Search: “kuwait”

Since Mark is back on his strict diet he asked to review a Chinese place called China Garden. I really enjoy good Chinese food but when it comes to Chinese take-out in Kuwait I’ve become quite skeptical with the options we have. I’ve tried a bunch of places and there doesn’t seem to be one that really stands out, a place that serves good Chinese food that isn’t overly greasy and that isn’t overly expensive.

China Garden is a place that has been around for a while (it’s located next to Showbiz/Holiday Inn), but was purchased by two Kuwaiti restaurateurs, revamped and reopened around a week ago. There are a few things that make China Garden stand out from their competitors. First off, they’re “Green”, meaning they’ve gotten rid of all their styrofoam boxes, got rid of the majority of plastics and aluminum and replaced them with paper take out boxes that are made here in Kuwait. Their plastic bags have been replaced with fully recycled and biodegradable brown paper while they ditched their plastic eating utensils and replaced them with sustainable bamboo forks and knives. Even their menu’s are made from recycled material.

When I usually order Chinese take-out I like to place an order for an appetizer, a chicken dish, a beef dish, and some noodles. I typically finish all the food on my own so when it came time to ordering from China Garden I decided to go with Sweet Corn Chicken Soup, Shrimp Spring Rolls, Orange Chicken, Beef Black Pepper, Mixed Noodles and Nutella Wontons for dessert (who can say no to anything Nutella?). The first thing that struck me once the food arrived is that there is no way I could eat all this food by myself. Their quantities are pretty big and the food I ordered could have easily fed two or three people and definitely not just one person. I basically had a lot of food leftover for dinner.

The food was generally pretty good and I did’t have any complaints. The soup wasn’t too watery and wasn’t too sweet with a good mix of chicken and corn. The Shrimp Spring Rolls were 6 decent sized pieces and they were nice and crunchy. The Orange Chicken was the most impressive, the dish is sweet and spicy and cames mixed with orange peels, chili peppers, ginger and chicken. It looked really appetizing. My “safe” dish that I always order is Beef Black Pepper because it’s really difficult to screw up a simple dish like this. China Garden’s Beef Black Pepper was pretty juicy, the beef wasn’t overly cooked and it wasn’t too saucy. My only complaint is that there were way too many large pieces of onions, something which they can easily fix (and should do so). The Mixed Noodles were the last things I ate and I found them neither bland or greasy and actually hit the spot quite nicely. Finally the Nutella Wontons were the perfect way to end the meal, the moment you bite down on the crunchy wonton you’ll be welcomed with the taste of delicious Nutella, not to the point where it feels like you’re drowning in chocolate, but enough to satisfy your Nutella urges.

The total for my meal was KD10.700 which seems like a lot for one person but like I previously said this meal could easily feed two or three people (if not more) and if I had two other friends over, it’d come out to around KD3 per person, which seems like a really reasonable price to pay for the quality of food you’re getting. I would definitely order again from China Garden, they have a decent sized menu with a lot of choices, not to the point where you feel overwhelmed but enough where they can satisfy everyone’s needs.

They’re open Saturday to Wednesday from 12PM to 12AM and Thursdays and Fridays from 2PM to 2AM. To order you can call them on 25720010 or 25720070. They’re also available on 6alabat.

Posted by Patrick.

The same friend who shot the picture of the “Desert Dance Floor” also shot the video above he took at one of the campsites. That’s a lot of crap all over the place and surprisingly it’s not an isolated incident. It’s like not one single camper cleaned up after themselves. [Link]

Zaydoun hadn’t posted on his blog for over a year but he came back today with a simple and legitimate question aimed towards the expat community… Why are you still here? It’s an honest and curious question and he doesn’t mean it in the if you don’t like it get the hell out kinda way. With all the problems in Kuwait what keeps you here? Here is why I’m still here:

I’m an expat but I grew up here so I don’t see myself as an expat although Kuwaitis do. This is my home. I’ve lived here all my life so even if there are a lot of problems I stay and deal with it. I adapt and I get used to it. Sometimes things really piss me off which is when I come here on the blog and rant but most of the time I just take it all in and try to ignore the problems. There’s always the “hope” that things will get better (although with the way things are going I’m finding it harder to believe that).

I’m not Kuwaiti but I do feel frustrated in the same way many Kuwaitis do. When I see all the trash scattered all around my area in Salmiya its really depressing and frustrating because with all the money available why isn’t Salmiya cleaner? When I see people running red lights in front of the cops I find it frustrating because again with all the money available why don’t we have better law enforcement. I guess it’s unfair to connect everything with money but I believe everything can be solved with money and since we have a lot of it here we shouldn’t have any of these issues.

But, with all these problems, as an expat I have to say one of the most frustrating things is the fact I can’t get a permanent residency. I’ve lived here for over 30 years and my visa still gets renewed year by year. If I want to quit my job and take a break I can’t. No job means no visa and I’m out just like that. I think that’s extremely unfair.

Anyway check out Zaydoun’s post on his blog and tell him why you are still here. I’m curious to read all the answers as well. [Link]

Are there any schools in Kuwait that teach Chinese as part of the curriculum? When I was in school French, Italian, German and Spanish were all languages I could learn if I wanted to but really it actually makes more sense to have kids today learn Chinese.

Last week I was lucky enough to visit the Kitco factory. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since it’s a brand I grew up with plus I’m a huge fan of the show “How it’s made“. Before taking the tour I met with Jassim Al-Wazzan who told me how it all started.

Back in the early 1950’s Jassim Al-Wazzan senior decided to open up a small grocery store at the age of just 15 in the old Kuwaiti souk (now called Souk Al Mubarkia). He had the only Kuwaiti owned grocery store so when the old women used to come to shop, they’d see 15 year old Jassim and feel nationalistic pride. They all started shopping at Jassim’s grocery store and with time his business started to grow.

Around that time, he met an Indian by the name of B.R. Oberoi. They formed a strong friendship and partnered in one of the many grocery stores Jassim Al-Wazzan had acquired by then. One of the stores most popular products was a snack that used to come from Iran called Pufak. Because the item was coming all the way from Iran the item sometimes ran out of stock or the prices fluctuated. So Mr Oberoi went to Jassim and told him they should make their own and so using technology brought from the Dutch, the Kuwait Indo Trading Company (Kitco) was established. Today three generations later the two families still are partners and good friends.

So the big question, how are the Kitco potato chips made? Turns out it’s a very simple process. I took pictures of all the steps so you can check it out below.

Last month I posted about the National Youth Project and yesterday their website and identity was launched. It’s only in Arabic and you can check it out by visiting [youth.org.kw]

A friend of mine recently ordered a camera lens from the website DigitalRev (made famous by the very entertaining Kai) and had it shipped directly to Kuwait. It cost him less than the Amazon price, they included free FedEx shipping, it was delivered to him in just 4 days, he paid only KD12 customs fee AND the lens included local warranty. How cool is that?

Here are some more details regarding the whole thing:

Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G Lens
Kuwait: KD603
Amazon: KD525
DigitalRev: KD476

If he placed the order on Amazon he would have had to pay the 8% NY tax, then the Aramex shipping fee to Kuwait plus local customs and the package would have taken around 10 days to get here. He also wouldn’t have any local warranty.

On the other hand he paid KD476 to order it from DigitalRev, he didn’t have to pay tax neither did he have to pay any shipping fees. They shipped it for him from Hong Kong to Kuwait directly via FedEx and it took 4 days from the day he placed the order for the lens to be in his hands. In addition FedEx handled the customs and he had to pay only KD12 in total. Now more importantly DigitalRev will offer you warranty for your lens in Kuwait. The way it works is if the item is defective, you take it to the local dealer who will give you the estimate for the repair. You then send the estimate to DigitalRev who will approve it (based on warranty conditions).

I’m actually surprised at how easy and convenient this is. From now on if I ever need anything photography related that’s too expensive locally I’m just going to order it from them. Here is their [Website]

Thanks Cajie

There are 5 cars I’d like to own one day and #5 on the list is the Datsun Skyline GTR and if you’re a fan as well then you’ll be interested to know there’s one currently for sale on Q8car. BUT… the owner wants KD25,000 for it. You can check out the listing over [Here]

While we’re on the subject of old cars below is a picture taken this weekend by InfiniteDriver of another cool oldie, the Datsun 510.

Update: Forgot to add that Datsun is actually making a comeback although they’ve now got a new logo. I would rather they kept their old one. [Link]

I think it’s their smallest store in Kuwait. Just remembered they have the much smaller Marina Mall branch.

Kuwaiti rapper Big D is back with a new music video and this time it’s a lot tamer than his previous one. My guess is the amount of negative comments from his previous video led him to go with this less fun and safer route. At least the other video was more fun to watch. [YouTube]

Me Blogging posted about the Bayt Lothan Photography Club Exhibition and going by her pictures it looks like there are some really great work. You can check out her post [Here]

If you want to check out the exhibition yourself here is where the exhibition will be on the following dates:

April 2nd and 3rd: Australian College of Kuwait Campus
April 6th and 7th: The Avenues
April 10th and 11th: American University of Kuwait

There’s a news story on Sheik Jassim Al Wathiqi in British “The Sun” tabloid. It seems they found it interesting and newsworthy that Jassim’s son likes to fall asleep when his dad takes him out in the 458 Spider. You can read the article [Here]

You can also watch the video below of Sheik Jassim driving around Kuwait in the Spider. It’s such a beautiful car.

[YouTube]

Thanks InfiniteDriver

The Midnight Oreo Pancakes is now available for breakfast at Cocoa Room. Previously these pancakes were only an option for dinner but I personally believe it works better for breakfast. It’s really really good.

A Ferris wheel was built at the Bayt Abdullah Children’s Care Hospice in Kuwait after children at the hospice expressed a wish to visit Disneyland. As this was not possible, it was decided a Ferris wheel would fit the bill, as it could be enjoyed by a child in a wheelchair. [Source]

I just checked out pictures of the hospice and it looks really great. Click on anyone of the thumbnails on the following page to check out all the pictures of Bayt Abdullah. [Link]

Two weeks back I briefly posted the photo above and spoke about a Kuwaiti resistance fighter who had survived an Iraqi execution during the 1990 invasion and was hidden in that home. Well I got to meet the guy today and I heard the full story which I thought was extremely interesting to share. He wants to remain anonymous so I will be calling him Hamad in the story.

During the 1990 invasion Hamad and his friends became part of the Kuwaiti resistance. Once night one of the friends went missing while transporting some ammunition. No one knew what happened to him but 12 days later Iraqi soldiers came looking for Hamad and his friends. Their friend turned out had been captured and tortured. The soldiers captured Hamad and his friends and took them to a detention center in Jahra. For the first three days they were left blind folded sitting on the floor of a corridor with their hands tied behind their backs. Soldiers walking by would kick them and they were left without food. They were then moved to cells and they were tortured for two weeks straight.

After two weeks they were told that orders were issued to set them free and they would all be going home. Hamad and his friends along with a few other prisoners were shoved into a small van blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs. One of the prisoners blindfold was loose so he could see where they were going and kept updating the rest of the guys sitting in the back of the van. Finally they arrived to Dasman palace and the doors of the van were opened. The Iraqis told them they would be splitting them into groups and dropping them off based on location. First location was the city and Hamad and his two other friends told the soldier they lived there. So three of them still blind folded and chained where put into a rear seat of a car and driven to the city. On the way the Iraqi soldier driving was asking them questions like what was the first thing they would do when freed and how they were feeling now that they were being freed etc..

Finally they get to the address of one of the guys and they all get taken out of the car. The Iraqi soldiers then force them down to their knees. Hamad hears one of the soldiers loading a weapon so he realized what was about to happen. He starts praying loudly when the soldier fires a bullet into the head of his friend. Hamad realizing he was about to die next decides he wants to die quickly and so lowers his chin so that the bullet goes through the back of his head. As he does that the soldier fires the gun and the bullet hits Hamad’s head and he falls down face first onto the floor. The third bullet gets fired and his friend goes down. Hamad heard that shot and realized he was still alive. The bullet had grazed him. Then to make sure all three were dead the Iraqi soldier fired a second bullet into Hamad’s friend on his left. The soldier then fired a second bullet into Hamad’s head but the bullet again miraculously grazed him again. Finally the soldier fired a bullet into the second friend and then unchained the three of them and left them dead.

At first Hamad thought they must have used fake blood and bullets just to scare them. He whispered to his two friends to stay down and not to move until they were sure the Iraqis had left. A few moments later he got up and was still out of it. He hadn’t really absorbed what had happened. He put his hands in the blood and realized it was warm. He smelled it and then felt his head and realized it was all real. He had survived an execution.

Hamad’s two friends passed away that day but Hamad managed to find help from a Kuwaiti family in one of the houses nearby who stitched him up and then hid him in an abandoned house who’s door is pictured on top of this post. It’s a very chilling story but one I thought had to be shared.

If you haven’t already done so please make sure you check out the evidence.org.kw where you can find photos of the destruction of Kuwait by Iraqi forces during the 1990 invasion. The photo above is from there and taken by Dr Adel Al-Yousifi.