2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

OK be prepared for the best post yet on this blog…

I was talking to a friend of mine about Salmiya in the 80s and one thing led to another and I was telling him how strong a brand Tikka was back then. I was telling him about the “I like it spicy” guy (pictured above) and the Tikka commercials and how if you asked anyone who grew up in Kuwait back in the 80s they would remember the commercial and even sing you the jingle. It became a classic like the Pizza Italia and Hungry Bunny commercials.

Anyway I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be cool to find out who the “I like it spicy” guy was, what happened to him and how he looked like today? Well guess what… After a bit of research and digging around I found out who he was.

The actor who played the “I like it spicy” character was Galal Zaki. He wasn’t an actor, he worked in the ad agency that came up with the idea. Like Alfred Hitchcock, Galal liked to star in his own work and that’s how he ended up becoming the Tikka guy. the picture below is of Galal Zaki which I found on Google and is dated 2007. Although a lot older now you can still see some resemblance.

Today Galal Zaki is the CEO of Perception Communication in Egypt. He was also recently awarded the Rameh IAA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Update: Here is an old Tikka commercial. It’s not the famous one but its better than nothing…

[YouTube]

Update2: And here is the more popular one…

[YouTube]

Blogger Mathai was at the Red Bull car park drift and took some cool pictures. You can check them out [Here]

I guess the gelatin issue isn’t really an issue.

Even though the weather was horrible on Friday the Red Bull drift challenge still took place and judging by the video it seemed pretty packed. [YouTube]

Over the weekend I found out about a cool real estate website called Masahati that actually works pretty well. There are a ton of websites dealing with real estate in Kuwait but the majority are either outdated, don’t work right or just too complicated to use. Masahati, although doesn’t contain a lot of apartments right now is actually very enjoyable and fun to use.

There are a variety of ways to use the site but I like using it with the map of Kuwait. You scroll around on the map and when there is an apartment for rent it shows up as a 3D icon which you can click and get more info. The search can be customizable and if you don’t like the map view you can flip through available apartments in a list view, thumbnails view or even a photo flow. Hopefully with more exposure they can get more popular and add more apartments. Check out the website [Here]

Update: Here is a link to their facebook group [Link]

Not sure if this can be counted as an activity or not but it is more entertaining than sitting at home doing nothing. A reader emailed me to tell me that his friend’s band perform live unplugged music every Friday and Saturday at Applebee’s. On Friday they play at the Gulf Road branch while on Saturday they play at the Fintas branch. They start at 8:30PM and play until midnight.

Thanks Osama

The best thing about this weather is that everyone stays in doors. I passed by Kei in Marina Crescent for lunch and it was empty, I was like the only person there. It looked like a scene from the movie and video game Silent Hill.

Some random footage someone shot of Abu Halifa back in 1988 before the Gulf War. There is something eerie about the video. [YouTube]

Animal Friends is holding a fundraiser quiz night on Friday 14th May at the Movenpick Al-Bida’a. A quiz night is like a trivia night. There are about 10 teams of five and they have 6 rounds of questions, ranging from general knowledge, sports, music etc. The cost is a 10KD and this includes a buffet dinner.

When: Friday 14th May
Time: 6.30pm
How much: KD10 donation per person Includes prizes and dinner
RSVP by 13th May
Teams of up to six people
Please email your team details to [email protected] or call 9737 7867

All proceeds go to help rebuild the K’S PATH animal shelter in Wafra

I was supposed to post this a few days ago but completely forgot sorry about that. Call them today if you’re interested. Here is the flyer [Link]

Kotaku (one of the most popular video game sites online) last night posted an article about the arcade scene in Kuwait. They linked to a Kuwait Arcade Database which was put together by a guy called Yousef. Burj Al Abyad is still alive and kicking, leading the pack when it comes to fighting games. They actually hold proper Street Fighter tournaments there. Personally my favorite arcade in Kuwait used to be the Showbiz arcade before they shut down since they had some great old games like Killer Instinct and Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker. Anyway here is the link to the Kuwait Arcade Database [Link]

Thanks Yousef

Seems the dance off is on. Last week I posted a video of local McDonalds employees doing a pretty impressive dance routine and this week Caribou Coffee have their own video up. So which video is better? McDonalds without a doubt. Lets wait and see who will challenge them next. [YouTube]

This is gross. 5 tons of deep fried falafel… [Link]

via blogbaladi

[YouTube]

I just found out about EoS. Seems like they’re a cool local group that bring in international DJ’s to Kuwait and set up parties. They’re pretty organized with a website that contains information, pictures and even a blog. The video above is of one of their latest parties but check out their website for more details.

I guess this could be counted as an activity if you can get an invite? [Link]

Update: Wow, according to their DJ list they’ve even brought EL DJETTE to Kuwait!

A reader just made me aware of a section on the Cinescape website where they’ve listed some of the movies banned by the Ministry of Interior Information. The list is more like a “Need to watch” list except for the movie “Cop Out”. It’s probably a good thing that the ministry banned that movie… [Link]

Thanks Salah

Looks like someone finally got fed up with the Kuwaiti customs and decided to hack their website. They also posted the following message:

Why i did This? Kuwait Customs are Shit & They charge Customs Duty High
We Are: Mafia Hack3rz Group
You are in panic Customs People?
This is a Lesson for you not to charge High Customs Duty! Coward’s!
Gr33tz: M4v3rick – W4n73d – H4D3S – STORM – Contact me? Email: [email protected]
Made in KWWAIT2010 ©

Currently the customs website seems to be back up but the hacked page can still be access by clicking [Here]

Thanks Mariam