Search: “kuwait”

Below is this weekends list of events. The camel races are also back but because of the hot weather the races start at 5:30AM so I’d wait till the weather properly cools before going to one.

Thursday, October 5
Lego Show
Comedian Around Cars Getting Coffee

Friday, October 6
Lego Show
Fera Championship

Saturday, October 7
Lego Show
Speak Up Kuwait Mic Night
Assima Mall Kids Reading
Fera Championship

Exhibitions
The Eye of The Sky Drone Photography Exhibition
Sacred I by Yasmine El Hazek

Back in May I posted that Nando�s, the popular South African franchise was coming to Kuwait and looks like it’s now official.

Yesterday two opening soon hoardings came up, one at The Warehouse Mall and a second one at Al Kout Mall announcing that Nandos was opening this December.

Nandos originally opened at The Avenues back in 2007 but ended up closing down shortly after. This time Apparel Group are bringing them back, the same company that has Tim Hortons and Jamie’s Italian (which is also opening in Kuwait).

Thanks Ram

Two common complaints people tend to have are that there isn’t anything to do in Kuwait or they’re frustrated they found out about an event after it was already over. It’s mostly why my “Things to do this Weekend” list gained so much popularity. Then you also have complaints from people who are trying to organize workshops or events and find it difficult and frustrating to do so. This is where PIQR comes in.

PIQR is a newly launched social media app that allows people to find and attend various events like concerts, workshops, seminars, and more. From the other end of things, it also allows people and brands to organize and host their own events.

Hosting your own public or private event through the app is very simple to set up. If you’re a business planning an opening for a new store, you can easily create and promote the event using the app and extend the invitation to the public. Alternatively, if you’re organizing a birthday celebration for just you and your friends, you can set up a private event within the app and invite only the people you know.

As an event host, you’ll discover a variety of useful features such as the capability to effortlessly check people in and out of your events, as well as the option to send invitations to your followers. As a user, you’ll appreciate the ability to share tickets and invitations with friends, and you’ll love the convenience of having your unique QR code serve as your entry pass to all the events you’ve booked for.

The app just launched so it’s slowly starting to fill up with events but the more people use it the more useful it will become. If you want to download the free app, head over to @getpiqr for the link.

I only watch two sports, Formula 1 and UFC which is why I find this news so exciting. Former 7-time UFC champion and future hall of famer José Aldo is coming to Kuwait! He is going to be the guest of honor for the FERA Championship which is taking place this coming weekend.

In addition to Aldo coming to Kuwait, Renan Barao, the former UFC bantamweight champion is making his return to the fighting scene after leaving the UFC 4 years ago. Barao at one point had one of the longest unbeaten streaks in MMA history and was regarded as one of the best mixed martial artists in the world.

The FERA Championship looks like it’s going to be a pretty huge event. It’s being held over two days at The Arena and they’ll be hosting 11 fights, 7 of which will be MMA while the remaining 4 will be Muay Thai fights. The first day of the event will be the weigh-ins, meet & greet with the fighters and the music show. The second day will be the meet & greet with Aldo followed byall the fights.

Tickets start at 20KD and you can book them through The Arena’s website. José Aldo meet & greet tickets will be sold on the spot and will cost a 10KD.

A few days ago Saudi Arabia approved a major high-speed rail link that will connect Riyadh and Kuwait City together. This rail link shouldn’t be confused with the metro project and instead is meant to connect Kuwait with the rest of the GCC via rail. Source

I actually watched a TikTok video recently of someone who took the train from Riyadh to a city near the borders with Jordan. The train carried cars and passengers so once he got to the last stop, his car got unloaded from the train and he continued his journey to Jordan by car. I hope the train linking Kuwait and Riyadh also carries cars since it means we potentially could easily transport our cars around the region to speed up road trips. I’ve been wanting to do an Oman road trip for example but it’s around a 16 hour drive, not worth it unless I’m planning to spend a couple of weeks in Oman.

Giancarlo Esposito, the actor who played Gus on Breaking Bad and Moff Gideon on The Mandalorian was in Kuwait this past weekend for the comic festival. While here he ended up visiting the Kuwait Towers and he took some cool fun shots which he ended up posting on his instagram account. Check them all out here.

The weather is getting cooler and so the events are starting to pop up again. This weekend there are a bunch of cool things happening, check them out in the list below:

Wednesday, Sep 27
Mozart Concerto
Auto World Show
Mini Zoo at The Gate Mall

Thursday, Sep 28
Mozart Concerto
POP UP by Comfest
IMPROVengers Comedy Night
Slow Days Pop-up by Thrf
Auto World Show
Mini Zoo at The Gate Mall
A Night with Miami

Friday, Sep 29
POP UP by Comfest
Slow Days Pop-up by Thrf
Auto World Show
Mini Zoo at The Gate Mall
A Night with Miami
Cars & Coffee

Saturday, Sep 30
POP UP by Comfest
Wejha Summer Bazaar
Auto World Show
Mini Zoo at The Gate Mall
A Night with Miami
Riso Print Workshop

This is a bit of a weird and confusing drama. SALT, the popular UAE burger concept is NOT coming to Kuwait according to their most recent post. But, according to people on TikTok and Instagram they are supposedly coming to Kuwait.

Turns out there is a SALT opening in Shuwaikh near Mayar Complex with the exact same logo as the UAE one and have the account @salt_kwt. But, it’s supposedly a different SALT and is a franchise of the Qatari concept with a similar logo @salt_qa. To make things even more confusing, the UAE SALT is also available in Qatar and their account is @findsalt.qatar.

So just in case you’re as confused about this as I am, to keep things simple, the SALT opening up in Shuwaikh is different from the Emirati @findsalt.

Update: To confuse things even further, I’ve just been told the Emirati @findsalt is also coming to Kuwait. So we’re going to have both versions somehow open up here.

The weather is getting cooler so the events are starting to pop up again. This weekend there are 4 interesting events taking place:

Colors of Armenia
If you’re into painting, the Armenian community and embassy in Kuwait is celebrating Armenian heritage with a vibrant painting event.

Powerlifting Competition
There is a power lifting competition taking place this weekend which is something different.

Storytelling with Omar Hamada
Qesati are holding a talk this weekend with Omar Hamada, the owner of Lyfe Cycle.

Is this thing on?
Art Scene are holding an open mic night featuring poetry, music, comedy and performance.

Yesterday I posted that the new iPhone 15 and 15 Pro will be launching in Kuwait on September 29th and now I have the prices. These prices were sent to me by Gait and are the official Apple prices, so all authorized Apple resellers will have to follow them. Here they are:

iPhone 15
iPhone 15 128GB KWD 294.9
iPhone 15 256GB KWD 329.9
iPhone 15 512GB KWD 399.9

iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Plus 128GB KWD 329.9
iPhone 15 Plus 256GB KWD 362.9
iPhone 15 Plus 128GB KWD 329.9
iPhone 15 Plus 512GB KWD 436.9

iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro 128GB KWD 372.9
iPhone 15 Pro 256GB KWD 406.9
iPhone 15 Pro 512GB KWD 480.9
iPhone 15 Pro 1TB KWD 552.9

iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 15 Pro Max 256GB KWD 442.9
iPhone 15 Pro Max 512GB KWD 514.9
iPhone 15 Pro Max 1TB KWD 587.9

If you’re wondering if the price is cheaper if you order it from the US Apple store, it is. I’m interested in the 15 Pro 256GB version and I just did a quick rough calculation and if I order it online it would cost me around 377KD after taxes and shipping versus 407KD here in Kuwait. The more expensive the phone, the bigger the difference will be.

If you’re interested in getting it locally, Gait will start taking preorders next Friday, September 22nd.

Last night Apple announced the new iPhone 15 and 15 Pro and I just got word from Gait that all the new phones along with the new Apple Watches will be launched in Kuwait on September 29th.

The prices haven’t been announced yet but they should be available before they open pre-orders on September 22nd.

I’m currently using an iPhone 13 Pro so I’m planning to upgrade to the 15 Pro. I’m not sure its worth the upgrade if you have a 14 Pro, I tend to upgrade every other year but since the phone is something you use all the time, it could be worth the upgrade I guess.

Yesterday the Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued a decision where all restaurants and cafes in Kuwait will now be obliged to have tap water as an offering. Now that this was announced I realized how odd it was that this wasn’t a thing considering the tap water in Kuwait is actually really clean and safe to drink straight out of the tap.

Years ago I was invited to the Water Resources Development Center located in Shuwaikh where they explained to me how the water sent to homes is clean and safe to drink. The Water Resources Development Center also has two laboratories, a chemistry lab and a bacteriology lab and every single day water samples are collected from various institutions around Kuwait (schools, hospitals, mosques etc..) and delivered to their laboratories for testing. If the water is contaminated, the source of that water is closed down right away and only reopened once the problem has been fixed.

The government is responsible in providing you clean and safe water up until the building meter, after that point it becomes the building owners responsibility. If the water you’re getting at home isn’t clean, thats most likely because of a problem with your building pipes, boilers, or storage tanks. In that case, you’re recommended to use a filter which is what most restaurants will also be using.

But the answer is yes, Kuwait’s tap water is safe to drink but only if your building or home is maintained correctly, if not, you’ll have to use a filter.

An interview with a Michelin Star chef popped up on my TikTok feed last week and he said something really interesting which was basically that food is the third most important thing in a restaurant, with ambiance and service being more important. I think thats true and I realized that while I was putting this list together.

Sometimes I wonder why certain places are always busy while I’m sure other people wonder why I like a certain place, it really comes down to our individual experiences. I eat out pretty much every single day and the list below are some of my favorite places in Kuwait:

Breakfast
Cocoa Room (@cocoaroom) is the spot I go to when I want to have breakfast on a Friday morning while Alf Layla wLayla (@alf_laylawlayla) is the spot I have breakfast with friends midweek when the weather is good (Tip: Bring your own chapati from Sound Indian Restaurant at the roundabout next door).

Healthy-ish
Ever since OVO (@ovokwt) opened their new location in Shuwaikh I’ve loved going there. M.E’AT (@meatkwt) is my don’t think about it, just go build a bowl eat and leave spot.

Kuwaiti
Al Shemam (@alshemam1) is mine and everyones favorite with delicious grilled fish options and kebabs but I also really like Midar (@midar.me) in The Avenues.

Italian
Vigonovo (@vigonovo_kw) has been my go-to spot for the past 7 years ago but this past year I’ve been bouncing between them and Leccino (@leccino.kw).

Asian
EDO (@edo_restaurant) is my favorite Japanese right now while Great China Wall (@chinagreatwallrestaurant) is my favorite Chinese/Hot Pot spot.

Indian
Cardamon Club (@cardamom.club) is my favorite “fancy” Indian place while Paratha King (@paratha_king) is my hole in the wall.

My Comfort Food
Tampopo (@tampopo.ramenshop) because it’s simple and right next to my house. I still love Solo Pizza (@solopn) even though there are a lot more pizza places nowadays. And finally, one of my favorite restaurants in Kuwait, Oak & Smoke (@oakandsmoke). I would also have added Five Guys here if it wasn’t a franchise.

These are my favorite spots, let me know if your favorite place should have been on my list.

This is a completely random tidbit that popped up on my feed this morning. Renan Barao, the former UFC bantamweight champion is making his return to the fighting scene after leaving the UFC 4 years ago with a fight next month here in Kuwait. Source

Barao will face Peter Ligier in the main event of Fera Championship’s debut card on October 7. I checked the @ferachampionship Instagram account and it’s still empty as of this post with just a mention in the profile that says the event is on October 6 & 7.

If you’re a UFC fan this looks like it might be a pretty interesting event to go to.

Whenever I flip through old newspaper there are random things that always catch my attention. Recently while flipping through a 1976 issue of Kuwait Times I came across this ad for what supposedly is (according to the ad), the first Chinese restaurant in Kuwait. Never heard of it and can’t find anything online about it either. I can’t even find the building it was located in.

If anyone has any information about “Golden Nest”, let me know!

Update: I found another ad (above) and this one has a map. So I tried to figure out where the restaurant used to be located and if Al Shuhada Street used to be called Al Hilal Street back in 1976, then I think Golden Nest was located in the same block as where Al Assima Tower and Solo Pizza are located today. I overlapped the map onto Google Maps and if you line up the streets and roundabouts they match. Whoever drew the map though placed Shaab gate on the wrong corner of the intersection though.