Search: “kuwait”

I passed by Carrefour today because I heard they had the new UK edition of WIRED magazine. For some odd reason the US version of WIRED magazine no longer comes to Kuwait so its good to know the UK edition does. Anyway it must have been sold out since I couldn’t find it, instead I found MAKE. I picked up the latest issue for KD3.750 which is actually cheaper than the US price which is $15. Its surprising that they sell MAKE in Kuwait since its a do it your self projects magazine and I didn’t think there was a market for it here. [Link]

According to the Slider Station facebook group Falafel & Company will be launching next Thursday on June 4th. On my to do list to try once they open is the Double Impact shawerma featuring crispy panko onion strings, jalapeno mayo and jalapeno bbq with cheddar cheese.

Although in most places around the world the BlackBerry is used as a business tool in Kuwait its become a social one. With all my friends practically owning one the built in BlackBerry Messenger is a perfect way to stay in contact with all of them through out the day and a much more efficient way to communicate quick messages. Google Latitude is another application that also helps in being more social by showing you where your friends are around the world at that moment. Basically how Latitude works is you need to install the application on your BlackBerry and then sign in using your gmail account and add other friends who also have Latitude installed. You will then be able to see them on the map like in the picture above.

Latitude has many useful uses, I personally use it to find friends nearby like if I am at the Avenues I check and see which one of my friends is there or like last week I was at Kinkos in Salmiya waiting for something to get printed and then I noticed on Latitude Marzouq was just down the street. Latitude also helped a friend get to a BBQ I was at. He didn’t have the address but since I was already at the BBQ he just looked for me on Latitude and then drove towards me.

But the software isn’t perfect, when you’re indoors the GPS usually doesn’t work so the software uses cell towers to estimate where you are. Sometimes for some odd reason Latitude thinks I am in London or a friend is randomly in Belgium or Pakistan. It doesn’t happen frequently but when it does it can be funny or annoying depending on the situation.

Latitude works on the following phones:
– Android-powered devices, such as the T-Mobile G1
– most color BlackBerry devices
– most Windows Mobile 5.0+ devices
– most Symbian S60 devices (Nokia smartphones)

Its free and you can get it from [Here]

I was supposed to post this once I got back from Amsterdam but totally forgot about it. This is just a follow up to my Archos 7 review which I posted awhile back. I used the Archos extensively on my way to and from Amsterdam on the plane. Its a 6 hour trip and I spent the whole time watching movies and shows on my Archos. The screen is 7inches which is pretty big so with the help of a headphone splitter Nat was able to comfortably watch whatever I was watching on my Archos.

One feature that drove me towards the Archos 7 was the advertised 10 hour battery life. I figured I would get around 8 which is enough for long flights except I managed to get nearly 11 hours worth on a single charge! After watching videos on my Archos for the whole trip back from Amsterdam, once I got to Kuwait I managed to watch a few more episodes of Battlestar Galactica before the low battery warning came on. Thats simply incredible.

I also want to mention that I didn’t face any kind of issues with the Archos on the trip. My flickering back light issue seemed to have fixed itself and I didn’t encounter any crashes or freezes. So I can now confidently recommend this device to anyone who is looking for the perfect travel companion.

160GB Archos 7 is for $272. [Amazon Link]
320GB Archos 7 is for $412. [Amazon Link]

By the way there is also a smaller version called the Archos 5 which sells for $280. Its the same as the Archos 7 in every way except the screen is a 5inch and the battery lasts around 5 hours. [Amazon Link]

The New BMW Z4, originally uploaded by mr.alsultan.

Didn’t know the new Z4 was out in Kuwait already but turns out it is and is being displayed at the Avenues.

Update: There are only two new Z4’s in Kuwait, a 2.5 liter champaign colored one thats selling for around KD16,000 and a 3.0 liter red one pictures above selling for around KD17,000. There is also a 3.5 liter version on the way and that will be selling for around KD20,000.

Nats got a love this, a place that only mostly serves salad! [Link]

via Kuwait Black Market

I don’t know how many of you remember Mogahwi or even know what it is so I figured I would post about them. Mogahwi I believe is one of the best if not the best stationary and art supply store in Kuwait. They’ve been around in Kuwait since 1940 but the Salmiya branch which I’ve been visiting since I was a kid I think has been around for 30 years but not really sure. The place hasn’t changed much since they first opened, I think they still even use the same bags. They’ve got everything there from the regular stuff like pens and papers to the more interesting stuff located in the basement which is the art supplies. I’ve taken a few shots of the place which you can see below. I don’t think they get as many customers as they used to back in the 80s and 90s so I hope they don’t close down. They’re located in the old Salmiya near Alghanim Electronics.

I just had a box of jumbo Alphonso mangoes delivered to me. Last time I ordered the regular ones but am going to be trying the jumbo ones now. The shipment arrived from India just a few hours ago and they’re all sold out. I wanted to buy another box but now I have to wait till next Friday (not this one) for another box.

The jumbo mangoes are KD9.
If you want to order a box call them on 99880008

Lola et moi emailed me to tell me that Discovery Mall has now officially opened. The mall is located next to the ice skating ring rink in Kuwait City and caters to kids. One thing I don’t like about the place is the fact there are only three restaurants and they are Nathan’s, KFC and Chili’s. With obesity being such a major issue here in Kuwait you would think that the restaurants at a kids mall would be more healthy. The picture above is from the new Lola et moi store at Discovery but if you want to see pictures of the mall check out the Kuwait Black Market blog by clicking [Here]

It seems my eating habits have caught up to me because it turns out I’ve been diagnosed with acid reflux. What this basically means is I have to change my eating habits and the biggest change will be no fatty or fried foods which currently makes the big chunk of my diet.

This doesn’t mean I won’t have burgers anymore, it just means I need to cut down on my daily intake of junk food. Now thing is I don’t like a lot of dishes and the dishes I do like aren’t usually healthy and I am sure many of you will relate to that. But, I’ve decided to try my best and work on a new healthier lifestyle and with that I am going to start looking for alternatives that hopefully won’t be breaking my bank. Kei for lunch is healthy but if I am going to have it everyday its going to be one expensive lifestyle.

As a start to this new lifestyle I passed by Salad Creations for lunch. I passed by before and had a chicken wrap but I didn’t like it simply because I find cold chicken gross. Today I had the Turkey BLT wrap and combined with the thousand island dressing it wasn’t that bad. I still would prefer a quarter pounder with cheese over it but that wasn’t really an option. Salad Creations has a bunch of ready to order salads and wraps but you can also create your own. They are located in Baitak Tower which is in the same building as KFH and X-Cite Electronics in Kuwait City.

From now on every time I find a new tasty healthier alternative to my regular junk food lunches and dinners I will post about it here in hopes that other people will benefit from my post. I like flavor and sauces and I am not trying to lose any weight here but just trying not to have the common fast food meals. Recommendations for me to try out are welcomed of course!

Nat and I work in Kuwait but unless noted otherwise, our posts are never related to our professional and confidential situations or linked to our employers in any way. This distinction must remain clear. This blog is intended to provide a semi-permanent point in time snapshot and manifestation of the various memes running around in our brains, and as such any thoughts and opinions expressed within out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those we may hold today. Feel free to challenge us, disagree with us, or tell us we’re completely nuts in the comments section of each blog entry, but we reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason whatsoever (abusive, profane, rude, or anonymous comments) – so keep it polite, please. If we post something here that you find helpful or interesting, then that’s great; but when push comes to shove, this is our personal blog. The views and opinions expressed on these pages are ours and ours alone and not those of our employer. We have absolutely no, zero, nada, intention to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, business, company, individual or anyone or thing, especially those with the ability and desire to fight back. Oh, and just in case, if we say something stupid in the future (and for which we humbly apologize in advance), it’s better to be able to point out that the stupidity is ours, and ours alone.

– Mark

Last month I reviewed the Smoke House burger and gave it the highest rating so far which is a 4.5 out of 5. Thing is I went back to Smoke House this weekend and had the burger again but noticed something was different. Other than the presentation the burger looked like it didn’t have the signature BBQ sauce that I thought made the burger the last time. I didn’t think of this much but I just read the post by SOME contrast on Smoke House and it seems I am not the only one who noticed the burger has changed. What the hell happened? Why would anyone mess with that burger?? I thought about changing the score but I am going to try the burger again next week and see if it was just a one time thing or a permanent change.

Oh and you need to check out the argument SOME contrast had with the manager, priceless! [Link]

A lot of new Lebanese restaurants have opened up in Kuwait and so far I’ve tried two and they both had good things about them.

The first one I tried which I could swear I thought I had posted about was Abdel Wahab, the Lebanese restaurant that opened up in place of Fuddruckers on the Gulf Road. The interior looks nice and their taouk is one of the best in Kuwait. Their prices aren’t bad, cheaper than Al Mayas and maybe a bit cheaper than Villa Fayrouz. The worst thing about sitting and eating at Abdel Wahab for me was the fact that the whole time I was expecting to pick up chocolate chip cookies on my way out, something I used to do when the place was Fuddruckers.

The second place I got to try today was Karam Cafe which is located at the Avenues. Although at first I was annoyed by the fact they had shisha indoors their kebab turned out to be really juicy and one that I would go back for again. Price wise their main courses were very cheap, taouk dish was like KD2.550 (but wasn’t as good as Abdel Wahab) while the Kebab dish was for KD2.500.

I still need to try Leil Nhar which is right next to Karam and Snowbar which opened up where Zorba used to be on the Gulf Road.

The Abdel Wahab picture above was taken by SOME contrast who has a ton more pictures [Here]

I have a confession to make, when I see a KFC ad on the street I feel like having KFC, when I see a Hardees flier in the newspaper I feel like having Hardees, when I read about food I want to have whatever I am reading about and thats what happened to me earlier tonight. Although I had a Smoke House burger for lunch, I was reading my favorite hamburger blog called Hamburger America when I read about how ketchup in burgers is for kids and how mustard is the way to go. I am a big fan of ketchup in my burgers but I wanted to try it with just mustard so I decided to pass by Johnny Rockets and ordered a cheese burger with just mustard. Turned out it was really good and I think I might be having my burgers like this more often. No lettuce, no tomato, no onions, just cheese and mustard. If you’re a burger fan check out Hamburger America, he’s got tons of nice burger shots all over the blog. [Link]

I don’t go to the movies here much because of the censorship but yesterday I ended up going to watch Star Trek at the Avenues cinema with Marzouq, Nibaq, k.thekuwaiti and some other friends. It was my first time trying out the VIP theater and I think I might start going to the movies more often because of it. The theater fits around 20 seats all of which can be electronically controlled to recline. The VIP section also has its own munchies bar which means you don’t have to wait in the long lines outside with everyone else. It feels like sitting and watching a movie at home on a very huge screen. All that for just KD6 which is a steal!

Star Trek was a great movie, definitely the best Star Trek yet.