2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

I only watch two sports, Formula 1 and UFC which is why I find this news so exciting. Former 7-time UFC champion and future hall of famer José Aldo is coming to Kuwait! He is going to be the guest of honor for the FERA Championship which is taking place this coming weekend.

In addition to Aldo coming to Kuwait, Renan Barao, the former UFC bantamweight champion is making his return to the fighting scene after leaving the UFC 4 years ago. Barao at one point had one of the longest unbeaten streaks in MMA history and was regarded as one of the best mixed martial artists in the world.

The FERA Championship looks like it’s going to be a pretty huge event. It’s being held over two days at The Arena and they’ll be hosting 11 fights, 7 of which will be MMA while the remaining 4 will be Muay Thai fights. The first day of the event will be the weigh-ins, meet & greet with the fighters and the music show. The second day will be the meet & greet with Aldo followed byall the fights.

Tickets start at 20KD and you can book them through The Arena’s website. José Aldo meet & greet tickets will be sold on the spot and will cost a 10KD.

A few days ago Saudi Arabia approved a major high-speed rail link that will connect Riyadh and Kuwait City together. This rail link shouldn’t be confused with the metro project and instead is meant to connect Kuwait with the rest of the GCC via rail. Source

I actually watched a TikTok video recently of someone who took the train from Riyadh to a city near the borders with Jordan. The train carried cars and passengers so once he got to the last stop, his car got unloaded from the train and he continued his journey to Jordan by car. I hope the train linking Kuwait and Riyadh also carries cars since it means we potentially could easily transport our cars around the region to speed up road trips. I’ve been wanting to do an Oman road trip for example but it’s around a 16 hour drive, not worth it unless I’m planning to spend a couple of weeks in Oman.

Completed last year, Bridge House is a beautiful multi-family compound that is located in Khiran. It was designed by the architects TAEP, and like their Tent House which I previously posted about, it also has a lot of cozy-looking spaces.

The whole plot features one long covered outdoor communal area that stretches from the rear of the house down to the sea passing through four distinct residential units. The concept behind the design was to prioritize family values of gathering and community which is why the outdoor areas in this weekend beach house becomes the main event.

To check out more photos, click here.

Giancarlo Esposito, the actor who played Gus on Breaking Bad and Moff Gideon on The Mandalorian was in Kuwait this past weekend for the comic festival. While here he ended up visiting the Kuwait Towers and he took some cool fun shots which he ended up posting on his instagram account. Check them all out here.

The Blajat project has been open for a couple of days only and they’ve already gone and reduced their prices. There was a lot of backlash on social media over their pricing structure so my guess is that might have played a roll in this. Whatever the reason is, here are the old and new prices for comparison:

Sunbeds
Old Price: 8KD
New Price: 5KD

Beach Cabanas
Old Price: 45KD (up to 4 people)
New Price: 25KD

White Floating Cabanas
Old Price: 45KD (up to 6 people)
New Price: 25KD

White Floating Pool
Old Price: 10KD
New Price: 6KD

Kuwait TAG Obstacle Course
Old Price: 7.5KD
New Price: 6KD

Kids Water Park
Old Price: 5KD
New Price: 5KD (didn’t change)

They also added two more activities:

Beach Volleyball – 5KD an hour
Bossaball – 24KD an hour (up to 10 people)

I passed by earlier this morning just as they were opening to check the project out and it’s pretty nice. There was chill background music playing, the sand looked super clean (no idea about the water), there’s now a proper walkway and the whole project looked well put together.

But there were two things I didn’t like. The first is that you’re not allowed to walk your dogs on the walkway and the second is no bicycles. The first I kinda can understand but the no bicycle thing is a bit weird since there was plenty of space to build a bike path.

If you haven’t passed by to check it out, you should, even if you aren’t planning to swim. @blajatkw

Last night, I had the privilege of attending Miami Band’s final dress rehearsal at The Arena before their sold-out 5-night performance, and it was a pretty fun experience.

I wouldn’t call myself a Miami Band fan, I know a handful of their songs because I grew up with them but Arabic music isn’t really my thing. I think last night might have actually been my first Arabic concert and I didn’t get bored, maybe during a couple of their slower songs but the show was entertaining and it mostly had to do with the fact there was always something happening on stage.

This Miami Band concert is produced and directed by Free Jabriya who brought in massive international designers and content creators to help out including:

Studio Flint (@studio.flint) – The content creators behind the Coldplay ‘Music Of The Spheres’ world tour

Woodroffe Bassett Design (@woodroffebassettdesign) – The lighting designers behind the recent Elton John farewell tour

Susan Kulkarni – Costume designer for movies like The Peripheral and Martin Scorsese’s ‘Silence’

Rebecca Brower (@rebeccabrower) – Stage designer who worked on the opening and closing ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympics

The show was a visual journey that celebrated the life of the band. In between songs the stage transformed into an animated story book in which the band shared random moments and stories from the past. I’ve been to a lot of concerts and I’ve never seen that and I think Miami Band fans are going to love it.

As of this post 3 out of the 5 nights are already sold out and there are only a handful of seats available for the last 2 nights. The seats don’t seem great when you look at the floor plan but I think they’ll actually be fine. You might actually end up having a good view of the band performing from those seats. So if you’re a Miami Band fan, book them before they’re gone. Tickets Link

The weather is getting cooler and so the events are starting to pop up again. This weekend there are a bunch of cool things happening, check them out in the list below:

Wednesday, Sep 27
Mozart Concerto
Auto World Show
Mini Zoo at The Gate Mall

Thursday, Sep 28
Mozart Concerto
POP UP by Comfest
IMPROVengers Comedy Night
Slow Days Pop-up by Thrf
Auto World Show
Mini Zoo at The Gate Mall
A Night with Miami

Friday, Sep 29
POP UP by Comfest
Slow Days Pop-up by Thrf
Auto World Show
Mini Zoo at The Gate Mall
A Night with Miami
Cars & Coffee

Saturday, Sep 30
POP UP by Comfest
Wejha Summer Bazaar
Auto World Show
Mini Zoo at The Gate Mall
A Night with Miami
Riso Print Workshop

Ok not sure how I just found out about Gilly and Keeves but I spent all night yesterday watching clips on YouTube laughing out loud. Really silly and incredibly funny so I’m probably going to spend this weekend binge watching them or I might finally download Zelda Tears of the Kingdom and play it since I still haven’t done that.

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

New This Weekend:
13 Exorcisms (4.3)
All Fun and Games (4.6)
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (6.1)
Supercell (4.3)
The Creator (7.3)
The Kill Room (6.9)

Other Movies Showing:
A Haunting in Venice (6.7)
Blue Beetle (6.8)
Cats Museum (4.4)
Elemental (6.8)
Expend4bles (5.1)
Gran Turismo (7.0)
It Lives Inside (5.5)
Oppenheimer (8.7)
R.A.D.A.R.: The Adventures of the Bionic Dog (5.4)
Rabbit Academy: Mission Eggpossible (5.4)
Retribution (5.3)
Sound of Freedom (7.8)
The Equalizer 3 (6.9)
The Nun II (6.3)

The classic films below are currently showing at the 1954 Film House:
Casablanca (8.5)
Coraline (7.7)
Space Jam (6.5)
The Addams Family (6.9)
The Thing (8.2)

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

Earlier today, TEC opened their Blajat project, and just a few moments ago, they also launched their TEC booking app.

It’s a one stop app for all their projects including Blajat, Winter Wonderland, as well as their second entertainment park, the South Subahiya Park which is opening right after Winter Wonderland.

Currently, this app is only available for iOS devices but the Android version is coming soon. To download the app, head to the app store and search for TEC Kuwait.

A couple of weeks ago I posted about a small Asian supermarket that opened up in Salmiya and now a second one opened. Yamama which previously had a location in Shuwaikh just opened up in Salmiya. Yamama like Singarea is actually an importer of products so they tend to supply other shops.

What’s cool about this location is they have a small bar area with boiling water, microwave and a hot plate. That way you can say buy your noodles and eat them there. I’d imagine that would be popular with people in the neighborhood.

If you want to check it out they’re open from 9AM to 11PM and they’re located on the same street at Marina Mall. Google Maps

This isn’t photoshopped, took the photo this morning on the way to work. I wonder if it smells like a BigMac?

Iroiro is a new Japanese restaurant that just soft opened in the city. It’s by Dong Jin Kang, the same person behind The Kimchi at the Radisson Blu. Iroiroi is a Japanese street food concept with a focus around ramen and the place looks incredible.

The interior is what caught my attention initially. I had been following the construction on Instagram for sometime now and had really been looking forward to seeing the final look. The interior is meant to mimic the popular Izakaya alleys in Japan and they even shipped in a lot of the interior pieces from Japan to help add to the authenticity. It’s an extremely photogenic space so I expect it to be really popular with instagrammers and Tiktokers over the coming weeks.

I came by for a quick lunch and I’m writing this post while waiting for my dessert. Iroiro is located near my office and is a very chill spot on the 10th floor of the Oasis Hotel (the building right next to Pick). They have a soft launch menu now and I ended up just having the Kujirai Ramen. There are no prices on the menu since it’s a free tasting over the next few days before they finalize things. My ramen was really good and I’ll definitely be coming back for it but also to try their Yakitori and Udon.

If you want to pass by they have a soft opening till the 28th and you can call and book a slot. Their instagram is @iroiro.kw.

Image on the very top by @me.folla

TEC have been really active with new projects lately and they just announced on Instagram that tomorrow they’ll be opening their Blajat project to the public.

The Blajat project is located in Salmiya and runs the distance from the Bida’a roundabout all the way down to Showbiz. It’s being launched in phases and the first phase has now just been completed.

The Blajat project includes a revamp and refurbishment of that whole strip of coastline with new facilities and ameneties added that include:

– A free public beach
– Rentable sunbeds
– Private cabanas on the beach
– Private cabanas out in the water
– An inflatable water park
– Restaurants and cafes
– A brand new walkway

The regular sandy beach is free to use and there is no entry fee. For the activities and facilities you’ll have to buy tickets through their website or soon to launch TEC app. You’ll also be able to purchase tickets at their ticket booth on location.

Since it’s a public beach it will be mixed-gender and open to everyone.

As for the restaurants and cafes, there will be a bunch of cool brands including Bakehaus, McDonalds, KDD, Subway, Roto and Dhahia Juice.

I’ll post more photos and more accurate information as I get access to them, but for now you can follow the Blajat instagram account @blajatkw and keep reloading their website blajat.kw till it goes live.

Update: So I got the prices and they are the following:

Sunbeds – 8KD per person
Beach Cabanas – 45KD (up to 4 people)
White Floating Cabanas – 45KD (up to 6 people)
White Floating Pool – 10KD per person
Kuwait TAG Obstacle Course – 7.5KD per person
Kids Water Park – 5KD per person

Update2: The website is now live and contains all the details! blajat.kw

This is a bit of a weird and confusing drama. SALT, the popular UAE burger concept is NOT coming to Kuwait according to their most recent post. But, according to people on TikTok and Instagram they are supposedly coming to Kuwait.

Turns out there is a SALT opening in Shuwaikh near Mayar Complex with the exact same logo as the UAE one and have the account @salt_kwt. But, it’s supposedly a different SALT and is a franchise of the Qatari concept with a similar logo @salt_qa. To make things even more confusing, the UAE SALT is also available in Qatar and their account is @findsalt.qatar.

So just in case you’re as confused about this as I am, to keep things simple, the SALT opening up in Shuwaikh is different from the Emirati @findsalt.

Update: To confuse things even further, I’ve just been told the Emirati @findsalt is also coming to Kuwait. So we’re going to have both versions somehow open up here.

Just a quick heads up since I noticed it’s a common question on Reddit. If you have anything you want to sell the blog has a pretty active classifieds section. If you’re on your phone you might not have realized that since the link is hidden in the menu but if you click the 3 dots on the top right you should spot the link. So check it out. classifieds.248am.com

I also get people asking me what happened with the section Kuwestions. Basically, I had to shut it down. The software it was running on hadn’t been updated by the creator in years and bots and spam had taken over the database to the point just the user database alone had grown in size to over 500MB making it extremely sluggish. But, I had created Kuwestions to replace my previous Forum which both were created back when the Kuwait Reddit community wasn’t very active. Now that r/Kuwait is active, I didn’t see a reason for another forum anymore