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There’s a new burger place called Hashtag that opened up next to Solo Pizza in Kuwait City and I got to try it out tonight. I don’t usually have burgers in the evening but since I had been eating super healthy and clear for nearly 3 weeks I kinda had a weak moment when Fahad posted about it on Instagram. Once I was done with the gym I headed to Hashtag to try it out. I was actually hoping the place would be packed since it would have given myself an excuse not to cheat and drive off but it wasn’t so I parked my car and went in and ordered a burger.

If I was to open a burger place it would be very similar to Hashtag. It’s a very tiny joint in the middle of no where with just 4 burgers on the menu (my place would probably have just one). I ordered a double Hashtag which is 2 beef patties, 2 slices of cheese, grilled onions and their special sauce. I also ordered water as my drink and no fries since I didn’t want to cheat too much.

The burger didn’t take long to make and I sat down and quickly dug in. First impression it looked messy, juicy and delicious. Taste wise it also didn’t disappoint. The bun was soft the patties very juicy and tender and the onions were grilled just the way I like them which is slightly raw. The sauce on the other hand wasn’t that great and I didn’t think it did the burger any justice. Next time I’d probably have it with just ketchup and mustard instead.

My biggest issue is that the place is fairly expensive. A double burger and a bottle of water came out to KD5.250 (4.5 for the burger, 750fils for the water). I think that’s pretty pricy for what should be a small casual burger joint. If you’re interested to try them out (you should), they’re located in Kuwait near Solo Pizza in the building behind Tatami. Here it is on Google Maps [Link]

Not sure whats with the sudden surge of all these dramatic new law proposals but this is one that’s sure to freak out a lot of people:

Kuwait is considering a proposal to crush cars of drivers caught speeding before selling the vehicles as scrap metal, according to reports in the Gulf state

In a bid to combat speeding, drivers caught travelling over 180 km/hr will have their vehicles confiscated, crushed and sold as scrap, Kuwaiti press reported.

My car can’t even get to 180 so I’m safe in that aspect but it still does seem a bit extreme. [Link]

Thanks Ahmed

I think it’s their smallest store in Kuwait. Just remembered they have the much smaller Marina Mall branch.

This is related to my previous post. A few years ago I posted a link to photos of Kuwait in the 1950’s. Well if you’re interested to see how Kuwait and the old Kuwaiti houses looked like back when they were still new then you should check out this photo set. There are around 100 photos to flip through, here is the [Link]

Early Bird’s Bianca took the picture above and it looks like it’s by the same person that did “I want your love” which His&Hers posted about yesterday. Interesting…

Update: Just found out there’s another one as well, “I want your faith“

Back in August I posted about a photography competition 9ura.com was holding and today they announced the three winners. My favorite is the photo above taken by Abdulmajeed Alnujaim for the category Nature. You can check out all three winners on their website [Here]

Thanks Burhan

Going by the trailer it looks like a pretty interesting and well made documentary. Makes me look at Saudi Arabia in a completely different light. [YouTube]

Thanks Nocolor

Last month the Tempur dealer called me and offered me a mattress to review since they were hoping to get some publicity for their recently opened Tempur store at Tilal Complex. I was hesitant at first since I was actually pretty comfortable with my mattress but since I didn’t have anything to lose I decided to try it out.

Tempur have three main mattresses to choose from, the Tempur Original, the Tempur Sensation and the Tempur Cloud. I tried the Original but found it a bit creepy since the mattress felt alive due to the way you sink into slowly. Kinda like quick sand. The Sensation and Cloud were more to my liking and I had trouble deciding between the two before going for the Cloud which I thought was a bit softer than the Sensation.

It’s been three weeks since I got the mattress and I have to say I really love it. I never had an issue with my previous mattress but I don’t think I could go back to it after experiencing the Cloud. It’s going to be a bit hard for me to explain how the new mattress is different but one way I can describe it is that it’s cozier. Like everything Tempur their special material takes the form of your body, kinda like the bed is hugging you which actually explains the cozy feeling. The bed doesn’t use any metal springs and isn’t bouncy at all. One person could jump up and down on one side and the second person wouldn’t feel a thing. They actually have a small demonstration in the store where they drop a metal ball onto regular foam and Tempur foam. When the ball drops onto regular foam it bounces back up into the air but when the same ball drops onto the Tempur foam the impact is absorbed and the ball just stops. One way I feel it is when getting out of bed in the morning. When I try to push off the bed with my hand it actually absorbs some of the force which takes a little bit of getting used to. But, it’s really such a great feeling sleeping on this mattress.

In addition to mattresses they also have pillows and other Tempur accessories in their showroom. They have everything on display for you to try out and even if you’re not comfortable lying down out in the open they have a small room where you could try out the mattresses and pillows in private. If you’re interested, the Tempur store is located in Tilal Complex and their phone number is 22256191.

I found a few old pictures of Kuwait on Magnum Photos which I thought would be fun to try and replicate today. I started off with two which I thought would be the easiest since they’re located next to my office.

The first photo I chose was a colored one from 1965. The building is still there although very slightly modified with less transparent glass and some minor change on the roof. The mosque though is not there anymore instead it’s a parking lot and a bit of greenery.

The second photo I chose was a black and white one of the KNPC building when it was still being constructed. The road in front of it is now slightly different but the building is pretty much the same and today occupied by Soor.

I have to say it’s not as easy as I thought it would be. I tried to stand and get the same angle as the original photographer had gotten but without knowing what lens he had used and the fact that everything is so different today it really makes it difficult. Will try and do more of these every now and then.

I just found out that one of my readers used to pass by the dogs in the Free Trade Zone and feed the dogs every morning. According to the reader the dogs were very friendly and harmless. He even set up a Facebook page asking people to save food left overs and give it to the dogs. Below is taken from the Facebook page he created for them:

Pooch Help – their fate is in your hands.

A group of friendly dogs stranded; probably left there by the friday market barbarians – are in need of continuous food supply. Me and Mom have started providing them with their essentials on regular basis but unfortunately their numbers have increased and require much more attention. I have noticed recently some traces of additional support from kind individuals which I have not met on site; I thank them greatly for their commendable efforts and would like to encourage anyone who still carries a fraction of mercy and capable of assisting to do so.

All that’s required is that you save food leftovers and get it delivered to them.

It was very sad seeing these dogs dead but it’s even sadder going through all the pictures on Facebook and seeing them when they were alive. [Link]

Update: The blogger American Girl just posted pictures and information on the dogs as well since every weekend she used to pass by her husband to feed them. Check out her pictures and post [Here]

Below are all the winners from the Concours automotive event that was held over the weekend at Marina Crescent.

BEST of SHOW
1938 Talbot Lago T150C SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Coupe Chip Connor Hong Kong

Concours Cars
Class-A : 1910 – 1930
1st A5 1924 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Abdulkarim Chhapra Pakistan
2nd A8 1929 Cord L29 Cabriolet Rene Verbiest Belgium
3rd A9 1929 Hupmobile Abdulkarim Chhapra Pakistan

Class-B : 1931 – 1945
1st B9 1938 Talbot Lago T150C SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Coupe Chip Connor Hong Kong
2nd B6 1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Pescara Berlinetta Pietro Navone Spain
3rd B2 1932 Invicta S-Type Low Chassis Alan Chandler UK

Class-C : 1946 – 1960
1st C4 1951 Maserati A6G 2000 Vignale Body Shigeru Hoshino Japan
2nd C13 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mark I Ali Mustafa Makhseed Kuwait
3rd C13 1948 Delahaya 135 MS Convertible coachwork by Saoutchik Jean Claude Marmier France

Class-D : 1961 – 1975
1st D6 1966 Aston Martin DB6 Volante short chassis Mohammed Rezam AlRoumi Kuwait
2nd D8 1966 Lamborghini 350GT Albert & Rita Spiess Switzerland
3rd D3 1963 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato William Loughran UK

Muscle Cars
1st M17 1972 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible Stanley Kryla USA
2nd M8 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 Abdulla AlQadibi Kuwait
3rd M12 1970 Plymouth Cuda 340 Historical, Vintage & Classic Car Museum Kuwait

Racing Cars
1st R5 1953 Ferrari 375MM Spyder Helmut Ebrlein – Representing the owner Germany
2nd R8 1955 Maserati 250F Bill Pope UK
3rd R3 1927 Salmson Type GSC San Sebastian Camille Bourges France

Most Elegant Open Car
1955 Siata 208S Jim Utaski USA

Most Elegant Closed Cars
1955 Bugatti 57S Atalante Chip Connor Hong Kong

Most Elegance Racing Car
1953 Jaguar C-Type Margaret Jackson & Neil Hadfield UK

Best European Car
1963 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato William Loughran UK

Best American Car
1954 Plymouth Explorer 195 Coupe by Ghia Petersen Museum USA

Best Preserved Car
1966 Lamborghini 350GT Albert & Rita Spiess Switzerland

Best Restored Car
1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Pescara Berlinetta Pietro Navone Spain

Most Innovative Italian Car – Trophy Awarded by ACI – Automobile Club of Italy (Selected by Kuwait Concours Judges)
1971 Lamborghini Miura SV Khalid Abdulrahem Bahrain

Best Rolls-Royce
1964 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III Continantal Mulliner Park Ward Sheikh Ahmad Bin Ali Al-Khalifa Bahrai

via Octane

The Concours d’Elegance is now over but Brake Banzeen has taken the liberty to document the cars that took part in the event. His first post is on the classics that took part in the event and you can see them all [Here]

I passed by this morning to the Concours d’Elegance to check out the cars but they wouldn’t let me in because they were closed. I managed to sneak in past the lax security but got caught inside and turned away. Turns out today they’ll only be opening at 7PM for VIPs only but I was told there might be a possibility that they’ll let the public in at 9PM. Below are some pictures of the cars that are on display around Marina Crescent and not in the main Concours area which is closed off from the rest of Marna Crescent.

Lightning McQueen and the other two characters from the Disney movie “Cars” are on display at the Marina Crescent fountain. They’ll be on display at Avenues next week but you can see them right now at Marina.

The incredible Porsche 959 is on display near Pizza Express all alone just like that. Most of the passerby’s will most likely think its just a regular Porsche and wonder why it’s being displayed there.

That’s the Ayrton Senna Williams car.

In the parking lot near Ayyame and Starbucks they have old police cars and fire engines on display. There is also a 4×4 display which includes a gigantic over sized H2 which I’ve actually seen being driven on the Gulf Road previously.

Also the picture on the very top of this post is their Muscle Car display. The whole area is closed off so you can only see the cars from a distance.

Concours d’Elegance will start tomorrow and last for the next four days. I passed by tonight for a peek and it just looks amazing. Aston Martin have a HUGE display which will house the Zagato which was launched earlier tonight at the Salwa Al Sabah Hall. They have a ton of race cars this year including the Ayrton Senna Williams car.

I’m going back tomorrow since everything should be up and ready by then. Below is some information on the event:

Date: February 15th to the 18th
Time: 10:00AM – 10:00PM
Location: Marina Mall interior, Marina Crescent and Marina Lawn

Daily Events
15th – Muscle & Classic
16th – Supercars
17th – Kuwait Bike Show
18th – Enzo Ferrari Birthday (see below)

Muscle Cars Section
69 Dodge Daytona
70 Plymouth Superbird
71 Plymouth ‘Cuda 340 Convertible
67 Mustang Shelby GT500
74 Trans-Am SD
69 Shelby GT500 owned by Carroll Shelby him self!
and many many more.

Hollywood Cars
This year they’re bringing real life sized Pixar/Disney cars including Lighting McQueen, Finn and Mater. They will be on display inside Marina Mall.

Enzo Ferrari Birthday
On the last day of the event, Leonardo Fioravanti the designer behind some legendary Ferrari’s including the 365 GTB 4 “Daytona”, 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer, the 308 GTB and GTS as well as the 288 GTO and the F40 will be giving a lecture at the Concours. His lecture will be on the Ferrari F40 since it’s the F40′s 25th anniversary. The F40 is the last Ferrari he designed and a car many believe to be one of the greatest super cars ever made. Obviously there will also be a Ferrari F40 on display.

– The F40′s nemesis, the Porsche 959 will also be on display at the Concours.

– The first day of the event they’ll be displaying old government vehicles like the old police cars and ambulances etc..

– The last day of the Concours on the occasion of Enzo Ferrari’s birthday, over 150 Ferrari’s will get together at Marina Crescent and then drive towards the Kuwait Towers.

– The Alfa Romeo Bat 11 will be on display.

Kuwaiti is aiming to double its tourist arrivals to one million by 2015 as it seeks to boost its tourism infrastructure to attract more leisure travelers, said the organisers of an upcoming travel expo in Dubai. [Source]

Ummm what tourists??