Dining Out and About in Kuwait

Al Mayass

               R and I were introduced to this restaurant by one of his coworkers. They serve some delicious Lebanese and Armenian food! All three times I have been since arriving have been wonderful meals with great company. We typically will order one dish for each person at the table and then family-style share the dishes with each other. 

Delicious Food (and the blue mocktail tasted like a Sonic Ocean Water slush)

More delicious food with a mocktail mojito

400 Gradi

             This restaurant is located in the Forum section of the Avenues mall. (SIde note: I have since learned this is a chain restaurant, available through at least the Middle East, potentially other areas as well). Has a nice mix of Italian and Arabian dishes. We have not been for lunch yet, only brunch. Brunch was so good, and I was so hungry that I only got this picture of my beverages (An Affogato along with some orange juice). Oh, and the restaurant is located across from the largest H and M store in the world: 

Madison and Heig

Prime and Toast

A little Eggs Benedict with a Cappucino

Friday morning walk along the Marina crescent after brunch

Katsuya

Watermelon mocktail and Blackberry Fizz mocktail

         I had no idea this was a worldwide chain restaurant until I was looking for restaurant website links for this post. So, if you happen to be in Glendale, AZ, South Beach, or the greater Los Angeles area and would like some delicious sushi or sashimi options, check this place out. 

Friday afternoon date during Lent: Sushi and Sashimi!

               We ate at the Arabella location which has nice views of the gulf and has decent parking (or valet parking for even easier access). Randomly, there is also a Pei Wei, Cheesecake Factory, and a Five Guys(!) all located in this restaurant/shopping center among the other restaurants. 

Restaurant iPad menu

               A lot of the restaurants here use iPads for their menus which allows you to see pictures of the different options along with the description. I find this really helpful and a nice touch. 

Babel

              Babel is a Lebanese style restaurant. They offer a Prix Fixe option for a table of 6, or you can order a la carte for individuals. The food was very good and the service was excellent. This restaurant is on the fancier side, and I would encourage one to have reservations in order to eat here. They have outside seating right on the Gulf for nice views (when it is daylight, obviously).

Ramadan Iftar

            I was invited to go to an Iftar dinner a few days ago. Iftar is the meal that is shared after the sunset prayer to break the daily fast for Muslims during Ramadan. There was one held at the White House the other day. 

                 I recently learned that there is a Ramadan tradition of firing a cannon to signal the time for Iftar. The story has it that this particular tradition started by accident. Sultan Khashukdume in Cairo around the years 865/872 Hijri (middle to late 1400s AD). He had a new cannon and he wanted to test-fire it. The test firing exercise happened at exactly the moment when Maghreb prayers were happening during the month of Ramadan. This prayer happens at sunset, so it is the one that signifies the time to break the daily fast. Local residents all thought it was done on purpose to signify this time of day, so the tradition began. 

           This tradition continues and happens every day at Naif Palace during the month of Ramadan. 

Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat for Kuwait Times

Secretary of State visited Kuwait

Diplomatic Visit: March 2019

               While I was on my trip home to visit with family and friends, I learned that our Secretary of State visited Kuwait and posed for photos with several friends. He and our Ambassador even posed with one friend who was holding on to "Flat Stanley" from one of her relatives back in the States. :) Unfamiliar with Flat Stanley? Check the story out here.

Here's a short video from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's Instagram account:

April 2019: Around the World 5k and Air Quality

Around the World 5K

                   There is a charity race that is held each spring around the world within the foreign service community. Team Kuwait participated, and we completed our run along the Marina Crescent Walk off of Gulf Road. This year, the charity recipient was Stone Soup PDX. Go check out their mission and website!

Photo Credit: LF

Air Quality

                We also happened to make a list of a different type: We hit the top of a list for the worst air quality in the world when the measured AQI hit 450s a couple weeks ago. It happened due to a dust storm that had blown in that morning. The air is not usually that badly polluted/ filled with dust. The next day, we were back in the yellow/orange (moderate levels). By the way, that air quality app is top-notch, and I have it on my phone as well.

Source: Teacher.Mom.KW via Air Visual phone app

What I get to wear around on days like that. 

Liberation Tower and Other Feats of Engineering in Kuwait

December 2018

On the right, is a picture of
His Highness Sheikh Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir if Kuwait.
On the left, is a picture of
His Highness, the Crown Prince, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

We were given an opportunity to take a tour up into the Liberation Tower (Kuwait Telecom Tower). The observation deck moves, albeit very slowly, but if you look closely, you can see the buildings in different spots behind our heads in the photos posted below.

History and height of the Liberation Tower

Note: I took this picture as a passenger, R was driving. 

A view of Safat square
and the
Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway
in the far background

You can just barely see the Kuwait Towers
from this angle (top far left)

I have not had a chance to visit the Kuwait Towers yet, only seen them from the ground. Safat Square has a neat history from what I've been able to gather dating back to the 1920s. The Causeway was just inaugurated on 1 May of this year and is currently the 4th longest bridge in the world! It crosses the Kuwait Bay. This is a very impressive feat of engineering, in my humble opinion. I'd like to find a friend willing to drive the span of the bridge with me. I'll keep you updated.

Source: The Times Kuwait

Brunch at Four Seasons Kuwait

November 2018: Four Seasons Kuwait at Burj Alshaya

              Brunch can be a big thing to attend stateside. I went to a few and enjoyed myself with friends and family. Here in the Middle East, though, brunch is a very big deal. Especially Friday Brunch. Although Friday Brunch doesn't typically start until 12 noon, and can occasionally go until 4 in the afternoon. SOmetimes one can go earlier and enjoy restaurants that are basically still empty. R and I went with his boss and boss' family to the Four Seasons one weekend to check it out.

The restaurant is located on the 4th floor, but there is a rooftop restaurant located on the 21st floor as well.

The food selection covers dishes that ranged from Egyptian and North African foods, to Middle Eastern dishes, to your standard breads and cheese plates. It was delicious! I'd certainly go again.