Google Street View currently works in Kuwait but is fairly limited since from what I can tell its one guy who’s driving around Kuwait with a 360-degree camera mounted to the roof of his SUV snapping photos.
But surprisingly, PACI seems to have a street view of pretty much most of Kuwait on their website. The only issue is it’s not as easy to use as Google Street View. For example you can’t just search for a random place and find it on the map. The process of actually finding a place is pretty tedious. Here are the steps to use PACI’s street view:
Once the street view thumbnail pops up at the bottom, click on it
Someone at PACI should really coordinate with Google and see if there is a way to merge their databases together. I’m still impressed though that PACI actually have a street view option.
Yesterday Al Corniche Club sent out an email informing their members that they will be closing down the club on October 11th. Last year Al Corniche Club lost the bid to operate the location but went to court hoping to reverse the decision. That must have not worked out and so they now have to leave the location.
Al Fintas “Marasi” is a project that includes more than 1.8KM of developed facilities that include shops, restaurants, cinemas, a hotel and a large marina.
The Fintas Marinas project aims to be the leading marine destination on the coast of the State of Kuwait
The Fintas Marinas project includes more than 1.8 km of developed facilities that will provide unprecedented entertainment and commercial experiences, as 800 floating moorings for boats and mega yachts will be provided, and 1,200 multi-role stands for small boats, fishing and picnic boats, attached to an integrated yachting club, 5-star hotel and conference center On an island located in the middle of the project.
An equivalent of 200,000 square meters of recreational and commercial spaces will be developed throughout the marina, which will attract residents and visitors to enjoy the lifestyle of the marina and at the same time enable them to take advantage of other commercial and entertainment activities such as shops, restaurants, cinemas, cultural events and the botanical garden. All project components will be implemented using the principle of “one climate under one roof”, to ensure a comfortable environment for visitors during all seasons. The Fintas Marinas project includes a nautical club as well as yacht repair and maintenance workshops dedicated to serving all yacht owners.
A smart transportation strategy has also been prepared to ensure a smooth transition within the project, which includes car parks in the basement with a capacity of 6000 cars, provision of service logistical spaces behind commercial areas, and the implementation of an upgraded railway to transport visitors between the components of the project in a flexible manner, and a VIP entrance has also been allocated. It has direct access to the waterfront.
Marassi Fintas is a unique destination in Kuwait that can be accessed from land or sea. The project will also provide many investment opportunities for owners of small and medium enterprises.
The concept looks really interesting but couldn’t find much information on it online other than this video presentation and a short Arabic description under the video which I posted above translated using Google.
EL&N Cafe (formerly known as Élan Café), one of the most instagrammable cafes in London is opening up in Kuwait. EL&N Cafe is known for their over the top pink interior, pink and purple floral wall, neon signs, millennial pink furniture and their equally instagrammable pink desserts. They will be opening in The Avenues near Cheesecake Factory next year.
V-Thru is an app similar to Carriage and Deliveroo but instead of it being a food delivery service, it’s a virtual drive-thru service that allows you to pick up food from restaurants that don’t have a drive-thru. I originally refused to use the app since it required me to sign up and register before I could explore it and I HATE apps that force me to sign up and hand over my personal information without letting me explore first. But eventually I had to cave in since I needed to experience the app for work purposes and now I kinda like it.
Before the pandemic anytime I wanted to pick up food I’d just go down to a restaurant, order my food and then pick it up and head back to my car. Some places even allowed me to call ahead of time so they could prepare my food that way I wouldn’t have to wait for long at the restaurant. But now with the pandemic, I prefer not leaving my car, touching restaurant door handles or using Knet machines which is why I’m liking V-Thru.
The way V-Thru works is you find a restaurant you want to order from and then once you place an order the app will let you know how long your food needs to be ready and navigates you to the restaurant. You also have to describe your car type and color because once you get to the restaurant the app recognizes you’re there and informs the restaurant that you’re outside. If your food is ready the restaurant will then come outside and find your car to deliver the food. All payments are done digitally through the app and you can even communicate with the restaurant via a chat box.
It’s actually a very practical service and the app fees are minimal at just 200fils. The app also isn’t packed with thousands of restaurants either so if you just want to randomly browse through the options its actually doable. They also regularly have virtual drive-thru events like one taking place this weekend called Street Crafters. So if you want to try it out and download the app, here is a link to their website. They also have a cute Instagram account you can check out which is @vthru.
I finally got the classifieds section working properly earlier this week and then yesterday just as I was about to post that everything was back to normal I realized that for some reason my theme had broken again. Not sure how that happened without me having touched anything, but I’ve now got to redo everything. I’m hoping things will be back to normal by tomorrow though.
My brother just told me Geekay at The Avenues have started accepting pre-orders on the Xbox Series S and X. I was planning to pre-order mine from Walmart.com since I had success the last time when I pre-ordered my Nintendo Switch from them but I just ended up pre-ordering from Geekay.
They have the launch date set at November 10th similar to the worldwide launch and their price is a very reasonable. The Series X costs KD167 while the Series S costs KD104, both similar to the retail prices in the States. They have a super limited quantity of both available online so if you want one hurry up. Here is the link.
If you’re looking for a new fun Instagram account to follow then you should check out the office gang @eatingintheoffice. I just started following them a couple of days back and loving the account so far. They’re an odd bunch and their videos of them eating are super cute. 100% wholesome goodness.
I previously posted about Wara Hospital since I used their drive-thru PCR test service but last week they introduced an even more convenient option, a home service. Like with their drive-thru, you’re going to have to pay a premium for the convenience of having them come over to your house to give you a swab test. The price? KD55.
I’d rather do the cheaper drive-thru but if you don’t have a car or for some reason can’t leave the house (maybe you’re under quarantine), this could be an option. Link
PlayStation 5 – KD166.9
PlayStation 5 Digital Edition: KD133.9
I’m currently undecided if I’m getting the PS5 or Xbox Series X, but as of right now I think I’m leaning towards the Xbox. But, at KD134, the PS5 digital edition is pretty tempting to get as well.
If you’re using the Kuwait Mobile ID app as an alternative to the physical Civil ID card, don’t upgrade your iPhone to iOS14. The app currently crashes on launch with iOS14 and even though there was an update to the Mobile ID app yesterday, it didn’t fix the crashing issue.
Thanks Andrew
Update: They just published an update for the app and it now no longer crashes. So if you’re having issues with the app, check the App store for an update.
Recently I needed to get a hold of a macro lens for a project and a friend of mine told me about a place called DD Cameras. Turns out I had been to their store previously looking for used equipment but either didn’t know or had forgotten they also rented cameras, lenses and other photography equipment. So I sent them a Whatsapp message asking if they had a Sony mount macrolens available and turns out they did. The price? KD5 per day, KD14 for 3 days or KD20 for a week. Surprisingly, extremely reasonable. They didn’t have many requirements to rent it either, I basically had to be over 21, have a valid civil ID, and have a photography Instagram account. Basically, to keep random people from renting their gear and possibly damaging them or not returning them, they filter their customers by checking their Instagram account and making sure they qualify to rent them.
It’s an interesting approach and I managed to pass that test so no complaints from me. I ended up dropping by filling out a form and picking up the lens. Super easy process and payment is done when you return the lens which is convenient in case you wanted to keep the gear for longer than originally planned.
If you’re looking for a place to rent photography gear check them out, their Instagram is @ddrents and they’re located on the mezzanine floor of Daiya Coop.
Just a quick note for those of you trying to post an item for sale in the Classifieds section, it won’t work at the moment. The section is currently getting a software upgrade as well as a minor facelift which is why you’ve been getting errors for the past two days. The developer promised to get it done today but might need another day or two to make changes. Sorry about that!
Update: Classifieds is back up. Ran into some issues with the upgrade but finally got it done. Doesn’t look different right now but behind the scenes I’m now running the latest version of the software and most importantly, the errors with uploading images is now gone. I’m now gonna be working on the facelift.
Back in June, I posted about how I was able to order a new espresso machine straight from Italy without having to pay crazy shipping prices. I briefly mention what I ended up buying but since I still hadn’t had the machine for that long, I decided I’d leave the proper review for another time and since it’s now been a few months here is what I think of my setup.
These three items along with my leveling tool (instead of a coffee tamper) have proven to be a dream team for me. One of the hardest things to get right is consistent coffee on a daily basis. There are too many factors in play and if just one of the steps changes slightly you end up with a different tasting coffee. This is why people generally have a favorite barista at their favorite coffee place, people want their coffee done the same way every morning. My setup is allowing me to get the same result every time and so I’m loving it.
My previous espresso machine was the Breville Oracle which had basically a fully automated process to make my latte. My Rocket setup is fully manual so I have the following steps I need to take:
I first fill up my milk jug with milk and place it next to my machine
I then grind 18g of coffee into the portafilter. My grinder has a timer and I’ve set it to grind for 12.7 seconds which generally grinds around 18g of coffee
I then place portafilter back on my scale to see if I hit 18g. I’m fine with 18-18.3g of coffee, if its a bit more I remove some, if it’s less I add more
Using my leveling tool I press it hard on my portafilter and rotate it 8 times
I then purge the steamer to let out condensation while also purging the group head to stabilize the water temperature
I mount the portafilter back in the machine, I place my scale under the portafilter and place my coffee cup on it and zero the scale
I then take my milk jug and start steaming my milk, once the milk gets warm I start the coffee-making process
My scale can sense when coffee drips into the cup, it then automatically starts a timer while weighing my coffee.
In the middle of this process, my milk hits the correct temperature (I can now feel it with my hands but I started off using a thermometer) so I turn off the steamer, clean the wand and purge it to clear any milk that might have gotten inside
I then get back to focusing on my coffee. Once I get 36 grams of coffee in my cup I stop the machine. I try to get 36g of coffee in around 20-24 seconds
I then take my milk and pour it into my coffee cup attempting latte art which I’m consistently terrible in and then I’m done
It’s a lot of steps but it’s become second nature and I timed the process and from start to finish and it takes just 2 minutes. 2 minutes to make a great latte, that’s really not bad at all. Most importantly is how good my coffee is and it’s always the same. I’m making such good coffee now I’ve stopped having coffee completely outside my house. When I had the Oracle I had consistency issues all the time and used to still have coffee at %Arabica on weekends because their coffee just tasted better than mine at home. But now I’m basically making the same quality at home with my set up so I haven’t had a single coffee outside since I got the machine. Not exaggerating either, not one single coffee outside my home since I got the machine back in May or June (whenever I got my machine). No more inconsistent coffees because of different baristas, no more complaining about the temperature of the milk because they’ve either boiled it too hot or not heated it enough. I have the exact same coffee every single time.
My coffee experience has improved tremendously because of my setup and I’m using the Appartamento model which is the entry-level Rocket machine. There are a lot more sophisticated models with more capabilities, but for my needs, the Appartamento has been more than enough and great value. The only negatives I really have are the following:
I wish the drip tray was bigger in the Appartamento
I wish the Appartamento could hold more water
The Faustino grinder touch screen is great unless your fingers are damp and then it doesn’t work
Honestly, these three issues are very minor and aren’t really issues. So yeah, obviously I would highly recommend my setup especially if you want to make great espresso at home but don’t want to invest crazy money. My setup including accessories which I didn’t list above cost me around KD700 shipped to Kuwait. Sounds a lot but keep in mind it costs me around 500fils to make a latte at home using my favorite beans from %Arabica (Arabica Blend) and with lacto free milk (which is more expensive than normal milk). A regular latte at a coffee shop costs around KD1.750 with regular milk. I have three lattes a day so that’s a saving of 3.750KD a day or 112.500KD a month. So in just seven months of use, I’ll recoup the cost of my setup and you could recoup it even faster by using cheaper beans and milk. So you’re paying this much money upfront, but saving so much more in the long run.
Kuwait’s landmark ice skating rink was designed by the French architect Dominique Beau in the 70s and was considered to be the first of its kind in the Middle East when it was inaugurated in 1980. Domonique also designed the pattern of the terracotta tiles that adorned the inside and outside walls of the rink. It was custom made in France but inspired by the local Sadu weavings which he encountered during his trips to the Gulf region.
Sadly the ice skating rink was demolished earlier this year to make way for a newer one as part of Al Shaheed Park expansion plans. I couldn’t find much more information on the construction of the original ice skating rink or the architect online other than what I’ve posted here, but I’ll keep looking. For now, check out the photos of the construction in the post below.
