Banana Kuwait Blog | Entertainment | Food | Fashion | Electronics

Mother’s day is tomorrow and I must say I was  running slightly out of time to narrow down my gift list for mom, but I did see something really great at On Time, Avenues mall and I liked it. On Time has a Mother’s day Collection (a collection specifically for Mother’s day which is tomorrow) and it comes in the cutest package! I know any mother will be happy to have one.

So if you still haven’t got anything for mama, perhaps this is one of the ideas you should consider.

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I went for dinner last night at Syrian restaurant Naranj at Olympia Mall in Salmiya then decided to take a quick stroll around the mall to see if there’s anything new opening. The mall was almost empty and quiet, well way too quiet to be more precise, I could almost hear if someone whispers and everytime I walk across any shop the salesmen gave me that kind of look that literally says “Please do come in”. This is when I started wondering if these shops make any money? Are they even affording the lease and overheads? I’m seeing more and more malls being totally empty (I better call them ghost malls) in Kuwait these days, especially after Avenues Phase III was opened. Despite being architecturally attractive these malls failed to attract shoppers and strollers; Is it because of the unattractive location? Improper marketing? Absence of high-end brands?

I don’t know if this means that local market has already reached saturation level with regards to malls and shopping, and I think things will get even worse because there are several new malls opening pretty shortly. Anyway back to Olympia Mall, the new stores opening include Cavaraty for customized mobile phone covers and accessories, Rotana Cafe, Geddes & Gillmore which is a Dutch clothing store, Mama Noga (Don’t ask me what’s that?) among others.

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As promised I brought you sneak peek photos for MUJI store before the official opening this weekend at Grand Avenue. I shop at MUJI when ever I visit London but this one is a lot bigger on the inside and it’s built on two levels, there was a wide variety of household and consumer goods like clothes, home furnishings, cosmetics, travel accessories, stationery, gift items, shoes…etc.

What I liked about MUJI stuff is that they were designed smartly, like for instance their dining table that can be folded/unfolded based on your needs. There were also customized stuff for Kuwait and the GCC region such as king size beds. However, my biggest concern was the prices, I noted the items were relatively pricier than London’s MUJI but generally prices varied from low to high to suit everyone’s budget.

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I was getting some home accessories from IKEA and saw they new section for LED light bulbs, I’m already using LED lights in some of the rooms in my home but their LED lights seem even better so I’m considering to completely turn to LED lights because I’m just fed-up of changing lights too often. LED stands for light-emitting diode and have been replacing the regular lights in cars, flash lights, houses and TV’s and even phones, I saw IKEA LED lights come in different sizes and watts based on your needs. What I like about LED bulbs is that they consume 80% less electricity and last 20 times longer (about 20,000 hours) than normal lights and can also be dimmed and are environment friendly. Downside though is the higher price (between KD2 & KD5 per bulb) but on the long run it will save money, another downside is that they can’t withstand high temperature so using LED lights outdoor in Kuwait isn’t a great idea.

Though I’m now wondering if LED bulbs produce the same illumination as normal lights or do we need more lights fixed?

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I’m considering to change my bed room furniture with new stylish/sport furniture so I was looking for a place to sell my used furniture, I don’t like to use those ads on Al Waseet paper or Friday market because they really cut on the price big time, so something that you bought for say KD500 will go for KD50 if you’re lucky. A friend told me that there’s a new online Kuwaiti website called Q8HomeStore [link] specialized for buying and selling used furniture or home related items like rugs, appliances, electroncs…etc.

I checked the website, it has a friendly interface and good thing it’s free and users can search by brand, category, or type. Though what I’m liking is that it allows you to set a price range and minimum and maximum usage. I’ll be using the website to sell used furniture and see if it’s any good.

Thanks [Basel]

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I found that several franchises are coming to Kuwait and most of them will be through Alshaya, I read somewhere that Alshaya operates over 2,000 stores in Kuwait and other countries, most of them are US franchises. So let’s see what we got;

Williams-Sonoma: I saw billboards in Kuwait streets saying that it will open soon at the Avenues, it’s an American appliance retailer specialized in kitchenwares, furniture and linens, as well as other housewares and home furnishings, along with a variety of specialty foods, soaps and lotions.

Katsuya by Starck: I read on Arabian Business this early morning that Alshaya will open Katsuya by Starck in Kuwait and Dubai in 2013, it’s also an American restaurant serving Japanese cuisine. My best guess is that it will open at the Avenues Phase III.

West Elm: I read that it’s an American retail store that offers contemporary furniture designs and other housewares, it will also open at the Avenues Mall.

Other stores/restaurants opening soon in Kuwait include Garrett Popcorn, Cheesecake Factory, Harvey Nichols, Muji, Kidzania, and IHOP.

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If there’s something that I really like, then it’s watches; whether sport, luxury, casual, smart. I was at Hamra Luxury Center and saw that Officine Panerai has just opened, it’s a luxury brand from Italy founded in 1860. Though what I like about them is that they produce watches in limited run, so you when you buy a watch you don’t see others that sporting the same watch (I guess some people like this).

They had four lines of watches; Historic, Contemporary, Manifattura and Special Editions. I’m currently seeking to buy a luxury watch but I’m still undecided what brand should I go for, do you think their watches look cool?

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I was at IKEA a while ago shopping for some home accessories and bed sheets and saw they released their 2013 catalogue in both Arabic and English versions, I’m now checking their new additions for another visit tonight. If you want to view the catalogue online;

Get the Arabic version here and English version here

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I was at 360 Mall last night and I spotted the high Italian fashion brand Miu Miu store for women’s clothing and accessories at the ground floor next to Burberry store. miu miu comes from Prada fashion house and this is their first store in Kuwait and looks like its going to be big.

Now its time for Prada, I overheard its also opening in Kuwait.

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I was doing  some furniture shopping at Midas in the evening and came across these new cute Disney styled bedrooms for kids, they said it just arrived exclusively to Kuwait. I asked if they have copy rights and they said yes they’re legal and approved by Disney.

The bedrooms were designed to resemble some of Disney’s cartoons such as Lightening McQueen and Mickey Mouse and are interactive and can be controlled with remote control, I suspect kids will love it big time. They said prices range between KD250 to KD450

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Its been almost a month since Hamra mall was opened. Last night I was there and I saw that a number of shops and restaurants and cafes that were just opened:

Yoforia frozen yogurt

Häagen-Dazs

Adidas

Espressamente iIly (First time cafe in Kuwait)

Le Relais de L’Entrecote (The biggest one in Kuwait)

Behbehani luxury store

Aljazeera perfumes

Atyab Al Marshood

Shoe Box New York

Eden Park

Hoss Intropia dresses

Kalista jewelry

Wolford fashion

Manoush

Bottega Veneta

In addition to above many others will open soon, can’t wait.

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