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Earlier this morning I was able to tour the new phase of Avenues, Phase 4. The Avenues extension is set to open on February 25th and so they invited the media today to walk around, explore and take photos.

Avenues Phase 4 includes expansions of existing districts like Prestige, Grand Avenue, and The Souk. But, they’ve also added new districts that include Arcadia, The Grand Plaza, The Forum, Electra and The Cinema, as well as a five-star and four-star hotel.

Phase 4 is HUGE, and its beautiful. They’ve basically taken the Grand Avenue indoor-but-looks-like-outdoor-look and built on it. It’s bright, airy and the main street is wide with lots of little alleyways that connect the various districts.

From what I saw there won’t be much open by February 25th other than a bunch of Alshaya brands, but it will still be a great space to wander about and explore.

If you want to check out more pictures of Phase 4 then check out my story on instagram. I’ve archived the story and so it should be up for some time. Check it out @mark248am

Update: I was just informed that February 25th is the target date but they’re still unsure if they’ll open by then. Also I uploaded a bunch of photos in hi-res which you can view [Here]

This is such a great show, mostly because of how super weird and dark the subject matter is, and yet, its a comedy. This Netflix original focuses on James, a 17-year-old kid who enjoyed killing animals while young and now is considering killing this girl he met called Alyssa, but he kinda likes her. Super weird yet very cute at the same time and I love that.

The series is 8 episodes long and each episode is just 20 minutes so you should be able to get through it in one night. Its super entertaining and pretty fast paced without a single boring moment. The casting director did an incredible job with the show which is filled with great personalities. If you have Netflix, you need to watch this. [Link]

Lavan is a new Indian restaurant that opened up in the city last month. When I first got invited to Lavan I didn’t really have high expectations. Lots of Indian restaurants pop up all the time and most tend to be average so I wasn’t expecting Lavan to be any different. When I got to the place I realized my expectations might be right, the interior was bland, so much so that I wasn’t even sure I had walked into the right restaurant. There was nothing Indian about the interior and the fact the restaurant didn’t have a sign outside didn’t help either. We definitely didn’t start off on the right foot.

But once the food started coming out my view of completely changed. Every single dish we had ordered was just delicious. I left so impressed that first time, I went back three more times since then. I’ve now practically tried every dish on the menu and it’s my favorite Indian spot at the moment. Here are some of my favorite dishes:

Starters
Sweet Potato Chat
Prawns Amritsari

Tandoor
Humour Tikka
Tiger Prawns
Lamb Tikka

Biryani
Chicken
Mutton
Lavan Special (Goat)

Pricing is on par with the likes of Asha’s and Copper Chimney which I think is very reasonable. You can get a better idea by checking their menu which I’ve uploaded [Here]

Like I mentioned earlier, Lavan is currently my favorite Indian restaurant. I still find the interior bland and lacking charm, but the food makes up for it which is why I keep going back. For a map of the location as well as more photos, you can check out their instagram account @houseoflavan

Lots of events this weekend including two coffee festivals. Check out the full list of events taking place below:

Thursday
Filipos Brekkie
The Human Capital Forum
Cofe District Festival
The Kuwait Motor Show
Global Game Jam 2018
Sadu Reimagined
Cinemagics Rooftop Movie: The Red Turtle

Friday
Charity Drive
Filipos Brekkie
The Kuwait Motor Show
Global Game Jam 2018
Sadu Reimagined
The Warehouse Series 0.2
Eighty Six Pop-up

Saturday
Filipos Brekkie
The Kuwait Motor Show
Global Game Jam 2018
Sadu Reimagined
Guided Tour: Landmarks of Old Kuwait City
Here Exhibit
Cinemagics Rooftop Movie: Things to Come

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so always double check with the organizers.

The Human Capital Forum starts today at JACC and comprises of talks and panels from speakers in different fields, with a common vision to highlight the importance of investing in creativity for social impact. Their outdoor setup (pictured above) looks super nice so pass by and check it out if you can. It’s free to attend but you need to register to get a pass.

For more information, click [Here]

Avenues Phase 4
The fourth phase of Avenues is on target to open up next month on February 25th. They’ve invited some of the media to take a tour of the new phase at the end of this month so we should get new photos of a nearly complete mall pretty soon.

Al Kout Mall
The new Al Kout Mall is expected to open up in March with an exact target date of March 15th. Al Kout Mall is replacing Al Manshar Mall which was torn down back in 2013.

Assima Mall
Finally, even though Assima Mall construction site caught fire back in June, they’re still planning to open by Q3 2019. I think the fire delayed the project by just a few months since 2019 was always their target date.

RAW originally opened up back in 2016 in the industrial area of Shuwaikh but recently closed that location down. It was one of my favorite sushi places, but a lot of people had an issue with the location since at night the area around was super dark and creepy. So they closed that space down and moved to the city where they just officially reopened this past weekend across the street from Hamra Tower [Map]

Along with the new location, they revamped their menu by adding a lot of interesting and delicious new dishes that go beyond what you’d find at your typical Japanese restaurant. You can check out the full menu [Here].

I’ve been there three times so far (two tastings and a dinner), and really love the food. You really can’t go wrong by choosing any of the 20+ items on the menu.

RAW is currently only open for dinner, so you should call and reserve ahead of time just in case they’re busy. For more information check out their instagram @eatrawkwt

Note: Make sure you try the Koji Glazed Thigh (pictured above), the Tofu Croquettes, Sablefish and the Yuzu Yogurt dessert.

A reader recently spent over a month in prison for driving his mum’s car without having a driving license (he nearly got deported too). He wrote about his experience on his blog, and you can check out his post [Here]

The part I found interesting is how prisoners get free cigarette packs. I wonder if that decision was made to prevent or cut down on drug use and violence. It’s interesting because I’ve never heard of a prison doing that before. The cost on the government to supply cigarettes to all the inmates for free must be ginormous.

Update: The writer has now edited his post based on the advice of his lawyer and removed certain parts including the part about free cigarettes.

I honestly have no clue who Russ is, but a friend told me he’s pretty popular so figured this was newsworthy. Based on some tweets he posted a while ago, Russ was supposed to come and perform in Kuwait but then found out the promoter was planning on selling the tickets for a ridiculous price, so he backed out.

The prices for the tickets were going to be as follows:

VIP – KD250
Gold – KD200
Silver – KD150
Bronze – KD100
Normal – KD50

The prices seem similar to Sting but looking at the seating chart of this event, it didn’t look like it was going to be held at a proper theater. In fact, I think it was going to be held in a large tent or hall with no elevated seating which means anything behind silver would have been terrible seating. According to Russ, he’s still willing to come to Kuwait, but only if the promoter decides to reduce the ticket prices. We’ll see how this plays out.

Screenshot from The Post

The movies below are now showing at either Cinescape, Grand Cinemas or Sky Cinemas:

New This Week:
12 Strong (7.5)
Bunyan and Babe (5.0)
Downsizing (5.8) ♦
The Bachelors (6.4)
The Pirates of Somalia (6.9)
The Post (7.5)

Other Movies Showing:
Bleeding Steel (6.3)
Coco (9.1)
Darkest Hour (7.3)
Ferdinand (6.8)
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (6.8) ♦
Goodbye Christopher Robin (7.2)
Hostiles (7.2)
Howard Lovecraft & the Undersea Kingdom (5.6)
Insidious: The Last Key (7.2)
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (6.9) ★
Molly’s Game (7.6)
The Commuter (6.8)
The Greatest Showman (7.9)
Wonder (7.2)

The movies below are also now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

A Beautiful Planet 3D (7.9)
America Wild: National Parks Adventure (N/A)
Dream Big 3D (7.9)
Extreme Weather 3D (6.6)
Tiny Giants 3D (8.0)
Watermelon Magic 3D (7.4)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.

Nuqat have decided not to hold their annual creative conference this year, instead, they’re holding another event titled “The Human Capital Forum”.

This forum will comprise of talks and panels from speakers in different fields, with a common vision to highlight the importance of investing in creativity for social impact.

The event is being held at JACC and I saw renderings of the setup and I think their outdoor area is gonna look super cool surrounded by the JACC main buildings. The event is free to attend but you need to register. There are over 25 speakers so you’re bound to find a person or subject you’d be interested in hearing.

For more information on the event, click [Here]

A post shared by Comic Con Kuwait (@comicconkuwait) on Jan 13, 2018 at 9:28am PST

Stan Lee, the comic-book writer who co-created the popular characters Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, the X-Men and more is coming to Kuwait next month. Comic-Con Kuwait announced on their twitter account that he will be coming to their event that’s going to be held from February 22 to 24 at the Fairgrounds.

Stan Lee might be the biggest guest star yet to come to a comic-book convention in Kuwait and they still haven’t even announced all the guests. For more information on this event and to buy tickets, click [Here]

Thanks Hanna-Bell

I haven’t reviewed a car for some time now mostly because there really hasn’t been a car I’ve been interested in, but also because I love my Lotus so much I’d rather be in it than any other car. But, since my Lotus isn’t with me at the moment (more on that soon), I decided to take advantage of the situation by test driving the Ferrari 488 GTB.

Driving off in a car for the first time that costs as much as a home is a pretty nerve-wracking experience. The fact the car is also super low, and the roads around the dealership in pretty bad shape didn’t help the situation either. But the Ferrari 488 I was driving had the option to raise the suspension to give it a bit more ground clearance, so I managed to make my way out onto the main road without too much drama. It was pretty early in the morning so the first thing I did was head to Arabica in the city for some coffee. I took the long way by going through a bit of traffic on the 4th all the way to the 30th, and then from the 30th exiting onto the Gulf Road. I spent most of my day taking the longest way everywhere I went. Instead of grabbing my usual acai bowl for example from Liquid near Arabica in the city, for example, I decided to drive all the way to Bida’a and pick one up from Be Cafe. After spending the day zigzagging across Kuwait, I headed out to the desert to get some shots before the sunset.

After driving the Ferrari 488 GTB for a day I’ve come to the conclusion that the car has just two speeds, fast, and I’m going to get deported fast. I’m being serious here. The Ferrari 488 hits 0 to 100km/h in just 3 seconds. That’s just 0.8 seconds faster than my Lotus but damn what a difference that 0.8 makes. But that’s not even the impressive part, if you keep your foot down on the gas for just one more tiny second, you’re suddenly in the getting your license revoked territory. The car is insanely powerful, so much so that there just isn’t enough road for it. Usually, when I take out a sports car to review, I tend to drive it like I stole it. The 488 is probably the first car that I drove decently just because stepping on it would get me in a lot of trouble. Ferrari 488 owners are really going to love our racetrack once it opens up, its the only way to really enjoy and take advantage of all the power the car has to offer.

Other than the speed, a few other things impressed me quite a bit. The brakes on the car impressed me more than the speed of the car, the pedal feel is just so on point and the car stops in an instant. The interior of the car is also a wonderful place to be in. The interior is covered in leather with beautiful stitchwork and lots of carbon fiber trimming. I never felt uncomfortable, and even on my long trip with my friend into the desert, we spoke about how great the car would be on super long trips. Even though the 488 is a sports car first, you’re not sacrificing with comfort or amenities. The sound system was impressively good and the car I drove even came with front and rear parking cameras. It’s a luxury car that just happens to also be crazy ass fast.

So are there any downsides? Well yeah, the car costs as much as a house. The 488 GTB starts at KD78,000 which means I’m not really going to end up owning one anytime soon. But on the bright side, the Ferrari 488 GTB does come with a 5-year warranty (that can be extended up to 15) and 7-years free maintenance. So really the only costs you’ll have to factor in down the line are tires and brake pads. Not bad.

If you’d like to find out more about Ferraris in Kuwait then you should follow the dealer on instagram @ferrarialzayanikuwait. You can also go ahead and build your own 488 by visiting the Ferrari online car configurator [Here]

I went to get some car paperwork done last night but turned out I had a fine I needed to pay. When I tried paying it I got a message saying I couldn’t and needed to get the fine unblocked first. I got caught speeding, going 88KM/h in a 45KM/h zone. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out which road that could have been on but figured I’d just go to the traffic department morning and pay it and get it done with.

I headed to Jabriya traffic department first where they told me I needed to head to the Shuwaikh one instead. When I got to Shuwaikh I headed to the department that unblocks the fines and the cop there was like go get me your car registration since we have to impound your car for two weeks. I was like whaaaat why? Turns out I got caught speeding in the emergency lane. Even though you’re allowed to drive on the emergency lane during rush hour, you’re not meant to exceed 45KM/h. Because the speed cameras give you leeway of up to 20KM/h, I completely forgot the speed limit was 45 and assumed it was 65. So I was driving around 85 thinking I was still within the limit but I obviously wasn’t.

So if you use the emergency lane make sure you don’t speed!

Jeans Grill was a pretty popular restaurant back in the 90s, and the one on the top floor of Sultan Center Salmiya was probably the most popular location since it was open 24/7. Back in the 90s, there were barely any restaurants that opened 24/7, so if you wanted to hang out somewhere late at night, you’d always end up at Jeans Grill. I even went there after my prom with a bunch of friends, so I’m sure other people have memories of the place as well.

I don’t recall the last time I ate at Jeans Grill, but I used to walk by it often while shopping and always admired the fact that it still looked exactly the same. But it clearly wasn’t doing as well as it used to, and recently the Sultan Center Salmiya location was closed down. I originally thought they were revamping it but instead, they opened a coffee shop in its place. Now I kinda regret not having one last dinner there.