Search: “kuwait”

Mr Babu is a website that belongs to a friend of mine and I think it’s an interesting idea that should make shopping much easier for a lot of people. It’s an online shop but the way it works is different from other local online shops. Mr Babu is connected to a bunch of international online shopping databases and when you search for an item on their website it will find it for you, convert the price to Kuwaiti Dinars, add a shipping fee to Kuwait and then displays the price. You then place an order and they’ll get it for you. The price you see on their website is the price you pay for the item including shipping to Kuwait. There are no extra hidden shipping costs or anything of the sort.

I ordered the Bug-A-Salt (video above) from their website and since they had some local stock it was delivered to me the next businesses day. Most items though will take a week or more similar to when ordering using Shop & Ship or Borderlinx. The website is still in beta so it’s running a little slow but other than that its working fine. You can check it out [Here]

Update: In case the website isn’t working here is an explanation from Mr Babu:

We are overwhelmed by the traffic generated by your post which caused our site to crash (as you mentioned being in Beta stage we learn a thing everyday). Our team is working on the issue and will resolve it very soon. Thank you for using Mrbabu

GulfRun 7 takes over the Bahrain International Circuit from GulfRun

Since GulfRun 8 is approaching next month the team decided to release a video highlighting last years event. GulfRun is an event in which guys from Kuwait send their cars to Bahrain and spend two days racing on the Formula 1 circuit with other drivers. For more information on GulfRun you can check out their website [Here]

I was contacted by Alghanim Automotive asking me if I’d be interested in reviewing the new Camaro ZL1. I’m honestly not a big fan of American cars and if they were asking me to review the regular Camaro I would have most likely said no, but… the ZL1 is a different kind of Camaro, it’s a Camaro with a V8 6.2L 580-freakin-HP monster engine. So I said yes.

There’s a popular saying that people don’t change, well that’s not true. I’m usually a law abiding, non-agressive and courteous driver, but once I started driving the ZL1 I changed. In my neighborhood I became the asshole down the street with the loud car who tries to run down all the cats. On the highway I became the jerk that cuts everyone off, at u-turns I became the douche that slides his car at full thrust and at red traffic lights I was the dipstick who kept revving his engine loudly. This car is dark and evil. It changes people. All I wanted to do is drive around with my middle finger sticking out the window while doing donuts in the middle of every intersection on the Gulf Road. Oh and a large FUCK YOU sticker on the rear window would have been nice as well. I really loved this car.

The ZL1 I picked up was pretty aggressive looking. The color was a very dark gray (jet black), the 20inch wheels were black and the interior was also black. If I was to choose a color combination for my car this would have been exactly it. I am really thankful to Alghanim for not providing me with a bright yellow Camaro with black stripes running down the middle since I would have most likely puked all over it. The interior as I mentioned was also black but they also used Alcantara (suede like material) for the steering wheel, gear stick and dash which made the interior very sporty looking. I had a choice between an auto and manual but since my stick shift skills are as good as Kim Kardashians acting skills, I chose the auto to the dismay of all my friends. I don’t regret I did. Although the automatic gearbox has a lot to be desired in term of responsiveness and speed, it didn’t really matter to me since I wasn’t on the track and I was just having too much fun with the car to notice. The car really is a lot of fun to drive. The first two days when I picked up the car it was raining so obviously the roads were wet and a 580HP rear wheel drive car on a wet surface is asking for trouble (the good kind). You really do need to respect the power which I wasn’t really doing hence why I got the scare of my life when I was driving at around 110KM/H and gave the car a kick down which to my surprise slid the ass sideways so much I nearly hit the car on my right. This car is a beast. It’s loud, it’s angry and it wants to kill you. I have no idea how I didn’t get stopped by the cops and deported in the five days I had the car. It was crazy good times.

I do have a bunch of negatives about the car though. For one thing the seats aren’t sporty enough. I would have wanted them to be deeper bucket seats and tighter since I was sliding left and right on my seat without much side support. The stereo was also a disappointment even though it was a 250w Boston Acoustics sound system, it just didn’t have the oomph. Externally, the front and sides of the car look pretty aggressive but the rear not so much. If I bought this car the first thing I’d do is replace the rear wing with a carbon version to match the carbon on the front hood, I’d also black out the chrome around the rear lights and more importantly replace the rear bumper with one more aggressive looking and possibly one with a rear carbon skirt. Finally gas consumption. If you drive the car like an old women the gas consumption is actually not that bad. On the other hand if you drive the car like it’s meant to be driven then you’re going to consume a lot of gas, and I mean A LOT of gas. There was one day where I filled the gas tank full three freakin times! I’ve never done that with ANY car before not even on long road trips.

The price of the auto ZL1 in Kuwait is KD19,695. The manual version is for slightly less at KD19,195. If you’re looking for a very fun monster but one that’s still comfortable as an everyday car then I can’t think of anything better than this. I want this car.

Note: No cats were harmed during the making of this review

This time it took place at a gas station. I don’t have any details on why the altercation took place or what happened to the victim. If I find out anything will update this post. [YouTube]

Note: Sorry for the bloody photos below but The Avenues cleaners weren’t available to mop up the mess.

Update: I added a second video below

Update2: Kuwait Times has “some” information on this attack. [Link]

Update3: The attackers were arrested. [Link]

The Forum’s For Sale section always has interesting items for sale and usually for very good deals. Right now someone is selling the limited Kuwait edition Panerai with the Al Hamra engraving on the back for what could be a good price. If you’re interested you can check it out [Here]

I got an email from a reader saying that KDD products are now available at the Qurtuba Co-op. Only at the Qurtuba Co-op and not any other Co-ops as of this post. Usually the Co-ops are all united with their decisions but it seems there is some sort of internal conflict taking place right now and the Qurtuba Co-op was the first one to breakaway from the Co-ops KDD boycott and put KDD back on the shelves. I’m curious to see where this is going.

Thanks Kuwait Lover

No idea what happened, supposedly it was over a girl but that’s still unconfirmed. There are also some graphic pictures of the victim currently circulating Whatsapp, Instagram and Twitter but I won’t be sharing them here.

Picture by Fajer188x

Update: A friend sent me the following video, no idea who the source is but that’s a lot of blood.

[YouTube]

Update2: Just posted the facts on the stabbing [Here]

Desert Tycoon is an iPhone game created by two guys one of whom is Kuwaiti Abdullah Al Zabin. The game is similar to SimCity but in this case you are based in the Gulf and you start off as a humble Bedouin. Step by step you build your business empire of real estate, business, energy, and tourism assets with the aim of basically turning your city into an Arabian metropolis like how Dubai is today.

The cartoon graphics are great and the music fits the game perfectly. More importantly the game is free and available to download from the iTunes store right now. [English Version] [Arabic Version]

Update: I got an email from Abdullah with some details regarding who they are. This is what he had to say:

A brief background about us. Myself and my business partner Ali Diab started Lumba in January of this year with a simple premise: build the next generation Arab mobile entertainment company. We are based in San Francisco, actually in the same shared office where many of the [now] large mobile game developers (Pocket Gems, SuperCell, Kabam, etc.) started over the past 3 years.

Our team consists of:
– Product Managers that worked for AdMob, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Bain
– Artists and Illustrators that worked with Pixar, Dreamworks, Fox, and Disney
– Software Engineers that worked for Google
– Music composer and producer who scored music for console game titles on PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. He also produced music for Kelly Rowland, Rick Ross, Black Eyed Peas, and Nicole Scherzinger

We are taking it upon ourselves to tastefully fuse Silicon Valley tech with our Arab cultural roots for all our mobile games. We hope our first, Desert Tycoon, is representative of that.

It’s pretty impressive that a company founded back in 1889 still exists today and is considered one of the most innovative and creative companies in their field. Nintendo has survived throughout these years not by sheer luck, but by being able to adapt to markets and get ahead of the game. Nintendo didn’t always make video games – it started out making playing cards and when that business was waning the CEO of the time Hiroshi Yamauchis decided to move into other businesses like instant noodles, a taxi company, and even a TV network. Eventually, Nintendo made its way in the video game business and released the NES; 27 years later, Nintendo has finally released its sixth console, the Wii U.

Nintendo’s philosophy has never been about creating the most powerful console with the best graphics, but to create a console that anyone could enjoy, developers could create fun games for, and is affordable. They constantly try to innovate without going overboard. The Nintendo 64 was the first console to introduce analogue sticks and 4 player controller ports right out of the box that competitors adapted in the future. We’re seeing similar advancements with motion controls that Nintendo introduced with the Wii and now Nintendo has taken another step forward by introducing the Wii U and the Game Pad.

Mark was able to hook me up with a Wii U from X-cite to review and I got the chance to test it out by playing Super Mario Bros U, ZombiU, Nintendo Land and Batman Arkham City.

The first thing I was curious about was Nintendo’s new social network called the Miiverse and so far it’s been informative, entertaining, and pretty promising. For those who don’t know, the Miiverse is where you interact with other Wii U users through a community for every app or game out for the Wii U. So if you want to discuss some Youtube videos, you can go to the Youtube community and post about it there and other users can reply or give you a “Yeah!” (equivalent to a Facebook “Like”). If you want to discuss a specific game and you’re unsure about buying it, you can go to that game’s community and ask them about it. Other times, people will draw some really elaborate drawings using the Wii U’s gamepad and the community walls turn into a temporary art exhibit. And it works well – comments are posted instantly without delay. People will comment and try to solve things. For example, I was going through the ZombiU community and found a thread with over 25 comments of gamers trying to decipher some code someone found spray-painted on a wall in the game. I wouldn’t be surprised if communities like this sprang up in the next iteration of consoles Microsoft and Sony release.

A super talented friend of mine just released a new single called Tara Aadi. It’s very cool since the music is made up of 8-bit sounds generated from a GameBoy. Here’s some interesting trivia regarding Tara Aadi:

1. All the sounds in the music played was generated by a real Gameboy console

2. The melody was conceived in Kuwait, but arranged in Bad Soden, Germany

3. The vocals were recorded at the Arabic Theater HQ, one of the main founders of Kuwait’s performance art scene

4. Besides collaborating with Hussa Alhumaidhi on the melody, Mishari was responsible for every aspect of its production

5. Mishari mixed the song in Aziz’s car on the way to get treated in Hadi Hospital. Mishari resumed to mix the song in Hadi’s parking lot in his PJ’s and a robe.

6. The song was made with the intention of getting people to smile, preferably while dancing.

You can check out the song by hitting play above or you can check out his other songs on [SoundCloud]

According to an article in the Kuwait Times it seems they’re going to be installing more average speed cameras on the highways. Average speed cameras measure the time you take from point A to point B and then calculate your average speed between these two points. If your average speed exceeds the speed limit you’ll get fined. Currently the only location they’ve installed an average speed camera is on the First Ring Road (pictured above). Here is a link to the Kuwait Times article. [Link]

I was invited to pass by Magnolia Bakery today for a sneak peek and while there I met with Bobbie Lloyd, the president and operating partner who filled me in on the brands history as well as what’s in store for the Kuwait location. The Kuwait store will be the 10th Magnolia Bakery in the world with seven branches located in the US, one in Dubai and one that recently opened in Beirut. If you live in Doha you’ll be pleased to know Magnolia will be opening there next month as well.

Those of you who know Magnolia Bakery will notice one big difference with the Kuwait location and that is they’ll be serving savory dishes like pasta and sandwiches alongside their desserts. This will be the first Magnolia Bakery branch that will be serving savories with the second being the Beirut location.

While getting a tour of the location I was asked if I wanted to ice a cupcake. Since I’m a klutz and I didn’t want to embarrass myself I politely said no but they insisted I give it a shot. After a short lesson I was handed a bucket of icing, a cupcake and a spatula. Even though the Magnolia Bakery staff make icing look really easy I knew it wasn’t going to be but I gave it my best and my cupcake actually didn’t turn out THAT bad.

Magnolia Bakery is located on the mezzanine floor of Hamra Tower and will be opening up this coming Wednesday. If you want to find out more about the brand you can visit their website [Here]

Long time photo blogger BuYousef (real name Mohammad Abdullah) has taken his favorite blog posts about Kuwait and put them all in a photo book format. The posts range in subject like gardening, home life, local events, walks, photography and more. According to BuYousef it really is about nothing and everything with a theme of photography. Best of all it’s free so if you’re interested in checking it out you can download it from the Apple Store [Here]

China Kitchen is another Chinese restaurant recommended by my readers to try out. They had an outdoor seating area and since the weather was good thats where I ended up sitting. When I got the menu I found it slightly confusing at first because they have the meats and sauces separate. So instead of having a chicken section with all the chicken dishes under it, they have a “Meats” section where you choose for example either chicken, beef, crab, prawns etc.. and then they have a “Sauces” section where you can choose the sauce you want like sweet & sour chicken, Mongolian, Schezwan, Manchurian etc.. I personally prefer it the old fashioned way.

We ended up ordering the following:
Chicken Spring Rolls KD1.000
Wanton Soup KD1.000
Crab Corn Soup KD1.000
Shrimp on Toast KD3.000
Shrimp Dumplings KD3.000
Vegetable Fried Rice KD1.250
Sweet & Sour Chicken KD2.250
Kindo Chicken KD2.250
Beef with Mushroom & Bamboo Shoots KD2.750

My friend had the Wanton Soup and liked it, I had the Crab Corn Soup and didn’t think much of it but that’s because I compare all Crab Soups to the one I have at Caesars and no one seems to do it better than them. The Spring Rolls were boring but the Shrimp on Toast was pretty good especially since they give you three different sauces for it. The Shrimp Dumplings were ok as well but what really stood out for me were the main courses. Both the Sweet & Sour Chicken and the Kindo Chicken were probably the best I’ve had. They were full of flavor and really really delicious. The Beef with Mushroom & Bamboo Shoots I didn’t like at all but I didn’t really care since I was more than satisfied with the two chicken dishes.

The service was good and friendly and I really liked the fact they had outdoor seating. I do think their shrimp dishes were a bit on the pricey side but everything else was priced reasonably. I’d definitely go back there again just for the Sweet & Sour and Kindo Chicken.

China Kitchen is located in Salmiya and their phone number is 25738756. Here is their location on [Google Maps]

The Center for Gulf Studies at the American University of Kuwait in association with EBLA International presents a film screening entitled:

Teswa? (Was it worth it?)

A national drive safe campaign documentary film showcasing the effects of reckless driving in Kuwait.

EBLA created the first investigative film inquiring into the reasons behind Kuwait’s road accident death toll, disclosing the factors that make Kuwait the country with the highest global statistic of lethal car accidents per capita.

The 30 minute film covers a wide range of issues identifying the source of the problem, ranging from institutional to societal factors, and concludes by offering proposed solutions. The aim of the film is to inspire proactive change, raise awareness and to empower society to produce change. The film is launched in tandem with a nation-wide marketing campaign that includes outdoor media, magazines, radio and newspapers.

Date: Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Time: 6PM
Location: AUK Auditorium