2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003We found 4,563 results for your search.
The Belgian football team who are competing in the World Cup later this month in Qatar will be playing their last friendly game this Friday in Kuwait against Egypt. The match is taking place at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium and tickets are currently on sale starting at 10KD.
If you want to watch the game live, you can buy tickets from here.
I was only out for a day but I feel like I missed out on a lot of action.
Singarea, the popular Asian supermarket has officially opened their new location in Salmiya. This is their third location in Kuwait, the other two being in Shuwaikh and Mahboula.
The new location is around the lake in Boulevard Park, right next to the restaurant Izmir. When I dropped by they were still unpacking some boxes but the space was looking good although didn’t seem as big as their Shuwaikh location, neither did it have as many freezers and fridges will all those food items.
Their Salmiya branch is open daily from 10AM to 10PM and if you want to pass by and check it out, here is the location on Google Maps. Just a note, at the time of this post there was no signage outside but just head to Izmir and it’s the building right next to it.
Honest Grocer is a new local grocery store that sells only healthy food products. That’s not really new in Kuwait but what sets Honest Grocer apart from the competition is the fact that their selection of products is curated using their stringent nutritional and ethical guidelines. These guidelines include:
Navigating their different products is really simple on their website since their interface is very basic. So for example, if you’re looking for keto products or products that are sugar-free, you can get access to them easily from the main page with just a click. They’re also located on Deliveroo which makes ordering from them easy although their products are only categorized by brand on that platform.
The only downside like everything healthy is the price. Because you’re getting the best quality ingredients you’re going to have to pay for it and that can mean 5KD for a chocolate spread or 600fils for a bag of chips. They sent over goodies to my office and the first thing we did was replace all the unhealthy snacks we had in our pantry with their products. Now I just need to convince the accountant why he needs to increase our pantry budget so we can continue to stock up on these healthier but more expensive snacks.
If you can afford it, then definitely check out Honest Grocer either on Deliveroo or their website myhonestgrocer.com
Maryool is a new contemporary Lebanese eatery that opened up last week in Kuwait City. It’s not a local brand, it’s a Lebanese one created by the same guys behind some other popular spots in Lebanon like Meat the Fish, By Skirt and The Backburner. The Backburner is actually open in Kuwait and Maryool just opened up next door to it so I’d assume they would eventually open up their other brands in Kuwait as well.
My two favorite Lebanese spots recently have been Babel and Em Sherif Cafe at The Avenues. Both are your classical Lebanese restaurants while Maryool tries to give a new twist to classic dishes. Nothing crazy or weird like dark chocolate hummus, but for example, their shawarmas are all tacos (including a vegan portobello shawarma) while their tabbouleh had lentils. They’re minor tweaks that give dishes you’ve tried a million times a new flavor profile or a new look.
I was invited to their opening event and so got to try a lot of dishes. Everything tasted really good with maybe just one dish that I felt was a bit bland which was their arayess. There were no prices on the menu so I’m not sure what the average check per person would be but I will update this post in the future once I go back again and actually pay for my meal.
If you’re interested in checking the place out they’re located in Khaleejia Tower, the same building as Vigonovo. It’s a cute place and the whole storefront opens up so a great place to go to now since the weather is great. They’re open from 12PM to 12AM and they’re on Instagram @maryoolkuwait
Picture on top by @inspirededibles
The Palestinian Culture Center has been operating in Kuwait since the early 1970s. Every year they hold an exhibition with the aim to keep this vibrant culture alive and support underprivileged women and children in the camps. Starting today till Thursday, the center will be holding its 55th heritage exhibition at the Kuwait Graduates Society.
The exhibit will have hand-stitched dresses, shawls, and cushions for sale, as well as handmade ceramics, books, and food aimed to preserve the Palestinian national identity and showcase how it adapts to modern times.
If you’re interested in passing by, here is the info:
Place: Kuwait Graduates Society (Google Maps)
Date: Monday 7th to Thursday November 10th
Time: 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
For more information visit them on Instagram @palestiniancc
Every time I post about Khyber, I get comments about other places with supposedly better tikka, the two most popular ones being White Rose and Paratha King. So, I decided it was time to give them a ranking:
First Place: Paratha King ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Second Place: Khyber ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Third Place: White Rose ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Paratha King
Khyber
White Rose
It’s really close between Khyber and Paratha King but based on the overall experience, I think I’d lean towards Paratha King more. Paratha King has a better-tasting tikka but Khyber’s location is a nicer experience. The seasoning and marination of both tikkas are very different with Paratha King having a more thicker coating while Khyber doesn’t which is why some people might think Khyber’s tikka is drier (it isn’t).
With White Rose, I think it’s just overhyped. Under every tikka post I usually get a few comments saying I should try White Rose and that White Rose has the best tikka. I don’t think it does. Of the three places listed here, I find the White Rose tikka the least flavorful. Their location is also not great so the dining experience isn’t very appealing either.
Pricewise, Khyber and Paratha King are similar and White Rose is the cheapest.
Paratha King: 1.000 KD per piece
Khyber: 1.000 KD per piece
White Rose: 0.900 KD per piece
If you want to check the places out, here are their locations on Google Maps:
Khyber Location
Paratha King Location
White Rose Location
There is one more place I need to try (I think) and that’s White House. If there is any other place that has good tikka let me know in the comments, if there are enough places I might have a part 2 battle.
Update: After visiting Paratha King for a second time I decided to update the review and ranking and give Paratha first place.
After taking a break for a couple of years because of covid, the Kuwait International Book Fair is going to take place again this month.
The 45th book fair will be taking place at the Kuwait International Fairground from November 16th to the 26th in halls 5, 6, 7 and 7B. Link
Lots of interesting things happening this weekend, let me know if I missed anything:
Thursday, Nov 3
Perfume & Cosmetics Exhibitions
Improv Comedy Night
Concert: Music is Where Cultures Meet
Art Therapy: Healing Circle
Space Month at Scientific Center
Book Exchange
Kuwait Track Challenge
Friday, Nov 4
Perfume & Cosmetics Exhibitions
Flare Fitness Crossfit Games
Sailing: Friday Morning Cruising
Space Month at Scientific Center
19th Kuwait Rapid Chess Championship
Touch Rugby
Kuwait Track Challenge
Saturday, Nov 5
Perfume & Cosmetics Exhibitions
Hindrance Race – Flare Fitness Festival 2022
Uncovering: NBK Tower Walking Tour
Space Month at Scientific Center
Workshop: Host Florally
Story Time at Amricani: The Gruffalo
Kuwait Track Challenge
Exhibitions
Sara Shamma “Age”
Warhol of Arabia by Raed Yassin
Activities
Ascend Rock Climbing
Cable Park
Ice Skating at the Winter Games Club
Indoor Karting
Little Jungle
Murouj Farm
Movement Classes at Omni Studio
Roller Blade at Roller Hub
Try Windsurfing
Yoga at Darātma
Museums to Visit
Abdullah Salem Cultural Center (ASCC)
Amricani Cultural Center Museum
Bait Al Othman Museum
Tareq Rajab Museum
Last week Cari, the new food delivery app soft launched in Kuwait. It was more of a beta launch than a soft launch since the app was constantly crashing at first, there were barely any restaurants and there was no sign of one of their most aggressive features which was 30 minutes delivery. Since then there have been at least two software updates sorting out the bugs so I decided to finally try them out.
Inside the app there are two main categories, one for all the restaurants and then another one just for restaurants that offer 30 minutes delivery. I decided to try out their 30 minutes delivery by ordering lunch from BBT. It wasn’t the most scientific experiment since my office is only a couple of blocks from BBT in the city, but I also wasn’t trying to make Cari fail the test or anything. Here is how the timeline looked like:
12:06 PM – Order placed
12:14 PM – BBT started preparing my order
12:29 PM – Driver arrives
12:31 PM – Order delivered
My order took 25 minutes to deliver from the moment I placed the order which is pretty cool and fast.
Right now they’re also not charging a delivery fee which is great for us. Not sure how long this is gonna last but it gives us a good reason to use Cari for now at least. There aren’t that many restaurants on the app that offer 30 mins delivery, in the city, there were like 10 only and they were either burger or coffee places.
As of this post, Cari still hasn’t officially launched so if you want you to try it out you need to click the download link on their Instagram page @getcari and follow the instructions.
Update: I’ve been told that the official launch of Cari will be happening today
Update2: They’ve officially launched, here is the direct link to the app on the Google Store and Apple Store.
I like how the GCC is starting to open up to each other. After Saudi opened its borders to GCC residents a few weeks ago, now Oman announced that any GCC resident could enter Oman without even needing a visa (source).
I have to embarrassingly confess I’ve never been to Oman but it is on my to-do list. I’ve actually been thinking of just driving there since it’s definitely a place I’d want to have a car and go driving around for a couple of weeks. From the pictures, it seems like such a beautiful and chill place, and it’s so close to Kuwait.
It doesn’t look like there are any conditions for entering Oman other than the fact that your Kuwaiti residency should be valid for a minimum of three months. I’m sure this is great news for a lot of people.
Every time we get heavy rainfall and Kuwait floods I tell myself I should get rainboots. For the past few years, I’ve been wearing my Yeezy 950’s during floods but they aren’t really that waterproof. Plus I just checked to see how much they sell on StockX and I definitely shouldn’t be using them as rainboots anymore. A couple of weeks ago while out exploring in Jahra I got into a situation that involved mud and had to turn back because I was wearing sneakers. So I decided I’d buy a pair of rain boots and just keep them in the back of my Hilux for when I need them.
I wanted to get a pair of dark green Hunter wellington boots but couldn’t find any place locally selling them and so started looking online. I was hoping to find a shop online that offered free returns in case the size wasn’t the correct one and after looking at a bunch of places, I found out Selfridges did free returns. So I ordered the boots from there. Turns out there are actually a bunch of good reasons to shop on Selfridges online which is why I’m posting about it.
Free Returns
So firstly the point I just mentioned is they have free returns. This is great because you could order stuff, try them on, and if anything doesn’t fit the way it should you can return them.
Tax-Free
The second good reason is that shopping is tax-free. Because you’re shipping from Selfridges straight to Kuwait, they remove the VAT from the price which is an instant 17% discount.
Cheap and Unlimited Shipping
Their shipping rates are really really cheap. The boots I ordered are fairly heavy, came in the biggest box I’ve ever seen and it cost me only £25 (KD9) for shipping. And it’s not like they shipped it with regular mail, they shipped using Aramex. To top it off it didn’t matter what I added to my cart, or how many items I added, the shipping price stayed fixed at £25. What’s even crazier is the fact they have unlimited deliveries for £40 (KD14.5) a year which is like wtf, how do they even make money? I’m seriously contemplating just signing up for their unlimited delivery plan and just doing all my shopping there. And just to be clear, this is unlimited shipping to Kuwait.
The boots ended up fitting me fine so I’m keeping them but I was kinda curious to try out their return policy. I should also mention they were selling the boots for pretty cheap as well compared to other places. After removing the VAT I paid 37KD for them without shipping. So great prices, cheap shipping and free returns, basically everything you want when shopping online. selfridges.com
Over the weekend I visited the Outdoor Sport & Safari Expo and found out we now have a Solo Stove dealer in Kuwait. Solo Stoves are really great outdoor fire pits that are very practical for lighting a fire in your backyard or when out in the desert. Their firepits also have the added benefit of being smokeless due to the way they’re designed. Since winter is coming you might want to pick one up before they sell out. Here is the price comparison between the local price and Amazon if you were to ship them:
Solo Stove Ranger (Small)
Kuwait: 105KD
Amazon: 116KD
Solo Stove Bonfire (Medium)
Kuwait: 138KD
Amazon: 154KD
Solo Stove Yukon (Large)
Kuwait: 215KD
Amazon: 290KD
If you’re interested, here is the link to the local dealer outdoor.com.kw
The expo was actually pretty cool, I ended up picking up a few things that were on sale including a couple of collapsable camping chairs (8KD each), a small collapsable table to go with it (also 8KD), and an ARB recovery snatch strap (priced 22KD instead of the usual 28).
I was planning to get these camping chairs so I can throw them inside one of my storage trunks in the back of my Hilux and had one by a company called OneTigris on my Amazon wishlist. But, the total for two shipped to Kuwait was coming out to 40KD which was overkill considering I might only use them a couple of times. Then I found similar chairs but obviously not the same quality at JYSK for 5.5KD and bought a pair. I decided to buy those and figured if I did actually get some use out of them I could then splurge on better quality ones.
Right after buying the chairs from JYSK I headed to the expo and found better quality ones on discount for 8KD from a place called Extreme Outdoors. So I ended up picking up a pair from there and a small table to go along with them and they fit in my storage trunk with plenty of room left for me to store other things. Now I need to return the ones I got from JYSK but they’re actually really good value if anyone is looking for chairs to take into the desert this winter (pictured above). Here is the link for them on the JYSK website.
I’ve never been an Apple Watch fan, I didn’t like it when it came out, and I didn’t like it 5 years later. I didn’t like the way it looked or the fact I had to raise my wrist just to turn on the screen. I also hated the idea of having to remove my watch to charge or to shower, because I never remove my watches no matter if it’s a cheap Casio or an expensive AP, my watch is always on me no matter what. Then I saw the new Apple Watch Ultra being introduced during Apple’s Keynote event, it was the first time I actually saw an Apple Watch and actually cared for it. It looked great, had a large screen, and had great battery life. I wanted it.
Full disclosure, I have a long-standing relationship with Xcite who provided me with this watch to keep. They’ve been very supportive of the blog from the very early days and they’ve lent or given me a number of items over the years to review, as well as hooking me up with discounts. I’m a huge Xcite fan and they’re an Apple Authorized Reseller.
I picked up the watch a week ago from my friends at Xcite and ever since I got it, I haven’t removed the watch except occasionally to charge it. I really don’t have a lot of requirements from a watch, I need it to tell time (easily), show the date, look good on my wrist and I don’t want to have to keep removing it from my wrist. I’ve tried watches with leather straps or vintage Casios that weren’t water-resistant, I hated having to take them off before showering. Before Covid, I was mostly rotating between two of my expensive watches, one made out of titanium, and the other forged composite, both pretty large but both very light watches (same formula as the Ultra). During Covid, I got a Casio calculator watch, similar to the one Michael J. Fox wore in the movie Back to the Future. Ever since I’ve gotten it I’ve basically stopped wearing all my other watches. It’s such a simple watch that I think looks great with its 80s design, and it was very practical. I didn’t have to worry about scratching it or banging it around, and if something did happen to it I could just get another one without going broke. But, I did have two issues with it, the first being that to see the date I had to press a button, and the second was that it didn’t have a backlight. This meant I couldn’t read the time if I woke up in the middle of the night.
This is going to sound weird and obvious, but the Apple Watch Ultra is a better version of my 1980s Casio. The new Ultra although big is actually really light for its size because of the fact it has a titanium case. It has a beautiful large screen that can show me all the information I need at a glance, and at night when I fall asleep, I have it set up to change screens to a much simpler one that only shows the time in an x-large font and in red, to ease eye strain in the dark. So functionality, it does everything I need and more. But the regular Apple Watch has all this, what sets the Ultra apart is mainly that it looks way more interesting than the regular watch which to me always looked really boring. Most of my watches are either chronographs or dive watches, I’ve never been into simple clean-looking watches, even my first watch as a kid was a Snoopy watch that looked like a dive watch. If I’m going to be wearing and using something all day, I need to like the way it looks and feels, and for me, the Ultra is the first Apple Watch I want to wear.
Another big selling point for me is the battery life, even in the first few days of owning it when I was playing around with the watch non-stop, it lasted me two days on a single charge. The fact that I can use the watch all day and then go to sleep with the watch on my wrist monitoring my sleep and knowing that I’m still going to wake up and have more than 50% battery life is such a satisfying feeling. I don’t want to deal with another device in my life that I have to worry about the battery life. So now I’ve created a routine where every morning when I sit on my iMac to type out my blog posts, I put the watch on the charger. By the time I’m done with my posts, my watch is fully charged and goes back on my wrist until the next morning. I noticed it charges really really fast over USB-C.
One of the things I was worried about initially when I saw the watch was if it was going to be too big on my skinny wrists. It’s not. Even though the watch has a 49mm diameter case, it doesn’t look huge on my wrists and so most likely won’t look big on yours either. I’m wearing the watch with a medium-sized Green Alpine Loop strap which I think is the best-looking strap on the watch. I thought initially it might be a bit annoying to put on and take off, but after using it for a week now, I’ve found it not an issue. The only issue with the strap if I’m being picky is the fact that it does get wet when showering but tends to dry fairly quickly after so not too big of a deal.
I’m trying to think of a negative thing to say about the watch but I can’t seem to think of anything. Even if I’m trying to be extra picky, there doesn’t seem to be anything that I find really annoying about it. The orange action button doesn’t have a lot of customization options right now, I can just pick a handful of different things it can do and right now I have it set to turn the watch into a flashlight. Actually, since I’m being picky, the location of the action button is where I usually place my thumb when I want to click the crown with my other finger. So on more than one occasion, I’ve accidentally turned on the flashlight when I’ve just wanted to click the crown. Just a minor issue.
When I was growing up in the 80s, the Casio G-Shock was the watch I wanted because it looked rugged and had various features I would never use like a stopwatch or altimeter. To me, the Apple Watch Ultra feels like a modern-day G-Shock and I think a lot of people see it that way. It’s going to be really popular and you can already tell by how quickly they’re selling out.
If you’re looking to buy an Ultra there is only one model but comes with different strap options. My favorite strap is the alpine loop I have but I’ve tried the trail loop and found it really comfortable. The price of the watch is 290KD and here is a link to the watches on the Xcite website.
If you have any questions about the watch, let me know in the comments.
Next weekend there is a new racing event taking place at KMT called Kuwait Track Challenge. What sets this race apart from other local races is the fact that they’re offering fairly large sums of cash for the winners totaling KD65,000.
When they first announced the event I was pretty impressed by the prizes but I didn’t really realize how much more exciting it would be making the competition until this week. For those of you not into cars or racing, there are different classes for the cars during races to make it fair. The classes for Kuwait Track Challenge are divided by tire size because usually, the more powerful and larger the car, the larger the tire sizes. So for KTC, they’ve split it up into the following three classes:
Pocket Rocket – 245 tires and below
Sleeper – 285 tires and below
Outlaw – All tire sizes
Every category will have 5 winners who will each win:
1st – $32,000
2nd – $13,000
3rd – $9,700
4th – $6,500
5th – $3,250
Because of the large cash prizes, what I realized this week is a lot of people are taking this competition very seriously by actually investing money into their cars with hopes the upgrades they make will pay for themselves if they win. It’s actually gotten me excited to watch the races because I now want to see what everyone has done to their cars.
The event will be taking place next week over two days, November 4th and 5th at Kuwait Motor Town. There will be food trucks and music as well for people who want to come by and watch the event. If you’re interested in participating in the races registration as of now is still open. Here is the link to register, and they’re on Instagram @challengethetrack
