2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003We found 713 results for your search.
Here’s a feel-good post to cap off the week. A new cafe opened up in Salmiya called 3-12 and it’s run by adults with special needs. The cafe is located on the first floor of Dalal Mall, the same mall as Sky Cinemas and located across Zahra Complex. You can also check them out on Instagram @cafe_312
After picking up a coffee make sure you pass by Kane Mochi and pick up some ice cream.
Good Game, the popular tabletop gaming store is finally allowed to have in-game play at their store again. The only provision is that you need to be vaccinated to do so. If you are vaccinated then you will need to show your green vaccinated status on the Immune app to play or participate in any events at the store.
If you previously missed the announcement, Good Game moved to Salmiya into a much larger space. Make sure you check out their Instagram @goodgamekw
This year’s curfew was completely different from last year’s. I think mostly because there was less fear since we’ve all been dealing with Covid for the past year and are more informed on it, while last year the whole thing was still a mystery.
One thing I noticed this year was how every area had different activities going on like at one point I think Surra had a carnival during curfew. In Salmiya once the cars disappeared everyone came to the old souk where I live and turned the streets to mini badminton courts. I didn’t post about it on my social media or on the blog at that time because I didn’t want to bring it any unwanted attention, but it was so much fun. There were even mini badminton courts drawn in chalk all over the streets. It was kinda like a block party.
What did your neighborhood do during curfew?
Yesterday I uploaded some old photos of Family Bookshop to Flickr which I had taken back in 2011 before they closed down. I had always assumed that the Salmiya location of Family Bookshop was the first and only branch but turns out that wasn’t the case,
The Family Bookshop started off as bible shops around the region by the Danish Missionary Society with the one in Kuwait opening up in 1910. But in the 60s, as part of their literature mission they decided to build a new concept called the Family Bookshop Group (FBG) with the following objectives:
From what I could gather there were two Family Bookshops in Kuwait. One at the American Mission Hospital (now the Amricani Culture Center) which opened in 1969 and pictured at the very top of this post. Then there was a second branch located in Salmiya which also opened up in 1969 (pictured above).
I think it was Salmiya because in the photo above taken outside their 1969 location, the building in the background on the far right of the photo looks like the building in Salmiya which the Family Bookshop we know was located in. I believe the building they were in got demolished so they moved to the location across the street in 1971 (pictured below).
The Salmiya Family Bookshop which most of us know eventually closed down in February 2013 when they were evicted from their premises and the building demolished.
The store manager at that time who you might recognize if you were a regular was Jaswinder Singh. He joined Family Bookshop in 1979 as a part time accountant before eventually become the manager. He’s now retired and back in India, but his daughter runs the bookstore @little_bees_books
I managed to find a bunch of incredible photos of the Family Bookshop in Kuwait in the 60s on the University of Southern California library website. I’ve uploaded them all to Flickr and you can view them here.
Also if you want to check out photos of Family Bookshop Salmiya before they closed down, click here.
Update: This post was updated with more information and the closing down date was adjusted from 2012 to 2013.
A few days ago Mahmoud Alghanim, a pioneer in the local restaurant industry sadly passed away. Mahmoud was the creator of the popular pizza concept “Pizza Italia” as well as the Italian concept “Prego”. Considering the popularity of the concepts, there is oddly very little information on the brands online which is why I was always hoping to meet him so I could document his story and make it available to everyone.
From what I gather, Pizza Italia opened sometime in the mid-80s (1984?) and had at least 16 locations. They were open at least till 2005 since that’s when I took the photo above.
Prego, on the other hand, I found the CV of their executive chef “Luca Umberto Voncini” online so I have a bit more information. Based on his CV they opened their first location in Dalal Complex in Salmiya in 1993 and then closed it in 1995. This was the same location where their Pizza Italia branch was previously located. They had two other Prego locations, one in Mangaf and one in Kuwait City. Those opened up in 1996 and closed in 1997.
Both concepts were under the mother company “Arab Food Service Co.”
An accident in front of Pizza Italia Riqqa Coop branch in 1987.
I’ve started scouring the internet to try and find as many photos, commercials, and information related to the brands so I can put them all under one post. If you have ANYTHING related to both brands, a menu, a business card, anything no matter how insignificant you think it is please let me know.
Tidbit: The popular Pizza Italia commercial above was filmed in Salmiya, in the old souk on Salem Al Mubarak Street. It was directed by Nick Cate on a hand-cranked 16mm Bolex camera. The music was composed by an Egyptian composer called Mohammed Al Banna. The actor running in the commercial is a Lebanese actor but I don’t have his name.
Update: Managed to get some dates!
Pizza Italia opened in 1983 with its first store in Daiya. They ended up closing the whole brand in 2005.
Prego opened in 1993 with its first store in Salmiya, Rabih Building (now demolished), followed by another store on the Gulf Road in Sharq. Prego also closed down in 2005.
Last month I posted about some “Cats Protection” shelters I spotted in Salmiya. Turns out they’re made by @q8wood4 and are sold for KD20 each. The shelter is 80cm wide, 50cm deep and 50cm tall, it features two openings for cats to get in, a carpeted interior, and a removable roof.
I’m thinking of getting a couple for my neighborhood just need to figure out where I can place them. It’s a very simple and useful idea, I like it. If you want to order one yourself check out @q8wood4.
Thanks Mariam
Simple fixes 4th Ring Road pic.twitter.com/H8FWGXMNg8
— Asseel Al-Ragam (@a_alragam) April 5, 2021
Local architect Asseel Al-Ragam has been posting a series of “Simple Fixes” for different parts of Kuwait on Twitter. It really wouldn’t take much to improve the different places and her animated series is a way of showing that.
Simple Fixes Salmiya II pic.twitter.com/fUmEUSR76i
— Asseel Al-Ragam (@a_alragam) April 11, 2021
She’s done a few so far including ones for the 4th Ring Road, Kuwait City and even Salmiya. Check them out here.
Thank Zaydoun
I recently found out about a really good Iraqi kebab restaurant in Salmiya which I decided to try out. Iraqi kebab is different from Persian kebab in that it’s generally not as fatty so you don’t have the same strong aftertaste that stays with you the whole day. It’s lighter which is why I prefer it. The restaurant name roughly translates to the “special (or unique) Iraqi kebab restaurant”, and I think they’ve been open since 2016 since that’s when their Instagram account opened up.
It’s a small little place located in the neighborhood that lies between Restaurant Street and Souk Salmiya. I ordered the normal kebab plate which comes with three skewers, grilled tomato and their freshly baked bread. The kebab meat was tender, tasty and didn’t leave any bad aftertaste. The bread which I think is Egyptian or Egyptian style is baked fresh in store.
Two kebab plates and a side of hummus came out to KD5.750. Due to the pandemic dine-in is closed so you’re either gonna have to eat it while it’s nice and hot in the car, or do takeaway. Their Instagram account is @kabab_iraki and here is their location on Google Maps.
I’ve previously mentioned a place in the city where they still develop film but 35mm.kw has compiled a list of other studios around Kuwait where you can develop film. I’ve copy-pasted his list below but check out his website if you want to know their prices:
Shamia Studio
Location: Shamia co-op Shamia Mall (Google Maps)
Contact: 96644934
Film development: 35mm & 120 medium format
Scan 35mm: Yes
Scan medium format: Yes
Print: Yes
Ashkanani Studio
Location: Rumaithiya Co-op, outside shops (Google Maps)
Contact: 55654050
Film development: 35mm format only
Scan 35mm: Yes
Scan medium format: Yes
Scan Slides: Yes
Print: Yes
Iris Studio
Location: Salmiya, Easa Al-Qatami Street (Google Maps)
Contact: 67647879 – 66990058
Film development: 35mm & 120 medium format
Scan 35mm: Yes
Scan medium format: Yes
Print: Yes
Ghadeer Studio
Location: Qurtoba Co-op, Qurtoba mall (Google Maps)
Contact : 25319648
Film development: 35mm & 120 medium format
Scan 35mm: Yes
Scan medium format: No
Print: Yes
Kashmir Studio
Location: Kuwait City just before Al-Shamlan Mosque (Google Maps)
Contact: 97896914
Film development: 35mm & 120 medium format
Scan 35mm: Yes
Scan medium format: Unknown
Print: Yes
I thought it was just me but I’ve been made aware that a lot of other people are facing the same issue. During the day my Zain 5G connection is around 400-500Mbps which is great. At night on the other hand I’ve been getting anywhere from 2Mbps to 10Mbps. 10Mbps is pretty high actually since I’ve been mostly averaging around 2Mbps at night which as you can imagine is frustratingly slow. Oddly, Netflix works perfectly and streams at 4K but I can barely load a story on Instagram or even load photos on Reddit. A follower on twitter told me that’s probably because Netflix is cached locally through Zain which could explain why it’s still performing well.
Have you been facing a similar issue? If yes share your details since maybe there is a pattern, here are mine:
Location: Salmiya, Block 9
ISP: Zain 5G
Day: 400-500Mbps
Night: 2-10Mbps
To run a speed test click here.
There’s a new drive-thru-only Starbucks that popped up overnight in front of AUK in Salmiya. I think this might be the only Starbucks in Kuwait with just drive-thru and no seating option. The location is pretty great for them, they’re right next to Arabica and Toby’s while also being right off the Gulf Road so it should get pretty packed.
Some of you may have watched the video that went viral yesterday of the cats being killed (I chose not to watch it), supposedly the guy in the video got arrested but I haven’t been able to find a legit source for that info. On a more positive note, I recently noticed some “Cat Protection” boxes in Salmiya around the KISR gardens. They’re scattered around the property and they seem to be placed there to offer cats shelter.
I’m curious to know if they’re testing these out to later rollout around Kuwait.
Update: Here is the link to MOI where they mention his arrest
Good Game, the popular tabletop gaming store which opened back in 2013 in Sanabil Tower has now moved to a much larger location in Salmiya.
I loved the previous store but it became too small for their needs and so they had to find a new spot. The new place is pretty huge with lots of tables and chairs, a small snack bar, and a pretty large retail area.
Other than selling boardgames they also rent them to play in-store. The price varies from game to game but they’re mostly around 2-4KD for unlimited playtime. You just go with your friends, pick a game to rent, and then just play for as long as you want, with no time limit.
The new Good Game is located in 8 Mall in Salmiya, opposite Marks & Spencer. They’re currently open 12PM to 8PM and closed on Sundays, but check out their Instagram for the latest opening hours @goodgamekw
Eissa & Jude is a small local husband and wife business dedicated to creating high-quality wooden toys to inspire mindful play. They’re representing the Gulf so the wooden toys are inspired by everything they grew up with in our unexplored desert. I like the aesthetics of wooden toys and I like how it’s made locally and related to our environment although for realism sake, I would add some wooden cutouts of garbage bags in an effort to represent Kuwait’s desert more accurately.
Eissa & Jude don’t have an online store yet but they are currently available at the children’s pop-up store Bonboni’s in Salmiya. Check out their Instagram account for more photos and details @eissa_jude
Gatwa W Gahwa, the first Cat Cafe in Kuwait that was located in Galleria 2000 closed down a couple of years back. They were moving to a new location in Boulevard and they even changed their name to Cats Boulevard, but then Corona hit and I guess the project was put on hold. There is now another place in Salmiya called Perfect Paws where you can go and play with cats. It’s not a cafe though, it’s what the owner calls a playground. I dropped by yesterday to check it out and it’s definitely not as nice a place as Gatwa W Gahwa, but if you want to play with some cats, you’re pretty limited with options.
Perfect Paws is located on the top floor of Fashion Way across the street from Al Fanar Complex. It costs KD3 per hour to play with their cats and there are A LOT of cats to play with. It’s only by appointment so no walk-ins allowed. But, even by appointment, I’d probably hold off on passing by during the pandemic since yesterday there were 10 people in the small place playing with the cats when I walked by. If you want to visit the playground or book an hour, then head over to their Instagram account @perfect.pawsq8