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Came across this bit of drama on tiktok yesterday. Seems a local influencer is being accused of copying someone else’s product. The product copied is something called Lippy Links and the inventor published a video calling out the influencer. The video has 138K views on instagram and over 3 million views on tiktok.

I thought that was pretty standard since copying is fairly common here. But then I watched another video by @rise_kw where he highlights the fact the influencer had published a video detailing her struggles trying to create the Gummy Links. Now watching the video below I would imagine the video is embarrassing but I’m assuming she doesn’t care because the video is still up.

So much drama.

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Cantina, one of my favorite Italian restaurants, is launching a pizza pop-up this weekend. It’s a spin-off of their Pizza Mondays and takes place in a beautiful hidden garden in the Design District in Shuwaikh.

A couple of days ago, I was invited to try some of the new pizzas during @chefbasmah’s friends and family night. The pop-up has eleven pizzas, up from the usual four at Cantina. I tried the fungi and the salami, and while the fungi was great, the salami (which also had mustard seeds) is now my favorite pizza in Kuwait. I also ordered the Margherita, which I always get at Cantina. Basmah’s pizzas are very crispy with no flop. She describes the style as “crispy Neapolitan,” and in true Cantina fashion, she’s using only the highest quality ingredients.

My favorite part of the pop-up though is the location. It’s tucked away in a secret garden area of the Design District, the same spot in Shuwaikh that houses Ovo, Cure and the Contemporary Art Platform. The garden has its own side entrance from the main road, a narrow corridor that leads you into a semi indoor and outdoor space that feels like a greenhouse. It’s temperature controlled, so even if the weather is warm, you won’t feel it inside.

The setup is super casual. You walk in, pick the pizzas you want and grab a seat at one of the two large communal tables. The menu is up on a board and it’s strictly pizza and soft drinks, nothing else. Also, no reservations needed, just show up.

The pizzas are small in size, so I’d recommend two per person, which is great because there are a lot of interesting flavors on the menu you’ll want to try anyway.

The Pizza Pop-up is happening only on weekends starting with this upcoming one. It’s open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 6PM to 10PM, and will go on every weekend until it gets too hot. You can spot the entry corridor to the pop-up from the main road, it’s to the right of Cure, and you should see a “Pizza” neon sign hanging above. @cantina_kw.

Here are my favorite events taking place this weekend.

Thursday, April 17
The Washing Machine
Movie Night: Welcome to Dongmakgol

Friday, April 18
A Yellow Picnic on the Beach
Francophonie Bazar
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Red Bull Flying Day
Cacao Ceremony & Music Jam

Saturday, April 19
The Washing Machine
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
DAI StoryTime
KTTA Spring Bazaar
Korean Game Day

Nova Cafe & Eatery is a new local concept that hopes to be your favorite destination for healthy, homemade goodness.

The cafe is located in Burj Jasim, right on the outskirts of the city (google maps). Nova is actually two different spaces with two different vibes. They have the cafe, which is located in the center of the complex and gets lots of daylight from the glass dome above it. But they also have the eatery, which is located adjacent to the cafe and is more secluded and private.

One of the things the owner wants is for people to spend a lot of time at Nova, so she made sure every table has a power socket as well as USB ports so that customers can plug in and not worry about battery levels. That way, if students or people in general want a space to sit and get work done, they’d feel comfortable doing so. She even made sure the seating was comfortable, creating cozy nooks with comfy bench seating, but even the regular tables have softly padded seats.

In addition to the coffee and pastries, the owner created a menu that focuses on organic and wholesome ingredients. There is a small grab-and-go menu for people in a hurry, but also a full-fledged breakfast and all-day dining menu.

Nova’s opening hours are also great, opening from 6:30 AM to 11:30 PM. Burj Jasim has plenty of parking, so if you’re looking for a spot to work from that has good coffee and food, Nova Cafe & Eatery is worth checking out. @nova.cafe.eatery

Ghazi Sultan (1941–2007) was a Kuwaiti architect and urban planner. He was regarded as one of the key figures in Kuwait’s modernization and is best known for the Gulf Road waterfront project, including Green Island. The project also included a number of smaller artificial islands along the coast with my favorite being Turtle Island (Google Maps).

Turtle Island is a small artificial island located behind the Italian restaurant Johnny Carino’s. It has a children’s play area featuring a giant fish structure in the middle, while the rest of the island is filled with large turtle sculptures.

Part of the Ghazi Sultan photography archive includes photos he took when the project was completed. Although the photos aren’t dated, I’d assume they were taken in the late 80s. The island looked so different back then compared to today!

First off, what happened to all the colors? The island used to be so much more vibrant — a bright orange frame structure, colorful toys, and the giant fish even had a crawl space for kids. Even the turtles that surround the island were painted olive green with brown accents. Today, the island feels monotone. The orange frame is now white, the fish lost its crawl space and just looks like a grey blob, and the colorful toys were swapped out for dark red ones that are now in bad shape. As for the turtles, they’re now just dull grey concrete color.

To find out more about Ghazi Sultan, visit ghazisultan.com or @ghazihamadsultan

One of the most frustrating things about Instagram is that once I upload an image, that’s it, you can’t swap it out with another one or edit it. Due to the pace I work with, I tend to make a lot of mistakes. I’m constantly editing my posts after publishing to fix grammatical or spelling mistakes, or even to improve readability.

On Instagram I sometimes make mistakes with the headline which I write on the main image, and once I make a mistake the only way to fix it is to remove the post and upload it again. If I catch the mistake right after publishing that’s not a big deal, but just now I caught a mistake on yesterday’s post and I can’t do anything about it.

Last night I published the Kuwait Pavilion post on Instagram and I accidentally used the promoted icon for the post, even though it wasn’t a paid post. I know how I made the mistake, I was working on a paid post in parallel and so used the same template when working on the pavilion post. I can’t edit it now and the post already has over 1,600 likes so I can’t delete it and publish it again.

What’s even more frustrating is that I had two main images I was deciding on for the post, the second one (above) which I didn’t use didn’t have the “promoted” icon. So frustrating!

Expo 2025 officially opened yesterday in Osaka, Japan under the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.” The event will focus on innovation, sustainability, and global collaboration, featuring pavilions from countries and organizations from around the world.

The Kuwait Pavilion is one of the most anticipated ones, designed by the architectural firm LAVA (Laboratory for Visionary Architecture). The structure is envisioned as a “Visionary Lighthouse,” symbolizing Kuwait’s embrace of Arab culture, arts, and social initiatives.

Kuwaiti chef Khaled AlBaker (@chefkb) is currently in Japan as the head chef for the Kuwait Pavilion, and he just sent me some photos he took. Khaled helped set up the menu for the pavilion’s restaurant, Sidra, which features classic Kuwaiti dishes like machboos and mourabian among other things. The restaurant is open to all visitors who want to try Kuwaiti food. According to him, getting everything ready wasn’t easy since most of the chefs there aren’t trained in Arabic cuisine, and sourcing the right ingredients was a challenge. But in the end, they managed to make it work.

The Kuwait Pavilion has four exhibition rooms that take you on a multi-sensory journey through Kuwait’s past, present, and future. The experience ends with a massive dome projection that’s supposedly pretty epic. Expo 2025 runs until October 13, so if you’re in Japan over the next six months, you can pass by and check it out.

For more details on the Kuwait Pavilion, you can head over to their Instagram @kuwait_expo2025

Service Hero recently revealed the results of its 2024 Customer Satisfaction Index, and the top brands in Kuwait have been named (based entirely on you).

If you’re not familiar with Service Hero, it’s the region’s only consumer-powered index, measuring how happy people are with the service they receive across different industries. It’s been running in Kuwait since 2010 and follows strict international research standards, so the results are credible and transparent.

Over 28,000 assessments were collected from customers across Kuwait, rating brands in categories like satisfaction, complaint resolution, loyalty, and more. This isn’t a popularity contest, it’s a data-driven reflection of how brands are actually performing. Here are the winners:

Entertainment: Vox Cinema
Islamic Banks: Boubyan Bank
Retail Banks: National Bank of Kuwait
New Car Sales: Toyota
Car Service: Chevrolet
Private Hospitals: Royal Hayat Hospital
Delivery Apps: Jahez
Restaurants: Mais Alghanim
Fast Food: Pick Yo!
Clothes: Centrepoint
Electronics: X-Cite
Health Clubs: Oxygen Health Club
Home Furniture: Home Centre
ISPs: Zain
Mobile Operators: Zain
Cafes: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Airlines: Qatar Airways
Supermarkets: City Hypermarket

I don’t think there is anything on the list above that felt out of place, it’s not like Aramex won best delivery courier or anything controversial like that. Link

Sealed is a new Kuwaiti dessert brand that specializes in molten cakes. When they sent the desserts over, the first thing that caught my attention was the ridiculously cool packaging. The desserts all arrived inside silver metallic boxes that were sealed in silver pouches that mimic air freight. The whole look fit right into my space, which has concrete floors and silver aluminum furniture. It’s a very futuristic look.

Once you open the boxes, the molten cakes are packed inside sealed containers with detailed instructions on how to heat them up. Sealed offers three main items:

Chocolate Molten
Cookie Molten
Chocolate Chip Cookies

The molten cakes come in two sizes: large and small. Instead of just writing “Chocolate” or “Cookie Molten” on the packaging, they use hand signs, which is a fun touch. The peace sign (✌🏻) is for the Original Molten, while the shaka sign (🤙🏻) is for the Cookie Molten.

I tried the desserts and they were actually really good, with the Chocolate Molten being my favorite. One of the boxes they sent over had a dozen small molten cakes in it, and I took them to family lunch yesterday—it was a hit. Heating up the cakes is super easy: you just unseal the packaging and then pop it into the microwave for 60 seconds. Really convenient.

Because of how cool the packaging looks and how good the molten cakes were, it’s going to be one of my new favorite desserts to take to gatherings. If you want to place an order, Sealed are available on delivery platforms like @jahezkuwait.

Last week I passed by SLO, the new spa at SVN. SLO is a grounding spa sanctuary designed to restore mind, body, and spirit. Until now, SLO had been reserved exclusively for SVN members, but starting last week, they officially opened its doors to the public (Ladies only).

SVN is already a calm and serene place, and SLO builds on that feeling even further. From the moment you step inside, you’re met with a space designed for tranquility. Warm tones, soft lines, and rock-like surfaces inspired by the Mediterranean come together to create an atmosphere of instant peace.

The entire experience is guided by mindfulness, intentional design, and a curated selection of premium treatments rooted in holistic wellness. Their offerings include lymphatic drainage, wood therapy, sculpting massages, and rejuvenating facials, all designed to support long-term wellbeing over short-term fixes.

To further elevate the experience, SLO partnered with Seed to Skin, a luxury skincare brand from Tuscany, Italy. Known for blending ancient herbal wisdom with cutting-edge biotechnology, their products deliver deep, lasting results through a molecular delivery system that transforms skin from within. For more on the brand, visit @seedtoskintuscany on Instagram.

SLO is located inside SVN but has its own access from the side. For bookings and inquiries, you can contact SLO Spa at 97369304 or visit @svn_kw for more information.

Stockroom Coffee recently opened their new location in KIPCO Tower, and I think it looks really great. Their Murouj branch is one of my favorite looking coffee spots, and this new branch was also designed by the same architects, FORM. The space has a sophisticated yet cool aesthetic. It’s minimal, but not simple since there are interesting little details everywhere you look.

It doesn’t show in these photos, but there is a seating area. And although this Stockroom is probably catering to the tower and surrounding office buildings during the day, it feels like it could be a chill place to hang out in the afternoon and evenings once the office crowd clears out. The new location is on the ground floor of KIPCO Tower and is open from 7AM to 10PM. Google Maps

If you want to check out more photos of the place, head to @formkw

Photos above taken by @mashkanani

The Palestine Film Festival 2025 opens tomorrow (Sunday, April 6) as part of the “All Eyes on Palestine” visual event happening in Kuwait this week which also includes the “Gaza Habibti” photo project.

“Gaza Habibti” brings together the work of 25 photographers from Gaza, capturing moments of hope and everyday life in a place still fighting for freedom and dignity. Their photos will be part of exhibitions taking place around the world, with all proceeds going to support photographers in Gaza. This event is taking place at @capkuwait and opens April 6 and will be on view until April 12.

The Palestine Film Festival Kuwait on the other hand is a volunteer-run, non-profit initiative that celebrates Palestinian life, art, and culture. The festival features a curated lineup of films, from documentaries to shorts, all highlighting the resilience and spirit of the Palestinian people. This year the films will be showing at CAP Theater and AUK.

There is also a poetry night taking place on Thursday.

All events are free and no registration is required for any of them.

Follow @palestinefilmfest_kuwait and @capkuwait for more details.

The compound in Dasman that housed the original Kuwait Television studios, and later Villa Moda and Mais Alghanim, has been demolished. It’s located across the street from The Cheesecake Factory on the Gulf Road, near the Kuwait Towers (Google Maps).

I’m not sure how many people who drove past those old warehouse-like buildings knew how historically significant they were. The compound had been abandoned for over 20 years, but I always hoped it would be refurbished and redeveloped either into a creative hub like Qatar’s Fire Station, or a trendy retail space similar to Alserkal Avenue in Dubai.

Besides housing KTV, the first TV station in the Gulf, the buildings later became home to two other iconic Kuwaiti brands.

In 1987, “Mess Alghanim” which started off as a staff cafeteria for the employees of Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & Sons Co, moved into one of the old Kuwait Television building and transformed into a warm family restaurant. It was also that year the name of the restaurant was changed to “Mais Alghanim”.

In 1992, Sheikh Majed al-Sabah opened the first Villa Moda there in one of the other buildings. He was the first to bring Western designers like Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren to the region. Until today when I think of that store I can’t believe how ahead of its time it was.

As a tribute to the compound’s history, I’ve put together an album on Flickr that includes:
– Black and white images shared by @badshaiji from 1975
– Photos Mais Alghanim when it was still open there
– Villa Moda store after it had shut down and been abandoned
– Photos of the compound taken in 2021 and 2024
– Photos of the compound now being demolished

Check out all the photos here.

I like the fact that calling 113 still gives you the time. It’s nostalgic.

Scrolling through the Instagram account @kap.posters, you’d think you’ve stumbled upon retro blueprints from Kuwait’s golden era of architecture. But what you’re actually seeing is the creative work of Ahmed Safer, an architect and visual artist who creates digital posters of Kuwait’s architectural landmarks.

Kuwait’s modern architectural identity began to take shape in the aftermath of 1946, the year crude oil exports first took off. With newfound wealth, Kuwait became a melting pot of global influences. Western art, literature, technology, and architecture poured in. Brutalism and Modernism, the global architectural trends of the time, found a strong foothold here, and Kuwait embraced it. A wide spectrum of structures were constructed, everything from massive rigid buildings, to colorful and playful villas all reflected this new wave of architecture that defined the 50s through the 80s.

But now, a lot of those buildings are being demolished, and that entire era is disappearing.

KAP Posters is a visual archive, a growing collection of digital illustrations that pay tribute to Kuwait’s architectural gems. These aren’t just digital sketches though. Because Ahmed is an architect, he approaches each building with discipline, precision, and care. He told me he tries to be as accurate and original as possible with his illustrations. He doesn’t draw building extensions or alterations for example. His illustration of the National Council for Culture, Arts & Literature (NCCAL) building for example (above) took 12 days to complete because he had to replicate the exact same number of tiles on the building.

His whole process actually starts with a lot of research, scanning old books, digging through the internet, or photographing buildings in person, often with a drone. He then corrects distortions and stitches the reference images together in Photoshop. Only after that does he start tracing, layering, coloring, and adding subtle details.

KAP Posters isn’t just an art account, it’s turning into a time capsule. If you’re interested in Kuwait’s old architecture then check it out. @kap.posters