Search: “salmiya”

This idea is so absurd but so great at the same time. For a limited time only, Johnny Rockets in Salmiya have what they’re calling a “Truffle Table Experience”. It’s a set menu that you need to pre-book ahead of time and includes your choice of truffle fries or onion rings, a Wagyu truffle burger or a truffle portobello burger, a luxury shake, and a cookie for dessert. I booked it and went last night with a couple of friends and we had a blast

My first date ever was at Johnny Rockets back in 1996 and I wish they had this setup back then since I might have been able to impress my date. The table was covered with a white tablecloth and set with a pink cloth napkin, plates, and cutlery. There was even a flower and a candle that further added to the romantic vibe. Obviously, you’re not supposed to take all of this very seriously and everyone else there who had booked this dinner looked like they were also having fun with it.

The burger itself is more elevated than the usual offering and they got a legit chef (@chef_ak) to develop it. Even the onion rings weren’t their usual frozen ones but instead freshly hand battered with sourdough crumble. Honestly, if they had stuck with their usual items I wouldn’t have been disappointed since I was there to have a bit of fun, but the fact they went all out to elevate the food just for this occasion is impressive.

As I mentioned earlier, this fine dining experience is for a limited time only, it started a few days ago and lasts till April 17th. It’s 10KD per person and you need to pre-book using this link.

It’s a do you remember this kind of morning. There used to be a huge tree inside Fashion Way (Mothercare) next to Sultan Center in Salmiya. I never thought much of it until a reader asked me if I had any photos of it since he couldn’t find any. I thought it was weird he wasn’t able to find any photos so I look myself but I also couldn’t find any.

Luckily another reader had a photo of it and sent it to me. I don’t know the story behind the tree but I do remember it was animated, and thinking about it now while looking at the photo, it was actually pretty impressive.

Thanks @janna_xxx

I’m not really sure how I initially found out about this specific yellow pages directory from the American Women’s League of Kuwait, but it was on my watch list for some time and one eventually popped up for sale a few weeks ago. I tend to find out about random books and then add them to my watch list and wait patiently, usually, years before a copy eventually/hopefully pops up somewhere online and I get a notification. When this book popped up on eBay and knowing how difficult it is to find because it really isn’t a book you’d generally save, I quickly purchased it without even trying to negotiate on the price. I like directories because they usually help me connect various things together.

For example, on the Salmiya map on one of the pages it showed a “Camping Area” which confused me, how did Salmiya have a camping area? Then a follower on Instagram helped me figure out where that area was (Google Maps) and I realized that was the location of the Salmiya Youth Hostel which was supposedly run by the Kuwait Boy Scouts.

Then under the grocery store section, it listed various supermarkets, many I actually need to research especially New Supermarket because I remember the Salmiya location from the early 80s. But one of the supermarkets listed was Khalaf, which last year I happened to find photos of their Salmiya location.

Since I felt this was worth sharing, I took photos of the most significant pages and turned them into a 44MB PDF. You can download it here.

The Q8 Comedy Club have a show tomorrow night and as of this post, tickets are still available (they’re free). The show is a combination of improv comedy and stand-up and is hosted by Ahmad Alshammari (@ahmad_comedy) from @shenoya3ni_tv. He’s obviously extremely funny, but so are the rest of the comedians, especially when you consider the fact we don’t even have a comedy scene in Kuwait.

The show is in Arabic and is taking place in Salmiya inside Dalal Complex. As I mentioned, tickets are free and if you want to get them you need to hurry up, the link is in their profile @q8comedy1

Update: It’s now sold out but you can follow them to stay posted on their next show.

If you’re a customer of the main Sultan Center in Salmiya you might have noticed how the upstairs area was pretty dead. Xcite and Intersport opened there a few years ago but the homeware section was pretty poor, like they stopped caring about it.

Well yesterday I found out that True Value has now taken over that department so I decided to check it out. Basically the whole top floor of Sultan Center Salmiya is divided between Xcite, Intersports, Dawa Pharmacy and True Value. True Value takes up majority of the space and covers all the homeware items with a very tiny hardware section.

It’s a pretty good idea and great for shoppers, but mostly because they’ve restocked the area and its packed with stuff now instead of it looking abandoned.

Last year I posted about Flora, a hidden wholesale florist in Salmiya that I used to get my flowers from. Tahani is another similar wholesale florist but since I found out about it, it’s become my new go-to flower shop.

Tahani Flowers have multiple locations but I’ve only been to the ones in Salmiya and Hawally. The Salmiya one is larger and has a bigger variety so that’s the one I frequent the most. The store is located in the basement of a building on the same street as Jothen Cosmetics, Barakat, and Tibawi Sweets. The store is divided into two areas, the large main area is where you’ll find pots, plant accessories, dried flowers, and some plants and flowers like Orchids. But, the most important area is their extremely large walk-in fridge.

The fridge is where all the fresh flowers are displayed and is divided into two large sections with a corridor connecting the two areas. The fridge is filled to the brim with flowers, from popular and common, to rarer and harder-to-find ones. Since they’re wholesalers, the prices of the flowers are cheaper than anywhere else and their collection is the largest I’ve seen so far in Kuwait (if you know a place with a larger collection let me know!).

Here is the location on Google Maps, and they’re also on Instagram @tahaniflowersalmiya

For the past couple of months, I’ve been forcing myself to try a new place every week. I had gotten a bit too comfortable just eating at the places I liked but also there were very few new places I was interested in trying anyway.

Ode is one of the spots that did get my attention. I knew all the talented people behind the project and loved their work so I had been meaning to pass by it ever since it opened.

The menu isn’t very large, most of the sweet and savory items are out on display but there are a handful of other items that are prepared in the kitchen. The display is visually very appetizing so it’s pretty hard to pick what to eat. Go in a larger group so you could order a wider range of items. The prices are slightly on the expensive side but the portions are fairly large so it does balance out.

I went with a friend so we didn’t order too many items. We had mama’s zaatar rolls with whipped feta, the avocado on sourdough with scrambled eggs (I didn’t pick this), and the flan tart with tonka and kumquat compote. From the three I wouldn’t order the avocado and scrambled eggs again since it turned out to be too basic, but the zaatar roll and specifically the flan tart were both delicious. Add a coffee to the order and our bill came out to 13KD.

If you’re looking for a small trendy brunch spot with a variety of interesting and unique dishes, they’re located in Salmiya near Pet Zone and are open from 10AM to 7PM daily except for Sundays. Here is their location Google Maps and they’re on Instagram @ode.eatery

Shakir just launched the chicken shawarma a couple of days ago and it made me realize just how strange it was that they didn’t have chicken as an option to begin with. If it was me opening a shawarma place and someone suggested to me to only sell meat I’d be like wtf? The number 1 rule of a shawarma place is the fact that you have chicken and meat, that’s basic Shawarma 101. But that’s the power of Shakir, since the start they’ve been doing things differently and it’s worked out really well for them.

I passed by their Salmiya location yesterday which tends to be fairly quiet, but when I got there it was really busy with delivery drivers and people waiting to order the new chicken shawarma. I’m a big fan of Shakir but had recently gotten bored of it, the fact they have chicken now has re-sparked my interest in the brand and I’m guessing it’s done the same with other people.

Was it worth the wait?

So their chicken shawarma is actually pretty good, better than I was expecting it to be, not that I was thinking it was going to be bad. I think it’s their nicely balanced garlic sauce combined with the freshly baked bread that gives it a slight edge over my other favorite places like Ebn 3my and Shawarma Arabi. The only issue is the ratio of chicken to bread, they’re pretty stingy with the filling. After having two sandwiches, I went back for a third and asked for extra chicken (it’s an option with the meat shawarma for an extra fee if you didn’t know). But, according to the cashier, the IT guys hadn’t set up that option yet on their system. When it does become an option, that’s how I’d recommend you have it, order the sandwich with extra chicken or else it will mostly feel like you’re eating bread as you can see in my photo.

Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The price of the chicken shawarma is 750fils similar to their meat. They also have the platter for 2.750KD. I had my sandwich with just garlic inside because that’s how I like it but it usually comes with greens, sweet potato chips, and pickles.

Touch of Hope is a local animal shelter that rescues and rehabilitates cats and dogs. They’re holding a fundraiser next weekend to help the hundreds of rescued animals at the shelter.

If you’re interested in helping, they’re having a karaoke night filled with fun games and prizes as well as a delicious Asian buffet.

Place: Gimikan Restobar, Salmiya
Time & Date: Thursday, Jan 12, 2023, 6-10 pm
Price: 25 KD with ALL proceeds going towards buying food for the animals

If you’re interested in booking, you can WhatsApp them on 99835252

According to my source, Pret A Manger is planning to open three new locations in Kuwait after the successful opening of their first one in Al Hamra Tower.

The three locations are:
– Argan Bedaya, Sabah Al Salem
– Hybrid Outlet Mall, Al Khiran
– Argan Square, Salmiya

I’ve reached out to Pret for confirmation and I’m currently waiting for their response.

Although Winter Wonderland is gonna cause traffic chaos in Salmiya, one of the benefits of having them in the neighborhood is that they’ve started fixing all the roads around the area. There are now zero potholes or any broken roads from my apartment to the Gulf Road because they’ve been paving all the roads during the evening. Thank you Winter Wonderland!

The Touristic Enterprises Company is nearly done constructing a container park on Salmiya’s Blajat beach which they’re calling “KWT FAN BOX”. The container park is being built to broadcast the World Cup 2022 matches which are going to start on November 20th and continue into December.

The container park will have various entertainment and sports activities, cafes, and restaurants as well as five screens broadcasting the games. Four of the screens will be distributed around the container park with a fifth main and gigantic 11x6m screen located in the center. There will be 1,500 parking spots available which hopefully should be enough or else there will be even more major congestion on that already heavily congested street.

Some of the restaurants and shops that will be opening at the park include:

300f
A Store
Al Rifai
Ebn 3amy
Face/Off
Froyo
Haagen-Dazs
Illy Cafe
Joy Cafe
Kalemat
Lulu’s Tea House
Meme’s Curry
Ole
Ratio Cafe
Rib Eye Steak House
Sakura
Saray
Shake Shack
Starbucks
Tuta Sushi
Yoosee’s Chicken

KWT FAN BOX is expected to open on November 20th but I passed by yesterday and it looked like there was still a lot of work to be done so I’m very curious to see if they’ll manage to finish on time. Once it does finish the park will be open daily from 10AM until midnight.

Ticket prices are as follows:

Entrance ticket per person: 2.5 KD
Entry is free for children under the age of five
Entry is free for the domestic workers accompanying a family
For groups of 4 people or more, the entrance ticket is 2 KD per person

Here is the location of the park on Google Maps. To stay posted on the project, check out their Instagram account @kwt.fan.box

Update: KWT FAN BOX is now open.

Lots and lots of things to do this weekend! If I missed anything, please let me know in the comments:

Thursday, Oct 27
Perfume & Cosmetics Exhibitions
Bazzar Expo
Basmat Kuwaiti Expo
Workshop: Palestinian Embroidery
Street Food Festival at Blajat
Young Italian Musical Talents Around the World
Huntertones Live at Abdulhussein Abdelredha Theater
OCCTI at Arraya
Outdoor Sport & Safari
Bloody Good Time: Karaoke in Costume

Friday, Oct 28
Perfume & Cosmetics Exhibitions
Bazzar Expo
Basmat Kuwaiti Expo
Old Cars at Marina Crescent
Padel for Paws Market
Street Food Festival at Blajat
American Car Show
Kids Cooking Class: Mini Burger Adventure
OCCTI at Arraya
Outdoor Sport & Safari
Family Fun Friday
Trunk or Treat 2022

Saturday, Oct 29
Perfume & Cosmetics Exhibitions
Bazzar Expo
Basmat Kuwaiti Expo
RunKuwait 2022
Al Hamra 2022 Rowathon
Sailing: Saturday Morning Cruising
Miseen Scene Club: Frantz
KASA Film Festival
Art Therapy Workshop
Halloween Workshop for Kids
PSYCHO at JACC
RISO Halloween Workshop
Treasure Hunt at Shaheed Park
Kids Story Time: Maybe Something Beautiful
Barriers – Storytelling with Seham Al Khrayef
Street Food Festival at Blajat
Fright Fest
Outdoor Sport & Safari
Harley Davidson Ride
Barba Brunch & Yoga
Benefit Sale of International Art & Artifacts

Exhibitions
Sara Shamma “Age”
Warhol of Arabia by Raed Yassin

Activities
Ascend Rock Climbing
Cable Park
Ice Skating at the Winter Games Club
Indoor Karting
Little Jungle
Murouj Farm
Movement Classes at Omni Studio
Roller Blade at Roller Hub
Try Windsurfing
Yoga at Darātma

Museums to Visit
Abdullah Salem Cultural Center (ASCC)
Amricani Cultural Center Museum
Bait Al Othman Museum
Tareq Rajab Museum

A new arcade opened up last week in Salmiya called Venue 56. It’s the second arcade to open up in that area with Hangar being the other, but what caught my attention was the fact Venue 56 had a miniature golf course.

I don’t know why no one has thought of opening a proper miniature golf course in Kuwait. It’s fun, it doesn’t require too much of a large space, and it can be indoors so open all year round. There are all these huge indoor padel courses opening up now so maybe when they eventually go out of business someone can turn one of them into a miniature golf course. Until then all we have is this new small one at Venue 56, and the one at Nomad but all the way in Khiran.

It costs KD4.750 to play minigolf at Venue 56 and they also have billiards, bowling and arcade games. They’re located in the new building next to Zahra Complex (Google Maps) and you can check them out on Instagram @venue56.kw

For those of you who’ve been reading the blog for a few years, you might remember the Cinemagic Rooftop Movie Nights that used to take place in old Salmiya. That closed down years ago and since then no other venue really took over the role of focusing on indie films. But now JACC have launched something similar called “The Cinema”.

Every Saturday and Tuesday night JACC will be holding movie nights at their cinema where they will be playing mostly indie films or cinema classics. Last night I watched the 2021 film “Costa Brava, Lebanon” at the theater, and this coming Saturday I’ll be heading back to watch “Casablanca” in 4K as part of the 80th-anniversary showing. The other movie I’m interested in seeing is the original 1960 “Psycho” which also got remastered in 4K and will be showing at the end of the month.

The JACC cinema is actually fairly large for a small cinema and if I remember correctly can hold over 400 people. The screen isn’t the largest and the sound was a bit of an issue last night, but both didn’t stop me from enjoying the movie. The only major negatives were the stale popcorn and the freezing theater. MAKE SURE YOU BRING A JACKET OR HOODIE. THIS IS IMPORTANT. But other than that the seats were pretty comfy and if you get there early you can chill outside the building which is really beautiful at night.

The whole movie schedule for this month is on the JACC Instagram account @jacc_kw and you can purchase tickets (5KD) from the JACC website jacc-kw.com. To get to the cinema, you need to enter JACC from the very last parking entrance which I’ve highlighted in the photo above. Let me know if you have any questions and before you ask, yes movies do get censored.

Update: They’re calling “Cinema Hall”