Categories
Travel

Abu Dhabi Done

I’m currently on the way back to Kuwait from Abu Dhabi after spending an exciting and thrilling long weekend here. We were in total around 14 writers who were brought in from different parts of the world to experience Abu Dhabi during the Formula 1 weekend and I’ve got quite a bit to write about. In summary, wow that was fun.




Categories
Activities

Don’t miss the Halloween themed Shakshooka Market today

The Shakshooka pop-up farmers market is taking place tonight from 5 to 6:30PM, this time outside Little Ruby’s in Kuwait City. Tonight’s market will be Halloween themed and the vendors will be dressed in spooky costumes and would like it if the customers come with their children dressed up as well. There will be a best Halloween costume and the winner will get a KD10 voucher to spend at the future markets. If you don’t know where Little Ruby’s is, here it is on [Google Maps]

Note: Bring cash and a carrying bag if you will be buying stuff

Photo above by @faisalthef




Categories
Food & Drinks Reviews Sneak Peek

Katsuya by Starck

I had lunch earlier today at Katsuya, the new Japanese fusion restaurant that was brought to Kuwait from Los Angeles by Alshaya. The restaurant isn’t open yet but I was lucky enough to get invited for a sneak peek so I headed there with a few friends of mine to try it out.

What originally got me interested in Katsuya is the partnership with product and interior designer Philippe Starck. I’m a huge fan of his work and was actually hoping he would be coming to Kuwait for the opening but that’s sadly not happening. Katsuya is currently only open in California and Florida and their first international branch is opening up here in Kuwait followed shortly by Dubai. According to the Vice President of Katsuya who I had the pleasure of meeting, Philippe Starck had to reinvent the interior design for the Middle East. Their US locations use feminine beauty in the design, mostly the eyes and lips so for the Middle East they wanted something more appropriate and fitting with the local culture so Philippe Starck went back to the drawing board and reworked the brand with the future in mind. The result is a fusion of Japanese samurais and art resulting in a design full of colors and movement.

We sat down and ordered their cocktails first. I originally ordered the Strawberry Fields but after trying my friends drink called Burning Mandarin I decided to swap mine for that. It’s a bit spicy but worked really well with the starters. For our dishes we let the waitress make most of the choices for us while me and my friends chose a few dishes we were interested in trying. The result? We ended up with a ton of food, so much that I actually made them email me the list since I wasn’t able to track everything. This is what we had:

– Sautéed Shishito Peppers
– Edamame Humus
– Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeño
– Spicy Albacore Sashimi with Crispy Onion
– Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna
– Stuffed Eggplant
– Creamy Rock Shrimp
– Wagyu Filet with Foie Gras
– Miso-Marinated Black Cod
– Japanese Mushroom BOP
– Sashimi Sampler
– Special Katsuya Roll
– Kiwi Scallops
– Double Chocolate Lava Cake
– Mochi
– Espresso Brownie Bar

I found the food style very similar to Zuma and Australasia which is great since there isn’t anything similar to that here in Kuwait. From the items I tried the ones I would highly recommend are:

– Edamame Humus
– Stuffed Eggplant
– Miso-Marinated Black Cod
– Japanese Mushroom BOP

If there is one dish you NEED to try its the Stuffed Eggplant. I know I know it doesn’t sound like much and I honestly HATE eggplant, I can’t stand it but this is so different. The eggplant is stuffed with tuna and almonds covered in a sweet miso glaze. It’s actually not a top seller in the States but my guess is it’s going to be a big hit here.

The dishes aren’t that expensive. We didn’t pay for our meal but I do have a PDF of the menu which you can download at the end of this post and really most of the dishes are priced pretty fairly. The black cod dish is around KD14 but it was also the largest piece of black cod I had ever been served. I actually asked the waitress if this was their regular serving size or a large portion just for us, that’s how big it was. The Edamame Humus (genius idea btw) is KD2.950, the Stuffed Eggplant KD3.950 and the Mushroom BOP which is a fairly large portion is priced at KD5.450.

If you’re interested in trying the place out, Katsuya is officially opening this coming Wednesday from 12 noon at Avenues Phase III near Cheesecake Factory. You can download and check out their menu below and make sure you try the Stuffed Eggplant, that’s the dish that’s going to make me keep going back.

Katsuya Dinner Menu
Katsuya Drinks and Desserts Menu




Categories
Information

Gulf Road grass staying real

Unlike I previously posted, the grass on the Gulf Road is staying real. Last month they started removing the bushes and grass on the Gulf Road opposite McDonalds and it was assumed they would be replacing the real grass with fake grass like they had already done on Plajat Street and some parts of Jabriya. Turns out that’s not the case. The reason the grass and bushes were removed on the Gulf Road is because they installed new water sprinklers. The grass has already started growing back again as you can see in the picture above. This is a huge relief because I use the Gulf Road daily and I love it because it’s so green. I would have really REALLY hated it if it was all fake greenery.




Categories
Events Food & Drinks Interesting Shopping

Qout Market launches this Saturday

Qout Market is a new farmers market (not to be confused with the Shakshooka pop-up farmers market) that will be launching this Saturday November 2nd. Qout Market will take place on the first Saturday of every month starting with this month and it’s going to be located in the large space between the Arraya parking lot and the Arraya mall in Kuwait City (picture below) across from Hamra Tower [Map].

The Qout Market will have stands selling crafts, street food, fresh flowers, jarred items, artisanal products, baked goods and local produce. The market will be open all day long from 10AM to 10PM. I’m sadly not going to be in Kuwait to check it out but if you are then you should. For more information you can check them out on [Facebook] or follow them on [Instagram]




Categories
Mags & Books

Writing Competition

As Mark mentioned earlier today there is a writing competition taking place at the Q8BookStore on November 1st as part of Spooky Book Night. The writing competition is for all ages, the rules are simple:

1) Story should be max 500 words (that’s like an A4 page)
2) It should be a horror story
3) The story should be based in Kuwait
4) Email the piece to [email protected] by 30th October

The writing club (@q8writingclub) will be judging the story, Kuwait Times will publish the piece and the winner will also get a KD30 store credit as well as a Monstariam tshirt.

Post by Fajer Ahmed




Categories
Food & Drinks

Just Falafel Opening Soon

The international falafel chain Just Falafel that originated in Abu Dhabi is opening their first branch in Kuwait soon. I spotted the Just Falafel hoarding next to DoDo on Baghdad Street where Kibbeh w Bass used to be located.




Categories
Events Sports

Battle of the East

Today (Oct 26) is the final day for the Battle of the East crossfit competition that’s taking place in Kuwait. Athletes from around the world are participating in this event and the setup is world class. Just check out the video above to get an idea of what’s going on. If you’re interested to check it out pass by Marina Crescent, the event is taking place from 8AM to 6PM.




Categories
Sports

Referee punches player


[YouTube]

With the Kuwait League match between Al Nasr and Al Arabi deep into extra time, and the home side Al Nasr 1-0 up and nearing victory, the referee Saad Al Fadhi had the temerity to award a stonewall penalty to the visitors. What happened next would lead to the man in black doling out a less legitimate form of justice.

After being surrounded by irate Al Nasr attackers, upset at seeing a win potentially slip from their grasp, the referee let fly with his fists – flooring the Al Nasr No11 Abdulaziz Farraj with a left-hander, kicking him shortly after he had picked himself back up, then dismissing him from the pitch with a prompt red card.

More was to come. After his assistants stepped in to control the melee, Al Fadhi went on a red card rampage, doling out another on the pitch. With matters concluded, he completed the job by wandering over to the bench to wave a red card in the general direction of the assorted sheikhs and substitutes gathered there.

With order apparently restored, Al Arabi buried the penalty and levelled the match – only for Al Nasr’s understandably piqued No9 Zabn Al Enazi to hoof the ball directly at the referee from the re-start. Cue another red, another touchline melee and both teams trooping disconsolately from the pitch.

I found this hilarious. [Source]




Categories
Food & Drinks In Focus

In Focus: Alban Dairy

This isn’t a law post but I asked Mark if I could post it and he was ok with it. I was grocery shopping at Sultan Center last year when I found a farmers market stand and what caught my attention were the Alban Dairy products. I fell in love with the brand and I wanted to see the farm for myself but due to my tight schedule I only got to do so last week. It took us around an hour to get to Yasmin Farms where Alban Dairy operates from. As soon as we walked into the farm we spotted a cute little shop that sells a wide range of dairy products, spices, dried fruits and baked goods. Their prices are good too and their banana muffin was delicious.

Their business development executive (Bader) was hospital enough to takes us on a lovely tour around the farm. Our first stop was the cow barn as it was milking time. The cows are milked daily at 6AM and 4PM and the milking has to be done in those times as cows are used to schedules, otherwise they get annoyed and wont produce as much the next day.

The cows walked in a line to be taken into a room where they stood to be milked. Bader explained to us the importance of hygiene at Yasmin Farms and therefore we weren’t allowed to walk anywhere where the cows would pass so that our shoes didn’t carry anything foreign into their territory. After the cows we visited the goats who unlike the cows needed to be lured by food to be milked as they aren’t as obedient. After the goats we went and saw the free range chickens. Free range is when the chickens can roam around freely and the chickens on Yasmin Farms are allowed to roam inside or outside the barn as they wish. Our final stop were the vegetables. I found the cabbage and lettuce fascinating since they were all being grown on little sponges.

Even though I found the farm impressive I was actually more impressed with Bader. His determination to have a clean farm producing all natural products is just amazing, he really makes me proud as a Kuwaiti. He knew the names of every employee we passed by and he is also humble enough to serve random visitors himself. Personally, after touring the farm I will now always prefer to buy their products over others.

The farm was amazing and you can go and visit it yourself every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8AM to 5PM [Map]. All their products are found at Sultan Center and you can also order online. Also make sure you check out their instagram account @albandairy

Post by Fajer Ahmed




Categories
Movies

Gravity, it’s cut but it’s ok

Gravity was finally released in Kuwait on the 17th of October, but for some odd reason it wasn’t released in IMAX (instead they chose to show some Metallica documentary in IMAX, how are they even still relevant?). Gravity can be seen in the majority of theaters in Kuwait and I highly recommend to watch it in 3D since I haven’t seen any movie make use of 3D as well as Gravity has.

Gravity has a beautifully simple premise. Two astronauts have to fight for survival after a catastrophe strikes their space shuttle mission. Alfonso Cuarón directs this brilliant movie and does a spectacular job at creating one of the most realistic space movies and possibly the best space movie ever made.

Now the problem with watching Gravity in Kuwait (besides it not being in IMAX) is the fact that two scenes were censored. One scene was briefly cut due to dialogue (which wasn’t important to the narrative) and the other scene that was cut was at the very end, the last scene to be exact. The movie was already done and the story resolved by the time that scene came about but it was still an annoyance. Would I still have watched the movie knowing about these two details? Yes. Definitely.

If you enjoy a good movie experience then you should definitely not miss this even though there are two scenes cut. Watching this movie at home wouldn’t do it any justice.

Posted by Patrick

Note: The comments below might contain spoilers so don’t read them if you haven’t watched the movie




Categories
Food & Drinks

Gia now open

I posted about Gia back in August when the place was still closed but according to their instagram account they’ve now opened up. I’m outside Kuwait right now so I’m not able to pass by but based on the photos, it looks like a cozy cafe serving pastries, salads and sandwiches.

They’ve opened in my neighborhood and in Al Khalid Complex which is why I’m so interested in the place. As I previously mentioned, I think Al Khalid Complex can turn into an amazing place. Check out Gia on Instagram [Here]

Photo on top from @sumayabb




Categories
Music

From YouTube to Arabs Got Talent


[YouTube]

I saw the video above of the “Sheyaab” performing at Arabs Got Talent on 7ajidude and I recognized them as the people who were dressing up like old men and going around Kuwait dancing Gangnam Style.


[YouTube]

Their videos were going viral and I guess they decided to take what they were doing and perform it on Arabs Got Talent. Smart although if I hear Gangnam Style playing one more time I’m going to go on a rampage.




Categories
Events

Event: Halloween Quiz at the KLT

This Halloween the Kuwait Little Theatre is holding a quiz night. The entrance fee is KD4 and it will include light refreshments, a costume contest, and a hauntingly fun evening in the KLT garden. There will also be prizes for best costume and best dressed team.

Date: Thursday, October 31st 2013
Time: 7:30PM
Location: Kuwait Little Theatre

Visit thekuwaitlittletheatre.com or call 99373678 to book your spot.




Categories
Information

The 2013 Global Slavery Index, it’s kinda bad

A few days ago The Global Slavery Index was released ranking 162 countries. The ranking was based on a combination of three factors:

– estimated prevalence of modern slavery by population
– a measure of child marriage
– a measure of human trafficking in and out of a country

A number one ranking is the worst, 160 is the best and Kuwait came in at 100 which is bad but compared to neighboring countries Kuwait did better. That’s not saying much but still, UAE ranked 88 for example while Saudi Arabia came in at 82 and Bahrain and Qater both at 86 96.

You can download the PDF with the full rankings along with more explanations and further details by clicking this [Link]