2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

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

From all the projects currently taking place in Kuwait, I think this one is the one I’m most excited about.

Back in June I posted about the new 9.7-kilometre-long waterfront project that stretches from the Yacht Club in Salmiya all the way to the Kuwait Towers. The project involves facelifting the waterfront while also offering essential amenities for people which includes a dedicated bicycle and jogging path among other things.

We now have a first look at how the new pathway is going to look like and I’m super excited!

This small strip in the photo is not a rendering, it’s a real strip that was constructed for testing purposes. I’ve been told this is the final approved design that will now be implemented along the whole waterfront.

What I love the most about the design is how the walk path and bike path are separated with plants, benches and other amenities. This means you can’t accidentally walk into the bike lane which is what I tend to do when I’m in Europe.

Another cool thing I like is the bike racks which you can barely make out in the photo, they’re on the top left next to the bench and black colored street light. This means I can now park and lock my bicycle if say I want to take a quick dip in the sea (something I’m probably never going to do but I like the option). The whole thing looks really tastefully done, it looks really great.

Maybe the best part about this project is that it’s real, it’s already under construction and they’re targeting to have it completed by February. As someone who rides their bike all the time on the Gulf Road, you don’t understand how much I’m excited about this.

Burger King Kuwait is currently running a pretty cool campaign where depending on the last number on your car plate, they’re giving away free tenders!

All you need to do is order any meal at one of their 39 drive-thru locations around Kuwait and whatever the last digit of your car plate is, you’ll get that number of tenders for free. I checked my cars and I have one that ends with the number 8 so I’m pretty much set.

It’s a limited time offer so if you want your tenders, go get them now.
To find out more, visit their instagram @Burgerkingkw

The pre-orders for the new iPhone 15 and 15 Pro will go live tomorrow September 22nd, but some authorized resellers like Xcite are going to go live from midnight tonight.

So if you were hoping to be one of the first to get the new iPhones at retail prices, you most likely need to pre-order to get your hands on one early. Here are the list of authorized Apple resellers in Kuwait according to Apple:

Alpha
Carrefour
Digits
Eureka
Gait
Lulu Hypermarket
Virgin
Xcite

The weather is getting cooler so the events are starting to pop up again. This weekend there are 4 interesting events taking place:

Colors of Armenia
If you’re into painting, the Armenian community and embassy in Kuwait is celebrating Armenian heritage with a vibrant painting event.

Powerlifting Competition
There is a power lifting competition taking place this weekend which is something different.

Storytelling with Omar Hamada
Qesati are holding a talk this weekend with Omar Hamada, the owner of Lyfe Cycle.

Is this thing on?
Art Scene are holding an open mic night featuring poetry, music, comedy and performance.

I’m finally caught up with all the episodes of Yellowstone so started catching up to Billions. Billions used to be one of my favorite shows but this season I’m not really feeling it much so just powering through it for now. There are a couple of TV shows I added to my need to watch list this past week:

Extrapolations
This show seems interesting but haven’t started it yet. Lots of big name actors and it’s based in the future so has the potential to be great if it wasn’t for the fact the show deals with climate change and if its one of those shows with “a message” I’m really not gonna like it.

Lessons in Chemistry
This show caught my attention because of the aesthetics and the fact it stars Brie Larson. It’s not out yet, comes out next month.

Frasier
I’m also really looking forward to the new Frasier which comes out next month as well. Hopefully won’t suck because I have really fond memories of the show.

What’s on your “need to watch” list?

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

New This Weekend:
Expend4bles (5.1)
It Lives Inside (5.5)
R.A.D.A.R.: The Adventures of the Bionic Dog (5.4)

Other Movies Showing:
A Haunting in Venice (6.7)
Blue Beetle (6.8)
Cats Museum (4.4)
Elemental (6.8)
Gran Turismo (7.0)
Oppenheimer (8.7)
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)
Space Jam (6.5)

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

The second season of Winter Wonderland is going to start soon and there will be a bunch of changes this year. Last year, the Touristic Enterprises Company (TEC) was taken by surprise at the park’s unexpected popularity, but they are well-prepared for it this season.

Everything is bigger and better about the park for this season. Firstly, the physical footprint of the park increased by 40% which in return allowed the number of games to increase from 22 to 35 while also increasing the number of cafes and restaurants available.

The park will also be open for 7 months this year while longer operating hours that start earlier in the day.

The biggest challenge last year was the limited ticket availability. However, this year they’re making 15,000 tickets available for sale every day which should resolve the issue. The ticket price will also remain unchanged at 5KD but this year they will be sold through their soon to be released app.

They’re aiming to open the park by the end of September but depending on the weather it could be delayed to early October. The official Winter Wonderland account is @wwlkuwait, but for unofficial progress updates check out @mohamedalwazzan. Mohammad lives across from the park and is constantly posting video updates on the construction with short entertaining videos.

Medi (@eat.medi) is a small Mediterranean restaurant that just opened in the city. The restaurant has a cozy 16-seat communal counter that serves small sharing plates. Their menu is up on their website along with pictures and the dishes look pretty good. I haven’t passed by yet since they just opened, but if you’re looking for a new place to try Medi seems interesting.

Currently, they only accept reservations due to their limited seating capacity; so no walk-ins. They open at 6pm and the last booking is at 10:30pm.

Medi is located in the same building where Bartone used to be in Sharq (Google Maps). If you want to book or check out their menu, their website is eat-medi.com

The Italian fashion brand Loro Piana opened up at The Avenues a few weeks ago and last week a friend sent me a TikTok video showing a white t-shirt they were selling for 694KD. I thought it might have been fake because no way a plain white t-shirt (or any t-shirt) could possible be 694KD. Turns out it’s real!

Luckily for us, Loro Piana have a local website with all their items and their prices available to check out. I went through it and found the items which seemed hilariously overpriced and decided to share them.

The Gift of Kings� T-Shirt – 694.0 KWD
The Gift of Kings� Polo – 803.0 KWD
Kilya Bomber Jacket – 7,114.0 KWD
Harlan Coat – 9,967.0 KWD
Leasure Trouser – 615.0 KWD
Owen-Belt – 655.0 KWD
Baby Changing Bag – 728.0 KWD
Twelve Blanket – 970.0 KWD
My Doggie Pillow – 1,172.0 KWD

Have you guys noticed that most if not all the self check out machines disappeared from Coops? At least the ones I visit no longer have them. I’m guessing either no one was using them or people were pretending to use them but then shoplift their items.

On the bright side, the self checkout machines at Sultan Center no longer require you to sign up to their rewards program. It’s made a huge difference for me because I can pop in and out very quickly without having to wait in any cashier line.

Back in July, the Armenian national carrier, Fly Arna started direct flights to Kuwait twice a week. I got excited because the flight from Kuwait to Armenia was only 2 hours long and ticket prices started at 82KD which made it very accessible.

Last week I decided I’d book a flight for the end of the month and when I went to their website I couldn’t find Kuwait. They had even removed the image posted above from their Instagram account. Turns out they canceled the route due to lack of interest.

I found that really weird, obviously it’s going to take time for people to find out there are now direct flights to Armenia and then plan their trips. Now the next best flight is a connecting flight that’s over 5 hours long which sucks.