Search: “kuwait”

This is a cool site with plates from around the world. It has a collection of Kuwaiti plates including the ones that were redone by Saddam during the Gulf War. [Link]

I used to like the old Kuwait Airport since I grew up with it but like everything else in Kuwait its being modernized and not in a good way. The new airport is generic looking and doesn’t have the character of the original airport which was designed by one of the most significant architects of the 20th century, Kenzo Tange.

I was at the airport on Friday and noticed they’ve taken out the old retro looking arrival sign and replaced it with this colorful ugly LED panel. I used to really like the retro one and I wonder where it is at the moment, did they just trash it in the junk yard? Anyway if you want to check out old pictures of the Airport when it first opened like the first one in this post click [Here]

If you want to see pictures of other great architecture projects from the 70’s and 80’s check [Here]

I think Kuwait should replace the dangerous lamp posts on the Gulf Road with these flexible and much more safer ones. I posted about this 2 years ago but I didn’t have a video to accompany my post but I just found it now on YouTube so I thought I would share it with everyone. The safer lamp posts cost more but its not like Kuwait is going broke anytime soon. [YouTube]

Here is a link to my original post. [Link]

Badar Al Badoor + Motorbike helmet = Gas chamber

When I posted about the Nokia N810 the other day Cajie made me aware of a better alternative, the Asus Eee PC. I hadn’t heard of it up till then and I don’t know how since its probably the perfect portable laptop. Its tiny with a screen measuring 7inches, it has a fully QWERTY keyboard, built in wifi, built in digital camera and it boots in under 10 seconds. The laptop comes pre-installed with a version of Linux that contains firefox, open office and a bunch of other softwares although you can install Windows XP if you really want although I see no reason to. The best part? It costs only $399! I placed an order for one on Amazon but it seems like there is a waiting list. Oh and for those of you interested, my Knight Rider is in Kuwait just stuck in customs. Anyway here is the link to the Asus Eee product page on Amazon.
[Amazon Link]

Picture by dalelane

I got an email today from a reader informing me of a new burger place that opened up called Cheeburger Cheeburger. Its an American chain that opened up their first international branch here in Kuwait last month and according to their website, their burger was voted the best burger in 28 cities. The problem was where they opened up their location, Souk Salmiya. I hate that place, its probably one of the worst designed malls in Kuwait containing some of the crappiest stores and its always over crowded and parking is always nearly impossible to find. Still, I decided it might be worth the visit and so after work I headed straight to Cheeburger Cheeburger.

The place is located on the top floor in the food court and their location is surprisingly pretty big. The interior is themed like Johnny Rockets which is the 1940’s-50’s style although I doubt they copied Johnny since both restaurants launched around the same time back in 1986. When I got the menu I noticed they had a limited time special offer going on where 1/3 lb burger with fries and coke was priced at KD2.250 while everything else on the menu had 25% off. I decided to go with their combo and I ordered a side order of onion rings with dipping sauce. The way you order the burger at Cheeburger is you choose the thickness of the burger, you then choose the type of cheese you want on it (they have 8 kinds) and then you choose what toppings you want and if you want any certain sauce. I didn’t get too creative with mine since it was my first time, I just went with swiss cheese, ketchup, tomato and lettuce.

A few minutes after placing my order my coke arrived and it was in a jar! I thought that was pretty creative since I don’t recall ever getting my softdrink in anything but a cup. While waiting for my appetizers I noticed a bunch of Trivial Pursuit cards on the table near the salt and pepper shakers. At first I assumed that some kid had left them behind but then I noticed every table had a bunch of cards. Turns out they have them there for the customers to entertain themselves with while they wait for their food to arrive.

The first thing the waitress brought me were my onion rings and fries followed shortly after with my burger. The onion rings were skinny but delicious, the dipping sauce had a lot to do with it. Anyone who’s had the awesome blossom at Chili’s will recognize the sauce immediately, I love it. The fries were good but nothing to set it apart from the competition. My burger, well I can’t imagine it being voted the best burger in 28 cities. It wasn’t bad, on the contrary it was good, it just wasn’t special. Thats probably my fault though since I went pretty safe with the toppings. The bread was good, the meat was good, it was everything else in the burger that didn’t stand out. Maybe next time I could try their one pound burger, according to their website if you can finish it they would put your picture up on the wall and I can’t imagine it being that difficult to finish.

The place in general wasn’t disappointing, they had a lot of little things that made it special and thats what I liked about the place. For example nyone who’s eaten at Johnny Rockets knows how crap their paper napkins are, they are too tiny and too thin. Well at Cheeburger Cheeburger their paper napkins are kitchen paper rolls which is fantastic. I know napkins aren’t usually important in a restaurant review but I just wanted to use it as an example of the little things I am talking about. My biggest disappointment in the place is the location and location is everything. I hate Souk Salmiya and I know I am not the only one. If Cheeburger Cheeburger was open at say Marina Mall or in Jahra then I would go back again over and over but sadly I doubt I would go back to Souk Salmiya unless I really had to. If it was located anywhere else it would most probably get a 4 out of 5 but because its in Souk Salmiya I am giving it a 3. My bill came out to be KD3.150 which I think is a steal. You can check out their menu by clicking [Here]

I passed by the animals section of Friday Market today and it was sickening. I hate going there and it had been a really long time since I was last there but I was curious to see if things had changed. They haven’t.

Isn’t there an animal care and control bureau here in Kuwait? Look at the picture of the dog above, it was spray painted, had strange stains all over him and what looks like wounds from a dog fight. Why doesn’t the government or animal bureau do anything about it?

The Stallion commented in my previous Kuwait motor show post that Fouad Al-Ghanim will be bringing Spyker to Kuwait and they will have cars at the exhibition. I checked the Spyker website and it confirms that they WILL be at the exhibition so thats going to be pretty cool. [Link]

A new trailer is out for Cloverfield and it practically confirms there is a monster… although we still can’t see it. The release date is coming up quickly and if we are lucky it will get released in Kuwait the same time as the US. I was just checking the Cinescape website and The Matador just got released here.. two years behind so you never know. [Trailer]

So Amazon just released the Kindle which according to them is what the iPod is to music, the Kindle is to books and magazines. It looks really ugly but the concept is really strong and I think has a lot of potential. You purchase books and subscribe to magazines and newspapers through the Kindle device and it all works wirelessly without the need of a computer or Internet connection. The problem is the device connects wirelessly using EV-DO which I know very little about and I doubt works here in Kuwait. You can check out the Amazon page for more information and better pictures. [Amazon]

Kuwait is fourth and Saudi Arabia is first. [Link]

I just got the following email which I found strange since not only is the event in a few hours but its also being held nearly at the same time as the premier of the movie Sharq.

Dear Lovers of cinema,

The Embassy of the Republic of Poland, in cooperation with the Kuwait Cine Club, has the pleasure to invite You to the screening of the film “In the name of” directed by Beata Hughes.

The event will take place at the premises of the Kuwait Cine Club (map enclosed) on Sunday, November 18th at 7 p.m.

The film tells a story of three women and their struggles on the path to fulfillment and happiness. Its aim is to indicate that every human being has a potential that can develop into a passion, individual’s fight against the odds and standing up to mediocrity. One can also give up one’s dreams and follow the crowd’s expectations.

The film could be described as minimalist, with hidden meanings, surreal and open for interpretation.

During the event a discussion with film’s director and cameraman are planned.

Hope to see You on Sunday evening,

Best regards,

Watch the trailer [Here]

I am back in Kuwait after what surprisingly was an exhausting weekend. The Gulf Run was incredibly fun and the guys were all really entertaining on and off the track. Everyone either knew everybody else or had one friend in common at least. I think in total there were either 22 or 24 cars that raced on the track ranging from Porsches and Nobles to a Murcielago and a Ford GT 40. My favorite car probably has to be the yellow RUF which although didn’t participate on the race track did participate in the drag race.

Although the event wasn’t held in Kuwait it was a Kuwaiti event and like the Red Bull Flugtag that was held a few weeks ago, its good we have these events happening in Kuwait. We really need more of these events and we REALLY need a race track here in Kuwait. I would like to thank the organizers of Gulf Run for putting it all together and the sponsors who helped made it happen including Magic, Agility, Huper Optik and U Shop We Ship.

I took around 80 pictures at the event trying my best to capture the moments, the people and the cars. In this post I have only 7 pictures, I might post some more again later but the majority of my pictures have people in them and those I will only be sharing with the Gulf Run participants. I will go through my pictures again and see what else I could post but you can enjoy these for now.

More pictures [Here]

One of the guys purchased a brand new RUF today, its one of the worlds most exotic cars and now its going to drag race on its first outing. Welcome to Kuwait. (Posted from my Nokia e61i)

I’ve been wanting to try out Ricardo ever since I was a kid. I used go have lunch at Al Hambra Restaurant with my family before the Gulf War and when I was done I would wonder around the large hotel lobby and then all the way to the back where Ricardo is located and it always looked mysterious and a place for grownups. Fast forward to the present, I no longer pass by Sheraton as much since there are a lot more restaurants available in Kuwait and more competitively priced. But, when I do pass by its always back to Al Hambra where they have one of my favorite buffets in Kuwait. Yesterday night though I decided to break my routine and finally go and try Ricardo.

I made reservations earlier in the day and we got there on time and were quickly seated in a non-smoking section as I had requested. Problem is like every other restaurant in Kuwait, all the best tables are in the smoking section. Still, ours wasn’t bad and we had a good view of the live band that was playing. When we got the menu I realized they had a much larger variety of dishes then I had expected. I was expecting a small menu with a few appetizers and a handful of main courses but instead I was greeted with two pages of appetizers, around eight pages of main courses and two pages of specials. Too many choices. In the end we settled for fried calamari and prawns and cream of mushroom soup for starters, then I had the salmon tortelloni for my main course while Nat went with the giant prawn ravioli.

Our starters didn’t take too long to arrive and when they did I was surprised by the quantity. They aren’t stingy thats for sure. The mushroom soup was one of the best I’ve ever had and the calamari and prawns was also really great. The tartar sauce that came with the calamari and prawns was the same one they use at Al Hambra which is what I use as a basis for all tartar sauces, its just delicious. So far I wasn’t disappointed.

Soon after our main courses arrived and thats where I wasn’t impressed. My tortelloni sounded a lot better in writing, salmon stuffed tortelloni covered with a creamy sauce containing two types of caviar and salmon and prawns on the side. The sauce though wasn’t that great and since the sauce was one of the primary sources of flavor the end result was a good dish but nothing special. Nats ravioli was also just good but the problem with her dish was that it was over priced mostly because the prawns weren’t really giant.

We didn’t have dessert although I was tempted to but as I said earlier, their food quantity is good and so we were really full by the end of our meal. Overall the experience was good, the music although not my style suited the candle lit table and the service was excellent as expected. The price on the other hand I have mixed feelings about. Our starters, the calamari and prawns cost KD6 while the mushroom soup cost KD3.5 which I think is very fair for both dishes. My main course the salmon tortelloni cost KD12 which isn’t too bad either. Nats dish on the other hand, the giant prawns ravioli was for KD15 which I think is over priced, it should also have been KD12. Over all the prices are a lot more decent then I was expecting them to be. Most of the pastas on the menu were under KD10 while the main courses ranged in prices from KD12 to KD20 with only one lobster dish costing KD35. In the end though I am going to have to give it a rating of 3.5 out of 5. Maybe if we had ordered different main courses the score could have been as high as a 4.5 but based on what we had and not on what we could have had plus the fact that I didn’t think the prawn ravioli should have cost that much, 3.5 is what I am forced to give it. I will be going back again thats for sure if I can pull myself away from Al Hambra that is.