We went to an italian restaurant the other day, it was recommended by Hamad’s boss. When we first saw the street it’s located in and the neighborhood we had our little doubts. We know that restaurants in europe and especially in switzerland aren’t flashy and the best restaurants always look kinda cheap, but still, the place looked weird for some reason, maybe being behind the train station and all.. I don’t know. We wanted to sit outside but the waiter told us that we only have this cramped table to sit at coz the other section is not being served for the night. We didn’t sit outside and went in. The restaurant is small and not so cozy, there was a football game being played on TV and italian waiters arguing loudly. My brother couldn’t have been any happier, being an AC Milan fan and all, he couldn’t have wished for a more italian restaurant to be in.

We sat and the Pizza oven was right next to us, the smell was killing us, it smelled so good inside! we skimmed through the menu. We knew we’re going to order pizzas for starters, it was only a matter of quantity and we all ordered the same maindish (by accident, I’d like to believe), a home made tagliatelle with creme and mushrooms.

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As you may already know, I’ve been looking everywhere for hotspots because of my internet problem, and I came across this interesting website recently that offers you a list of free hotspots all over the world. Take a look HERE.

We went to Gruyère the other day. We go there mainly to indulge in cheese. They’re the number one source of the best cheese in switzerland and maybe all of europe. We go there prepared, we don’t eat anything heavy before heading to Gruyère. We order their raclette; a block of cheese they put under a some tiny cheese heater/griller (shown in the pictures), and their fondue which also is made of melted cheese. And for the dessert, we either order their hot chocolat viennois or their denmark icecream (I once ordered both and felt sick afterwards). Everything there is to die for. I’m gonna leave you now with the pics, 19 pics to be specific

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Here is a little silly website that enables you to change google’s interface and make it your own. It also have easy access links to various email services too like Gmail, Hotmail and 2 others. Give it a try HERE. 

 

My version ^ How original, huh?

 

Thanks Taymoor.

This place is relatively new to the scene, I think its been only 2 years since its opening. I go there every time I need a haircut coz my favorite barber works there, he used to work somewhere else and when he told me he’s changing his work place I went along with him to this new place.

They offer massages, facials, manicure & pedicure and a lot of other things. I haven’t tried their massages yet, But I intend to have one.

The place is very well designed and have nicely set rooms for the facials and massages, I’ve taken a look inside and it looks great! soothing music, dimmed lights.. the whole nine yards.

I think this is the first place to have a real menu to select your kind of hair cut and shave and view their other services

It costs 6 kd for a hair cut and 3 kd for a beard shave. I know its cost more than the regular barbershops but hey I go there once a month, so its okay.

Its located in Adaylia, near Kabab-ji restaurant. Tel. 2542807

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Be aware of mobile thieves. It happened to someone I know.

Thank you Taymoor.

When I was looking for a gift for my nephew I really had to go everywhere! There is nothing much you can buy for 1 year old boy if you don’t want to buy him clothes.

I tried many places, I went to Khalid bin ilwaleed street, I remember I enjoyed going there when I was young, but I found nothing! I also went to Waleed (ma7al waleed) shop and I think that shop needs some serious revamp.

I went everywhere, including this Fantasy world shop but couldn’t really find a toy that made me go “THIS IS THE TOY!” they all looked ehh and so so.

One thing caught my eye and stayed with me was this little train, and although it is not made for a one year old to play with it alone, but atleast He could enjoy it with a parent’s help until he’s a bit older.

If you’re looking for toys, I think this place is one of the best in Kuwait. They have many things for different age groups. There are even things fro grownups, like the pool and board games. auto freaks may also enjoy Fantasy World’s collection of miniature cars. I personally liked how they had some thing for everyone. Ofcourse you’re always better off buying online, but if you’re buying a heavy gift, like the one i bought, then you wouldn’t want to pay the gift’s worth on shipping.

The one I went to, which I think is the biggest branch, is located in Shuwaikh, on Alghazali street, across the street from Electrozan and near the fourth ring road. They have other branches in Soug Sharg & AlBustan Mall.

This whole thing made me realize how fortunate we were to grow up in a time when we could always find the prefect toy in Kids ‘r’ Us in Salmiya. *1..2..3.. group sigh*

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Didnt you always wonder where to store your belts?! from now on you can store them with these new hangers

You can buy them from HERE & HERE and they’re gonna cost you KD2 & KD3 respectively.

Mac Users, this is a nice program if you want to convert RM to MP3. Its simple and easy to use, it barely has an interface (you can’t get any simpler). All you have to do is, take the song’s link, drag and drop it in this software and it’ll do the rest. It takes an average of 40-50 secs to convert a song.

The only thing that may annoy you is the the need for an internet connection for it to work.

The download link can be found in this site.

I’m loving this song at the moment.

Listen
[AUDIO http://somecontrast.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/01-say.mp3]

John Mayer’s Blog.

This game can get pretty addictive. Try it.

The best I could do (updated)

Thanks INM.

The elections period is finally over and I just want to say Congrats to those who lost and hard luck for those who won in this parliamentary election, and With that being said, and everything going back to normal (hopefully) in Kuwait, what is there to talk or write about other than a good old restaurant review

Shabestan In Crown Plaza hotel is the restaurant for me whenever I’m in a mood for a nice iranian meal.

The restaurant is never too busy and you can always go there without prior reservation. The atmosphere is very warm, real and authentic (if you can overlook the multinational staff), I like that the place has many little seating areas, giving it a cozy feel. One of the things that first caught my attention was their attention to details in everything from the furniture, the paintings on the wall, the carpets.. down to their chinaware.

The food. Now the food obviously is whats keeping me loyal and coming back this restaurant. Surprisingly I’m not a big fan of traditional iranian food. Kebabs, Humus and iranian bread are not among the things I like to eat when I’m in a restaurant, But I go there for their Halim Bathenjan (a puree of aubergine, lamb, fried onion strips and traditional kashk) for starters & my favorite Baghalah Polo-Ba-Mahicheh (leg of lamb cooked in its own juices over a slow fire for hours and seasoned with spices and broad beans with my choice of rice) for the main course. The only thing I wish they’d work on is there stews. I love me some Ghormeh Sabzi, but theirs are not really special. Other than that, there food is to die for.

The staff is friendly and very efficient. when you first sit there, they offer complimentary Iranian greens with salty white cheese and freshly baked iranian bread (baked infront of you).

The restaurant, in my opinion, is one of the most consistent restaurants I’ve been to, which is a great quality in a restaurant if you ask me. I never go there more than once a month, and when I’m there, I expect a perfect meal, and they never fail to meet my expectations.

They get a 4.5 out of 5 from me.

Kuwait Branch’s Link & Dubai’s Link

If you’re thinking of attending Mariah or Fergie’s concerts in Dubai on the 15th and 16th of May, respectively, then you should sign up for the tickets right now and get on that waitlist they’ve put up. I’m not sure why they’re offering a waitlist option for those events, usually waitlists are for unconfirmed events.. wait a minute.. *Gasps*

Anyway, Here is the LINK, go reserve your tickets and they’ll contact you as soon as they become available for sale.

buona fortuna Y’all

Its the port number! Change the port number!

I called Zain many times even went to their branches and talked to lots of sales agents and their technical support department.. All with no luck of finding a solution to the not being able to receive emails through email clients (Outlook, Mail…etc) problem.

This weekend when we were talking about this problem, Hamad told me something about changing the port, then Khalid told me that he’s been using Ego with no such problem, He also said something about the port number. Finally he gave me the port number he’s been using and.. just like that.. it worked!

My Gmail, Mac and personal domain all worked with outgoing server port #587.

Thanks a lot Khalid!

Note: If this doesn’t help, you will most probably find This post helpful.

I went yesterday to the Mayadeen shooting range with my friend. It was my first time in Kuwait, I went once in Dubai and I loved it over there. In Dubai I used shotguns which made quite an impression on me.. and my shoulder.

This time it was time for a Handgun! I was very curious as to how it would feel in my hand. At first It felt awkward and got really nervous while loading the the bullets into the magazine then it got weird after hearing the sound my friend was making while he was firing away. It was loud.

I guess I’m a natural

The place was very professional. From the moment we stepped in and until we left, all the people working there were very friendly and welcoming. There is a guy there who helps you and teach you all what you need to know before you touch the gun. He stays behind you and watches you and gives you advices. The shooting ranges were empty when we first came in, some people, guys and girls, started coming shortly after but it was still considered empty imo. There was lots of other shooting ranges. even a virtual range! where you hold a play gun and point it to a big screen.

We shot 20 shots each, and paid 12 KD, thats 6KD a nafar.

Their manager was so nice! He saw me taking pictures of the place so he came over and invited me to his office to show me all those old guns, some of them were used in the 1st world war and other were used in Aljahra war in Kuwait in 1920! He was also nice enough to let me use his personal M16! that one was out of this world! for a second there I felt like a SWAT member lol! Seriously the manager was very nice. Thanks manager!

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For people like me & my wife who never know how much pasta to cook (it’s either too much or too little and we’re either unsatisfied or have two days of leftovers), I think this chrome device will solve our issue, it measures the amount of spaghetti for up to four people and doubles as a trivet.

Thanks to Ahmad.

I went to the avenues mall the other day to buy a laptop bag & take some pictures of the flowers they had set up there. I took my camera with me and ended up taking zero pictures. It was way too crowded for a weekday’s morning! I felt too embarrassed to be taking photos while everybody’s watching! so the camera stayed in its bag and was only taken out for the pics in this post. BTW I just want to applaud the guy who was clicking away near starbucks.. everybody was staring, including me , as he sat there in the middle taking thousands of pictures. Can’t say I wasn’t envying him.

Anyways I’m digressing. This shop I’m posting about, Carbon Fiber, is in the Avenues (Duh) above Baroue and opposite Guess Kids. It has a branch in Kuwait Airport (Airport Mall). I loved that they had 2 of the best bag brands, JanSport and Eastpack. I also liked the big collection of backpacks and messenger bags.

They’re also selling clothes, but they’re way over priced.

The staff are really friendly and will help you go through everything. I know I did. I spent over 20 minutes going through the bags and trying them out (yes I brought my laptop with me). The Filipino guy who works there was very helpful and was trying out the bags himself. He was quite happy to be working there.. Actually, He was a bit too happy. I finally bought a JanSport laptop bag for my laptop. it comes with a 30 year warranty

I’ve been wanting to buy a lens for awhile now, I asked around a lot and been given lots of great advices (thanks btw), But as always, I spend a lot of time in hesitation. Around a week ago I finally settled and knew what I really need. I needed to buy 2 lenses and a good camera bag to contain everything! I went to amazon and placed an order for a canon 28-135mm with IS & another canon but this time a macro 100mm. The first one will replace my current lens and its probably going to be the one I use the most. The macro on the other hand is a stone winner! it turns every dull little picture into an achievement in photography! yeah i’m sad to admit this but the camera does most of the magic.

I’m loving both lenses at the moment and been taking some good picture in the chalet (a good post with our infamous wrangler is coming up soon ).

I need to buy 2 more essential things, I need a great cleaning kit and another battery. maybe a bigger CF card too.

Here are some pictures I took while playing around with the Macro lens.

Finally! You don’t need a US credit card to purchase songs off iTunes store anymore! All you need to do is buy an iTunes gift card from Ebay!

Yesterday I bought a digital iTunes card off ebay and got the code via email. I just went to the iTunes store, redeemed the card and started downloading songs legally! (for a change) it can’t get any easier than this! down with the US credit cards! Hello iTunes cards

Remember ages ago I posted about that basbosa lookalike? the “Baked With Love” post?

Here is the full, extra easy, recipe!

Stage 1

Ingredients for the topping (sheera)

-3/4 Cup of water.
-1/2 Cup of sugar.
-1/4 Tea Sp. Cardamom powder.
-1/4 Tea Sp. Saffron.

Bring the water to boil, add the other ingredients. mix well until the sugar dissolves. keep aside to cool.

Stage 2

Ingredients:

-2 Lebanese Bread. (its the white bread from Kuwait flour Mills & Bakeries Co).
-1/2 a cup of sugar.
-3/4 cup of milk.
-3/4 cup corn oil.
-3 Eggs.
-1 Tea Sp. Baking powder.
-1/2 Tea Sp. Cardamom powder.
-1/2 Tea Sp. Saffron.
-1/4 Tea Sp. Salt.

Put them all in a blender.

Saffron and Cardamom.

The Baking Powder

Hmm.. maybe some more Saffron.

Mix well then pour it into this baking dish (thank you dots…)

Decorate with some nuts (Skippable)

Pop it in the oven for 30 minutes on 350 degrees. If its an electric oven then set it to 180 degrees. 

Once its done, take it out, pour the cold topping (sheera) while the cake is still hot. And Enjoy it!

Note: Don’t let the lebanese bread deceive you, you won’t believe how good it tastes