2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
There are a lot of NYE dinners taking place but here are the 6 hottest ones in my opinion (listed in alphabetical order).
Cure
40 KD per person
Mei li
90 KD per person
MZ by the Sea
75 KD per person
OFK
95 KD per person
Roka
30 KD per person
Upper Street
60 KD per person
According to the Ministry of Communications, starting February 2023, regular mail that arrives to Kuwait will be delivered straight to your home for a small fee. This means you no longer have to figure out which post office your package arrived at and then go through the hassle of picking it up yourself.
The package tracking system is also being revamped and improved since the current one is fairly basic and not that informative.
This is really good news because if the post office starts delivering mail straight to me I might just start shipping more stuff to them instead of using more expensive couriers like Shop&Ship and MyUS.
My favorite breakfast spot in Istanbul @namligurme is opening here in Kuwait in Avenues Phase 1. Namlı Gurme is a deli-style restaurant in Istanbul which I love because it’s super casual and serves a delicious Turkish breakfast.
The way it works in Istanbul is when you first walk into the place you stand in line at the deli counter and when it’s your turn, you order whatever you want from their fridge displays (cheeses, cold cuts, olives, jams, etc) as well as eggs with whatever you want with it. When your food is ready the waiter will bring it over to your table and I always get a jug of Turkish tea to have with it. It’s my favorite kind of breakfast.
When I say it’s my favorite breakfast spot in Istanbul I’m also not exaggerating, I literally have breakfast there every day, that’s how great this place is. I’m pretty surprised they’re opening in Kuwait because the concept is based of their local produce, but while prepping for this post I found out they’re actually also open in Bahrain (@namlibahrain) so if the concept works there it should work here. @namligurmekuwait
Below is a list of places I found that offer Christmas-themed lunches & dinners as well as cakes. If there is a place you know I haven’t listed, let me know so I can add it:
Dine-In
Courtyard by Marriott @courtyardkuwait
Crowne Plaza @crowneplazakuwaitatc
Hilton Garden Inn @hiltongardeninn_kuwait
Hilton Kuwait Resort @hiltonkuwaitresort
Jumeirah Messilah @jumeirahmessilahbeach
Radisson Blu Hotel @radissonblukuwait
Vigonovo @vigonovo_kw
Take Away
Crowne Plaza @crowneplazakuwaitatc
Dean & Deluca @deandelucame
Little Deli @littledeli
Madison & Heig @madisonandheig
Xmas Cakes
BreadTalk @breadtalkkuwait
J’s Bakery @js_bakery
Madison & Heig @madisonandheig
Mr Baker @mrbakerkwt
November & Co @novemberandco
Sable @sable.kw
Below are all the events I found taking place this weekend, if I missed anything let me know in the comments:
Thursday, Dec 22
Construction Expo Baytak
Meet Me At The Terrace – DJ Nights
Friday, Dec 23
Construction Expo Baytak
Kites Watching in Bnaider
Meet Me At The Terrace – Live Music
Let It Snow Painting Event
Kuwait Rally Championship
Saturday, Dec 24
Construction Expo Baytak
Meet Me At The Terrace
Doll Making Workshop
Art of Life Coaching – Fresh Start Workshop
Trip to Failaka
An Insight into Kuwaiti Films
Al Jahra Nature Reserves Eco Tour
Yoga – Festive Flow by the Pool
ALONE! Mindfulness Session
Bloom – Sustainability Lifestyle & Entertainment Market
Exhibitions
25 O’Clock by Walid Taher
A Retrospective by Abdulwahab Al Awadhi
Visitor of Freedom by Thuraya Al Baqsami
Activities
Albohayra Farm
Ascend Rock Climbing
Indoor Karting
Little Jungle
Murouj Farm
Movement Classes at Omni Studio
Roller Blade at Roller Hub
Yoga at Darātma
Museums to Visit
Abdullah Salem Cultural Center (ASCC)
Amricani Cultural Center Museum
Bait Al Othman Museum
Tareq Rajab Museum
The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas and VOX:
New This Weekend:
Mindcage (4.2)
The Amazing Maurice (6.4)
The Lair (4.6)
Other Movies Showing:
Avatar: The Way of Water (8.3)
Black Adam (7.5)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (7.4)
Detective Knight: Redemption
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (6.5)
Pil’s Adventures (6.1)
Violent Night (7.0)
The classic films below are currently showing at the 1954 Film House:
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – 1982 (7.9)
Home Alone – 1990 (7.7)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – 1992 (6.8)
Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.
This cabin which looks like it’s located in a remote area of Montana is actually in Wafra. The retro-looking A-frame building has 3 bedrooms with a second smaller cabin next door that has another extra bedroom. There is also an outdoor temperature-controlled pool, a small pond, and lots of greenery and hills around the 10,000 sqm property.
One night at the A-frame costs 150KD while a weekend is 500KD. It holds up to 8 people, so find enough friends and that’s around 60KD per person for a weekend getaway in Kuwait. @a_framekw
Earlier this month I posted that MEI LI was opening sometime this month, there is now an official date and its December 31st.
MEI LI is a new Pan Asian fine dining concept that is located inside the Grand Hyatt. They’re launching with a six-course special dinner for New Year’s Eve but then will start regular operations and bookings from January 1st onwards.
If you’re interested in the special NYE dinner, it’s 90KD per person and you have to call the hotel to book. @mei_likw @grandhyattkuwait
As you probably know, tickets to Winter Wonderland are completely sold out till March which is when the park will close. But, there is a way to still get tickets.
Winter Wonderland have a lot of different events that taking place inside the park. For example, right now there are three upcoming events, there is a music show on December 22nd and two entertainment shows, one on the 23rd and the second on the 24th. Purchasing tickets to those shows grants you access to the park. The ticket prices vary, the entertainment show costs 5KD (similar to the Winter Wonderland entry ticket cost) but the music show starts at KD20.
To get access to the park you just need to purchase a ticket to a show when they announce them. Currently, the 5KD tickets to the entertainment show are sold out but tickets to the music show are still available. If you want to visit Winter Wonderland, just keep an eye out for their show announcements. @winterland_kw
Back in October Xcite gave me an Apple Watch Ultra to review which I did, and it was a positive review. But, since I got the watch, I haven’t removed it and as someone who loves mechanical watches and vintage Casios, that’s a problem.
The fact I’m now wearing an Apple Watch full-time and no longer putting on different watches depending on my mood or outfit is frustrating. I had the fancy SVN event a couple of weeks ago which I’d usually put on one of my nice watches, but I ended up keeping the Ultra on. When I travel, I usually like wearing my vintage 1978 Casio World Time but instead I wore my Apple Watch to Istanbul last week. It’s not just me, I have friends who are way more into watches than I am who also haven’t worn any other watch since getting the Ultra.
I think the biggest feature about Apple Watches that has me hooked is the ability to change watch faces automatically depending on various variables I’ve set up. Not sure if you’re aware of this but using the Apple Shortcuts App, you can set up automated tasks that can change the watch face based on conditions. So for example, my main watch face has my next event of the day as the main complication, but if I don’t have any more reminders for the day, that prime real estate is being wasted. So I set up an automated shortcut that checks to see if I have any events and if not, it will swap my watch face to a different one. At night before I sleep I have it automatically change my watch face into one with various sleep-related shortcuts like my Pillow app, alarm, moon phases etc, and remove stressful information like the news or the performance of my stocks. Then once I do fall asleep I have my watch face automatically change again to one with just the digital clock in x-large and in red to make it super easy to read the time if I wake up in the middle of the night.
How can any of my other watches compete with that? They can’t, so that’s why my advice is, if you’re into watches, do yourself a favor and don’t get an Apple Watch.
beIN Sports has announced that they will be streaming the final World Cup match tonight between Argentina and France for free. The game will be available to stream on their free-to-air channels beIN SPORTS MAX as well as their beIN SPORTS’ YouTube channel.
The game is obviously going to be streaming in various cafes and restaurants around Kuwait for free, but if you prefer watching it from the comfort of your couch, you can now do that as well.
One of the best things about Istanbul is the food, the Turkish cuisine is really great but I’ve also had one of the best pastas I’ve ever had there (@ilcortileistanbul). They know their food and flavors really well which is why I’ve never had a bad experience.
But, my favorite restaurant in Istanbul is a small place called Yeni. I found it by mistake one night on my first trip to Istanbul and it’s now my go-to place while I’m there.
The menu is based on Turkish cuisine but the chef is always deconstructing classical Turkish dishes into more contemporary and exciting versions. Everything I’ve had there was incredibly flavorful and the presentation is always interesting. You can’t go wrong ordering off the menu blindly, even things I wouldn’t usually eat I make an exception for at Yeni since I know I’ll end up loving whatever I try. They have a tasting menu (9 and 7 courses) but I always go the à la carte direction.
The price is considered to be on the high side for Istanbul and so expect to pay around 20KD per person without drinks or 25KD if you go with the 9-course menu. Reservation is required especially on weekends when they’re super busy. Check them out next time you’re there @yeni.lokanta
This is a fun holiday experience for both adults and children, Spunsprinkles, the cotton candy experience store is now offering a gingerbread house decorating experience for the holidays.
If you haven’t been to their new location in 360 Mall yet, it’s pretty big with multiple cotton candy customizing stations as well as a small seating area.
The experience is around an hour long, costs 15KD and you need to pre-book it. If you’re interested book through spunsprinkles.com
Below are all the events I found taking place this weekend, if I missed anything let me know in the comments:
Thursday, Dec 15
International Gold & Jewelry Exhibition
Scientific Center Weekend Activities
Holiday Snow Globe Painting Experience
Makers
Family Fun at The Promenade
Ovo – Cirque du Soleil
Friday, Dec 16
International Gold & Jewelry Exhibition
Scientific Center Weekend Activities
Sailing: Friday Sunset Cruising
Makers
Ovo – Cirque du Soleil
Watch Kites
Looksie Market
Road Rush
Raptors in the Desert
Saturday, Dec 17
International Gold & Jewelry Exhibition
Scientific Center Weekend Activities
Treasure & Scavenger Hunts
Makers
Ovo – Cirque du Soleil
Art in Nature
KMT: Drag Open Day – Roll Race
Keshta Ya Salam
Storytelling with Bader AlMoulah
Trashtag Sulaibekhat Beach Cleanup
BLS Xmas Bazaar
Yoga & Brunch
Exhibitions
Art Recycle Exhibition
25 O’Clock by Walid Taher
A Retrospective by Abdulwahab Al Awadhi
Visitor of Freedom by Thuraya Al Baqsami
Activities
Albohayra Farm
Ascend Rock Climbing
Indoor Karting
Little Jungle
Murouj Farm
Movement Classes at Omni Studio
Roller Blade at Roller Hub
Yoga at Darātma
Museums to Visit
Abdullah Salem Cultural Center (ASCC)
Amricani Cultural Center Museum
Bait Al Othman Museum
Tareq Rajab Museum
The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas and VOX:
New This Weekend:
Avatar: The Way of Water (8.3)
Other Movies Showing:
Black Adam (7.5)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (7.4)
Detective Knight: Redemption
Interstellar (Re-release) (8.6)
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (6.5)
Pil’s Adventures (6.1)
Super Furball 2 (6.4)
Violent Night (7.0)
The classic films below are currently showing at the 1954 Film House:
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – 1982 (7.9)
Home Alone – 1990 (7.7)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – 1992 (6.8)
Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.