2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

So since I’ve been in Egypt I’ve been extremely disappointed with the food. First day I had Maison Thomas Pizza which was supposed to be the best pizza place in Egypt and it turned out to be very normal. Then I had Lucille’s burger which again was supposed to be the best burger in Cairo and it turned out to be average too.

So last night after work I decided to go all out. I wanted to have Kebab (or kofta whatever they call it here). I was told the best in Cairo was this very local place called Al-Rifai so we took our driver and headed there. We got there around 11PM and it was pretty packed but they quickly cleaned a table for us (with a tissue). When I saw the meat outside and the guy putting it on the skewers I could have puked right there on the spot and the smell of the meat wasn’t helping either. In the end out of 4 of us I was the only one who decided to risk it and eat.

The kofta wasn’t impressive at all. It didn’t have any flavor and I really have no clue why its really popular here. I couldn’t believe I risked food poisoning for something so disappointing. Now I don’t think I am interested in trying anything new, might just stick to fast food which is what I enjoy anyway.

Since I arrived to Cairo on the weekend I hadn’t really experience Cairo traffic until today. It took us around an hour and a half to get to Lucille’s a burger place that was highly recommended by a few readers on the blog while it took only 20 minutes on the way back. If that wasn’t bad enough there was a football match tonight in which the Egyptian team Ahli won and I ended up getting stuck in one crazy traffic jam celebration on my way to the production house.

Anyway finding Lucille’s wasn’t very easy and when I did the place didn’t look impressive. I decided to ignore the location and look of the place and go in and order a cheese burger. I had read a lot of positive stuff about this burger so I was really expecting it to be great, it wasn’t!

For everyone who rated this burger highly you must have had a different burger than the one I had because mine was pretty ordinary. Presentation wasn’t appetizing at all and although the bun was soft and the meat tender the burger overall was just fair. If it was in Kuwait I would have rated it a 3 or 3.5 out of 5 not more so I don’t understand how this could be the best burger in Cairo. The one I had at Four Seasons last night was a better burger than this.

No more burgers for me on this trip, I need to start having more local dishes.

GulfRun is starting off this week with the Carwash and Sticker at Al-Falah Carwash on Wednesday and the GulfRun Carshow (Marina Mall Crescent) on Thursday and Friday. Next week the cars head off the Bahrain International Circuit for GulfRun4.

GulfRun Blog:

GulfRun is going to be taking over Marina mall this weekend from Thursday at 5pm until Friday at 10pm, before they head to Bahrain International Circuit for the GulfRun4.

In addition to having the participating race cars on show; Title Sponsor Al-Fahad Travel and Tourism and Gold Sponsor Magic – Natural Energy Drink- will be having their booths present along several exhibitor booths at Marina crescent. They will be showing off everything from Modified cars (Kromozone), Mitsubishi Evo-X and Eclipse(Al-Mulla), Ford (Arabian Motors Group), KTM/Ducati /BMW Motorcycles (TriStar Motorcycles) and even Tamiya Toy cars (My Toy).

List of participating cars [here]
Schedule of events [here] and [here]

Posted by K.

I am having a hard time believing the hotel I am staying in is the second best hotel in Cairo and that its a 5 star. When you first come in the lobby is pretty big and has a luxurious look but as soon as you step into the rooms its as if you’re stepping into another hotel. The rooms are pretty outdated, old, boring, and not very clean. I would give it a 3 star or 4 star tops. I guess the coolest thing about the hotel is the fact that it was in the news a few months back because of the no alcohol policy they activated.

Anyway supposedly Adel Imam comes to the hotel often so I am hoping to catch a glimpse of him before I leave. If you’re coming to Egypt what I am hearing is Four Seasons and Sofitel are the best hotels to stay in. If you are going to stay at the Grand Hyatt then ask for rooms that end with 44 or 45. Best view and the rooms feel cozier.

Speaking of Four Seasons, I had their burger here at the Giza hotel. It wasn’t as good as the amazing one I had in Four Seasons Jordan but still pretty good.

I am now trying to organize a list of things to do here based on everyone’s comments. I am having a hard time organizing the list since there are tons of places that were mentioned. So far I’ve just been to Khan Khalil, the two Four Season hotels and McDonalds which by the way isn’t that good like some people mentioned. The Quarter Pounder here looks like a mutated home made burger and wasn’t that great.

Update: One thing I forgot to mention is the pollution here. Its really really bad. There is like smoke in the air the whole time, like a fog!

Update2: In case my post gave the impression I am not enjoying Egypt that’s not true. I am actually liking it here because of the wackiness and the fact that EVERYONE has a sense of humor!

I feel like I am in a movie.

This has to be the funniest invention ever. Imagine the looks you would get from people if you had that chair at work… [YouTube]

I purchased an oven from Abyat a few days ago. Yeah it sounds strange buying an oven from Abyat and not a place like Alghanim or Eureka but I was looking for a built in oven for my new kitchen and I found a really great looking Gorenje oven from the Ora-Ito collection and for a really competitive price at Abyat.

So yesterday they call me up to deliver the oven. I tell the driver how to get to my place and within 30 minutes he comes over with the new oven and leaves.

So today Abyat call me up to deliver the oven. I tell the driver how to get to my place and within 30 minutes he comes over with the new oven and leaves.

I didn’t mistype, it was déjà vu. It seems they made a mistake and they delivered my oven twice. I now have two beautiful ovens in my kitchen but not for long. I called them up and told them about the mistake they made. They were surprised but very apologetic and will be coming by tomorrow to pick up the extra oven. I like Abyat, its no Home Depot but its close enough.

This site has pictures of what is the coolest McDonalds on Earth located in Japan. It’s free of all McDonalds branding! [Link]

I took this picture a few hours ago.

I am going to Cairo on Friday for 8 days on a work related trip. I’ve never been to Egypt but I’ve heard a lot of good stuff about it but also a lot of bad stuff (supposedly I should only drink bottled water?). I have two days free while I am there so can anyone recommend places to visit or places to eat?

Back in 2006 I posted about how I was able to get a hold of three original Apple Think Different banners from the local Apple dealer (Digits) and today I finally put them up.

For those of you who don’t know, the slogan “Think Different” was created for Apple back in 1997 (yes they were around before the iPod). The slogan was used in various commercials and print adverts but the most famous ones were the creative innovators tribute ads. I was able to get a hold of 3 banners, a Pablo Piccaso, Martha Graham and the rare Buzz Aldrin one.

Since I just finished redecorating (I now officially live inside my blog), I managed to find space to put up the banners and they look great. It took me two years but they’re finally up. The picture above is of the Buzz Aldrin banner, its 70cm wide and 160cm in height.

Does anyone know who the composer was for the Kuwaiti National Anthem? I just tried finding out with Google but couldn’t find anything.

update: Never mind found this…

The Kuwaiti national anthem is by poet Ahmad Meshari Al-Adwani, Ibrahim Al-Soula composed the music and Ahmad Ali arranged the composition. [Source]

No comment. Here is the link to the full page from the paper [Link]

I wonder if it plays the Imperial March theme song while we’re waiting. [Link]

According to SomeContrast KDD have started dropping their prices. Is this because oil has dropped down in price, the economic situation, loss of business or something else? [Link]