2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Alan Yau, the restaurateur behind popular brands like Wagamama, Hakkasan, and Princi, is launching a new Asian concept in Kuwait called Solange.

Having flown in and out of Kuwait multiple of times since 2011, Alan is well-acquainted with the market. He also has a strong relationship with Nejoud, the company behind % Arabica and Mr Holmes in Kuwait, which led to this collaboration. After surveying the market, they identified a gap in premium Chinese dining and decided to launch a concept that perfectly fits with Alan’s expertise.

I got a sneak peek earlier today and was blown away by the interior. As soon as I walked into the space I took out my camera and started snapping photos. The restaurant gives off Moulin Rouge vibes, with a stage featuring a grand piano for live music and cozy booths all around.

There’s also a spacious private room in the back with it’s own private access, a chef’s table in the kitchen, and even a bar serving non-alcoholic cocktails. I didn’t get to try any food or see the menu, but I was told that there will be a wide range of items to suit different price points.

Solange is located in the new Salhiya extension, up the escalators across from Tiffany & Co. They’re expecting to open in February, with private invitations starting this weekend.

To stay posted on the opening, you can follow them on @solange.maison

A few days ago KFH launched their new branding and I don’t think I like it. The icon, although derived from the old logo (pictured below), it feels generic, but mostly I’m really not a fan of the KFH English typeface which feels like a techno font from the 90s.

I do like the fact that the English name is now just KFH, while the Arabic is the full name. NBK is like that and it’s worked pretty well for them.

Wingstop, the popular American restaurant chain specializing in chicken wings, is opening in Kuwait. Apparel Group, the company that brought back Nando’s to Kuwait, is behind the launch and aims to open the first location within 2-3 months (around March or April).

Initially, they’ll be opening two locations: one in Bid’a where TGIF Nike used to be, and the second in Salmiya on Baghdad Street next to Trolley. Two additional locations are planned to open by the end of the year.

If you’re excited about their launch and want to stay posted on their opening, follow them at (tag removed, read note below)

Note: I made a mockup of how the hoarding for Wingstop might look like since it’s currently just white, just a fun preview.

Note2: I had initially tagged what I thought was their Instagram account but turns out they don’t have an account yet. Once they do I’ll update this post with one.

Ya Hala, the largest shopping festival in Kuwait’s history, is launching in just a few days, and they’ve just announced 120 cars up for grabs!

Over ten weeks, there will be weekly draws for 12 cars, which is pretty insane—and that’s not even counting the millions of dinars in additional prizes.

Stay updated on the festival by following @yahalakuwait and @whatsonyahala.

Back in the late 90s while I was in university I had a few favorite directors:

David Cronenberg who was behind weird films like Crash, The Fly, eXistenZ, The Dead Zone, and Videodrome
Stanley Kubrick who was behind classics like Lolita, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining
Terry Gilliam who was behind the best comedy ever made, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, as well as classics like Brazil, 12 Monkeys and the last film Johnny Depp was great in, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

And finally, David Lynch who was behind some of my all time favorite movies, Lost Highway, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks and Eraserhead. He also directed the original Dune movie although I’m not sure if I’ve watched it. I must have.

I don’t even know how many times I’ve watched Lost Highway, has to be over a dozen, I owned the original copy of the videotape and played the movie a lot to my friends. It was such a bizarre film with probably one of the top 5 best soundtracks ever released. The only movie I’ve watched more than Lost Highway is Natural Born Killers, I stopped counting the number of times I watched that movie after I passed 20.

Whats so weird is literally 2 days ago, January 15, I was randomly talking to my wife about movies and brought up the movie Lost Highway and how we should watch it. I just found out the film actually launched on January 15, 1997, and now two days later David Lynch passed away. Pretty weird, but fitting since he was so weird. Gonna go now and see if they ever released a 4K version of the Lost Highway so I can watch it again this weekend.

This week I finished the latest seasons of Landman and Dune: Prophecy. Landman last episode was epic, without revealing any spoilers they brought in Andy Garcia to the show so I’m now super excited for the next season. Dune: Prophecy was ok, if it wasn’t for the great visuals and sound I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed it as much.

Other than that I’m watching the new season of Squid Game and think it’s pretty boring. I watched the movie The Message for the first time, it’s pretty great especially since it’s in 4K so doesn’t really feel that old. Holds up pretty well, next movie to watch is Lawrence of Arabia.

Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.

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

New This Week:
Alarum (N/A)
Buffalo Kids (6.6)
Maria (6.5)
Wolf Man (5.9)
You Shall Not Sleep Tonight (4.3)

Other Movies Showing:
Den of Thieves 2 (6.6)
Gladiator II (7.0)
Home Alone (classic) (7.7)
Moana 2 (7.1)
Mufasa: The Lion King (6.7)
Nosferatu (7.8)
Paddington in Peru (6.8)
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (7.5)
Wicked (8.1)

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

@dr_diecast_models is a Kuwait-based diorama artist I’ve admired for years. He specializes in driveway dioramas, with my favorites being his incredibly realistic recreations of deserted driveways with abandoned cars. Last week, I reached out to him to learn more about his story and see how he brings these dioramas to life.

Dr. Diecast (he wants to stay anonymous) has loved models and cars since he was young. One day, he built a diorama set for one of his models, and when his friend saw it he was impressed. That friend also happened to run a popular auction account and offered to help sell the dioramas if he could make two sets a week. The dioramas became popular, and his hobby quickly turned into something bigger.

The dioramas are 1:18 scale, meaning everything is 18 times smaller than its real-life counterpart. He builds all his sets in a small room tucked away in the corner of his house. I watched him work on a wall for one of his sets, and the level of detail and weathering he painstakingly applies with a paintbrush is mind-blowing. From the size of newspaper boxes to the dimensions of each brick, everything is accurately measured to stay true to scale.

His most popular sets are those depicting cars parked outside old homes, untouched for years, or cars that have been abandoned near electrical substations in neighborhoods.

The cars are a whole other story. He has his own ‘car bank’ you can choose from, but if he doesn’t have the car you want, he can help you source it. From there, it’s up to you whether the car stays as is or gets customized to look a certain way. My favorite is the red car covered in dust, with its protective cover ripped, the driver’s window smashed, and the typical white sticker with a red ‘X’ on the windshield. It’s such a mundane yet familiar real-life scene, and I love it.

Depending on the diorama, he charges around 65 KD, excluding the car. His customers are mostly in Kuwait but he also gets a lot of orders from around the GCC. If you want to check his work out more of his work head over to his account @dr_diecast_models

White Fortress is a chalet located in Al Khiran and was designed by the local architects TAEP/AAP. I previously posted about two other chalets they designed and this one caught my interest because of the lighthouse-like structure that towers over the compound.

The architects designed the White Fortress with privacy and discretion as the main priorities of the project. The space is surrounded by tall, thick walls that offer protection from the harsh climate and arid surroundings, while providing a serene and inviting interior. The enclosure contains a series of patios and gardens, each assigned a distinct role, such as greeting, resting, or celebrating, to provide a variety of experiences.

Within the center of this “oasis,” a tall lighthouse-like structure creates a place for meditation and seclusion while providing endless panoramic views of the house gardens, the dunes, and the sea. The roof is also accessible from the tower, transforming into a contemplative walking space with an endless horizon view of the sea.

At first I wasn’t too sure about having the walls so high on both sides of the compound, but with neighbors popping up next door eventually, I think I can see the appeal of a fortress like structure. To see more work photos of this project, click here.

Talk about an unexpected collab, I just found out that Yelo! Pizza is teaming up with Caesars for a limited-edition pizza that will be available only on Jahez. I wasn’t shared a launch date, but was told it would be happening soon.

My guess is it’s Caesars sized Yelo! Pizzas, or maybe Caesars pizza dough with Yelo! Pizza’s toppings, should be cool either way.

Update: The information below, shared by the athletes, was incorrect. They are not the first skiers to represent Kuwait or the first to compete at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championship. Kuwaiti skier Bashar Huneidi represented Kuwait in various FIS ski competitions between 1996 and 2008. In fact, BBC referred to him as a “desert skier” in a 2002 article about his efforts to get Kuwait into the Winter Olympics. I’m sorry for the error and for not verifying the athletes’ claims before sharing.

A a couple of years ago, I posted about Kuwait’s National Ski Team, and now, for the first time, they’ll be competing at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Austria next month.

Jassim Hassan and Faris Al-Obaid will both be competing in the Giant Slalom category. The Giant Slalom is an alpine skiing race that tests athletes’ technical skills and speed as they navigate a downhill course marked by widely spaced gates.

Kuwaiti athletes have been training and competing extensively during the winter seasons to rack up points, aiming to qualify Kuwait for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Though it’s an ambitious goal (think Cool Runnings), the points earned next month will be valuable.

To stay posted on their progress, follow their instagram accounts @the_kuwaiti_skier and @theunicornshepherd

Popular UFC fighter and most likely future middleweight champion, Khamzat Chimaev is going to be in Kuwait this weekend. He’s coming as a guest of honor for FERA Championship 2. Last year FERA Championship brought former UFC Champion and legend Jose Aldo to Kuwait and I actually ended up running into him at The Avenues wearing a dishdasha which was so bizarre.

FERA Championship is one of the largest MMA event that takes place in Kuwait, and this year it’s happening on January 17th. Tickets start at 10KD and if you want to find out more or book a ticket, their instagram account is @ferachampionship

I was planning to book a short trip to London this month and I was checking out Kuwait Airways prices and a two-way economy ticket costs around 500KD this month. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it that expensive before, does anyone know why? British Airways tickets are less than 200KD but the flight back is a red-eye-flight which I don’t want to deal with. So just curious to why the Kuwait Airways flight specifically is so crazy expensive.

If anyone is interested in a 24″ iMac, I’m selling my iMac M1 with 16GB RAM and 1TB hard drive for a pretty good deal. Here is the link.

Update: It’s now sold.

Ghazi Hamad Sultan Bin Isa (1941-2007) was a Kuwaiti architect and urban planner who is regarded as one of the key figures in the modernization of Kuwait. He is best known for the waterfront project (including Green Island) which was developed jointly with Sasaki while working for the Ministry of Public Works. Ghazi Sultan is also renowned for his significant contributions to the Arab art movement. In 1969, he founded Sultan Gallery (@sultangallery) with his sister Najat Sultan, and it remains active to this day.

Ghazi’s son, Zahed Sultan (@zahedsultan), recently launched a website and Instagram page (@ghazihamadsultan) to honor his father’s legacy. According to Zahed, both platforms will be updated regularly, as his father’s archive holds a wealth of material to share.

One section of Ghazi Sultan’s website contains photos of Kuwait taken by him in the 1960s. I’ve decided to share these for now and will hopefully post more stuff from his archive in the future, espcially the architectural projects.

If you want to find out more about Ghazi Sultan, or view the photos he took, head over to ghazisultan.com

This week I had a quick day trip to Qatar so figured I’d watch The Diplomat on the plane. I had downloaded 3 episodes, and although the season started slow and it took me awhile to remember what had happened in the previous season, by episode 6 I was hooked! It was the last episode I had on my iPad so once I got back to Kuwait figured I’d continue the season. Turns out that was the last episode of the season. wtf? Why is The Diplomat just 6 episodes this season, it’s not an epic mini-series, it’s like a random stupid show. Waste of time.

On the other hand, Landman is killing it, I love the show. I also watched the movie A Real Pain, it was good but was expecting it to be better.

Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.

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

New This Week:
Den of Thieves (7.0)
Paddington in Peru (6.8)

Other Movies Showing:
Better Man (7.0)
Gladiator II (7.0)
Home Alone (classic) (7.7)
Kraven the Hunter (5.7)
Moana 2 (7.1)
Mufasa: The Lion King (6.7)
Nosferatu (7.8)
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (7.5)
The Man in the White Van (6.0)
Wicked (8.1)

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