2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003A video has been circulating by email and blogs showing a rat in the meat fridge in Carrefour Kuwait. Other than the fact there is nothing in the video thats proves its Carrefour or that it is in Kuwait, there are a couple of other copies of the exact same video circulating on YouTube that say the video was shot in Al-Ajman or Dubai.
So basically it definitely didn’t happen in Kuwait and it might not have happened at Carrefour or even in the UAE. [YouTube]
I hate Crocs because they look funny but I always wanted something similar for the beach. While in Munich I found an excellent alternative, the PUMA RS 100 INJEX. Pretty long but cooling looking name for what essentially is foam injected into a shoe mold. Its very comfy and much cooler looking than the Crocs. At $35 they are very cheap. [Link]
One thing I haven’t mentioned yet about Munich is the weather. It’s FREEZING, the temperature during the day is like 9 degrees and ever since I came its been raining a lot. Thats why when I passed by Puma in the evening and found their official Volvo Ocean Race gear I had to get a jacket. Pictured above is the official PUMA Race Team jacket which has a Gortex shell, a high collar and a packable hood. I wore it on the way back home in the rain and it was just fantastic.
I also managed to find Adidas Jeans by Diesel. Diesel and Adidas teamed up for this new line of jeans and the Adidas Originals store next to my hotel had some in stock. I ended up getting the pair pictured above. I am having a hard time shopping in Munich since everything closes early (8PM). By the time I finish with work and decide to do some shopping I don’t have time. Even supermarkets close at 8!
With voting set to start in less than 8 hours, it all comes down to 4 (or less) ticks on a piece of paper to choose the next batch of politicians to lead our country for the next 4 (or less) years. I am personally going to be voting for Tahalof, as their views echo mine (in respect to the other candidates).
For those of you who are heading to the ballot box tomorrow, I leave you with a fitting quote from Thomas Sowell:
“If you have been voting for politicians who promise to give you goodies at someone else’s expense, then you have no right to complain when they take your money and give it to someone else, including themselves”
Posted by K.
(No more sms messages in the middle of the night, lost friends stuck at a maqar, surprise meetups in diwaniya, or endless phone calls demanding you vote for their cousin/brother/father.)
I got a chance to check out G-FORCE Auto Worx in the Free Trade Zone yesterday; as they were having a photo-shoot to get ready for their launch in July. The owners have gone all out putting together an unbelievable garage (4wheel dyno, Ferrari-approved prep/paint booth) that is levels above the current offerings in Shuwaikh. In addition to the garage, there is a showroom on the first floor that is going to have some very interesting sports cars for sale and a store carrying racing memorabilia (sadly, the signed Schumacher racing suit is not for sale), gear (shoes, racing suits, helmets) and aftermarket parts (rims, exhausts, etc).
One of the biggest issues with modifying cars in Kuwait is the lack of a capable garage; and GForce is looking to fill that void. They are setting up to be a car-lovers haven and I will be getting more info on the garage, showroom and shop as they get closer to launch.
More pictures below.
Posted by K.
I just heard that the former Crown Prince and Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah has passed away. I am trying to find some news about this online but as of this post no online news site has posted about it.
Update: The news has started appearing online. [Link]
Looks like its going to a food day on this blog. I hate it when I post about a certain topic and then by coincidence end up with a number of posts around the same topic, in this case food. A reader (SJM MUKI) just emailed me the flyer of the new fondue at Häagen-Dazs here in Kuwait and from the picture it looks reallllly good. According to the flyer the fondue costs KD7.500 and is enough for 4 people.
A reader in the forum (aglocogirl) just posted pictures of the Beef Festival menu at Cheeburger Cheeburger in Souk Salmiya. I already reviewed them when they first opened and their burgers were pretty ok but now with the Beef Festival they’ve heavily discounted their prices which makes them more tempting.
20 ounce burger was KD3.250 and now is KD1.750
3/4lb burger was KD2.450 and now is KD1.450
1/2lb burger was KD2.250 and now is KD1.250
1/3lb burger was KD2.050 and now is KD1.150
5.5 ounce burger was KD1.750 now is KD1.050
That prices are pretty cheap specially for the super large 20 ounce burger which I think I have to try. Oh and I haven’t forgotten about The Burger Challenge, I should start passing by more burger joints again very soon.
I’ve had a ton of people ask me what I thought of Syria so I figured I would dedicate a post to it. I had heard sooo much negative stuff about Syria that I arrived expecting the worst but it wasn’t that bad. Border security didn’t give me any issues even though I had a Canadian passport. No one asked for a bribe or even hinted to wanting something. The road from the borders to Damascus was gorgeous and reminded me of the drive from LA to Vegas. Damascus is and looks really old and everyone seems very poor but one things for sure, they sure know how to make the most amazing kebabs. The first night I had dinner at a restaurant called Abu Kamal and they had the best kebab’s I ever tried. The restaurant had been around for over 60 years so I figured they had time to get the formula right but next day for lunch I stopped by this random kebab place on the street and again I had the best kebab I’ve ever had! How the hell is it so easy for them to get kebab so perfect?? I could probably walk into a bakala and ask for kebab and it would be the best kebab in the world. The prices are also sooo cheap!
The hotel I stayed in was called Semiramis Hotel. The website says its 5 stars but I don’t know how thats possible. The hotel was decent, I am guessing for Syrian standards its like superb but it really was just standard. The room was big and the location of the hotel was right in the city, walking distance from a lot of things. I had some free time the next morning and headed to the famous Syrian souk (forgot the name) which was ok I guess, not my style.
The airport was the biggest disappointment. Its old, small, unorganized, dirty and boring. But my Damascus stay wasn’t bad, I wouldn’t go there on a vacation but I didn’t mind passing through.
My escape from Lebanon was a long and adventurous one. Looking back at it now it was an interesting experience but while I was in the car on my way to the Syrian border it was a completely different story. I wasn’t afraid or anything but I really didn’t like the idea that at any moment the road will be blocked and I would have to turn back and cancel my whole trip.
The roads from Lebanon to Syria were randomly getting blocked with burning tires, rocks and sand mounds. There were a lot of taxis offering to take people to the border but none could guarantee you would get there because of the way roads were getting blocked randomly. I needed a “sure thing” and this is why one of my relatives hooked me up with this guy who managed to arrange a series of rides from one area to another until I finally got to Damascus.
The main theory behind changing cars after every area is that the drivers would be very familiar with the roads. So for example if I take a car with a guy who lives in the neighborhood, if one road is blocked he would know another way out and if that road is also blocked he would know another way. By the end of my journey I had taken 6 cars including one that was a van that carried fish! As you can see from the photos, we didn’t stay on the main roads or even the inside roads, we spent most of the time on muddy farmland trails.
The Syrian border I went to (Daboosiyeh) was pretty empty but thats because the roads to get to that border were all blocked. I had some friends who had left much earlier in the day and had gotten stuck at another Syrian border for over 6 hours. Nat did a great job in getting me a Jazeera Airlines ticket before they got sold out and then managed to find me a room in a hotel to stay in even though most hotels in Damascus were fully booked. Anyway I am back and its good to be back but I will be leaving again in a couple of days to Munich.
Varouj is an incredible Armenian restaurant located in a tight backstreet of Bourj Hammoud in Lebanon. The place is tiny on the inside with only 4 tables and the restaurant is run by a father and son, the son cooks while the father takes care of the guests. Anyone who’s watched the Seinfeld episode with the soup Nazi will feel right at home in Varouj because the father is Lebanon’s version of the soup Nazi.
What makes Varouj unique other than the really good food is the character of the father. We were five people having lunch and we were ordering the cold appetizers when the father decided we had enough appetizers and walked away. He wouldn’t let us order any more. Then when he felt it was time he came to us and asked us what hot dishes we wanted and while we were ordering he again told us that he thought we had enough and walked off. We wanted frogs for example but he refused telling us we already had enough dishes. Then later he even decided to cancel one of our other dishes. So we ordered frogs again and again but he kept telling us we didn’t need it. The table behind us called the father and told him they wanted some soujouk and makanek (kinds of sausages) and he told them not now later. Its crazy. He also wouldn’t remove a dish from the table unless it was wiped clean.
The food was delicious, we ordered: hommos, moutabal, fattoush, loubyeh, batata harra, labneh, tongue, spleen, kibeh neyeh, sheep balls, little birds, chicken liver, chicken wings, basterma, soujouk and makanek. All the dishes were the best I have ever tasted.
The way everything is priced is also interesting. Basically nothing is priced and there is no menu. You go in, you order what you want and in the end he will tell you how much you need to pay and you don’t even get a receipt. Our bill came out exactly 100$ but according to my friend if we had ordered less or more the bill would have still come out the same. If you are planning a trip to Lebanon this is a place you need to try if you want a taste of local cuisine. The best way to find the place is to ask a taxi driver in Bourj Hammoud to take you or give the father a call on 03-882933
I just wanted to congratulate Mahmood and Bahrain for ranking #8 on the sinful capitals of the world list. There was a lot of strong competition this year but they managed to do pretty well, even better than Dubai which didn’t even make the top 10 list surprisingly. The criteria to enter the sin cities list is pretty simple: The country needs to offer a strong presence of gambling, sex, drinking, drugs, and/or partying. For the full top 10 list click [Here]
Who knew there were so many different kinds of ice cubes. The one pictured above is called the Orchid Ice and actually contains an orchid flower inside. When you get to the page just click “next” on the top to flip between the different ice cubes. [Link]
Cinemagic’s screening of The Kite Runner has been postponed till next week due to bad weather.
The people from FASTtelco have responded to our post ‘FASTtelco hates bloggers’; We have included FT’s response (and our reply) below. As it is a fairly long post (contrary to usual 248am postings), you will need to click ‘Continue reading‘ for the rest of the post.