2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

A combination sand and rain storm batters a lone automobile in Kuwait, May 1969.
PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID CUPP, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

The cool and eerie photograph above was featured today on the National Geographic Tumblr, Found. [Link]

The other day I posted videos from the GFC4 event when the crowd went crazy and everyone started fighting everyone. If you’re interested to know what started the fight its basically the knock out above. The guy in red and black shorts was taunting the other fighter with his hands down (Anderson Silva style I guess) when the other fighter knocked him out. The fans of the guy in the black and red shorts got pissed and started fighting. [YouTube]

When I travel I don’t usually take my DSLR but instead either take my compact Panasonic GX1 or no camera at all and just use my iPhone which honestly is more than enough 95% of the time. But, since I was going to be in Europe over Eid for 20 days I figured I might as well take my Nikon D800 and make good use of it while I was there. Problem is I have 3 lenses, a 24mm, 50mm and a 80-200mm. I didn’t have one lens that was versatile enough to carry around. Since I had a great experience with the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 previously, I decided to email my contact at AAB World (the Sigma dealers) and see what other full frame lenses they had which I could borrow and review for the blog and I was given the following options:

Sigma Lens 50MM F1.4
Sigma Lens 70-200MM F2.8
Sigma Lens 70MM 2.8 MACRO
Sigma Lens 85MM F1.4
Sigma Lens 8MM F3.5
Sigma Lens 12-24MM F4.5-5.6 MACRO
Sigma Lens 24-70MM 2.8

I decided to go with the 24-70mm since it was basically a combination of my 24mm and 50mm lens in addition to going further up to 70mm. It was also a bright lens at f/2.8 which meant I’d be able to use it in low light situations or blur out the background in portrait shots.

When I picked up the lens my biggest worry was that it would be large in size. The reason I am a fan of my 24mm and 50mm lenses is because they’re really compact and light which helps keep the weight down and also allows me to shove my camera into any one of my small messenger bags. A big lens would mean I needed to carry a larger bag which I didn’t want to. Luckily the Sigma 24-70mm turned out to be compact albeit a bit heavy since it’s a very solid lens with a full metal body and large glass. I really used to not like Sigma lenses since I always associated them with being poor build and of low quality but this is the second time I take out one of their new lenses and I’m really falling in love with them.

Using the lens was very practical and the zoom range with the fixed f/2.8 aperture didn’t make me miss my lighter prime lenses. The lens was fast to focus and near silent when doing so and I was able to use it for landscape shots as well as portrait ones because of the zoom range. My only wish because I’m greedy like that is if it was able to zoom even more like up to 120mm. But of course I want that while keeping the lens the same size and still keep the f/2.8 aperture which wouldn’t be possible.

The lens is available for both Canon and Nikon and AAB World are selling it for KD265 which is around KD30 higher than Amazon. For the size and the lens aperture You can check out their website for store locations [Here].

If you want to listen to some really talented local musicians, Bayt Lothan is holding their popular “A Night In” event tomorrow. It’s going to be an open air event which is great since the weather is perfect right now.

Location: Bayt Lothan [Map]
Date: Wednesday, October 30th 2013
Time: 7PM to 9PM

You can book your seats now for KD10 by calling 25755866 or 25755877 or else you will have to pay KD12 at the door.

I had lunch earlier today at Katsuya, the new Japanese fusion restaurant that was brought to Kuwait from Los Angeles by Alshaya. The restaurant isn’t open yet but I was lucky enough to get invited for a sneak peek so I headed there with a few friends of mine to try it out.

What originally got me interested in Katsuya is the partnership with product and interior designer Philippe Starck. I’m a huge fan of his work and was actually hoping he would be coming to Kuwait for the opening but that’s sadly not happening. Katsuya is currently only open in California and Florida and their first international branch is opening up here in Kuwait followed shortly by Dubai. According to the Vice President of Katsuya who I had the pleasure of meeting, Philippe Starck had to reinvent the interior design for the Middle East. Their US locations use feminine beauty in the design, mostly the eyes and lips so for the Middle East they wanted something more appropriate and fitting with the local culture so Philippe Starck went back to the drawing board and reworked the brand with the future in mind. The result is a fusion of Japanese samurais and art resulting in a design full of colors and movement.

We sat down and ordered their cocktails first. I originally ordered the Strawberry Fields but after trying my friends drink called Burning Mandarin I decided to swap mine for that. It’s a bit spicy but worked really well with the starters. For our dishes we let the waitress make most of the choices for us while me and my friends chose a few dishes we were interested in trying. The result? We ended up with a ton of food, so much that I actually made them email me the list since I wasn’t able to track everything. This is what we had:

– Sautéed Shishito Peppers
– Edamame Humus
– Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeño
– Spicy Albacore Sashimi with Crispy Onion
– Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna
– Stuffed Eggplant
– Creamy Rock Shrimp
– Wagyu Filet with Foie Gras
– Miso-Marinated Black Cod
– Japanese Mushroom BOP
– Sashimi Sampler
– Special Katsuya Roll
– Kiwi Scallops
– Double Chocolate Lava Cake
– Mochi
– Espresso Brownie Bar

I found the food style very similar to Zuma and Australasia which is great since there isn’t anything similar to that here in Kuwait. From the items I tried the ones I would highly recommend are:

– Edamame Humus
– Stuffed Eggplant
– Miso-Marinated Black Cod
– Japanese Mushroom BOP

If there is one dish you NEED to try its the Stuffed Eggplant. I know I know it doesn’t sound like much and I honestly HATE eggplant, I can’t stand it but this is so different. The eggplant is stuffed with tuna and almonds covered in a sweet miso glaze. It’s actually not a top seller in the States but my guess is it’s going to be a big hit here.

The dishes aren’t that expensive. We didn’t pay for our meal but I do have a PDF of the menu which you can download at the end of this post and really most of the dishes are priced pretty fairly. The black cod dish is around KD14 but it was also the largest piece of black cod I had ever been served. I actually asked the waitress if this was their regular serving size or a large portion just for us, that’s how big it was. The Edamame Humus (genius idea btw) is KD2.950, the Stuffed Eggplant KD3.950 and the Mushroom BOP which is a fairly large portion is priced at KD5.450.

If you’re interested in trying the place out, Katsuya is officially opening this coming Wednesday from 12 noon at Avenues Phase III near Cheesecake Factory. You can download and check out their menu below and make sure you try the Stuffed Eggplant, that’s the dish that’s going to make me keep going back.

Katsuya Dinner Menu
Katsuya Drinks and Desserts Menu

Unlike I previously posted, the grass on the Gulf Road is staying real. Last month they started removing the bushes and grass on the Gulf Road opposite McDonalds and it was assumed they would be replacing the real grass with fake grass like they had already done on Plajat Street and some parts of Jabriya. Turns out that’s not the case. The reason the grass and bushes were removed on the Gulf Road is because they installed new water sprinklers. The grass has already started growing back again as you can see in the picture above. This is a huge relief because I use the Gulf Road daily and I love it because it’s so green. I would have really REALLY hated it if it was all fake greenery.

Qout Market is a new farmers market (not to be confused with the Shakshooka pop-up farmers market) that will be launching this Saturday November 2nd. Qout Market will take place on the first Saturday of every month starting with this month and it’s going to be located in the large space between the Arraya parking lot and the Arraya mall in Kuwait City (picture below) across from Hamra Tower [Map].

The Qout Market will have stands selling crafts, street food, fresh flowers, jarred items, artisanal products, baked goods and local produce. The market will be open all day long from 10AM to 10PM. I’m sadly not going to be in Kuwait to check it out but if you are then you should. For more information you can check them out on [Facebook] or follow them on [Instagram]

This is the first time I see this footage which was filmed by the Dutch navy. The video quality is pretty choppy but it still gave me goosebumps. [YouTube]

As Mark mentioned earlier today there is a writing competition taking place at the Q8BookStore on November 1st as part of Spooky Book Night. The writing competition is for all ages, the rules are simple:

1) Story should be max 500 words (that’s like an A4 page)
2) It should be a horror story
3) The story should be based in Kuwait
4) Email the piece to [email protected] by 30th October

The writing club (@q8writingclub) will be judging the story, Kuwait Times will publish the piece and the winner will also get a KD30 store credit as well as a Monstariam tshirt.

Post by Fajer Ahmed

The international falafel chain Just Falafel that originated in Abu Dhabi is opening their first branch in Kuwait soon. I spotted the Just Falafel hoarding next to DoDo on Baghdad Street where Kibbeh w Bass used to be located.

There are two Monstariam events coming up this week, one is a book reading the other a graffiti picnic. Below are the details:

Spooky Book Night
Location: Q8BookStore at Bayt Lothan
Date: Friday, November 1st
Time: 5:00PM
This is for kids of all ages and they should come wearing their halloween costumes.

Monstariam Graffiti Picnic
Location: Bayt Lothan
Date: Friday, November 1st
Time: 5:30PM
There will be food, music and a lot of colors. This is the second graffiti picnic and like the previous one, spray paint and canvases will be provided.

For more information check Monstariam and Q8BookStore on Instagram at @monstariam and @q8bookstore. There is also a writing competition if anyone is interested [Here]

Sultan Center just stocked up on small pumpkins for halloween.

Today (Oct 26) is the final day for the Battle of the East crossfit competition that’s taking place in Kuwait. Athletes from around the world are participating in this event and the setup is world class. Just check out the video above to get an idea of what’s going on. If you’re interested to check it out pass by Marina Crescent, the event is taking place from 8AM to 6PM.

[YouTube]

Last night at the local MMA event GFC 4 a huge fight broke out. The fight started after supporters of a GFC fighter stormed the cage after he got knocked out. The fight initiated in various small cells around the arena but then turned into one large street brawl. According to previous UFC fighter Ray Elbe who was at the arena last night, he’s never seen anything like this ever before and he’s been involved with MMA for over a decade now. You can check out Rays post on this event on his blog [Here]

[YouTube]

Update: Here is another video from a better angle

[YouTube]

[YouTube]

With the Kuwait League match between Al Nasr and Al Arabi deep into extra time, and the home side Al Nasr 1-0 up and nearing victory, the referee Saad Al Fadhi had the temerity to award a stonewall penalty to the visitors. What happened next would lead to the man in black doling out a less legitimate form of justice.

After being surrounded by irate Al Nasr attackers, upset at seeing a win potentially slip from their grasp, the referee let fly with his fists – flooring the Al Nasr No11 Abdulaziz Farraj with a left-hander, kicking him shortly after he had picked himself back up, then dismissing him from the pitch with a prompt red card.

More was to come. After his assistants stepped in to control the melee, Al Fadhi went on a red card rampage, doling out another on the pitch. With matters concluded, he completed the job by wandering over to the bench to wave a red card in the general direction of the assorted sheikhs and substitutes gathered there.

With order apparently restored, Al Arabi buried the penalty and levelled the match – only for Al Nasr’s understandably piqued No9 Zabn Al Enazi to hoof the ball directly at the referee from the re-start. Cue another red, another touchline melee and both teams trooping disconsolately from the pitch.

I found this hilarious. [Source]