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Tavola is one of my favorite kitchen related stores since they carry a number of great brands like WMF, Wilton, Zwilling J.A.Henckels, Le Creuset, Cuisine Art, Bodum, Peugeot mills and Joseph Joseph. The only issue I had with them was that they were located in the industrial area of Shuwaikh past highway 60 and so getting there was always a journey.

But, just before the Eid holidays Tavola opened a new much larger location in Tilal Complex, which is also in Shuwaikh but an easier location to get to. The new location is divided into two floors with all their brands located on the lower floor while the top floor is dedicated to their Wilton baking products as well as two large rooms where they hold baking workshops.

If you want to know what brands they carry the full list is available on their website [Here]. On the other hand if you want to know more on their baking workshops they’re posting the schedules up on their instagram account @tavolakuwait

SALMIYA 13/9/2016 – A locals group of misguided young men and loose girls with a membership to a questionable Facebook group by the name of “Q8VVIPvegan” took to the streets early this morning to protest what they called the Holocaust of sheeps” during the the first day of the occasion of Eid al Adha.

The so called activists had chosen the highly strategic MCD seafront branch to commence their wild public stunt. The location was carefully chosen to send a strong anti-meat eating message delivered in defiance of the new tasty eid promotion called the McMachboos. Their dastardly aim was to shake the very foundations of our peaceful and loving tradition of systemic mass animal slaughter and consumption.

The group launched their attack using a variety of underhanded tactics to defend their cause such as arming themselves with painfully colourful signs depicting filthy animals such as LOLcats spouting strange subliminal phrases including: “sheepz r my frnd, why can u haz kills it? 🙁 “. The group would also blare out a recording of their campaign slogan “This eid save your floos, don’t buy a sheeps just for machboos” on their iPhones.

Immediately forces were dispatched to protect innocent civilians from the radical group. Following the lengthy standoff that lasted well over 30 minutes. By lunch time the group’s spirits were broken and the volatile situation finally reached its boiling point as it was nearing 1pm, time for midday rest. The incoming sleeplessness was impossible to shake.

The dangerous activists were easily disarmed using a special forces tactic of preparing a heavy meal that induced quick sedation and enabled the forces to control the group. The now weary and defeated youth were apprehended and sent home tired and bloated after strong words from the authorities, bringing shame to their families’ good names and the heavy burden of society’s tainted look towards them.

The threat was contained and peace was once again fully restored thanks to the efforts of the concerned authorities. The law prevailed yet again to the dismay of all the wrong doers that only wish harm upon our proud society.

Post by Holla

Al Busal posts are 100% fictional, satirical and in no way be taken seriously.

I’m always trying to find new and interesting things to do in Kuwait and since I like baking I found this interesting. Local company FAME are offering pastry classes taught by a French pastry chef and chocolatier. They have a bunch of classes from how to make Macaroons to puff pastry, truffles and other desserts.

The classes are one on one, are 4 hours long each and cost KD80. The classes can be maximum two students if the students know each other so say you and a friend want to take the class together. If you want to find out more you can check out their classes [Here]

A year ago today, I posted about my trip into the middle of the desert so I could meet Abdulai Shani, a teacher from Ghana who came to Kuwait with the promise of being a security guard, only to find out once he arrived that he would be a shepherd and earn a 1/3 of what he was told he would get. It was a sad story but one that ended on a happy note since thanks to one of my readers, Abdulai got a much better job working and living in the city far away from the desert and his shabby tent.

Since it’s been a year I figured I’d post a quick follow up on Abdulai’s current status. We still chat every few months and when we last spoke a couple of weeks ago he was still working the same job but instead of living in Mahboula he nows lives in Salmiya. He’s happy and continues to check the blog often and even leaves comments every now and then.

If you’ve missed the previous two posts on Abdulai, here are the links:
From Ghana to Kuwait, One Man’s Story
From Ghana to Kuwait, to Mahboula

A whirlwind of audacious petrol theft has been sweeping the country following the recent sharp increase in gas prices. Hundreds of locals and expats have filed complaints citing evidence that gas from their cars has been mysteriously going missing. The victims explained that they would wake up to discover their cars had been tampered with overnight and emptied by an unknown forces.

The authorities have assured citizens that they are hot on the trail of several petrol-pumping gangs that have reared their ugly heads. The gangs would roam around in the cover of night, violently assaulting innocent private cars for the precious petrol contained within. They would then remove the gas using high tech equipment such as specialty hoses and their trained mouths to quickly pump the petrol out into an unmarked red gallon container and transport it to secretlocations in Hasawi. The hidden places are identified only by huge signs labeled “small costs petrol apailable” or “cheap gas, same same old price”.

Immediately a special operations undercover task force was assembled to address the alarming issue. A leading gang, nicknamed the “Bawagene Al Benzene” has already been dismantled thanks to the forces’ efforts. A lone agent assumed the identity of a down-on-his-luck sailor looking for cheap petrol to power his fishing boat. He then bravely infiltrated the heavily guarded top secret location in Hasawi by bribing the haris boy 3KD to enter the warehouse where the petrol was stored. A violent showdown ensued and the criminals tried to flee but were thwarted by backup when their getaway vehicle stopped on the side of the 6th ring road after it ran out of gas.

The top ranked gang leaders were identified as H.S, 28, a Syrian national and his partner in crime A.B, 34, who is a local, while a third suspect was also fingered. The team of 3 operated out of a garage in shuwaikh industrial area and hired local thugs to steal and transport the goods to Jleeb for storage. The 2 arrested have been referred to the concerned authorities for further action but the third suspect’s whereabouts remain unknown.

A statement was issued that this incident must serve as a warning to all evil doers trying to hurt the local economy using what they dubbed as the highly illegal “Robin Hood” scheme. The task force has also turned its sights to target massive international gas- smuggling rings. The ruthless rings operate by exporting cheap gas into the country via thousands of unmarked red gallon containers that do not cause suspicion at all. The forbidden petrol is then distributed to corrupt local delivery companies in need of cheap gas to illegally fuel their pizza and hamburger delivery vehicles.

Finally, a strong warning was issued that anyone seen brandishing a red a gallon, will be apprehended immediately and possibly questioned later if time permits.

Post by Holla

Al Busal posts are 100% fictional, satirical and in no way be taken seriously.

So this post isn’t what I would usually share but I’ve made an exception since I found the whole thing fascinating. This was written anonymously for obvious reasons and there will most likely be a follow up post. Check it out below:

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I am a 33 year old khaleeji woman and I am living the life of my dreams (ilhamidalla). I have a top notch job, my own business, two college degrees, great friends, lovely family, I am pretty and I am a very content with the person that I am, but the people around me like to point out that something is wrong with me, something is missing, see I am not married. I am single.

I have heard that “you are more likely to die from a terrorist attack then get married after 40”, 7 years to find a husband or a terrorist attack! Yikes. Desperate measures calls for desperate needs (Tinder didn’t work, all I got were horny Americans on a base 53 KM away from the city) so I went to a Khataba. A Khataba is a middle woman that tries to connect a man and a women together to get married the Islamic way.

I found an Instagram account of a Khataba with her number so I texted her not knowing what to say. I had never done such a thing, and being a westernized khaleeji, I have always dated the non-khaleeji way. So I wrote “Alsalam Alaikum. I am a 33 year old khaleeji woman with a college degree, looking for a khaleeji man with a college degree”. Oops! 2 hours later I remembered that I had forgotten to mention the most important thing about me, that I am a virgin. So I sent another whatsapp “never been married”. 10 hours later I get a few images from her as follows:

The first picture had her Terms and Conditions written on it. “Dear customers important notice: 1) We take all requests in confidentiality 2) We seek to marry people the Islamic way 3) If both parties agree, communication shall be through the parents and not the parties concerned 4) Fees will be payable upon signing of the marriage certificate 5) All applications should be complete”

The second picture had 6 skin tones and a number for each skin tone. I was told to identify my skin tone and the skin tone that I was seeking in a man. This was difficult since my hands and face were a shade darker than the rest of my body. I don’t show a lot of skin when I go out, and the Kuwaiti sun burns even a cactus. I didn’t want to complicate things though so I just one color. I have always had a thing for darker men, Denzel Washington style men, yummy chocolateness, so I chose the darkest shade for Mr. Future Husband.

The third picture had a woman’s back with long hair flowing down, and there were numbers coming out at different lengths. I stood next to a mirror and identified my length number. Easy, sent it over.

The fourth picture wanted me to answer 15 questions about myself and my dream man. My job, my family and tribe name, my salary, how healthy I am, my height, my weight (of course I lied about my weight!!! DONT ASK WOMEN ABOUT THEIR WEIGHT!), just regular questions except for two, one that asked if I drove a car?! And the other that wanted to know if I communicate with men that are strangers at work? What is up with khaleeji men not wanting their woman to be behind a car? I haven’t met my future husband, but I know he’s not going to drive the kids to school! Yes, I can drive and my ovaries should be fine. And given that 50% of the human population is male, yes I do come across men that are strangers from time to time. I wrote back saying I am a full time writer and I work behind my screen. So that went well.

The fifth picture asked me to identify what I wanted in a man. This is what I really wanted “a dark tall man, rich, funny, caring, loving, artistic, with a private jet and yacht” but I obviously couldn’t say that so I said “a dark man with a college education, a practicing Muslim that doesn’t smoke”. I wasn’t going to let dark slide, he had to be dark. I added the practicing Muslim to make me look like a good faithful girl. Sent over.

Few hours later I get a response, the Khataba thought I made a mistake. I am light skinned, but I wanted someone that is dark? Must be a mistake. “Are you sure you are okay with a number 5 or 6 darkness?” Yes I replied. “Even if he has facial features of an African man?” Was this a trick question? I want a black man so yes I answered again. She then sent me a picture of a famous black Kuwaiti actor and asked “Are you sure you are okay with this color?” Yes! 2 hours later she sends me another message, “Are your parents going to be okay with a dark man?” Umm yes I said. “Can you please check with your parents?” Wtffff!! I wasn’t going to ask my parents if they were okay with me marrying a black man, but I said I will check anyways and waited a day. That’s when I got my offer, he’s black, he’s rich, I know his age, his height, his college education, and I have to decide. What do you guys think? Should I say yes to Mr. Chocolate? I will keep you guys updated…

Photo on top by Mohamed Kanoo

I’ve been wanting to play some of my old Game Boy Advance games recently but my Game Boy Advance SP isn’t holding a charge anymore and the backlit screen didn’t look as good as I remember it being (I have the AGS-001 version). So I was planning to order a modded GBA from eBay but figured I’d pass by Rihab and check and see what they had. Since they stopped making Game Boy Advances 10 years ago you can imagine I had difficulty finding anything at Rihab. I probably asked 20 shops if they had Game Boy Advance SP AGS-101 edition which was the last release of the SP and had a better screen then mine. Turns out that version of the SP is called “tnen light” at Rihab which translates to “two lights” and refers to the ability to select between one of two brightnesses on the device. Cute.

After all my searching I only found one brand new Game Boy SP in the whole of Rihab but it was the 001 version like mine and selling for KD20 which is actually a great deal but not what I was looking for. During my search I also found three stores that still sold Game Boy Micros which also play Game Boy Advance games. The first store had a silver model for KD50 and the limited 20th anniversary edition for KD70, similar to the prices being sold on eBay. But then I found two other stores that had pink and green european versions of the Game Boy Micro, the first store was selling them for KD25 but the second store I managed to get the guy down to KD14 per unit by agreeing to buy two. I picked up a pink unit for me (pictured on top) and a green one for my brother. The cheapest price I managed to find on eBay for a brand new Game Boy Micro was around KD70 and one guy is currently trying to sell the green Game Boy Micro for KD137 and there are 11 people watching that listing at the moment. So KD14 is an incredible deal and an easy impulse buy. If you don’t have any GBA games though you’ll have trouble finding any decent ones at Rihab, I found a bunch of shops that were selling games at KD2 a pop but they all sold the same games and none were big name titles like Metroid or Castlevania.

If you want to pick up a Game Boy Micro the place I bought mine from still had 4 units left. I don’t remember the name of the store but I drew a map of its location. Originally I had more details on the map but since there are only 4 units left I figured I’d make it just a tiny bit more challenging to find the store, kinda like a treasure hunt. Check out the map [Here]

According to an email I received, last week Al Sayer signed a deal to bring the fast food franchise Chick-fil-A to Kuwait (and I’m guessing the region). Al Sayer recently brought Five Guys to Kuwait so I wouldn’t be too surprised if this information turned out to be true. A chicken franchise seems to go hand in hand with a burger one, Americana have Hardees and KFC, Alshaya have Shake Shack and Cane’s Chicken, and Al Sayer will end up with Five Guys and Chick-fil-A. I’ve gotten in touch with my contact at Al Sayer to confirm this information but haven’t heard back from him yet.

Back in 2012 there were rumors Alshaya were in talks to bring Chick-fil-A to the region but the deal fell through. Supposedly one of the terms they couldn’t agree on was the fact that Chick-fil-A wanted to close on Sundays (they’re a very Christian company). Alshaya was trying to convince them to change that rule for the region but Chick-fil-A wasn’t backing down and the deal fell apart.

If Al Sayer do manage to bring Chick-fil-A to the region that would be a pretty amazing accomplishment. Not only does Chick-fil-A only exist in the US at the moment but the way they run their franchises is different from others. For example Chick-fil-A franchise owners generally aren’t allowed to own more than one or two branches in the States so that they can give it all their attention. So handing the reigns to another company to open up as many branches as they wish would be an unusualstep for them. I hope they are coming though since I love their food and I’ve had great experiences at their restaurants which were all super clean and had great service.

Update: Just got a pretty aggressive call a few moments ago from Al Sayer Franchising relating to this post. According to the person I spoke to at Al Sayer Franchising, this is the first they hear about a deal with Chick-fil-A. I’ll not go into too much details relating to the phone call, but I will say it wasn’t the kind of professionalism I was expecting from them.

Now just a bit of perspective on this situation. If by any chance the deal with Chick-fil-A was signed last week with Al Sayer, that information would take time before trickling down the chain of command. So it could still very well be true that Al Sayer acquired the franchise or signed some sort of preliminary agreement but have yet to let everyone internally know. In any case, they are denying this information to be true.

Famous “Daloo3” the selfie star chimpanzee was apprehended from the Kuwait local zoo on Sunday for resisting arrest after being confronted with the serious offense of allegedly spreading the Ebola virus to 2 innocent local children according to reports from the Ministry of Health.

The investigation began when the 2 victims, who are brothers, were taken to Adan hospital for treatment of water diarrhea and violent vomiting and were put on a Pepsi and Sprite drip to aid in electrolyte absorption and stomach disinfection until their condition stabilized. Once they recovered they indicated to the hospital doctor and staff that they felt the incoming symptoms shortly after their interaction with the infected monkey after they took a selfie with him feeding them for fun as a joke. But, their parents thought that they were just lying as usual to get off school until their condition worsened to near death which prompted them to call the driver to take them to hospital.

Thanks to the valiant efforts of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Interior, further investigation of this mysterious case led to the swift discovery and rapid arrest of the sick criminal monkey who was the local zoo entertainment star and often posed for selfie opportunities with fans. The Egyptian handler M.H was also arrested and referred to the relevant authorities for smuggling the infected monkey from Egypt by sedating it with powerful heroin drugs and hiding it in his underwear while passing through customs undetected. Both the animal culprit and human handler are awaiting trial and sentencing and will be scheduled to be deported back to Egypt after serving their prison stay.

It is now suspected that as many as 10 cases of Ebola that were discovered this past year were all due to this monkey but they were never verified since the source has been unknown or ruled off as foreign in nature of course since Kuwait is usually totally disease free. The zoo is currently closed down for complete animal elimination and for the bony stable renovation expected to debut in Jan 2017.

Post by Holla

Al Busal posts are 100% fictional, satirical and in no way be taken seriously.

Kuwait Fresh Fish is a local website that allows you to order fish online, either fresh or cooked. The website design is terrible but the idea is there. I know a lot of people who would rather have fish delivered to them instead of getting it themselves and then having to risk their car stinking of fish for the next couple of days. Personally I wouldn’t use it since there is a Sultan Center down the street from me.

Kuwait Fresh Fish works with cash on delivery and they charge 750 fils for delivery. The major flaw I see with the whole service is that their delivery time is from 4PM to 9PM which rules out seafood for lunch. Here is a link to their [Website]

Out of curiosity, are people still playing Pokemon GO?

Update: Here are the full list of rules [Link]

Thanks Bollywood Over Hollywood

It was around 5AM and I was sitting at Johnny Rockets Salmiya waiting for my meal when it suddenly hit me, the place hadn’t changed one tiny bit since it first opened back in 1995. I quickly snapped a few pictures and decided to send it to my high school crush who I used to frequent Johnny Rockets with all the time. A minute later she responds… Memories!!!!

Back in 1995/1996, during my senior year in high school, Fuddruckers was the place to go. I mean there weren’t that many options anyway, none of the restaurants you see on the Gulf Road today existed back then, we didn’t have any malls like we do today except for Laila Gallery, Zahra Complex and Salhiya. So as teenagers we spent most of our time either hanging out at each others homes or the ice skating rink which was honestly pretty cool back then with Snap and Soul II Soul being blasted loudly by the DJ while we played with the arcade machines and watched people skate. So when Fuddruckers opened everyone in Kuwait was there on the weekends. It used to be super crowded and such a fun place to just chill and meet up with teens from other schools. Then Johnny Rockets opened and everyone started going there.

We were around 5 in my group, 2 girls and 3 guys and we started going to Johnny Rockets instead of Fuddruckers like most other teens. I lived on Salem Mubarek Street so my friends would just get dropped off at my place and we’d hang out in my room for a bit before walking down to Johnny. We usually headed to the Video Club first which was across the street from Johnny so we could check out the latest music tapes and CDs. We’d then visit the bookshop next door and flip through the magazines before heading over to Johnny. By the time we’d get to Johnny we would all have spent whatever little money we had on music tapes or magazines so we’d put whatever change we had together and order one cup of tea. I only ever ate there a handful of times as a teenager, and the first time was on a date with my high school crush. Our love affair with Johnny Rockets didn’t last very long though. Since the place was small and Johnny became the “it” place to be, it used to get overcrowded and mostly with teenagers like us who would only order a couple of drinks and then sit there. Forever. So, Johnny Rockets started implementing a minimum order, I think it was KD1.750 per person, so we couldn’t afford hanging out there anymore. Instead we started chilling outside Johnny Rockets, on the sidewalk until a short while later McDonalds opened up above it and it became our hangout spot.

Anyway, the point I’m trying to make here is that sometimes we don’t appreciate things until they’re gone, but I want to take this moment and appreciate Johnny Rockets while it’s still here. Thank you Johnny Rockets for not changing and still being here.

Back in April I posted that Conrad Hotel and Hilton Garden Inn both might be coming to Kuwait as part of The Avenues phase 4 expansion and today this news was officially announced. Conrad Hotel will be part of The Prestige section of the mall while Hilton Garden Inn will be connected to the new section of the mall thats being built called The Forum.

Hilton Garden Inn will also be the brand’s largest hotel in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region with 430 rooms. According to the article, both hotels will be opening in 2019. Here is the link to the article [Link]

I wasn’t planning on posting this since I didn’t think anyone would notice but I’ve been getting emails about it all morning. The Community section of the blog is currently down due to the fact I’m upgrading the software. Earlier this morning I realized I had an old forum software running and Google was giving a “Deceptive site ahead” warning when trying to access the section. So decided I might as well just do a full on upgrade.

Technical Details
The Community runs on Invision Power and I had version 3.8 installed. I’m currently trying to update it to version 4.1 which has new features and an overall fresher look. The upgrade should have taken around 30-60 minutes but turns out my server is running PHP 5.4.45 and I need at least PHP 5.5 for the upgrade. I’m currently waiting for my host to upgrade the PHP version on the server and once that is done I will complete the upgrade process. This should have no effect on the main blog since mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com is running on a different server than community.mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com.

Update: I completed the upgrade but then managed to completely mess things up again. Now have to restore from backup and restart the process. On bright side the google warning should be gone now.

Update2: The upgrade is now complete. There is still lots of work to do like redo the whole Community theme but for now at least it’s back up.

No Man’s Sky is a exploration and survival game that takes place in a procedurally generated universe that features 18 quintillion planets. You have your own space ship that allows you to fly from planet to planet, galaxy to galaxy, discovering new planets, animals and plants, while trading with various different races.

The game starts off by placing you on a random planet with a broken spaceship. Your first task is to look for resources to help you repair your ship and take off from the planet. This first area serves as a light tutorial that should help you get a grip on the games loop. After you successfully take off from the first planet, the universe opens up to you and you can either choose to follow on the games set path to the center of the universe or you can choose travel to any galaxy and any planet you like as long as you have the fuel.

The problem with having procedurally generated content though is that a players experience is based off luck and chance. I’ve seen people complain that planets look the same, feel the same and there is truth in that, but my personal experience has differed. I’ve been lucky enough to discover a wide variety of planets, ranging from planets that have nearly zero life on them with intense weather to planets teeming with life. So even though I’ve seen planets that look similar, I’ve also been lucky enough to see enough variety that I’m still interested in exploring and taking screenshots of planets I like.