Search: “ace”

Yesterday evening I was invited to the launch of the book “Modern Architecture Kuwait 1949-1989” that was held at Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah in Yarmouk. I really didn’t ask any questions about the event before I went since I’ve been wanting to get my hands on the book ever since I found out about it last year. So when one of the book authors invited me to the launch, I just went no questions asked. What I didn’t know was that there was going to be a presentation by Mr. Khalid al-Essa, the former Minister of Public Works and Dr. Ibrahim al-Shaheen, the former General Director of Public Authority of Housing and former Minister of Municipal Affairs. Both those presenters were around and involved during Kuwait’s architectural rise and once their presentation was over they took part in a panel discussion.

For those of you that have following the blog for awhile now you already know my obsession with Kuwait’s past and so I felt extremely lucky to be in attendance last night listening to the stories of how Kuwait went from mud buildings to having world renowned architects like Kenzo Tange, Jørn Utzon and I. M. Pei involved in local projects. Listening to the two of them talk last night reminded me again how truly young Kuwait is.

The book “Modern Architecture Kuwait 1949-1989” is a combined effort by Roberto Fabbri, Sara Saragoça Soares and Ricardo Camacho. It involves over two years of investigative research as well as gorgeous photography taken by the gifted architectural photographer Nelson Garrido who travelled across Kuwait to document over 150 buildings that are featured in the book. The buildings are divided into four categories:

Specimens I – building as infrastructure: 1949-1960
Specimens II – building as national identity: 1961-1979
Specimens III – building as cityscape: 1971-1979
Specimens IV – building as programme: 1980-1989

As you can imagine, the book if fairly thick but with the amount of constant demolishing of old buildings taking place in Kuwait, its important to document as many buildings as possible before it’s too late.

The book costs KD22 and is available on Amazon [Link] and also at the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah bookshop in Yarmouk [Map]. If you have the slightest interest in architecture, design or Kuwait’s past then you should definitely get one.

This morning the architectural and design magazine Dezeen ran a piece on the book along with around 20 photos. Check it out, their article has a lot more details and the photos will give you a general idea of what to expect inside the book. Here is the [Link]

If you’ve ever used the dating app Tinder in Kuwait then you’re bound to have come across odd profiles which is why I found an article by a British girl in Kuwait so entertaining to read. Here is an excerpt:

It’s no revelation that dating in Kuwait can be rather tricky. I am not a fan of internet dating, I find it unnatural and a playground for creeps, but the alternatives are very limited here. Sitting in a shisha cafe twirling my hair is not my thing and, let’s face it, the type of guys who approach girls in shisha bars, Sultan Centre or the Gulf Road are mostly players. No thanks. So I gave Tinder a go — I was curious and liked the idea of being able to swipe left and never have to hear from him. Also, there is the option to be offline so people can only see you when you’re swiping — which I’d do really quickly, then turn my profile to off. After looking at the photos below, you will see why I only swiped right 5 times. Of those 5, I spoke to one for more than five minutes.

When looking at the profile photos and descriptions, one minute I’d be completely bewildered and the next laughing out loud, taking a screen shot and sending it to my bestie. It may seem mean, but some, no not some — many of the profiles are just plain weird and creepy. Is it really so hard to have a normal profile photo? Just smile? Do men really believe that by putting a photo of their erection (see above if you happened to miss it), sucking toes, a blue eyeball, a gun in your crotch, a headless photo with their wedding ring and/or wife that we’re going to swipe right? I was shocked to find a fellow teacher I work with, posing on Tinder, whilst he is married with kids. What is he thinking? He is on my Facebook posting photos of him and his wife whilst fishing on Tinder for a bit on the side. Creep. When I saw him at work, I couldn’t even say ‘good morning’ — just nodded and rushed past. I also saw one of my 14 year old students pretending to be 28. Scary.

So, I’m sharing with you just some of the strange profiles that I came across (I’ve left my colleague out even though he is clearly a douche — karma will bite his bum). To protect their identities, I have blurred out names, faces and any personal info. Kuwait is a very small bubble after all. However, it should give you a good idea of what tinder has in store for us lucky girls here in Kuwait:

Check out her article along with some screenshots of the funny profiles she’s come across on her Medium page [Here]

The World Happiness Report was recently released by the United Nations and Kuwait once again dropped down the list from the previous year. When the list originally came out in 2012, Kuwait was ranked 31st under the list of happy nations. But, since then, Kuwait has been falling back every year and in the latest report Kuwait is now ranked 41. The scoring is based on answers submitted by people who were asked to evaluate the quality of their current lives on a scale of 0 to 10. In comparison, the UAE came in 28th place while Saudi Arabia came in 34th. Let me repeat that one more time. Saudi Arabia came in 34th place. No clue how that happened.

The happiest country in the world? It’s Denmark. Download the full report from the World Happiness website [Here]

This weekend starts off a bit slow but picks up considerably on Saturday. A few things to look out for, the Taste of Q8 food festival is taking place this weekend, Qout Market is back again as well (make sure you pass by Tiger Tiger) and finally Cinemagics are showing Nightcrawler on their roof this Saturday. Check out the full list of events taking place this weekend below:

Thursday
Exhibition: Edge by Abdulrahim Sharif
Taste of Q8
Rooftop Movie: Dear White People

Friday
Taste of Q8
Taichi in the Park
Yoga at the Park (Hatha Yoga)
KNES Charity Fun Day

Saturday
Taste of Q8
Yoga at the Park (Vinyasa Flow – Women Only)
Yoga at the Park (Yoga with the 3)
Qout Market
Beauty and the Beast – A Full Scale Dance Show
The Secret Garden x Bayt Lothan
Madeenah Tour: Harmony & Change in East Hawalli
MedTalks
Concert: Isbells
Rooftop Movie: Nightcrawler

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so double check info with organizers.

Coffee places are becoming the new thing in Kuwait which I don’t mind since we really need to move on from our burger joints craze. As I’ve mentioned before on the blog, I’m not a coffee drinker but, I do like coffee shops and what I found interesting about Richard’s Coffee is that it’s a pop-up.

Starting from tomorrow (Thursday, March 17th), Richard’s Coffee will be located at Bao Cafe for 90 days only. After 90 days? They’ll shutdown and move on to a new location. Bao Cafe is what they’re calling the space next door to Bao the Restaurant, it’s a small empty spot that in 90 days time will be occupied by a new Indian restaurant. But until those 90 days are up, they’ve given the spot to Jarrah, the guy behind the concept Richard’s Coffee. Jarrah is an avid coffee nut who roasts his beans the old fashioned way and is really passionate about his brand. So if you’re a coffee person then you might want to pass by and check his coffees out.

Starting tomorrow and for the next 90 days they’ll be open from 7AM till 10PM except on Fridays when they open from 4PM to 10PM. They’re located right next door to Bao in Sharq, if you don’t know where that is, here is the link on [Google Maps]. They’re also located on instagram @richardscoffeebar.

Is pickle juice the new health hype? Many new health claims state that pickle juice can enhance athletic performance, and improve blood sugar control for those with diabetes; which makes me wonder whether drinking pickle juice can actually be worth it?

Before we take a look at the nutritional aspects of pickle juice, we need to keep in mind that this drink is definitely going to be a salty one! So those with high blood pressure issues should definitely stay away from this drink. In regards to carb, protein or fat amounts, pickle juice doesn’t really have much to make it stand out in a special group. What pickle juice does have is lots of sodium as well as a decent amount of probiotics.

In the old days, pickle juice was the result of combining cucumbers, salt and water. The cucumbers are fermented by the bacteria Lactobacillus resulting in some probiotic content in the pickle juice. Nowadays, pickle juice is the result of combining cucumbers in vinegar, therefore no probiotics are really available, so stick to your yogurt if you want the probiotics. Regardless of the probiotic content, pickle juice is claimed to have other health benefits that may or may not have any truth to them.

1 – Pickle juice can help relieve muscle cramps.
Muscle cramps could be the most annoying thing, especially when they happen when you’re asleep or during a workout. There could be a cure, but only after the cramp takes place. Recent research has shown that taking 1 ml per kg of your current body weight of pickle juice during a muscle cramp could help you recover faster than drinking plain water or ignoring it and not having anything at all. The verdict: TRUE! Keep your pickle juice jars on your nightstands or take them with you to the gym if you frequently get muscle cramps. It could be worth it for you if it takes you a while to recover from that cramp.

2 – Pickle juice can help with stomach cramps.
Stomach cramps usually happen due to low amounts of acid in the stomach. Adding in the acidic pickle juice could potentially help since we are re-adding acid to our stomachs. Unfortunately no scientific evidence has proved that re-adding acid could help with stomach cramps. The verdict: FALSE! Maybe sticking to antacids or just avoiding some foods could be best with stomach cramps.

3 – Pickle juice can help enhance athletic performance.
The theory is behind the high salt content in pickle juice. Since salt retains fluid, the idea is that having pickle juice prior to exercising could keep you more hydrated and enhance your athletic performance for exercises requiring stamina. Unfortunately most studies have not shown any effect making this claim worthwhile. The verdict: FALSE! Stick to regular water, good training and sleep to enhance your performance.

4 – Pickle juice can control blood sugar.
Vinegar and blood sugar have been researched for a while. The link is between vinegar and insulin to be precise, where vinegar has been shown to improve sensitivity to insulin in the body – therefore reducing blood sugar levels. Vinegar has also been found to slow down the absorption of food in the stomach, when taken with a meal; that could also help potentially lower blood sugar levels. The verdict: True! I would consider adding vinegar but not necessarily consuming a cup of pickle juice with my lunch or dinner. Perhaps some apple cider vinegar in my salad dressing would be a more palatable choice.

So, would you be consuming pickle juice? I certainly will continue to enjoy eating my pickles and until more research has been conducted, I will be holding off on the pickle juice.

Post by Hyatt Al Sayegh, a Clinical Dietitian and Dr. Sears Health Coach.
Founder of Fork Fed.

Image Source

Since summer is knocking on our doorsteps this is the perfect time to post about the Cuisinart ice cream maker I recently purchased (the Cuisinart ICE-30BC).

I’ve recently been trying out the ketogenic diet after hearing about it on one of the podcasts I listen to and the main principle of the diet is you’re not supposed to consume any sugar or any carbs but you’re supposed to have lots of fat. Avocados are one great way of introducing a lot of fat into your diet but I personally don’t like the way they taste. So I was looking for a simple keto recipe that involved avocados and I found one for an avocado chocolate chunk ice cream that sounded delicious. I had honestly been looking for an excuse to buy an ice cream maker for a while so as soon as I found the recipe I decided to get one.

I kinda already knew what I wanted a Cuisinart ice cream maker since I’m fond of the brand and I knew I had seen them in Kuwait. So I did my research and the only places that carried the ice cream maker were Lakeland, Williams-Sonoma and Tavola (the Cuisinart dealer). Williams-Sonoma only had the dual ice cream maker which I wasn’t interested in since it was too big, Lakeland had the model I wanted but they were selling it for KD42 while Tavola were selling the exact same one for KD32.350. So I ended up picking it up from Tavola and since I was already in Shuwaikh, I decided to pass by Williams-Sonoma to pick up the best ice cream scoop you can buy, the Zeroll 1020.

The way the ice cream maker works is very simple. There are two main parts, the bowl and the main unit. You take the bowl and stick it in the freezer for 12+ hours and only take it out when you want to make ice cream. When your mixture is ready and the bowl frozen, you take the bowl from the freezer and place it in the main unit. You then pour your mixed ingredients into the bowl and let the ice cream maker churn your mixture for around 20 minutes until it turns into ice cream. Thats all there is to it.

I have to say, my avocado chocolate chunk ice cream has been turning out really delicious. And because I am buying the ingredients, I can control how healthy my ice cream is and so I’m having it guilt free. At KD32 this really is a no brainer impulse buy. So if you feel like making your own ice cream this summer, get this. Here is the map to Tavola [Google Maps] and you could call them on 24825761.

Bike Box is a specialized storage facility for motorbikes. At first I didn’t really understand the purpose of it but after talking to the team behind it I realized why it could be practical for some people, especially those living in residential buildings.

Bike Box is a place where you can keep your motorbike parked and not worry about it. Their facility is safe, clean and air-conditioned. They also provide you with free servicing for your bike, free cleaning, lockers, changing rooms, battery charging, electrical ports, and a fully equipped garage. As a bike owner myself there are a couple things that always concern me, (1) my bike is going to get stolen (happened to my barber recently) and (2) the battery is going to die because I’m not riding the bike enough. Bike Box solves these two issues and more.

The reason I was originally hesitant to post about Bike Box was their price which starts at KD55 a month. But according to them the reason their monthly price is high is because they want to encourage long term customers since they’re hoping to create a community and not just offer a service. If you do decide to sign up for a year, the price drops down to a much more reasonable KD30 a month. I like their way of thinking and at KD30 a month I can see a lot of people wanting to use their facility, so if you’re a bike owner and are interested to find out more, check out their instagram account @bikeboxkw

I was at Souk Sharq yesterday and passed by to check out the new restaurant that opened in place of Breadz called Baker & Spice. I didn’t get to try it since I had already had lunch but the place inside looked really good and the outdoor vibe felt very un-Kuwait like. They opened around two weeks back and I’ll most likely be passing by next week to try it out. For now you can check out their instagram account [Here]

Photo by Jassim Alshehab

Another busy weekend and the weather looks like it will be nice and sunny. The biggest event taking place this weekend is the HVOB concert but there are a bunch of other musical events taking place as well. If you’re a car fanatic then you might want to pass by Murouj this weekend since the Gulf Run car show is taking place there. Finally on Saturday there is the charity Sport Relief Mile in the morning which should be fun, if you’re interested in participating in that don’t forget to register.

Check out the list below for this weekends events:

Thursday
Exhibition: Edge by Abdulrahim Sharif
Gulf Run Car Show
Ecco Pop Up Event
ADASA Festival
Rooftop Movie: Breathless
Concert: Dorsaf Hamdani

Friday
Gulf Run Car Show
Ecco Pop Up Event
ADASA Festival
Taichi in the Park
Red Bull Music Academy Presents Kuwait Rising
Pop Up Movie Night

Saturday
Gulf Run Car Show
Ecco Pop Up Event
ADASA Festival
Sport Relief Mile 2016
Yoga at the Park (Vinyasa Flow – Women Only)
Bait Al Arab: Kuwait State Stud
Yoga at the Park (Men & Women)
5:46 Light A Candle For Bayt Lothan
Rooftop Movie: Theeb

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so double check info with organizers.

Yesterday the Kuwait Towers officially opened to the public for the first time in over 4 years. Here is everything you need to know in case you’re planning to visit it.

Entrance Fee
There are two main areas in the Kuwait Towers, the restaurant’s sphere and the viewing sphere. If you want to go to the viewing sphere it’s KD3 per person. If you want to go to the restaurants there is no entrance fee. If you eat at the restaurant then you can go to the viewing deck for free as long as you keep your meal receipt. Children under 4 go in for free. If you’re going to the restaurants you can also park inside the Kuwait Towers parking lot.

The Viewing Sphere
This sphere is located in the top most part of the Kuwait Towers. It’s split into two floors with the top floor having a rotating platform and a small food stand. It’s open from 9AM to 11:30PM.

The view from the top is spectacular and better than before since we now have a beautiful city skyline because of all the new skyscrapers like Hamra Tower.

For a closer look, they’ve kept the original coin-operated binoculars.

The only issue I had with the viewing deck is that it smelled of popcorn because of the food stand. The food stand really should have been a Starbucks since right now it reminds me of those small dodgy food stalls located under the stairs in old Salmiya. They have drinks, a few cold sandwiches, soft serve ice cream and popcorn.

The Restaurant Sphere
There are two restaurants and a lounge in the restaurant sphere which is also divided into two floors. The first restaurant is called Horizon (pictured above) and is located on the top floor of the sphere. It’s an open buffet and they’re open from breakfast to dinner, here are the details:

Breakfast Buffet 8AM to 11:30AM for KD7.5
Lunch Buffet: 12:30PM to 4PM for KD14
Dinner Buffet: 7PM to 11:30PM for KD14

For reservations, you can contact them on 22081999 or 1806806

There is a second restaurant (pictured above) which as of this post hasn’t opened yet. Its located on the lower floor of the sphere and it’s called Le Cafe (but it’s going to be a steakhouse). It looks slightly more fancier and instead of being a buffet it will have an à la carte menu. Once it’s open the timings will be 8AM to 12AM (midnight).

Right outside the second restaurant on the lower floor is a small lounge. You can order beverages there but it’s a fairly small lounge with only three seating areas similar to the one pictured above so good luck trying to find an empty one.

Finally, if you’re taking a guest to the Kuwait Towers and they were hoping to leave with a souvenir well they’re going to be disappointed. According to an employee at the Kuwait Towers, the souvenirs shop that was originally located on the ground floor has been closed down and will be converted to a prayer room.

If you’ve never been to the Kuwait Towers I would highly recommend going. If you’ve been to it before I’d also recommend passing by just for the nostalgia. It’s still by far one of my favorite places to take visitors who come to Kuwait.

Update: I added a bit more information to the post, specifically the reservation numbers and information regarding souvenirs.

Update2: Le café Steak House doesn’t exist anymore, the restaurant is now Japanese instead and called Amimoto. The gift shop was also not converted to a prayer area, it remained a gift shop.

TEDxAlShuwaikh is taking place this month on March 24th under the theme of “greater than me”. The list of speakers for this event is finally out and I’ve shared it below. If you’re interested in attending TEDx, tickets are free but you need to apply for them on the TEDx website [Here]

The Speakers:

Ali Hussain Al-Youha
Secretary General of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL)
Ali Al Youha is the Secretary General of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters in Kuwait. Ali is a Kuwaiti who has invested his life and energy is promoting and highlighting art and culture, locally, regionally and globally. He believes strongly in bridging communication gaps through the promotion of cultural and media cooperation. Ali is at the helm of an ambitious cultural movement in Kuwait to create spaces for collaboration and cooperation.

Balsam AlAyoub
Social Entrepeneur
Balsam grew up in an athletic family that believed in sports as tool for self development. Balsam was a professional fencer and champion, and today has turned her energy towards being a ‘human investor’ empowering young people in the Gulf region- especially young women.

Catherine Silliman
International Relations
Catherine is an American born in New York City. She spent her childhood moving around the USA, and also lived in Vicenza, Italy while her father served as a medical doctor in the U.S. Army. Her family eventually settled in the small town of Harvard, Massachusetts. Her horizons were further expanded after she participated in a high school summer exchange program in Turkey in 1976. She studied International Relations at Tufts University, and obtained a Masters degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago. She worked as a reporter for the Saudi newspapers Arab News and Asharq Al-Awsat. After more than 30 years with the U.S. State Department, as a diplomat and diplomatic family member, she has lived in seven predominantly Muslim countries, and is writing a book about her experiences. She and her husband have raised two remarkable young men who share an openness to learn about the world and understand global perspectives.

Fatemah AlMosawi
Sustainability, Youth Development, Growing Communities
Fatemah AlMosawi is a community investor and has earned her doctorate in the genetics of familiar intellectual disability. She grew up in London, and returned to Kuwait bringing with her a passion for connecting people to things they are passionate about. She established Spread the Passion, a non profit organization that connects volunteers to opportunities while developing their skills in serving the community. Her youth initiative entitled “Spread the Passion Ambassador” won her the first prize with the National Youth Project in 2012 and a position in the executive office where she was recruited to manage volunteers and mentor the preparatory youth council to out reach to other youth in Kuwait. She received the first class distinction medal from His Highness the Amir of Kuwait in 2014 for youth care.

Hilal Al-Sayer
President of Kuwait Red Crescent Society & Chairperson and Medical Director of and Bayt Abdullah Children’s Hospice
Dr. Hilal Al-Sayer is the President of Kuwait Association for the Care of Children in Hospital (KACCH) and Chairperson and Medical Director of and Bayt Abdullah Children’s Hospice (BACH). He is a former Minister of Health, Dean of the Medical School in Kuwait, President of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society, and Chairperson of Dasman Diabetic Institute.

Margaret Al-Sayer
Director of the Kuwait Association for the Care of Children in Hospital and Bayt Abdullah Children’s Hospice
Margaret Al-Sayer is the Founding Director of the Kuwait Association for the Care of Children in Hospital (KACCH) and Bayt Abdullah Children’s Hospice (BACH). She is a former biology teacher and has devoted twenty-five years to raising awareness in Kuwait and the Middle East on the necessity of developing palliative care services for children.

Last April I managed to sneak in and get some photos of the Boulevard while it was still under construction but on Thursday I was given an official tour of the project along with some new information.

A couple of months back I posted that Boulevard in Salmiya was going to be opening up in 3 months time but that is no longer the case. Originally the plan was to open the park on National Day and the rest of the project (the mall and outdoor restaurants) would open by the end of the year. Now though the plan is to have the whole project open up at the same time around Q3 or Q4 of 2016.

While touring the mall I managed to find a list of all the stores that are currently due to open at Boulevard and I’ve listed them all down below. Some interesting ones to note are Sears, Sultan Center and Jarir Bookstore. Oh and the old school Iranian restaurant Baba Taher is planning to open there as well.

Check out the full list of stores below.

If you’ve been driving by the Kuwait Towers the past few days you’ve probably noticed they’ve been setting up for a big event. Well that event is for the official Kuwait Towers opening ceremony which will be taking place this Saturday. Other than that event there are a bunch of other things taking place so check them out below:

Thursday
Exhibition: Tefaseel
Exhibition: Edge by Abdulrahim Sharif
Conference: SME Development & Entrepreneurship in Kuwait
Rooftop Movie: Spotlight
MENA Baseball & Softball Tournament
Anime, Manga and Gaming Expo (PLAMO CON)

Friday
Exhibition: Tefaseel
Yoga at the Park (Hatha Yoga)
Taichi in the Park
Anime Art Workshop
Red Bull King of the Rock Kuwait Finals
MENA Baseball & Softball Tournament
Anime, Manga and Gaming Expo (PLAMO CON)

Saturday
Qout Market
Yoga in the Park (Vinyasa Flow – Women Only)
Guided Tour: Grand Mosque
Madeenah Tour: Beyond the Wall
Taste of Boubyan
Rooftop Movie: Blue Jasmine
Kuwait Towers Opening Ceremony
MENA Baseball & Softball Tournament
Anime, Manga and Gaming Expo (PLAMO CON)

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so double check info with organizers.

Update: Just found out about an Anime, Manga and Gaming Expo thats taking place this weekend and added it to the list. For Grendizer fans, Jihad Al Atrash the voice actor behind Daisky will be there as well!

A reader emailed me this morning about a place called Star Fruit that were selling Archi.duc mushrooms. I had no idea what that was but turns out its a small bucket you buy which allows you to grow your own fresh white or brown mushrooms in. I watched the video and it looked pretty cool so I asked him what Star Fruit was and turns out they’re whole sellers for exotic fruits and veggies. They mostly cater to large hotels and restaurants as well as providing Dean & Deluca with their produce.

I passed by Star Fruit in the afternoon so I could see what they had. To be clear, Star Fruit isn’t a shop but a warehouse. I originally walked into the place looking for a shop but ended up walking into a large fridge full of veggies. After asking around turns out I was supposed to head to the sales office first to get a salesman to help me.

What did they have? All the regular items you’d find at a good supermarket like kale, packaged spinach, different kinds of asparagus, lettuce, beef tomatoes etc.. But, they also had harder to find stuff like baby kiwis, white and purple carrots, yellow and purple cauliflower, seedless watermelon, seedless lime and of course the Archi.duc mushrooms which I mentioned earlier amongst other things.

If you’re into cooking and are looking for difficult to find or really good quality ingredients then this place should be of interest to you. They’re open from 5AM to 3PM and I’d recommend you bring a light jacket if you’re planning to spend time going through all their fridges. Also bring cash since their KNET machine isn’t there all the time and also bring a tote bag since they don’t have plastic bags. Here is their location on [Google Maps]

Thanks Saba