Search: “salmiya”

Winner: EDO – Shaab (RIP)
This may play out more like a eulogy, but this icon of Kuwait Restaurant culture needs to be memorialised. EDO Shaab was a beautiful modernist Villa from the 1950s beside Villa Fayrouz. It was the best example of how a small villa could be repurposed as opposed to torn down and rebuilt like the monstrous, soulless apartment buildings surrounding it. The beautiful stone garden and its koi pond, small as it was, was unlike anything and wonderful. Nothing could compare to being there on a cool winter day, knowing just on the other side of the wall was a narrow road clogged like the arteries of this fast-food generation.

It was serene. Inside in small villa was a surprisedly spacious, tastefully designed sushi bar. The building’s previous life as a house made for all sorts of nooks and crannies. Every table was simultaneously private and yet easy to get attention from the well-trained waitstaff. Having lived in a sushi haven through university, sushi in Kuwait (without deep-fried mayonnaise) is a challenge to pull off. But without hesitation, upon being asked where the best sushi in Kuwait is, consistently as they would operate, I would say EDO. Sure there’s a new EDO at Sahara, but at this point in my life, that’s like telling me they’ve rebooted Thundercats.

But recently I had a lovely little dinner with my lovely wife at a lovely little place called Ora…maybe you’ve heard of it? No? Well you maybe should…

Runner up: ORA
There’s a new three-lettered sushi place in my life…and it’s called Ora, in Arabella. The place is kinda expensive but anything good should be, like a little treat. I suggest going with a bunch of friends and getting a bunch of small plates. This place is no joke, literally one of the best new restaurants to open. I’m a sucker for nigiri with a thin slice of fresh jalapeño and some light ponzu sauce.

Winner: EDO – Shaab (RIP)
I’m a late comer to the EDO fan club. When everyone was boasting about how great it was, I was too busy enjoying my Sushi at Kei when they were open at Marina Crescent. Then they closed down that location, and then they sent my sushi chef to their Bahrain branch and I just stopped eating sushi for awhile.

I only really got properly introduced to EDO by a friend a couple of years ago and thats when I really started falling in love with the place, it’s one of those restaurants that must have seen everything from proposals to breakups. There was and still is nothing like it in Kuwait, and the fact that it’s gone now is sad.

Even though EDO opened at Sahara, it just doesn’t have the same warmth and coziness of their old Shaab location. We should really consider turning old villas into restaurants instead of demolishing them. There are actually a bunch of old villas at the end of Baghdad Street in Salmiya, imagine if all those were renovated and turned into restaurants.. They would have so much more personality than the generic restaurant complexes that are popping up every few blocks.

Runner up: Open Flame Kitchen
My runner up should actually be this small Korean place hole in the wall I frequent often. It’s a place I haven’t posted about before and won’t on the blog since I like to keep it my little secret. So instead, for my runner up I’m going to go with OFK. It’s one of those places I can go when I want to cheat or when I want to eat healthy. They have the best burgers in Kuwait (order any of the 8oz burgers medium), my favorite pizza in Kuwait (Funghi Con Panna) and my favorite dessert (Chocolate Brownie Pudding). The place also feels like some restaurant pub with its dark ambiance and loud music and the service is always great. The only thing I will complain about is how they’re always out of their Haute Ripper hot dog which is deep fried in duck fat. Absolutely delicious but sadly they’ve been out of it for maybe a year now.

Winner: The Secret Garden
A common refrain you hear from people here, expats and locals alike (no fighting, children), is that “there’s nothing to do here.”

Common Mack! Sure there is!

Why, you could perhaps go to the airport and GTFO AND GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM! Or you know…take a vacation. I personally love Kuwait’s locale. You could literally go anywhere from here. Go somewhere new! Try the local food! And in general, you could be less of a bitch. We have more holidays a year than anyone and centrality to use it to experience something new.

But what do you do when you’re between vacations?

The Secret Garden Project.
The instagram account @mimikuwait is how I found out about these entertaining events. She’s a force of good, tenacious and talented. The project hosts weekly events a few times a year during the cooler months when people stop bitching about how hot or dusty it is, and start bitching about how cold and dusty it is during those few minutes between being inside a severely over-air conditioned building and a severely over-air conditioned car. The mini-market is located at a tiny park off Baghdad street. Lots of good food, like the gentlemen who re-karaked chai karak and the merchant prince of smoked ribs, Roc. It’s a swell place to take your spouse or the girl who somehow responded positively to you yelling at her from you car (please don’t have children). It’s also a good place place to bring the kiddies for some fun activities that don’t require them rubbing their disgusting fingers all over the phone you put next to your face 20 times a day. It’s the kind of place women walk around repeatedly saying the word ‘cute’ incessantly. kinda like…

Runner up: Qout Market
For personal reasons, I couldn’t make most of the early Qout Markets this year (I had nothing to wear). But the ones I visited had the same elements it did last year: great atmosphere, great food, and lots of random small stands selling everything from jams to t-shirts. My only reservation is how people going to Qout overdress. Last time I felt compelled, as I often do, to make a statement by overdressing just. that. little. bit. more. Some of you may have seen me in the final Qout Market of the year.

Photo by Hind Al-Awadi

The gauntlet has been thrown ladies and gentlemen, do you accept the challenge?

Winner: The Secret Garden
During the cooler seasons if you ever want to know where to find me on a Saturday morning, it’s usually at The Secret Garden. The Secret Garden is a small park right off Baghdad Street in Salmiya that was turned into a community garden by the talented chef Mimi. Every so often she invites a bunch of other talented chefs and together they hold a brunch or dinner at the park. It’s a very chill atmosphere with picnic tables spread all about, good music playing and a lot of interesting people all around. It’s a great social event and a great way to spend Saturday mornings. If you haven’t been to a brunch or dinner yet at the park then make sure you do, whenever there is one taking place I tend to post it with the “Things to do this Weekend” list so keep an eye out for it or just follow Mimi [Here]

Runner up: Madeenah Tour
The Madeenah Tour is another activity that takes place during the cooler months of the year since it usually involves a lot of out door walking. Once a week Madeenah takes a group of people on an educational and informative tour around a specific area with historical or current significance. They tend to stay off the beaten path so you’re always bound to discover something new. Like with The Secret Garden, whenever there is a tour taking place I list it under the weekly weekend activities list but you could also follow them yourself and find out directly from [Here]

This is going to be a long one.
Winner: LITERALLY NO ONE WINS. LITERALLY.

I watched Van Helsing a few years ago. It’s a shitty movie with Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale. Early in the movie, Van Helsing goes to Kate Beckinsale’s village, only to be attacked by 3 sexy flying vampire women. Because the flying sexy vampires are sexy, anytime there was a closeup of one of them, the frames were cut. The Flying Sexies would just die off one at a time. I remember this because at one point, the last remaining Sexie was outside flying around and screaming then suddenly CUTCUTCUT she’s inside already turned to ash around a crossbow bolt to her now visible chest. The editing was so jarring that I literally felt sick, like being in strobe lights for too long. I got up and walked out of the Cinema in Kuwait for the last time.

So why do we censor such things but not violence? Think about this, if a movie showed a woman getting her arm taken off, not a problem. Shirt taken off, problem. A horde of zombies grab someone and bite their goddamn face off, no problem. Someone kisses their wife for good luck before embarking on some death-defying last-ditch effort against all odds. That’s a fucking problem. “Tsk. Why are you kissing? Ha? Who told you to kiss? Tsk. Shino hatha? There’s a camera here and we can all see you. Tsk. Respect yourselves.”

They also censor blasphemy. When the bad guy says, “I will be a god” or something like that, I know it’s wrong. He’s an asshole. What do you expect? That’s why we’re all paying money. To sit here silently in the dark and watch someone kick his ass. Why do I need that part of his asshole behaviour to be kept from me? Doesn’t context matter?

Whether they censor a brief kiss from the movie or cut a movie into spastic chaos, it doesn’t matter to me. The result is the same; I am ripped away from the movie and put into a movie theatre sitting next to the sonofabitch friend that convinced me to give this shit another chance. (You lied to me Mohi, you lied right to my face.)

So now people are reduced to looking up the running time of the film from the cinema companies here and comparing them with the actual running time of the film to see how much of the movie is cut. Some friends of mine went to watch Rush Hour 2 or 3. It was literally an hour long. Allegedly, films are watched by a panel of men. The men have a button each. They press the button when something is worth censoring. It doesn’t take a consensus, just one to be offended. The process is then repeated through a panel of women. Allegedly. But I believe it just because of how ridiculous it sounds.

Now think about this, and this is what drives me to rage, a group of people, that have never met you, watch something uncut, on your behalf, to mark the things that you would not be able to handle, and remove them from your experience. We are treated as children. Undeveloped enough to be able to comprehend reality from film. The whole thing is institutionally condescending. And honestly, what’s the point of censoring movies when everyone has OSN at home and the internet everywhere else they go? At this point is it little more than a empty gesture of righteousness?

TL;DR
I won’t go to the cinemas here or anywhere films are censored. Even if it’s just a kiss. Even if it’s a kids movie. Because they censored the lion king. The Lion King.

Runner up: Cinemagics
I was the man with the plan behind the Game of Thrones private cinema night that Mark wrote about. I loved that place. What a fun night. And is there anything more enjoyable than watching a movie on a rooftop in Old Salmiya on a cool winter night? Fantastic movies and beautiful viewing areas, I can’t recommend Cinemagics enough. If you’ve never experienced it, do yourselves a favour and check them out.

Winner:Cinemagics
I’ve been posting about the Cinemagics rooftop movies for years now and every year they keep making it better. This year for example they replaced the previously uncomfortable chairs with super comfy air sofas. They also added a live food station and their movie choices are also unmatched. Best part is you can watch their movies for free and thats because Cinemagics is trying to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of film-making. And to top it all off, they’re located down the street from where I live. An easy winner here.

Runner up: Cinescape 360 Mall
I have to agree with Nima regarding the censorship issue, I stopped watching movies for a long time in Kuwait because I got pissed off after going to watch The Simpsons and realizing it was censored. But I’ve recently started going back to the movies again but now I make sure whatever I watch isn’t censored, or at least minor censorship, like I wouldn’t mind one kissing scene being chopped. That said, the movie theater I frequent the most, or should I say the only theater I actually go to now is the Cinescape one at 360 Mall. Its aesthetically pleasing and their IMAX 3D theater is the best one in Kuwait from what I’m aware of (let me know if there is a better one cuz I’d love to check it out). Note to Cinescape, just buy cinescape.com already, it’s what I always type before realizing I need to go to kncc.com instead.

Because we don’t have enough of them already, there is a new restaurants complex currently under construction in Salmiya called Alargan Square. It’s located right next to Symphony Style Hotel and it’s by the same company that built the Al Bida’a strip. Construction is supposed to be completed in around four months time. I don’t have any idea what restaurants will be opening there so if you know any let me know. Another food square recently opened in that area closer to Sultan Center called The Cube which I previously posted about [Here].

Last week I found out the Millennium Hotel & Convention Centre off the 4th Ring Road had finally opened up. Construction on the hotel started years ago, before the financial crisis (I think) and then after the crisis work on it stopped until a few years ago it continued again. Even when construction started they still ran into issues with laborers not wanting to work in the basement because they thought it was haunted. Many weren’t even willing to work alone on any floor because the hotel was built where the old ghost house used to be. But this past May the hotel was completed and opened up for business. Once I found out the hotel was open I decided to pass by and check it out of curiosity. The on duty manager was kind enough to give me a tour of the place and brief me a bit on the hotel.

The hotel is located on the corner of the 4th Ring Road and the 30th. It’s an odd location because the area around the hotel is full of old low rise residential buildings. But, according to the hotel, they’re conveniently located because they’re close to Kuwait City and also close to recreational areas like Avenues and Salmiya. The hotel has nearly 300 rooms and over 20 meeting rooms. It’s a business hotel and it’s designed with that in mind. For example all the business rooms look different so that if you host meetings often at the hotel, you can choose a different room every time to keep the employees excited. The color of the hotel room corridors is also different on every floor so you don’t get a sense of ‎déjà vu if you’ve stayed at the hotel before.

I took a few photos while I was getting a tour which I’ve shared below. The view from the top floors was pretty cool since the hotel is the tallest building in the area by far and you could see for miles without any obstruction. Would be interesting to see how the hotel ends up doing.

A couple of nights back a car accidentally crashed into the X-Cite store in Hawally. The incident took place right after futoor when the showroom was empty and so no one got hurt. Their new store is located on a busy roundabout so this probably isn’t going to be the last time this happens.

It actually reminds me of this shop in Salmiya called Beirut that was located at a traffic intersection. So many people drove into the shop the owner ended up installing a steel barrier outside to stop the cars from crashing in.

Thanks Khaled

This year I’m starting a new list and its restaurants that deliver before Iftar. The idea for this list started when someone on Reddit asked if it was true some of the restaurants on Talabat deliver during the day. Many restaurants are listed open during the day on Talabat but I figured most take the orders and deliver them after 5PM. So to prove my point I started calling the restaurants one by one and to my surprise, there were quite a few that were willing to deliver during the day. So I started calling more and more places and I finally put together the list below. The cut-off time for this list is 3PM, anything after that I didn’t list here.

Adobo Burritos
Deliveries start after 3PM
Telephone: 69957242

Baking Tray
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 1842887

Donner Kebab
Deliveries start after 1PM
Telephone: 22200123

HanHum Restaurant
Deliveries start after 2PM
Telephone: 22270234

Kitchen Art
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 22552233

Marina Thai
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 23720040

Osaka
Deliveries start after 10AM
Telephone: 22637331

Q Cafe
Deliveries start after 3PM
Telephone: 22495067

Shater Abbas
Deliveries start after 3PM
Telephone: 22420030

Taal Indian Restaurant
Deliveries start after 2PM
Telephone: 22253142

The Southern
Deliveries start after 3PM
Telephone: 98949799

Osaka deliver the earliest starting at 10AM. I actually tried them out the other day and the food was good but the experience felt dodgy. I called them up to pick up takeaway and they told me they’re open in their Salmiya location only. Their location is inside the old Marina Thai restaurant on Baghdad Street. All the windows outside are blacked out and the sign still says Marina Thai but once you walk inside they’re Osaka. As someone who doesn’t fast, I like the fact that I can continue to eat food at normal hours if I choose to do so. I never understood why restaurants are forced to close during the day but supermarkets are allowed to open with many serving ready made food as well.

If you know of other places that deliver during the day let me know.

A bunch of people sent me the link to the story below today about two expats getting deported because they fought over a parking lot:

Two Asian men who fought over a car parking spot were arrested by police. The fight started in a Salmiya parking lot, and police were called to break it up. One of the Asians sustained a head wound, so he was taken to Mubarak hospital, while the other man was sent to the police station. Both will be deported. [Source]

Should they be punished? Yes. Deported? No way.

In the paper a day earlier there were two other reports of fights as well (pictured above). One was related to a husband beating his wife and another related to three girls fighting at a cafe. Were they also deported? I doubt it. This whole deportation thing is unjust, confusing and it doesn’t look like it will be applied to everyone.

Speaking of abandoned places, does anyone still go to Rays One on blajat street in Salmiya? It’s been there for as long as I remember and even back in the 90s it was always empty. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone inside and yet its remained open all these years.

Update: Just found the following snippet from the US State department “Weekender’s Guide to Life in Kuwait – 2007 Edition”

RAY’S ONE RESTAURANT: This restaurant has a fish festival every Thursday and Friday serving a variety of fish cooked in a variety of ways – fried, steamed, grilled, smoked etc. During the week it serves an international cuisine.

Girls, have you ever felt uncomfortable walking down the streets in Kuwait? Ladies, have you ever heard unpleasant comments at a traffic light? Women, have you ever received a shocking sexual image via email from a co-worker by “mistake”?

These are all common incidents that happen in Kuwait to women of all ages and backgrounds, from men (or sometimes women) of all ages and backgrounds. I know this, as I am a female! Please I beg you, please stop the “Dear Mr Fajer” emails, “Dear Fajer” is fine. These incidents can come in many shapes, sounds and forms as well. I have had a few cases recently on this very topic and therefore wanted to clarify the law to my readers and the options they can take.

Please note that this article is not about “rape” or “statutory rape”, I have written about sexual crimes in a previous post [Here]

This post is about sexual harassment.

Article 191 of the Kuwait Penal Code states:
– Any person that sexually harasses another through hate, threatening or deceiving shall be punished with up to 15 years of imprisonment
– If the victim is related to the harasser, or is under his/her upbringing (example uncle, aunt, teacher, domestic worker so on) then he/she shall be punished with life imprisonment
– If the victim is under the legal age, not mentally stable, unable to know the nature of the act, then the harasser shall be punished with life imprisonment

Article 192 of Kuwait Penal Code states:
– Any person that sexually harasses another without hate, threatening or deceiving shall be punished up to 10 years of imprisonment
– If the victim is related to the harasser, or is under his/her upbringing (example uncle, aunt, teacher, domestic worker so on) then he/she shall be punished up to 15 years of imprisonment

What do you do if you are in this situation?
– If you are not 21 years of age, please speak to an adult you trust, this doesn’t have to be a family member, it can be a teacher, a friend’s mother or anyone else that you trust (you can also email me, I promise everything will be kept confidential).
– If you are an adult, please email me or go to the nearest police station.

Please note that this does not apply to online harassment, there are other departments in Kuwait that can find the person online and assist you, and they are very professional and no one will judge you. I will be discussing this in more depth in a separate post next week.

Before I end this post I would like to request your help. I recently received a few reports about a man on the loose in Salmiya that is sexually harassing minors. If you have any information on incidents of this nature in the Salmiya area, and you are willing to share, please email me urgently as this might help us put this man away and save other children.

Thank you.

Post by Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel
The legal opinions expressed in this post are those of the author Fajer. Opinions expressed by Mark or any other writer on mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com are those of the individual’s and in no way reflect Fajer’s opinion.

Recently I’ve started using the anonymous social media app Yik Yak and I’m loving it. It’s such a random space where people post whatever they want anonymously. This isn’t the first anonymous social media app but it’s probably one of the best ones I’ve used. For one thing users can up vote or down vote posts so there is a bit of quality control and the app also works depending on your area not just what country you’re in. So in Salmiya it’s usually posts by AUK students while in the city it’s usually posts by people who work there. There is a pretty active community and there is always something interesting to read.

Obviously when you have a bunch of anonymous guys and girls leaving messages you’re going to get lots of dirty stuff and a lot of gossip, but you also get a lot of personal posts like the ones I’ve screenshotted above. So if you’re looking for a social media app where the number of followers you have isn’t important and everyone is equal, give Yik Yak a try. It’s available on both the iPhone and Android devices.

I was at LuLu in Salmiya earlier tonight and noticed they were selling the Apple Watch. They only had the 38mm Sport version in white and priced at KD229. To compare, the same model in the US costs KD165 KD105 before tax and shipping. Like the iPhone, as the Apple Watch becomes more readily available the price should drop.

I was checking Reddit earlier this morning and a redditor posted about how he passed by Boulevard Mall and was impressed. At first I thought damn I’m so out of touch, a huge ass project like Boulevard which is pretty close to where I live opens up and I end up finding out about it from Reddit. So I asked the user if Boulevard was open and he told me it wasn’t to the public but I could go there and tell them I’m inspecting the location for leasing. Smart idea so I left the house and headed to check the place out.

Boulevard is located in Salmiya opposite Souk Salmiya and it’s a huge project which I’ve posted about a number of times before. The project is composed of a number of elements including a mall, a dinning boulevard, a gigantic park, artificial lakes, an amphitheater, basketball courts, football courts and much more.

I was lucky that as I was driving into the park there was a car in front of me who stopped at the gate first and spoke to the security guard to have him open it. Once he opened the gate I drove in right after pretending I was with the car in front of me. Once I was in I was basically able to go and explore the grounds without anyone hassling me.

The first area I explored was the main mall. The mall is the largest building in the project and consists of two floors with a very large centre court in the middle. None of the shops had started construction yet but the mall looked pretty much complete and they were just working on the escalators when I was there.

Once I was done with the mall I decided to explore the park outside. I headed to what looked like the dining boulevard which was an area where single story units surrounded a large artificial lake.

From there I headed further inwards into the park and found a large green field with a few rows of stadium seating on one side. I didn’t understand what this field was going to be used for since it was round but after checking the satellite view of the field on Google Maps I now realize it’s going to be a cricket field.

From there I continued walking inwards and spotted the amphitheater followed by the basketball and football fields.

I was getting hot with all the walking and it was starting to drizzle some mud so I decided to head back to the car before the weather got worse. There was still quite a bit of park to explore and a few buildings but I figured I already had a general idea of how the project was turning out. I didn’t have high hopes before especially considering how long it’s been since the project started but now I’m actually excited about it. I have no idea when it’s going to finish or what the hold up is. They have electricity and it looks like the shop owners could come in any day now and start working on their stores so I don’t really know what the delay is. Hopefully it’s going to end up opening really soon.

A couple of readers sent me a link to a feature on Dezeen, the world’s most popular and influential architecture and design magazine on a new apartment building in Salmiya. The building pictured above looks very cool but I can’t figure out where in Salmiya it is. If anyone has an idea let me know but for now check out the write up on the building and more photos [Here]

Hopefully this is a start to more tasteful looking residential towers in Kuwait.

Update: Apartment building is located behind AUK and rent start from KD450 upwards (that was a few months back)

One of my favorite UFC fighters, the legendary Anderson Silva is coming to Kuwait this weekend for the opening ceremony of Gold’s Gym. This caught me by complete surprise when I found out and I have no idea how they managed to pull it off. I was lucky enough to be put in touch with the organizers Activate Kuwait (Thanks Pat), the same guys who brought the BASE jumper to Kuwait to jump off Al Hamra Tower. I managed to get myself a VIP ticket to the event as well as a ticket to giveaway on the blog.

There will be a bunch of activites taking place at the opening including:
– Live radio broadcast on FM88.8
– Spin the wheel game with valuable prizes to be won
– DJ
– Bike show
– Percussion artist Albert Boyadjian will be performing
– Anderson Silva will meet and greet people

The event is open to the public but the general admission crowd will be located outside the Gold’s Gym premises while the VIP ticket (which you can’t buy FYI) will grant you access inside the building. The VIP ticket will allow you to hang out and chill with Anderson Silva inside the gym as well as guarantee you a photo with Anderson Silva as well as an autograph if you want one.

Just incase I wasn’t clear, ANDERSON SILVA IS COMING TO KUWAIT! I’m definitely going to have him sign my UFC tshirt which so far has signatures from Dan Henderson, Brian Stan, Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping and a few other fighters.

If you’re an Anderson Silva fan and would like to win a chance to meet him then all you need to do is answer the following question in the comments: Who did Anderson Silva last fight in the UFC?

Rules: The comments will be closed tomorrow morning. Winner will have to pick up ticket from Salmiya. Only one entry per person and please make sure you use a working email since the winner will be contacted by email. If winner doesn’t respond, another winner will be randomly chosen.

Update: Post has been closed for commenting

Update2: Using random.org I chose a winner which was commentator #57, Tania. Email has been sent, if she does not respond in time a second winner will be chosen. Thank you everyone for participating. Just a reminder you can still pass by and get the chance to see Anderson Silva in person but, depending on the amount of people at the event, you may or may not get a chance for a photo opportunity with him.