Search: “salmiya”

There is a new roller skating rink opening soon in Salmiya called the Roller Hub. They haven’t opened yet but they’ve already stirred up controversy with their prices:

1 Hour – KD20
45 Mins – KD15
30 Mins – KD10
15 Mins – KD5

Their post has over 100 comments calling them out on the over-the-top pricing. To put it in perspective, you can go ice skating for 1.5 hours for just KD5. Check them out @rollerhubkw

Also found the video above that gives a sneak peek look at the rink.

Wiyak is a new cab booking app similar to Uber. I’ve previously posted about a number of similar premium rides apps including Grand Limo, Draewil and Rove. Draewil and Rove were the two I was using the most until Draewil closed down which sucked because I prefer having more than one app to pick from since I usually go with the one that will arrive the fastest to me.

I don’t really use cabs much only when I’m picking up or dropping a car off at my garage. Every now and then I might use them if I have a meeting somewhere in the city where I know the parking situation is a mess. What I like about these premium ride apps is that they obviously make ordering a cab an easy process but I also like the fact the cars are premium since I end up looking forward to the comfotable ride. Last week I decided to try Wiyak out when I needed to pick up my car from the garage and it’s everything I’ve grown to expect from these services.

The Wiyak app is pretty much similar to Rove and simple to use, there was also a cab nearby so I had to wait less than 10 minutes to get picked up. The car was a new Mercedes S Class so nice and fancy, and the price was pretty much the same as Rove. Not sure what else to say. I don’t think they’re bringing anything new to the table, but I like the fact I’m back to having two apps to pick from.

My trip from Salmiya to Al-Rai cost KD6.720 which is pretty much exactly the same I paid for the same trip with Rove. If you’re a Rove customer and like me are looking for a Plan B when you need a cab urgently, download the Wiyak app by visiting wiyak.com

I like how everything is starting to come back again, it’s definitely giving me a sense that life is getting back to normal. Just as Staged in Kuwait is coming back, NFL Kuwait events are also coming back for this new season. They’ll be announcing details on their instagram soon but for now, they’ve released a complementary schedule poster that has all the season games in Kuwait local time.

If you want to pick up a poster, they’re available at Rite Cafe in Cube Mall, Salmiya from 10:00am to 3:00pm. There is a limited number of posters available and so there is a limit of one poster per fan. To stay posted on the NFL Kuwait activities, follow their Instagram account @nflkuwait

If you’re looking for a fun activity to do, the Kuwait Bowling Club in Salmiya has reopened again. The bowling alley which is one of the largest in the region with 48 regular bowling lanes and 10 VIP lanes originally opened in the summer of 2019, but then closed down during the pandemic. Now it’s open again but only for those who have been vaccinated.

The price has also gone up slightly, it’s now 3KD per game per person (previously 2KD) while the VIP is 5KD (previously 4KD). Their opening hours are from 8:30AM to 1AM and for more info on the club, check out my previous post here.

It’s been a while since I put together a breakfast list and since my last list, some new places opened up, some closed down because of the pandemic, and some just stopped serving breakfast due to lack of staff. Below is the latest list I’ve put together along with their breakfast timings (note: breakfast timings, not operating hours). This is also not a list of every single place that serves breakfast in Kuwait, this is a curated list. If there is a restaurant you think should be added here, let me know in the comments.

My two go-to places are still Cocoa Room and Baker & Spice but check out the whole list below:

Angelina
9:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Baker & Spice
Weekdays: 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Weekends: 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Bakehaus
8:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Cocoa Room
8:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Dar Hamad
8:00 AM – 12:15 PM

Cheesecake Factory
Friday & Saturday: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Frankie’s
9:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Gia
Avenues: 7:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Avenues)
City / Salmiya: 6:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Ladurée
9:00 AM – 10:00 PM

Lazy Cat
Weekdays: 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Weekends: 7:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Lunch Room
360 Mall: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
City: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Madeleine
Wednesday to Saturday: 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Madison & Heig
8:00 AM – 12:45 PM

Magma
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Mana
Avenues: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

The Breakfast Club
6:30 AM – 3:30 PM

The Early Bird
Crystal Tower: 7:15 AM – 2:30 PM
Jabriya: 5 AM – 3:30 PM

The Kind Ones
6:00 AM – 6:00 PM

The Social Table
8:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Notably absent: Johnny Rockets, Barba, Bouchon, Princi and LeNotre. I couldn’t get a hold of them.

I have such a long to-do list of places to try but honestly, just haven’t been in the mood to pass by and try most of them. Since my list isn’t getting any smaller, I’m just going to share it here in case anyone else is looking for a new place to try:

Bakehaus – They just opened up at The View Mall
Bob’s Drive-In – Burger place with branding thats a bit too similar to Big Boy
Bonjiri – A yakitori spot by the chef behind Tampopo
Deep Dish – A deep dish pizza place (might be an alternative to Boccini)
Its Hidden – A secret restaurant that seems over priced
Koto – New Japanese delivery concept
Madeleine – A brunch concept thats open only on weekends
Pb – Just opened and serving both pizza and burgers
PETE’S – Another pizza place but this one serves NY style
Phet Phet – A thai food concept thats delivery only and the only place on the list that I’ve actually tried. I like it and think they might have the best Pad Thai ever.
Top Notch – Another burger place, this one near AUK in Salmiya

Anything else new? Let me know in the comments.

Why are sidewalks so disliked in Kuwait? As a person that likes to walk to places, especially since I live in a commercial area, I find it so frustrating that I can’t walk one street down my apartment building unless I’m willing to walk through garbage bins, a sandy lot, and on the street with cars racing by. But this isn’t new, it’s always been like this and nobody cares obviously or else sidewalks would have been an important part of the urban planning. What is new is the fact there was an important and heavily used sidewalk a couple of blocks down from where I live which recently got removed. The issue is that they didn’t provide the pedestrians with an alternative sidewalk and this has now created a pretty dangerous situation.

Right outside the Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre (Map), there was a sidewalk that runs from the inside road, around the museums, and then connects to the Gulf Road. It was a heavily used sidewalk because it’s the only road that connects the densely populated neighborhood with the Gulf Road while also connecting Salmiya to Shaab. But, due to construction work taking place there, they temporarily (I hope it’s temporary) removed the sidewalk to make more room for the cars. And that’s fine, except for the fact they didn’t temporarily provide an alternative route for pedestrians. So pedestrians are continuing to take that route (to get home or get to the Gulf Road), but now instead of walking on the sidewalk, they’re forced to walk on the road with cars speeding by dangerously. At night the strip is also poorly lit making it even more dangerous.

I’ve seen families walking on the road, young teens, and employees heading to or from work. I wouldn’t be surprised if there haven’t already been multiple incidents where pedestrians were hit by cars on this strip. Hopefully, someone reading this post can help sort this problem or let me know who to even complain about something like this even though I doubt they would care.

According to the latest Speedtest Global Index, Kuwait’s 5G speeds ranks 7th fastest in the world but behind neighbouring countries UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Norway had the fastest. According to the index, Kuwait’s 5G speeds average is 338.97 Mbps which sounds about right compared to how fast my 5G is.

When I first got 5G I was averaging 700 Mbps but over the years it’s slowed down to an average of around 200 Mbps for me. To check out the full article, click here.

Thanks K 🍪

Layla is a new Lebanese gourmet grocery store that opened up in Salmiya opposite Marks & Spencer. They carry a lot of imported Lebanese products ranging from Bonjous and Master Chips (Lebanese equivalent to Sunkist and Kitco), to Lebanese dairy products, fruits, bread, pickles and more.

It’s actually very similar to the other Lebanese store Lama, except instead of the Lama branded products Layla carries their own brand. If you want to check the place out they’re on Instagram @laylalbkw and here is their location on Google Maps.

A couple of weeks ago while flipping through an old newspaper I accidently found a Kids ‘r’ us 1-year anniversary ad. So right away I thought to myself, if I go back one year then I’ll most likely find the original opening ads, and I did! I found the pre-opening ads, the grand opening ad, and a few more and uploaded them all onto Flickr to be downloaded freely in full resolution.

Kids ‘r’ us officially opened on November 10th, 1983. According to the ads it was the largest toy store in the region at that time with over 10,000 toys. The original store was located in Dajeej near where Sears is right now. That location was destroyed during the 1990 invasion but post-invasion they had a smaller store in old Salmiya where Xcite is at the moment. Kids ‘r’ us was an Alghanim Industries concept, the same Alghanim that has Xcite and Chevrolet today.

If you want to check all the ads out, click here.

There is a cute little Filipino bakery down the street from where I live in Salmiya called Lailas Bakery. It’s a tiny place but they carry a good variety of Filipino baked goods including Cassava Cake, Chicken Asado, Ube Cheese Rolls, Putok, Ensaymada’s and a bunch of other things I also have no idea what they are. But there are two things I’ve had from there which were delicious, Pandesal which is Filipino bread rolls, and Spanish Bread which is bread that has a sweet, buttery paste in the center.

So if like me you love carbs and want to try something different, pass by and pick up something. Their instagram is @lailas_bakery55080728 and here is their location on Google Maps.

Last year when I asked for recommendations on favorite shawerma places, nobody mentioned Ebn 3my but it’s recently become my favorite place.

I think what I like about them the most is the bread they use. It’s freshly baked and similar to Shakir except it’s smaller and slightly fluffier. I only have the chicken shawerma and their garlic is also pretty on point. Because of the smaller unusual size I tend to have 4 shawermas although sometimes I could do with only 3.

The price of the shawerma is 550fils which is pretty reasonable in this day of age where a lot places are hovering closer to the 1KD mark. They have two locations, one in Jabriya and one in Salmiya according to their Instagram but google maps is showing a location in Sabah Al Salem too so 🤷🏼‍♂️

The only downside is they don’t have juices but other than that they’re great. You can check them out on Instagram @ebn_3my

Found some old photos of Video Club in Salmiya I had taken back in 2011 before it closed down. Cassettes were being sold for 500fils and CD’s for 1KD.

At this point the store had shrunk to half the size and I don’t think the video rental upstairs still was around then.

A friend of mine is looking to get a digital camera so I suggested they check out Fujifilm. Before the pandemic, there was a Fujifilm store down the street from my place inside another store called Fisher that belonged to Boushahri Group (the Fuji dealers). I think Fisher was a brand that Boushahri had back in the 70s and they decided to revive it again since I’ve come across Fisher ads while flipping through really old newspapers. Anyway since the pandemic started the Fisher store has been closed and I think permanently.

The good news is that Fujifilm now has its own dedicated store located inside Boulevard Mall. The store has been open for around two months and they carry most if not all the Fujifilm cameras and lenses. All the cameras are also on display and you can play around with them and try them out which is great. I think we spent around half an hour yesterday trying the different cameras and we didn’t feel any pressure to buy something or to stop which was great.

If you want to check out Fujifilm cameras, the store is located in Boulevard Mall in Salmiya, on the top floor near Sultan Center. Their Instagram account is also @fujifilm_kuwait

There is this really great grills restaurant in the Salmiya Co-op mall that’s been there since the early 80s. What caught my attention the first time I saw it a few years ago was the cool-looking vintage sign outside the shop. It’s a really tiny place with just 4 tables and caters mostly to takeaway. They have Lebanese-style kebab and grills and it’s very affordable. The Kebab plate is 1.250 for 5 skewers, and hummus is 500fils.

The reason I’m posting about this place is the other day while having dinner there I realized something. Nearly everyone working there was over 60 years old. The waiter looks like he’s in his late 70s or 80s and the other staff not that far behind. With the new law that was implemented last year deporting expats over 60 without degrees, none of the staff at the place would remain. I thought it was pretty sad since most of them have probably been working there together like a small family since forever. Now because of the new law, they’d all be forced to separate and leave.

Even the chai haleeb guy in the shop across from the grill’s place is over 60 years old and would also have to leave. It’s so upsetting!

All these old staff you see at your favorite old-school restaurants aren’t going to be there for long. So pass by and appreciate them and the experience before it’s too late.