Search: “kuwait”

Every now and then I invite professionals to contribute to this blog to help me cover subjects I personally cannot do myself. One subject I used to enjoy reading were the health and fitness posts which were written by Fahad AlYehya (thedietninja). Since Fahad moved on from the blog a long time ago, I’ve invited a new contributor to take over that subject, Amy Freeman.

I was introduced to Amy by a friend of mine a couple of weeks back and after first meeting her I realized she could provide a lot of interesting content for the blog which I’d personally love to read. Amy just published her first post below and I’m now looking forward to reading more of her stuff on a weekly basis. I hope everyone else will too.

This is way way better than their extremely awkward flashmob from a couple of years back. [YouTube]

I have a friend who recently started working at the Radisson Blu Hotel and he found a bunch of old photo albums so he asked me if I would be interested in flipping through them since he knows I like old photos related to Kuwait. There were maybe 20 large albums with a lot of random stuff but I picked out photos that I thought were the most interesting or at least ones that I could relate to.

The photo on top is of the hotel on opening day. I had chosen other photos from that day for them to scan but I didn’t get them for some reason.

Second group of photos I found interesting is the installation of the Kugel. The Kugel is a large 4 ton marble sphere that floats on water and before the hotels recent refurbishment used to located in the lobby. Originally I thought the Kugel had been there ever since the hotel opened but turns out it was installed after the 1990 invasion. The Kugel now is no longer located in the lobby but instead outside near the Viking Club entrance.

The second batch of photos that caught my eye was the damage done to The Peacock Chinese restaurant during the 1990 invasion. I had seen photos of the hotel after the invasion but hadn’t seen photos of Peacock before. If you’ve never been to Peacock, here’s my review.

Finally does anyone remember Clock? I couldn’t find a photo in their archives of the restaurant when it was open just the one above taken after the invasion. I was young when it first opened in the 80s but I think it was the first restaurant to offer drive through in Kuwait. I used to see the Clock sign when going down the Gulf Road near Bid’aa and as a kid I found the concept of drive through fascinating.

Last week I was invited to pass by the new seafood restaurant at the Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel called Salt. I personally think the hotel is the nicest one we have in Kuwait right now so I was pretty interested to try this new place out. One thing I really hate about the hotel though is you’ve got two options for parking, either (a) you give your car to valet or (b) you park in the sand lot across the street. Since I don’t trust valets with my car I have to use the sand lot and it’s never a great start to dinner when you have to spend the first few minutes cleaning the dust off my new fancy sneakers.

If you’ve been to Messilah before then you probably know that most of their restaurants are located in the lower level of the main lobby. Salt is located there as well and they’ve taken up the whole left side area. Once we walked into the restaurant we could immediately tell that they wanted to be the most luxurious seafood restaurant in Kuwait and at the moment they probably are. The restaurant is long and not very wide with two kinds of seating areas, on one side they have curved couches going along the wall and it’s nicely lit. On the opposite side is a much brighter open floor layout with beautiful chandeliers. So far the experience was very fancy until the menu arrived and I opened it up to reveal bright yellow text on a dark blue background which looked really tacky layout (take a look). If I could change one thing in the place it would have to be the menu thats for sure.

Because this is a high end restaurant, everything has to be top notch especially the service which in this specific case I found difficult to judge for a number of reasons. First is the fact I was invited and so they knew who I was, and secondly they had barely been open for a week. Still, if I did compare it to other hotels and restaurants in Kuwait I would say the service was in the top 10 but not top 5. In other restaurants where the service is in the top 5, the staff have been working there long enough to see me grow old while Salt has just opened.

Since we were two we ended up ordering the following items from the menu:

Acqua Morelli Sparking Water (x2) KD7.000
Baked Chermoula Prawns KD7.500
Pan Fried Scallops KD7.250
Lobster Bisque (x2) KD9.500
Whole Lobster (Medium) KD28.000
Whole Sea Bass KD15.000
Pearl of the Ocean drink KD3.350
Messilah Journey (mixed dessert) KD5.750

From the two starters we ordered I was expecting the Baked Chermoula Prawns to be my favorite since it was prawns stuffed with scallops. But to my surprise I ended up preferring the Pan Fried Scallops instead. That’s because the scallops dish had so many different flavors from the scallops itself to the stuffed calamari, squid ink risotto and even the puree which were all delicious. Once we were done with the starters they brought over a soup plate which large chunks of lobster inside but no soup. I started thinking to myself maybe this was their interpretation of the lobster bisque? Just as I was thinking that the waiter came over and started pouring the soup over my large lobster chunks. Presentation was an easy 10/10 and from everything we ordered I would also have to say the Lobster Bisque was by far my favorite dish.

A few years ago I posted about a vintage wrestling poster (photo above) dating back to 1965. The poster was still stuck on a pillar on a soon to be demolished building on Fahad Al Salem street and I was hoping someone would end up saving the poster.

Since I was in the area the other day I decided to pass by and see if the poster was saved and sadly it wasn’t as you can see in the photo above. My guess is someone tried to break off the marble slab to rescue the poster but ended up accidentally breaking the slab in half. Sucks.

If you haven’t visited the Remal Sand Sculpting Festival yet you can now take a tour of it without having to leave your house. A reader called Alex has created a virtual tour of the festival and you can check it out by visiting this [Link]

I love exploring abandoned buildings and from all the abandoned places in Kuwait the one I’ve always wanted to explore was Qasr Al Salam. Its the holy grail of abandoned buildings and the only one I could never get the guts to jump over the fence and explore (luckily I didn’t cuz it turns out there are two guards). After trying to get legal access to the site for what seems like forever, I finally got the approval thanks to Al-Diwan Al-Amiri.

Qasr Al Salam was a guest house that was built back in the 60s and hosted high-ranking visitors. Supposedly the first guest to stay at the palace was the Shah of Iran but I couldn’t find any source online to back that up. Actually, I could find very little information at all on the palace online. I know that Princess Diana and Prince Charles stayed at the palace back in 1989, but I can’t find the date it was built, who the architect was or even pictures. I’ve literally only found a handful of photos of the palace pre-1990 and nothing else. During the 1990 Gulf War the palace was destroyed and it never got restored and has remained abandoned for 24 years. That is until now.

Now some good news, unlike the rumors that have been circulating, the palace will NOT be getting demolished. Instead, the palace is going to be restored to its former glory and be turned into a museum. I saw 3D renderings of how the palace will look like when completed and it’s going to look very similar to the original with some minor facelifting here and there and addition of a new wing or two. The bad news is I can’t share the 3D renderings just yet since I’m still working on trying to convince them to allow me to post them here but right now I can’t.

Whats even more interesting is whats going on right next door at the old flag square. The site is currently under major construction and I also got to see renderings of the project and I was just awestruck. There are four very angular buildings being built, an opera house, a music center, a theatre and a library. The buildings will be made out of titanium shells and will have no pillars at all on the inside. The landscaping around the project is also going to be nothing like anything in Kuwait as well and the best part is they’re expecting to have it all done and completed in just 18 months. Thats a timeframe fit for Dubai. I’m trying to get permission to share the drawings and renderings of this project as well and hopefully I will be able to by next week.

After getting briefed on the projects above I was taken to the Salam Palace to explore and take photos. The palace even though completely destroyed still had so much beauty left in it. The famous large chandelier that used to hang from the ceiling in the main hall had been dismantled and removed so I didn’t get to see it sadly. But a lot of the original mosaic, wallpaper, carpets and marble floor were still in place. One thing that struck me was the amount of colors used inside the palace and all very tastefully. There was a lot of colored glass everywhere and the mosaic in the main hall was a beautiful metallic purple color. There was a lot of carpeting everywhere but in places where the carpet was removed you could see the beautifully preserved marble floor underneath. It seems at one point in time the palace must have gotten a makeover and a lot of the marble floors were covered up in carpet. I took a lot of photos and I’ve shared them below. I honestly could easily have spent a day in there trying to document every single corner of the place but sadly I didn’t have the luxury of time on my side. I hope you enjoy the photos below and I’ll try my best to get permission to post the renderings next week.

Back in 2011 I posted the picture above of the original Chamber of Commerce and Industry building. I loved the old architecture in the building and I wrote about how I hope it was not going to get demolished. Sadly last night they started demolishing the building.

The building is an important emblem of Kuwait’s modern heritage and the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters was even trying to list it along with some of the surrounding buildings onto UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

This is why there will be a protest against this destruction this afternoon at 4:30PM beside the building. If it’s something you care about then pass by and show your support. Here is the location on [Google Maps]

Below is a shot of the building taken in the early 70s.

AbiDoc is a website that allows you to search, find and book an appointment with a doctor all via their website. They originally launched last year but I wasn’t a fan of the website back then, it felt outdated and really sluggish but now they’ve given it a major facelift and relaunched it. The way it works is very simple, you select what kind of doctor you’re looking for and then select your area and the website will list all the doctors and their available timings.

Not all the clinics and hospitals in Kuwait are available though, only the ones that have signed up with AbiDoc in the same way not all restaurants are available on Talabat. For example I searched for “Physical Therapist” in “Salmiya” and got “Sorry, No Exact Matches Were Found” even though the Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute is located down the block from my place. Still, the site contains a lot of doctors and the more popular AbiDoc gets the more will want to sign up with them. Check out their new website [Here]

Below is this months schedule for Cinemagics rooftop movie nights. If you’ve never been to them before, they’re held twice a week, every Thursday and Saturday on top of the building that has Xcite in old Salmiya. I’ll also be listing the movies individually in the Events section to make it easier to track on a weekly basis. This will most likely be the last month of rooftop movies since the weather is getting hotter. I would highly recommend watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it’s a classic and one of my all time favorites.

Thursday, April 3rd 2014 at 7:30PM
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND
Considered one of Speilberg’s most essential films, Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind is a film that needs no introduction. Winner of countless awards, it has earned its place as one of the masterpieces of American Cinema. Ray Bradbury declared it “the greatest science fiction film ever made.” Jean Renoir compared the storytelling to Jules Verne and George Melies. Francois Truffaut loved the script so much he agreed to be cast in an essential role. A film that has inspired endless incarnations, and carrying one of the most iconic scores of all time by the great John Williams, Close Encounters continues to be an event film even today, almost 40 years after its original release.

Saturday, April 5th 2014 at 7:30PM
THE HOUSEMAID (Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project)
Every month, we’ll be playing a film from the World Cinema Project. Established by Martin Scorsese in 2007, the World Cinema Project expands the horizons of moviegoers everywhere. The mission of the WCP is to preserve and present marginalized and infrequently screened films from regions generally ill equipped to preserve their own cinema history. This month’s film is The Housemaid. A torrent of sexual obsession, revenge, and betrayal is unleashed under one roof in this venomous melodrama from South Korean master Kim Ki-young. Considered to be one of the top 3 korean films of all time by koreanfilm.org.

Thursday, April 10th 2014 at 7:30PM
THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE
The fourth in our Cassavetes series, where we’ll be showing a film every month by acclaimed legendary independent filmmaker John Cassavetes, who is known as the father of independent American cinema. A proud strip club owner is forced to come to terms with himself as a man, when his gambling addiction gets him in hot water with the mob, who offer him only one alternative. Ben Gazzara brilliantly portrays the gentleman’s club owner, Cosmo Vitelli, desperately committed to maintaining a facade of suave gentility despite the seediness of his environment.

Saturday, April 12th 2014 at 7:30PM
PLAYTIME
Jacques Tati’s visual masterpiece, shot in glorious 70mm and inspiring an entire generation of filmmakers (most notably Peter Sellers) who tried to emulate his subtly, comedic timing, and visual style, Playtime is structured in six sequences, linked by two characters who repeatedly encounter one another in the course of a day: Barbara, a young American tourist visiting Paris with a group composed primarily of middle-aged American women, and Monsieur Hulot, a befuddled Frenchman lost in the new modernity of Paris. Surreal, magical, and not to be missed.

Thursday, April 17th 2014 at 7:30PM
SURPRISE MOVIE OF THE MONTH
Every month we’ll be playing a surprise film, where you won’t know what you’re watching until just a minute before the film begins. One thing is for sure, every month the surprise film will be either my favourite film of the list, or the most unique in one way or the other. This month’s film is an enigmatic piece of poetry, highlighted by a beautifully nuanced lead performance (which won many Best Actress awards worldwide) and a goosebump inducing score. Shot masterfully by acclaimed cinematographer Slawomir Idziak, this film is unlike anything you’ve seen before, and will last with you far after you leave the screening.

Saturday, April 19th 2014 at 7:30PM
EASTERN PROMISES
Winner of the audience prize at the Toronto Film Festival, featured on over 20 top ten lists of its year, and nominated for countless awards, most notably for Viggo Mortensen’s mesmerizing lead performance, Eastern Promises begins as a typical gangster story before flipping the entire genre on its head. Uniquely paced, with a not so typical central struggle on hand, this was the film to solidify Cronenberg’s return to form (after his comeback with A History of Violence). A Russian teenager living in London dies during childbirth leaving clues to a midwife in her journal that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family. Her investigation into uncovers layers that challenges the audience’s expectations.

Thursday, April 24th 2014 at 7:30PM
GEORGE WASHINGTON
One of the best reviewed films of 2000, and the film responsible for launching David Gordon Green’s flowering career (who after a dip in the quality of films returned this year with the two critically acclaimed films Prince Avalanche and Joe), George Washington tells the story of A group of children, in a depressed small town, who band together to cover up a tragic mistake one summer.

Saturday, April 26th 2014 at 7:30PM
CERTIFIED COPY
Iranian cinematic master Abbas Kiarostami’s first foray outside of his native Iran and into French Cinema, Certified Copy takes place in Tuscany, where to promote his latest book, a middle-aged British writer meets a French woman who leads him to the village of Lucignano. While there, a chance question reveals something deeper. Through a wonderful performance by the always magical Julliette Binoche (for which she won the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival), Abbas Kiarostami achieves a universal film, between levity and drama, about the feelings that are diluted over time.

Cinemagics is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of film-making. Cinemagics movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the rooftop of Xcite and LG [Map]. There is no entrance fee. Here is a link to their Facebook group [Link]

Back in February I asked for recommendations on Indian restaurants and I now have probably 50 places try out. The first place I decided to go to was Anjappar in Farwaniya (they have a Fahaheel branch as well). I used google maps to help me find the location although google knows it as Anjappar Hotel for some reason.

The restaurant is located on the 2nd floor of the building right across from Metro Complex. The interior wasn’t anything fancy and a friendly waiter seated us right after we walked in. We ended up ordering a bunch of things including:

Mutton Sukka Masala KD2.100
Butter Chicken Masala KD1.750
Anjappar Chicken B/L Masala KD1.600
Steamed Basmati KD0.750
Butter Naan KD0.250
Chicken Kheema Appam KD0.650
Masala Dosai KD0.500
Mango Lassi KD1.000

The food overall was good, I hadn’t had the Chicken Kheema Appam before and loved it. We ordered three main dishes recommended by the waiter and was the Butter Chicken even though the chicken was a bit dry. My biggest issue with the place was actually with the service, and not the waiters who were very friendly but the kitchen who were just too slow. Our rice came out more than 5 minutes after the main courses and then the Mango Lassi and Butter Naan arrived 5 minutes after that. The table next to us were complaining as well since they were there before us but hadn’t received any of their dishes.

The prices were very reasonable and you can actually check out their whole menu online [Here] for a better idea. I’d probably only go back there if I wanted to show someone Farwaniya but other than that I don’t think it’s worth the trip unless you’ve never been there before and want to try something new. Here is their location on [Google Maps]

Edo, the popular Japanese restaurant located in Shaab is opening a new second location at the Sahara Kuwait Resort. The new location is nearly complete and is expected to open in the next couple of months.

I also heard that the Inspire gym will be opening there as well although don’t have much details on this.

I didn’t think much of this video at first but then I thought to myself, where else in Kuwait can you actually jump from that high into the water? I couldn’t think of any other place so now I want to do it. [YouTube]

Employees at the Radisson Blu Hotel noticed an eagle was sitting on a ledge in the parking lot. They knew something was wrong because you could walk up right to it and it wasn’t flying off. They contacted K’S PATH who arrived 20 minutes later and were able to catch the eagle with the help of the hotels security. The eagle had some strings attached to its feet most likely from a poachers trap and because it was so windy yesterday it could have gotten exhausted after escaping from the trap.

K’S PATH have a short video of them feeding the eagle and you can watch it [Here]

Arabian Business released their list of “World’s 100 Most Powerful Arabs” and only two from Kuwait made the list, Mohamed Alshaya of MH Alshaya and Omar Alghanim of Gulf Bank. The 100 people on the list were grouped into various groups, Mohamed Alshaya made it into the “Leaders” group while Omar Alghanim made it into the “Thinkers” group. Check the full list out [Here]