Search: “ur”

Four years ago I posted about the Burgan Blowout, an incident that took place back in 1964 and is now long forgotten. The Burgan Blowout was the largest oil well fire in Kuwait before the 1990 invasion. It took six weeks to extinguish and for that short period of time, was the biggest touristic attraction in Kuwait. Since I originally posted about the event I’ve now come across a lot more photos so I’m reposting the story again with a bit more details as well as the new photos.

The explosion took place at Burgan oil well No. 331 on December 29th, 1964. The gas was ignited by a spark as a worker tried to control a sudden upsurge of mud. Once work started on putting out the fire, it became the biggest tourist attraction in Kuwait. So, a plan was put into place to let the public come and see it, but in a controlled manner, so that it was safe and so that no one got in the way.

Once you got to Burgan you followed in a convoy to a designated parking area a safe distance from the fire. You’d then would walk the remaining way towards the viewing grandstands that were set up for the public. According to a reader (John Beresford) who was 10 years old at the time, as they drove towards the oil well, they could hear a moan that kept getting louder and louder. The force of the gas coming up was so powerful it was causing the ground to vibrate, and this was from quite a distance from the well. It was winter but the heat coming off the fire was so strong that the climate was getting warmer as they walked towards the viewing area. The sound was also getting louder to the point where they had to speak more loudly, almost shouting at each other. By the time they reached the viewing area the temperature had increased to a level that was unpleasant causing the skin facing the flames to get quite warm.

A couple of days after the fire started the famous American oil well firefighter Red Adair was called in to help. Adair became notable internationally as an innovator in the specialized and hazardous profession of extinguishing oil well blowouts. Amazingly, at the age of 75, Adair was called again 26 years later to help extinguish the 1991 oil well fires set by retreating Iraqi troops after the Gulf War.

The first image is from the @trmkuwait family archive, the second was taken by the John’s parents, and the remaining black and white photos were provided by @badshaiji

Interesting tidbit, the photo above is of Red Adair (left) and his fellow fire fighter lieutenant Coots Matthews (right). Coots formed his own competing company in 1978 called Boots & Coots. Combined, Red Adair Co. and Boots & Coots were responsible for extinguishing more than a third of the 700 oil well fires set by the retreating Iraqi soldiers in the Gulf War.

This is a collab I didn’t know I needed in my life. I was at The Avenues and noticed that Lush have a new line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soaps from bath bombs to shampoo bars and they look like a lot of fun. They also had a weird soft and icky feeling Krang shower jelly which I think was my favorite item followed by the pizza slices bath bombs.

Kuwait is currently oversaturated with burger spots but that wasn’t always the case. Back in 1969, when Wimpy opened in Kuwait, there weren’t any other burger brands.

Wimpy was a US burger franchise that first opened in 1934 with the name inspired by the burger loving character, Wimpy from the Popeye cartoons. In 1957, Wimpy International was created, and in 1969, Kuwait Food Company (Americana) brought the Wimpy franchise to Kuwait.

The first Wimpy location in Kuwait was in Salmiya which I’ve shared the pictures above. The other location I have shared is the Ahmadi Market location below.

Wimpy claim to have served the first ever cheeseburger to Arabia. I know from people who used to go to Hubara Club in Ahmadi in the 60s that they had a burger on their menu. But, that wasn’t really open to the general public. So, it would be safe to say, that Wimpy, at least helped introduce the burger to the mainstream population of Kuwait.

Boutiqaat, the largest online fashion and cosmetics platform in the region just launched a very cool campaign where you could win one of three Hermes bags.

Every 30KD spent on their website enters you into the special draw for a chance to win a bag. So for example, if you spend 100KD you get three entries for the draw. The more you spend the more chances you get. What’s funny is that you probably have a higher chance of winning a Hermes bag with Boutiqaat than trying to buy one from a Hermes store. These bags are incredibly hard to come by!

This campaign is applicable across the Gulf as well as Iraq and for both men and women. For more info and to stay posted on future campaigns, follow @boutiqaat or shop by visiting Boutiqaat.com

I’m a very routine-oriented person, and one of the things I like to do is head to The Avenues every Friday morning, at least in the hot months when I can’t be outdoors. I just find it relaxing to walk around and shop, and before it gets busy, I have an early lunch and then leave. My go-to place for lunch is usually Em Sherif Café or Midar; but recently, I’ve added Matbakhi to the list.

Matbakhi is an authentic Palestinian restaurant that has been open for a couple of months. It’s owned by Chef Sawsan (@sawsansmatbakhi) and is inspired by her heritage and her mother’s recipes. I think I’ve been there six or seven times already, and it’s quickly become one of my favorite spots.

I think they have one of the best, if not the best, tabbouleh and shish taouk in Kuwait. The reason I first went there was because of their shish taouk. A friend at work who knows that’s all I ever eat tried their taouk and told me I had to try it because it was the best one she’d ever had, and she was right. Matbakhi is also one of those places where you can’t really go wrong no matter what you order. Every time I’ve been there with various people, everyone has always loved whatever they’ve ordered. Oh, and they also have the best Om Ali ever—seriously, so good.

Their prices are in the mid-to-upper range of Lebanese restaurants. The taouk, for example, is 4.950 KD, while the tabbouleh is 2.950 KD. The only negative aspect might be their service, which can be a bit iffy sometimes, but that’s just nitpicking. If you want to try the place out, they’re located across from Cheesecake Factory in Phase 3. They’re always pretty busy, so either head there when they first open at 12 PM (which is what I do), or put your name on the waiting list and then kill time walking around The Avenues. Their Instagram account is @matbakhibysawsan

Philippe is a New York-based high-end Chinese restaurant by Executive Chef Philippe Chow. They are opening their first location outside the US at JACC this coming Thursday, June 6th.

The restaurant is known for its sophisticated dining experience, and its New York location is a popular destination for celebrities and food enthusiasts. The cuisine is considered modern Beijing-style, and they are especially famous for their Peking duck and satays.

The reservation link is on their Instagram page, but there doesn’t seem to be any dates available. You could try your luck as a walk-in without a reservation since most restaurants in Kuwait tend to have a no-show rate of around 20-30%. @philippechow.kw

Nando’s are opening their new location at the Marina Mall sea side extension, Marina Crescent this coming Thursday, June 6th. Although I really enjoyed the food at The Warehouse location, it was just too far for me to want to drive there just for Nando’s. The Marina location makes a lot more sense for me so I’ll be there pretty much all the time.

If you haven’t gotten your biometric scanning done yet and can’t find an appointment, here is a tip, if you’re traveling soon do it on the way out.

I got my biometrics done last year at the Saudi/Kuwait border but my wife hadn’t done hers yet and was worried we’d have to get stuck in line on the way back to get it done. But, a friend who recently traveled from Terminal 1 told me she got her biometric scan done after passport control on the way out, and she didn’t have to wait. So this morning while leaving from Terminal 4 we asked passport control if my wife could get her biometrics done and he pointed towards a blue booth in the corner. We went to it, no line, no appointment and no waiting. She got her biometrics scanned and now she’s done with it.

If you try getting your biometrics scanned on arrival, good luck cuz I’ve heard the lines are a nightmare.

Ten years ago, Kuwait held the largest sand sculpture festival in the world, the Remal International Festival (@remalfest). The festival took place at the Kuwait International Fairgrounds and covered an area equivalent to six football fields. Now a decade later, Damon Langlois, the creative director behind the project is releasing a book called “Stories in Sand” that documents his experience.

Damon was a five-time world champion and Guinness World Record holder for the tallest sand castle before getting hired to come to Kuwait and lead the project that would be based around the Arabian Nights. He spent over seven months researching and designing the scenes before bringing together 72 of the world’s best sand artists to reimagine the stories from 1001 Nights.

The sculpture park was constructed out of only sand and water, it was a major artistic feat, and extremely risky. The artists were all reminded of this when the park was destroyed by a devastating three-day storm halfway through the build. At the time, it was the worst storm to hit Kuwait in over 50 years.

I remember reading that “some” sculptures had been damaged, but now I realized how bad it really was. The destruction caused Damon and his team to feel defeated after all the hard work had been washed away. But, they were able to recover and complete the project, and the park eventually opened in January 2014 before closing 4 months later in April.

Damon’s book “Stories in Sand”, is part art and part storybook. The initial print run is set at only 260 books and contains 276 pages filled with behind the scenes and final creation photos and stories. There are limited copies of the book so if you want one you need to act fast. I’m assuming they will get sold out quickly after this post which is why I already ordered my copy. The book doesn’t ship to Kuwait directly so I had to put my Shop&Ship address instead.

If you want to pre-order a copy, here is the link to the Kickstarter.

For my old posts on the Remal Festival, click here.

Last week a video popped up on my feed that I thought was fascinating. A guy called Hamad AlMuzaini (@hamad.muzaini) had spotted a little piece of architecture history at a scrap yard in Amghara, the Maison Bulle (Bubble House) by French modernist architect, Jean-Benjamin Maneval.

The Bubble House which was conceived in 1963 is considered to be one of the most successful designs for “futuristic plastic houses“. Only 300 of these prefab homes were ever built and so it’s pretty incredible that not only did one end up in Kuwait, but the fact that it survived and is in fairly decent condition is a miracle.

Hamad is an architect and designer who lived and worked in the US for roughly 13 years. Most of his work experience revolved around modular and prefabricated construction, which is why when he spotted the Bubble House roughly two years ago, he immediately recognized that it was a novel system and had immense value. But, Hamad only realized recently what he had spotted when an account he follows posted a similar Bubble House. So Hamad went back to Amghara and called the number of the scrapyard asking if it was for sale. From there he purchased the house and started planning its relocation.

Most of the images online consistently depicted the Bubble House set against nature, making a really beautiful composition of something quite futuristic. So he decided to move the Bubble House out of the scrap yard and onto his family’s farm.

Currently Hamad is focusing his efforts on restoring the structure without permanent and damaging procedures. He wants to restore it as close to the original as possible but without an interior layout, leaving it as an open floor plan. He hopes to one day host events with some community engagement surrounding the Maison Bulle, but for now his focus is to restore it.

How the Bubble House ended up in Kuwait in the first place is still a mystery, but at least it’s in good hands right now.

There are a lot of great Thai restaurants in Kuwait but my favorite by far has to be Phet Phet. I think they have the best Pad Thai and Panang Curry in Kuwait, but I also really love their Spicy Potato Noodles. They have been delivery only since they launched a few years ago, but today they’re opening their first dine-in location.

Phet Phet was started by two female friends who used to go to Thailand a lot. When covid hit, they missed Thailand and the food they used to have there, and since delivery wasn’t available at one point, they decided to make their own recipes and cook their own food. Eventually, they decided to open up a restaurant and called it Phet Phet.

Their new location is located in Salmiya, on the same street as %Arabica and Joe and the Juice. It’s a very cute space and so close to where I live which is great for me. They’re open from 3PM to 11PM daily except for Sundays when they close. Here is the location on Google Maps, and their instagram account is @phetphetkw

The Northern Salmiya Building is located in the old Salmiya souk on Salem Mubarak Street. It’s over 50 years old, and since I grew up down the street from it, I’ve seen so many shops come and go there.

It’s the same complex that used to house Kids’r’us (Alghanim Automotive before that) and it’s the same building that had the old National/Panasonic store that used to have the NeoGeo in the window display. The corner shop was Boushahri where everyone used to go to get their passport photos taken. Mogahwi was also located there, the first Alshaya stores also all opened there including The Bodyshop, BHS, Mothercare and Next.

The building was also designed by SSH over 50 years ago, the same firm that’s behind JACC, ASCC and the waterfront project.

Recently, the corner of the building was demolished, and a tower was built in its place. It sucks that they demolished part of the building, but now that the tower is up it’s actually not that bad and I’m glad at least that they didn’t demolish the whole thing. What’s great is that they’ve also gone ahead and refurbished the rest of the building with a fresh coat of paint, new lights and even had some oversized signages for some of the stores removed.

The building is looking pretty good now, and I wish more old buildings got refurbished as well. And I don’t mean Dasman Complex style refurbishing where they’re just horribly covering the whole building facade with Alucobond.

If you haven’t been to old salmiya recently you should, it’s really popping. Google Maps

Update: Just found a photo in my archive of the Northern Salmiya Building under construction

Young Po is a new Pan-Asian restaurant opening soon, created by local chef Khaled AlBaker (@chefkb). When I found out he was opening an Asian concept I was pretty excited since I love Chinese food and there aren’t that many “nice” Chinese restaurants in Kuwait. I had the opportunity to try out Young Po last week, and I had a great overall experience.

Young Po isn’t limited to just Chinese food but also covers a wide range of Asian food including Japanese and Korean. The menu was divided into six categories:

• Starters
• Dim Sum
• Sushi & Sashimi
• Special Quests
• Robata
• Wok

The special quests category is for items like roasted duck and shabu shabu, while the rest of the categories are pretty self-explanatory. I ended up ordering the following dishes:

• Master Garden Salad
• Lobster on Toast
• Deobokki (Rice Cakes)
• Prawn Jiaozi (Dim Sum)
• Not-so California Roll
• Chu Toro Nigiri
• Wagyu Tenderloin (Robata)
• Baloul Clay Pot (Robata)
• Brocollini (Robata)
• Sweet & Sour Shrimp
• Egg Fried Rice

It was a lot of food for just two people, but it gave me a chance to try out a variety of dishes I usually wouldn’t order. I ended up loving everything I tried but, my go-to dish is always sweet & sour (I’m boring like that) and the one at Young Po might be the best I’ve ever had.

There were no prices on the menu when I was there, and of this post they’re still being finalized. But, it will be an “upper” casual dining experience.

If you want to try Young Po they’re opening in Shuwaikh this Wednesday, May 1st. Reservations are currently open on their website but there will be tables available for walk-ins as well.

The Instagram account is @youngpo.me, but to reserve a table, head over to youngpo.com

The Palestine Film Festival Kuwait kicks off tomorrow, (Thursday, April 25th) as part of the Palestine Days event that’s taking place this weekend at the Contemporary Art Platform in Shuwaikh.

The festival is dedicated to promoting and celebrating Palestinian life, art and culture, and they will be showcasing a curated selection of feature films, documentaries and shorts.

In addition to the films, there will also be book launches, talks and an exhibition by the Palestinian Cultural Center in which they will be selling beautiful, artisanal Palestinian products.

The event and screenings are free, but registration is required for the films as seats are limited. Find the registration form in the festival’s bio @palestinefilmfest_kuwait

Dalal Khajah is a Kuwaiti author and the Co-Founder of Manservants, a US-based company that allows women to order chivalrous gentlemen for launch events, red carpets, or just for a girls’ night out.

The company started off as a joke that Dalal and her colleague took too far, but then it went viral and took off to become a serious and successful business that now serves Palm Springs, Los Angeles, San Diego and New York. Each ManServant is trained in their signature service, which includes, but is not limited to, pouring drinks, serving compliments and adoration, taking photos, and waiting on the women hand and foot.

“ManServant Guide to Modern Chivalry” is a book that was born out of the business. It’s a book that details how men should treat women in the 21st century from doing laundry, carrying shopping bags, cleaning the bathroom, or watching the kids.

The book has just been released and is already garnering media attention, including Dalal being invited onto the show “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” a few days ago. If Andy looks familiar, it’s because he also hosts “The Real Housewives.”

I downloaded the book on my Kindle and it’s fun little book thats not meant to be taken too seriously. It’s also reasonably priced, at just $10.99 for the Kindle version and $20 for the hardcover.

If you want to buy the book or just find out more about Dalal and Manservants, head over to @manservants_co or their website manservants.co