A reader sent me a link to an article in Al Watan Daily on the new Gulf Road cameras that are installed. According to the article the speed cameras on the Gulf Road don’t just take pictures of speeding cars but are similar to the cameras on the First Ring Road in that they calculate your average speed from one camera to another. That means even if you slow down when passing camera 1, if you get to camera 2 too quickly then they would know you were speeding.
Personally I don’t think this is true. When compared to the First Ring Road, that stretch has 2 lanes of traffic and 2 cameras at the start each pointing to a lane with 2 more cameras at the end of the stretch also with each pointing to a lane. The Gulf Road on the other hand has 3 lanes and traffic lights all along the way. There is also 1 camera pointing across all the lanes instead of 3 different cameras each pointing to a seperate lane. I could also speed down the Gulf Road at 120km/h but as soon as I stop at a red traffic light my average speed is back to normal. Of course I won’t be speeding just in case this is true. [Link]
Last week Nat had dinner with some of her friends at a new restaurant that just opened up in Kuwait City called Ruby’s. She had a good experience and suggested that we pass by for lunch yesterday.
From outside the place doesn’t look like much since the shops and buildings next to it are pretty old but once you walk into Ruby’s it’s a completely different atmosphere. The place is pretty spacious and has a very cozy look and feel to it. We sat down in a comfy corner and the waitress brought us the menu. The first thing that impressed me was with how minimal their menu was. They have only 3 salads, 3 panini’s, 3 pastas and 3 burgers which I thought was very brave. Restaurants here seem to get the impression you need to have a million items on your menu but you really don’t since it’s about the quality not quantity.
Nat ordered the Mango Pumpkin Chicken Salad while I ordered the Bronte Burger on my first visit and the Chicken and Mango Chutney Panini on my second (had lunch there yesterday and today). Nat really loved her salad and I thought my burger which had a sweet chili sauce was really well made. It was delicious and on my second visit I was really tempted to order it again but decided to try something else and I am glad I did. As much as I thought their burger was amazing the Chicken and Mango Chutney Panini was even better. The Mango Chutney was sweet and gave the panini amazing flavor, I really loved it. I also ordered their chocolate dessert on my second visit and although it was good, I would prefer the Chocolate Fondant at Life with Cacao or the Chocolate Pudding at Slider Station instead.
Their prices are very decent. Their menu ranges from KD2.250 for their cheapest Salad up to KD3.750 for their Shrimp in Linguine which is their most expensive dish.
Ruby’s has been open I think for around 2 weeks only. They still don’t have a sign outside and they will be installing their Knet machine hopefully this week according to the waitress. I’ve drawn a map to the location which you can view [Here]. The service is great, the place is cozy and the food is amazing. I highly recommend the place.
Update: Currently (as of December 29, 2010) they open from 3PM to 11PM. According to the employees there within the next 10 days they will start opening from 11AM to 11PM. Their phone number is 22496526,
Just found out Alshaya are bringing IHOP to Kuwait. IHOP stands for International House of Pancakes and is an American breakfast chain. I don’t think they’re open anywhere outside of North America.
In non-food related news, Harvey Nichols will be opening their first store in Kuwait in Avenues Phase III. Originally Harvey Nichols said they were opening the store in the summer of 2011 but not sure if that’s still the case since I thought Phase III still needed more time then that to be completed.
During the summer while in Lebanon I posted about how I found out I was allergic to dogs by doing a “prick test”. Well there was a lot of interest on that subject so I figured I would share this information with you. First of all for those of you who don’t know what a prick test is, basically they write on both your arms with a pen a variety of things that cause allergies like cats, dogs, dust mites etc… and then they put a concentrated drop of that item next to the corresponding name and they prick you. After 10 minutes whichever spot swells then thats what you have an allergy to.
So anyway I was recently having breathing problems I called International Clinic, booked an appointment with the lung Dr and then passed by. She asked me if I had allergies and I told her over the summer I did a prick test and found out I was allergic to dogs. She told me I might have an allergy to pollens. Turns out every country has different pollens, for example in France they have apple trees, in Lebanon pine trees, in Kuwait it’s completely different type of plants as well. The test I had in Lebanon most probably covered only the pollens that are popular in Lebanon. She told me she would give me the prick test again.
When I took the prick test in Lebanon they tested me for 11 different kind of things I could be allergic to. The one I did at International Clinic had 26 different item, more than double of that in Lebanon. The Dr was also right, turned out I was allergic to two more things other than dogs, I was allergic to palm trees and another sort of weed pollen that grows everywhere in Kuwait.
Regarding my allergies, she told me I either had to get rid of my dog or start on a dog allergy vaccine which within 3 years would cure me from my dog allergy. The palm tree and weed allergy is a seasonal thing and could be solved with medication so I didn’t really need to get a vaccine for them.
So if anyone is interested in the prick test you can get one done at International Clinic. The cost of the prick test was KD40. I also paid a KD20 consultation fee but not sure if that’s the same for everyone (I also did a respiratory test among other things).
This news hasn’t been confirmed yet but according to a reader and a contact at Alshaya, there are currently rumors circulating that Caribou Coffee (Alsayer) no longer have the rights to The Cheesecake Factory and that Alshaya are now looking to open the actual Cheesecake Factory restaurant (not just cheesecakes) and are shopping around for a location on the Gulf Road. Although its currently just a rumor it would make sense since Alshaya have been on a roll acquiring all these American chains recently (Bath & Body Works, Victorias Secret, Pottery Barn, PF Chang, Shake Shack etc..).
Speaking of Caribou Coffee, I got this in the email today which is related to [This] previous post:
Happy Thursday Kuwait! Free coffee, donuts & goodies for the first 1000 BlackBerry users today at Caribou Coffee. You can take advantage from 10am – 4pm at CBK and Al Raya AND between 4pm – 10pm at Avenues, 360, Salhiya and Al Kout. You’ll also have a chance to win a new BlackBerry, but make sure you get in early.
A few days back I posted about Benihana opening up at the Avenues and yesterday night I decided to pass by with Nat and try it out. The service wasn’t too bad for a restaurant that’s just been open for a few days and the staff were really friendly. The restaurant itself is made up of islands and bars with a grill in the middle of each one. You sit around the grill and the chef will come to your table and prepare the food right in front of you which makes things entertaining. It’s actually why I prefer sitting at the bar in Japanese restaurants in general, since you can talk to the chef and watch them put your dish together. The problem with my experience last night though was with the food, it was disappointing to say the least.
We ordered beef negimayaki for starters followed by an Orange Blossom maki and a Hibachi Chicken. The negimaki arrived looking good and was probably the best thing we had there even though I prefer Maki’s negimaki which has a richer teriyaki sauce. The Orange Blossom was very ordinary, wouldn’t order it again. Now the Hibachi chicken which is basically grilled chicken, that was the worst. The chicken was very chewy (I could swear it was undercooked if not raw) and tasted terrible. Even after I had the chef add some more teriyaki sauce in hopes of improving the taste it didn’t work. I tried to dip it into the sauces that came with the chicken but it was hard to figure out if they were actually making things worse or not. Nat only ate one piece of chicken and left the rest while I needed my protein since I’m on a strict diet and forced myself to eat my whole plate (I can do that) but the after taste was really bad. Even the rice and the veggies that came with it tasted bad AND were under cooked. Once we left I considered picking up a frozen yogurt from Pinkberry even though I hate frozen yogurts but I just needed something to get rid of the aftertaste. A few moments later we ended up at Chocolate Bar ordering the gooey chocolate cake (bye bye diet).
I shot the two videos above of the chef preparing our meal. Benihana are known for the live shows they perform when preparing your dish so I was expecting to see [This] but ended up with the above . Would I go back to Benihana? No I wouldn’t. Their sashimi and maki’s are pretty cheap (KD1.5 for 5 pieces of Salmon sashimi for example) but there are two other Japanese restaurants at the Avenues, Wasabi and Maki, and I would prefer either one of those to Benihana.
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Update: Comments have been closed.
Update2: If you read the comments below you will see that the Benihana GM Mike Servo threatened to sue me. Well, Benihana have actually gone ahead with the lawsuit, I got served my papers and my court date is in March. I have been receiving a lot of support from people via twitter, email and blogs. For now my lawyer has advised me not to discuss the case or talk about Benihana, but as soon as he gives me the go ahead I will be sharing all the details.
Update3: I’ve been given the go ahead by my lawyer to talk about the case, here is the court order and more details regarding the lawsuit [Link]
Update4: The amount of support I have been receiving is phenomenal, here is a link to the full media coverage the subject has received so far [Link]
Spotted this “small” miniature golf setup in the Basement of Discovery Mall. I’m guessing its for kids but it’s strange no one has built a proper miniature golf course in Kuwait. I guess it probably has to do with the weather…
The picture above is one of the new burgers Casper & Gambini’s have introduced while the one below is the burger I had previously tried as part of my Burger Challenge. Huge difference in presentation and taste. If I was to review the new burger I had it would probably get a 3 which is a big difference over the 1.5 score I had previously given them.
Starting December 22nd SAS will be closing down for renovations. The pictures above and below are 3D renderings of how the hotel will look like once the renovation is completed. I originally thought it was going to be a minor face lift of the interior but it looks like its going a major revamp. Sadly this also means Peacock, the best Chinese restaurant in Kuwait will be closed for at least a year. [Link]
The Huntley Film Archives emailed me to tell me they’ve uploaded another video of Kuwait this time it’s a compilation of old commercials. The first commercial in the reel is actually of Al Muthana complex which I found really funny due to all the sci-fi sounds and digital effects. [YouTube]
The previous Kuwait video they had digitized and uploaded onto YouTube was Close Up on Kuwait – 1962.
The beautiful new McLaren is currently being exhibited privately somewhere in Kuwait. The price starts at KD60,000 and goes up depending on the options. If anyone can get me an invite to check the car out please email me!
Update: Turns out the McLaren dealer will be Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive Company who are also the dealers for BMW, Land Rover and the Mini. The car is also currently being displayed in private at Marriott Al Raya. iLSuL6ana was lucky enough to get an invite!
Update2: Here is a video of the McLaren from todays event via iLSuL6ana
نـــــــــــبــــــــــي طــــــــيـــــــــارة
الحملة الوطنية للمطالبة بشراء طيارة يديدة
AIRBUS A380
ليش ما عندنا وحده منها
lel7een msaween 18 menha !!
متى نحط شعار الكويتية عليها بسنة 2020 ؟؟؟
we don’t even have an order yet while others have received their custom made aircrafts :S
Ya Kuwait Airways .. naby A380 is actually the name of this Facebook group I found. Funny. [Link]
The cops now have new portable cameras and by the looks of it they will be very difficult to spot. Judging by the picture above they will be used to catch the people who drive on emergency lanes which is cool but I believe they will also be able to capture speeders.
The Ministry pointed out that the new radar is accurate and can be transported from one place to another easily, in addition to having the video and photographic characteristics, which confirms the fact of the violation. It stated that the mobile radar is currently working with high efficiency in many locations, especially places of high traffic density, including schools.
Here is the link to the article on Arab Times. [Link]
A reader just pointed me towards this old Kuwaiti movie from the 70’s called the “Wolves Don’t Eat Meat”. Supposedly the movie is banned but I have no idea why. It looks like one weird and trippy movie! Where can I get it from? Does anyone know if it is banned and if yes why?
Thanks axed-gamer
Update: Found the full movie and embeded it above. It’s bad cuz there is sex and nudity.
Does anyone know if this movie is going to get released in Kuwait? I just watched the trailer and it looks like the best Arabic horror movie I’ve ever seen.. at least judging by the trailer. [YouTube]
Update: I just watched another version of the trailer and I do NOT think this will get released in Kuwait or ANYWHERE else in the region. I don’t think the director or anyone related to the movie is actually safe in this region.
