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This weekend gamers in Kuwait are going to be treated to two events revolving around video games that will be taking place simultaneously at the Millennium Hotel & Convention Center. The first event is GX 2016 which is a general video game convention where people will have stalls selling video game merchandise and where you’ll also be able to check out cosplayers (famous cosplayer Tali xoxo pictured below will be there) and take part in some competitions to win prizes. The big news here is that two renowned video game companies will also be taking part: Tecmo Koie and Square Enix. Both will be holding mini-press conferences to announce some important news for this region and Square Enix will also have a special video message for us.

The other gaming event taking place will be the Kuwait Battle Royale. The Kuwait Battle Royale is a local video game tournament featuring 7 of the biggest current fighting games: Street Fighter V, Super Smash Bros Wii U, Mortal Kombat X, Pokken Tournament, Dead or Alive 5, BlazBlue and Guilty Gear Xrd. The cool part about this event is that the organizers have flown in the official EVO commentators to take part and the contestants will be a mix of regional and international talent so it should be pretty fun to watch.

The event will start on at 5PM on Thursday and end on Saturday. The full schedule can be found on the organizers website.

Post by Patrick

I love posting about random finds and Aleppo is one of those. I was looking for a very tiny screw for a part on my Datsun 240z and turns out Aleppo is the go-to place for nuts and bolts. The hardware store has been around for nearly 50 years and they supposedly have the largest collection of nuts and bolts in Kuwait.

I ended up finding what I was looking for so figured I’d post about them just in case someone for some odd reason like me needs a specific screw. They’re located right off Canada Dry street and are open daily from 8AM to 8PM except on Fridays when they’re open from 8AM to 1PM. Here is their location on [Google Maps]

Update: They’ve moved to a new location, here it is on Google Maps

Damn does time fly by fast… Choowy Goowy are celebrating their 10 year anniversary this year. It feels like it was just yesterday when I was sitting on my couch, overweight, munching down jar after jar of their cookies while watching the latest episode of Prison Break. I’m also personally celebrating 10 years of friendship since the owner and I ended up becoming close friends after that back and forth collaboration on the blog. For those of you who weren’t in Kuwait at that time, Choowy Goowy basically started the whole home business and cupcake craze (even though they were never a home business or made any cupcakes). Since then they’ve expanded around the region and opened a number of local outlets including their latest one which they’ll be opening this Wednesday next month in Promenade. I told them they should temporarily sell their cookies with their old original branding (pictured above) just for nostalgia’s sake.

I’ve been contemplating for the past few minutes if I should or shouldn’t include a link to my original post and review of Choowy Goowy from back in 2006. I tend to really dislike reading my old posts since it’s kinda like looking through old photos and thinking what the fuck was I wearing?! I ended up deciding that I’d link to the post but just not read it myself. Hopefully it’s not as bad as I imagine it being. Check it out over [Here]

Update: Turns out I misunderstood, their Promenade location isn’t opening this Wednesday but in fact opening next month. But to celebrate their 10 year anniversary, Choowy Goowy are holding an event at their soon to open Promenade location this Wednesday from 6PM to 9PM. Everyone is invited.

There is a HUGE plot of land right across the street from the Green Island and right adjacent to all the embassies on the Gulf Road. Recently they removed all the greenery on that land and demolished all the structures. They’ve basically flattened out the land in preparation for construction and are now in the process of putting up a temporary wall around the plot. It’s the huge block of land I’ve highlighted in the image above. Does anyone have any idea what they’re going to be building there? Here is the location on [Google Maps]

Update: Turns out its going to be a huge real estate project called “Balamlaq” that will transform that plot of land into an area that will contain residential and commercial buildings, hotels, parks and entertainment facilities. It’s being handled by KIPCO who are aware of how unique and rare this plot of space is which is why they’re going to be setting an example with the high level of planning and construction. So thankfully it’s not a new giant food complex. For more information click [Here]

Someone on Reddit asked where to find beard grooming products in Kuwait so I figured I’d create a small list for the guys who have beards (or for their girl friends who are looking to get them a gift). Here are the places I know that have beard products like oils, shampoos and balms:

Spaloon
They carry both “The Bearded Man Company” and “Beard & Company” products.

His Essentials
They carry “Beardition” and “Brooklyn Grooming” products.

Bearded Kuwait
They carry “Beard & Company” products.

If you know of more places let me know and I’ll add it to the list.

SnappCard is a digital loyalty card app that I’ve previously posted about on the blog. They’ve been adding new restaurants since they launched but since my friend is running the app in Kuwait, there are two places I had been nagging him from the start to include in it, Elevation Burger and my favorite Döner kebab place, Slice. These were the only two places I went to that had loyalty cards and because I don’t keep the cards in my wallet, I sometimes don’t have them on me when I visit them. Since last week though Slice is now part of SnappCard and their offer is actually pretty good. Previously after 7 orders you would get a free sandwich but now all you need is 6 orders and you get a choice between a Slice box (carbs free option which is what I take), a Rice box or a combo (sandwich, fries and drink).

While we’re on the subject of SnappCard, Poêle, one of my favorite lunch spots is also in the app. If you haven’t heard of SnappCard before, check out my previous post on it [Here]

This is an odd post but it’s because I love the All-Clad brand. Williams-Sonoma in Avenues currently have a sale going on and this sale includes All-Clad pots and pans. They have All-Clad items marked down 50% which is insane. So if you’re looking for great quality pots and pans, this is a really good deal, like half the price of Amazon kind of deal.

Since we’re on the subject of breakfast today, I just found out about a new breakfast delivery place called Eggcellent that opened up last month. I haven’t tried them out but based on the photos their sandwiches look pretty appetizing. They deliver from Sunday to Thursday, 6:30AM to 2PM and Saturdays from 7:30AM to 3PM. Their instagram is @eggcellentkw

via @theculinaryquest

Adult coloring books have been rising in popularity recently and now you can find some of the Amazon best sellers in Kuwait. The stationary and office equipment store Mogahwi now carries a whole selection of coloring books including the #1 seller on Amazon, “Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book“.

Disappointingly the prices were more than double that of Amazon ranging from KD5 to KD8.5 (Secret Garden is KD8.5). So basically it’s actually a bit cheaper if you order it yourself and ship it to Kuwait. If you’re interested in picking up some coloring books and colors, here is the location Mogahwi on [Google Maps]

There are at least 5 yoga events this weekend which is just too many but, luckily there are also a couple interesting events taking place. On Saturday the KTAA Spring Bazaar is being held at the Sadu House, thats always a pretty nice event to pass by and their setup is always great. There is also a Car Boot Sale on Saturday (I’m a sucker for these things) and then Saturday night the rooftop movie at Cinemagics is a great one with “A Most Wanted Man“. Check out the full list of events below:

Thursday
Exhibition: It’s a Mad World
Exhibition: Sibeel Water by Ammar Al Attar
Fashion Footprint
Rooftop Movie: About Elly

Friday
Fashion Footprint
Beach Fridays at Al Kout!
Taichi in the Park
Yoga at the Park (Hatha Yoga)
Electro Yoga in the Park

Saturday
Fashion Footprint
Car Boot Sale
Yoga at the Park (Vinyasa Flow – Women Only)
Yoga at the Park (Yoga with the 3)
KTAA Spring Bazaar at Sadu House
Madeenah Tour: Salem Al Mubarek Street
Rooftop Yoga Festival
Children’s Interactive Book Reading
Rooftop Movie: A Most Wanted Man
Theatre: The Blue Box – Memories of the Children of War
Q8Books Reopening

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 double check info with organizers.

Mr.Fari (A.K.A Amin Fareed Abdal) is one of my favorite local artists as well as a friend of mine. I’ve posted about him on the blog a number of times before and I think he’s super talented (actually his whole family is) which is why I’m excited to share his latest project titled “Plastic Desert Roots”.

Plastic Desert Roots is a collaboration between Mr.Fari and Fabrice. Fabrice Mareau (whom I’ve also posted about before) produced and musically directed the EP to create a whole different folk reggae pop sound while Mr.Fari wrote the songs and melodies to add to the twist. Both Mr.Fari and Fabrice were raised in the Caribbean yet perform in the Middle East all the time. It seems like it was a matter of time they collaborated.

Two songs from “Plastic Desert Roots” are available to stream online for free (music video for one above) while the rest require to be purchased. Mr.Fari will also be playing the whole album on 99.7FM today from 1PM to 3PM and also explain the backstory behind each.

If you want to hear “Plastic Desert Roots” online and also purchase his music, check out his BandCamp page [Here]

To follow Mr.Fari on his social networks, check out the links below. Some lucky fans have received vinyls and also album leaks.

Mr.Fari on Facebook
Mr.Fari on Instagram
Mr.Fari on Twitter
and “mrfari” on Snapchat

This is the last batch, part three of the three part series I’ve called “Old Kuwait”. All the photos below were taken during my visit to the KOC Photography Archive.

Last week a friend of mine was telling me how he’s recently been getting into cabs and the drivers use the taximeter instead of making up their own fee up and yesterday the same thing happened to me. I took a cab and when I got in, the driver right away turned on the taximeter. Is this like a normal thing now? Because nobody was using the taximeter previously.

Someone posted the ad below in the classifieds section and I thought it deserved a mention on the main page just because of the effort they put into it to try and make it creative:

Are you tired of paying to have taxi drivers take you from point A to point B? Are you tired of climbing into taxis only to find that the inside smells of bad body odor or smoke? Do you want the FREEDOM that comes with car ownership, but the thought of possible future maintenance expenses has got you scared?

Well let me put your mind at ease, car ownership in Kuwait does not have to be scary. The key to SUCCESS with buying a used car in Kuwait is to find a car make and model that’s AFFORDABLE and RELIABLE. Ever wondered why so many taxis in Kuwait drive Mitsubishi, Lancers? Well I’ll be the first to tell you, it’s by no means because they are as glamorus as a Mercedes Benz, it’s because they are AFFORDABLE and RELIABLE. And now’s your chance to own one. That’s right, we are selling our super sharp 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer GLX that has only 70,000km (43,495mi) (1.6-litre, Automatic Transmission, Power Windows, Power Steering.)

We bought this car new directly from Mitsubishi and have taken care of all the routine maintanace. The car has never been in any major accidents and we just put on a new set of tires this year. It’s immediately available and with a price of only 2400KD obo, this opportunity won’t last long. Call Joshua today at 6653-9801 to set up a test drive.

Here is the link to the original posting [Link]

A lot of people think that bookstores won’t survive, I beg to differ! Yes a lot of bookstores are losing money but I think bookstores can be a beautiful thing if they are part of the community, and Q8books was. We had book clubs, writing clubs, writing workshops, kids reading, writing competitions and more practically on a daily basis. So we are all very sad that Bayt Lothan, the generous place that provided us and other young creatives a home closed down last month.

Luckily though, DAI (Dar Al Athar Alislamiyah) is becoming the new trendy place for creatives to go to and they have been generous enough to provide us and our community with a space.

Their Yarmouk cultural center is super cool with plenty of state of the art facilities, a museum gift shop (with lovely books and gorgeous accessories), a beautiful theater, a library, an exhibition hall and so on.

Q8books will be opening at 6pm on April the 23rd (World Book Day) and we would love to see you there. Please come and show your support. Just say hi to our hard working team that wants to make a difference in Kuwait.

Posted by Fajer