40KD

Four Seasons
Telephone: 22006000
Weekday/Weekend: 40KD (70KD Couple)

Waldorf Astoria
Telephone: 24774444
Price 1: 40KD (Inc. 1 Mocktail)
Price 2: 50KD (Inc. Food + Mocktail)

If I missed a place where you can access a pool with a day pass, let me know in the comments.

A few weeks ago I posted that I got a bluetooth adapter for my Bang & Olufsen A9 and that I had crazily bought the A9 for 890KD 10 years ago. Out of curiosity I was trying to find out how much a new one today costs and I cam across the Bang & Olufsen website for Kuwait.

Not sure how long its been around for but I wasn’t aware they had an online website with all the prices listed. Want a Beolab 50? That will cost you 18,975KD. Want a Beolab 90? Thats selling for 47,000KD. Add to cart!

I love that they have all the prices up. Anyway, the new A9 starts at 1,290KD which is quite a big jump from their prices 10 years ago. Here is the link to the B&O website.

A couple of weeks ago, I revisited the Tareq Rajab Museum to explore their private photography archive again. This time, I discovered several more interesting items, including the beautiful old photo above, taken sometime in the 1970s, of a mosque in Kuwait.

I didn’t recognize the mosque, so I asked my Twitter followers if they knew it, and one person did. It turns out the mosque is called Ahmad Abdullah Mosque, and not only is it still standing, but it’s also located practically across the street from my office.

The mosque is located in Kuwait City and was built in 1915. It’s situated in the area behind Dickson House, where the old city project is currently under construction.

Although the project is cordoned off with a wall, there are two mosques in the back that are still accessible through a gate. As soon as I saw the mosque, I recognized it as the same one, even though the part of the mosque that housed what looks like a baqala in the old photo seems to have been demolished at some point.

I took some photos of the mosque, but since it’s currently right next to the wall surrounding the construction site, I couldn’t capture the exact same angle as the old photo.

If you want to check out the mosque in person, here is the location on Google Maps.

One day late but because I was flying back to Kuwait yesterday so didn’t have time to put this together. While in Copenhagen I got to watch Furiosa and it was ridiculously good, and Anya Taylor-Joy is such an incredible actress. I’d highly recommend you watch the movie while it’s still in the theater, and I don’t think anything would be cut in Kuwait, maybe 1 useless scene but that’s about it. One weird thing about my movie experience, I went to watch the film in one of their most popular and largest theater, but out of the 1,000+ seats we were just 6 people in total watching the film. It was weird but since the weather was good I figured most people wanted to spend the evening outdoor even though I went to the 10PM showing. No idea.

On the plane yesterday I got to watch the first 6 episodes of The New Look and loved it. Such a great story and now that I’m back home I can’t wait to watch the rest of the episodes.

Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Week:
Bad Boys: Ride or Die (6.8)
Dragonkeeper (5.8)
The Watchers (5.7)

Other Movies Showing:
Asphalt City (6.1)
Damaged (4.6)
Darkness of Man (4.5)
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (8.1)
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (6.5)
IF (6.8)
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (7.4)
Kung Fu Panda 4 (6.4)
Possessions (3.9)
Tarot (4.9)
The Fall Guy (7.3)
The Garfield Movie (6.0)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Classic/2001) (8.9)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Classic/2002) (8.8)

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

Taw9eel, the biggest online retailer in Kuwait recently launched a new store called Taw9eel FAST. It’s their 30-minute delivery service accessible in over 100+ areas around Kuwait and includes various items such as groceries, home accessories, electronics, makeup, video games and more.

To kick off this new 30-minute delivery service, 30 heavily discounted items will go on sale everyday for just 500 fils. I actually ordered a bunch of things before I traveled when I wanted to try out the service including a case of ALSI Cola Zero, 2 packs of bottled water, a travel adapter, USB-C cable, and a few other items. It took them less than 30 minutes to deliver which was convenient since I was midway packing for my trip and needed to pack the travel adapter and USB-C cable to take with me. But really the highlight for me were the deals I got on some of the items like the ALSI Cola. It’s a Saudi soft drink brand I recently tried and liked, so now is my alternative to Coke Zero and Diet Pepsi.

In addition to the above, Taw9eel are also offering free delivery all summer long if you use the code “FST”. But, as a special offer to my readers, they created a second code “248” which you can use to get 15% off your cart total. You can only use one of these codes at a time so use the code FST if you want free delivery, or 248 for 15% off on your cart total.

To try it out, get the Taw9eel App or head to taw9eel.com and click on the department Taw9eel FAST.

Philippe is a New York-based high-end Chinese restaurant by Executive Chef Philippe Chow. They are opening their first location outside the US at JACC this coming Thursday, June 6th.

The restaurant is known for its sophisticated dining experience, and its New York location is a popular destination for celebrities and food enthusiasts. The cuisine is considered modern Beijing-style, and they are especially famous for their Peking duck and satays.

The reservation link is on their Instagram page, but there doesn’t seem to be any dates available. You could try your luck as a walk-in without a reservation since most restaurants in Kuwait tend to have a no-show rate of around 20-30%. @philippechow.kw

Nando’s are opening their new location at the Marina Mall sea side extension, Marina Crescent this coming Thursday, June 6th. Although I really enjoyed the food at The Warehouse location, it was just too far for me to want to drive there just for Nando’s. The Marina location makes a lot more sense for me so I’ll be there pretty much all the time.

I’ve always been fascinated with Ahmadi because of how different it looked to the rest of Kuwait. Most of it hasn’t changed since it was originally built in the late 1940s, but over the decades, some important landmarks, including the Ahmadi Cinema and Market, fell into disrepair. Now, the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters has a very cool project to save them.

I was given a tour of both sites, but the first we visited was the cinema. It was designed by the renowned architect Sayed Karim in the 1960s. The ground floor has shops and restaurants which are still used today, but the upper floor where the cinema was is closed off from the public and empty. The large hall that used to hold over 1,200 cinema seats is now empty and derelict. But, a lot of the interior is still intact and original, which is why it was interesting to explore the building. The cinema stands as one of the last cultural centers in Kuwait, and is the only remaining building of its kind in the country. The rehabilitation project aims to restore it to its original state and function while supporting and enhancing the local performing arts industry.

The second location we visited was the market. Similar to the cinema the aim will be to restore the market to its original state. The market is in pretty bad shape and so will be a more difficult project for them to restore. But, one building has already been refurbished and I got to tour that as well. One thing I only discovered while on the tour was that the metal beams on the building facade are actually functional. They open and close to control the amount of sunlight that comes in. That must have been so ahead of its time back when it was built.

This restoration project is the pilot model for the NCCAL, which aims to create policies and procedures to preserve and protect heritage sites throughout Kuwait. The Ahmadi Township is also being considered for designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site which would a huge benefit to Ahmadi and Kuwait if that happens.

I feel relieved knowing that there are now people working on preserving Kuwait’s history and I can’t wait to see their future projects. Follow @ahmadi_township if you want to stay updated on the Ahmadi project.

For more photos which I took on the tour, click here.

I traveled a couple of days ago and ended up watching two shows on the flight, Tires and Obliterated (both on Netflix). Tires just came out this past week and stars the comedian Shane Gillis. I liked the show, not sure if anyone else will unless you’re a fan of Shane since his humor isn’t for everyone. It’s only 6 short episodes so very quick to go through.

I also started watching Obliterated but haven’t finished it yet. Not as good as I was expecting it to be, but if you like the series Reacher you might like this since I find them pretty similar in style (comedy and story wise).

Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Week:
Asphalt City (6.1)
Damaged (4.6)
Darkness of Man (4.5)
Ezra
Possessions (3.9)
Tarot (4.9)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Classic/2001) (8.9)

Other Movies Showing:
Abigail (6.8)
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (8.1)
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (6.5)
IF (6.8)
Inception (Classic/2010) (8.8)
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (7.4)
Kung Fu Panda 4 (6.4)
Prey (3.8)
Sting (5.7)
The Fall Guy (7.3)
The Garfield Movie (6.0)

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