My friend just got the Epson p6000 and was showing it to me the other day. It’s a multimedia storage and viewing device with 80GB harddisk. At first I wasn’t sure what to use it for, but after playing around with it, I thought it’ll be a very good thing to carry around in the camera bag. You know, it’d come in handy at those times when you’ve just finished taking pictures and you want to view them but the laptop isn’t around.
Read the rest of this entry »

This is a cake Mom ordered from a woman who bakes and sell her homemade cakes.

I thought the cake was nice and light. Others thought it was just an average but heavy cake. It tasted like a plain saralee cake (can be found in every co-op) filled with jam and whipped cream. The cream tasted nice and unique in my opinion. I haven’t tasted a whipping cream this nice in Kuwait before. The raspberry jam complemented the overall simplicity of the cake and made it feel like I was eating something healthy for a change. (I know jam is filled with sugar but it felt healthy!)
Read the rest of this entry »

It is a healthy juice bar where there are no sweeteners or sugars added. It’s all natural and it’s all being blended right in front of you. It’s got branches all over the UK and now open in Kuwait (soog sharq’s food court) and Dubai.

Read the rest of this entry »

We received an email from the owner of Wok Master some time ago to try out the restaurant, and we kept postponing it till we finally decided to give it a try yesterday. Me, Mishary and INM tried so hard to find the place! We went up and down the street twice and had to call them once and then finally found it by accident.

Read the rest of this entry »

We saw this guy next to his cart in Al Aali Mall in Bahrain and my friends told me that I have got to buy some before we return to Kuwait. The guy was so nice and fun to talk to (just like all the other Bahrainis) and when we asked to take pictures he didn’t mind at all.
Read the rest of this entry »

We received an email from Khanfaroosh last week, it’s a home bakery that specializes in 2 types of Kuwaiti desserts: the traditional gers 3gaily and a cononut flavored one. They wanted to send us a sample to review.
Read the rest of this entry »

The hotel is Elite Resort & Spa, It’s near the Diplomat hotel and right next to Novotel Aldana hotel. It’s an all suits hotel.

Our booking was for Elite grand hotel, and when we first arrived there, the guy at the front desk, 3abd ali, said that they have no rooms left for us, and according to the booking’s agreement they could transfer us to another hotel of theirs with the same kind of rooms. He said they have rooms ready for us at the other hotel, Elite Resort & Spa, we weren’t happy with the change at first and started arguing. 3abd ali won the argument with flying colors.. He even had us laughing by the time we left for the other hotel. It turned out to be a nice upgrade too.
Read the rest of this entry »

We went today to the Men Time spa in Almuhallab mall, Me, Mishary and my 2 cousins. We booked an appointment for 4 people almost a week ahead. The spa is much smaller than the spa I reviewed last week (The Day Spa) and a step down in almost every way.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been wanting a massage for some weeks now. I haven’t had any massages in Kuwait before, but after hearing good things about the day spa I called them up and made an appointment for a swedish massage.

I called them the same day and just 2 hours before the massage time. The swedish massage was recommended by a friend and also happened to be the only one they had for 8 pm. I went home took a bag with some clothes and a camera. I got there 20 minutes early, and I regretted arriving early. I waited by the door, in the street for 20 minutes. I knocked and called them and nothing, no one opened the door and the phone was always busy. Not a good first impression. Even the waitresses at Pomodoro (same owner) came to help and then invited me to stay at their tables which were less than 10 meters away. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I’m waiting outside and they’re not returning my calls.. definitely not a good first impression.

20 minutes later a guy opened the door and poked his head outside. I got up and started walking fast toward him. I was angry and wanted to yell at someone. The guy was very apologetic and very very nice.. I couldn’t even stay angry at this stupid incident, which made me feel bad, I wanted to lash out..

The place was dark, and I mean DARK. I couldn’t see where I was stepping at first and had to wait for my eyes to adjust, and when they did.. wow. The place was very well decorated! they did the best they could with the limited space they have. It has this indian, buddhist, cave-like atmosphere, with eastern/indian instrumentals being played in the backgound. Very relaxing. I was escorted to the other room after filling a little form, and that room looked even more exotic. I was seated in one of the chairs (pictured above) and was offered to have a drink while I wait.

The room was dimly lit too. The guy told me I could take a shower now or after the massage or both, it was up to me. The massage lasted a full hour. I enjoyed every second of it. Aside from the incident with the closed door at the beginning, the place was perfect in every way. Full privacy, very clean, and they all were very friendly. I would definitely go back.

The swedish massage costs KD18. My bill was KD22 coz I bought a bottle of their shampoo. It’s located in the Jebla area, near the church and starbucks. Right behind Pomodoro restaurant.

Tel: 2496699
Time: 10am-10pm

PS It’s for Men only. Sorry ladies.
Read the rest of this entry »

At our last Ghabga my friend brought some sushi that are homemade. I didn’t know they were homemade till he told me so, and I can’t say I was surprised when he said they have a sushi business, coz they all looked very professionally done. Now I’m not a Sushi expert, I never went to a japanese restaurant (well maybe once or twice), but I liked them all. I especially liked the orange ones with the spicy crab sauce and sprinkles of brown garnish stuff.

To look through the menu take a look at their website by clicking HERE.

Phone # 6510140.
Read the rest of this entry »

My favorite cheesecakes are the Sheraton’s, Market cafe’s (Dubai) and KFC’s (I’m ashamed but its true). I was very interested in tasting choowy Goowy’s new cheesecake when I first read about it at Mark’s, and what a nice surprise it was when loco told me yesterday that he’s bringing one to the diwaniya’s ghabga.

I love cheesecakes and I like them plain, I don’t like cherry, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, whatever berry flavors on top. They overpower the cake and I end up tasting nothing but the berriness of the sauce! So when it comes to those sort of recipes, where the flavors are subtle, they can be easily butchered, and more often than not they are butchered beyond recognition.

The newyorker did not exceed my expectations, it met them, which is absolutely great for a first time. Thick texture, hard enough crust, and straight up mmmm-worthy overall taste. (I would’ve preferred an extra drop or two of lemon while in the making).

I did not appreciate the nutty flavored crust and did not know what was between the crust and the cake, But I’ve been told that we can easily choose our own crusts so this, thankfully, won’t be a problem in the future.

The packaging and portion. The package was simple, they’re going to be done with their new package designs soon (read it on Choowies blog) and it will look nicer. The cake was cut to 8 pieces. It could’ve easily been cut to 10, but thats ok, 8 bigger pieces are totally fine by me.

It is now only second place on my favorite cheesecake’s list; the Sheraton’s is still a bit better.

The cheesecake was a winner. They did a good job with the recipe.

To order:
ChoowyGoowy
Phone #2626559 – 2620011

The photos should tell the story, YES FINALLY the long awaited Blackberry BOLD is here, I received it today from Aramex (no more USWS).

Its branded with the Canadian Rogers Network but i got it unlocked!

Read the rest of this entry »

A couple of days ago my brother mentioned this Mcdonald’s fries lookalike, he said the fries looks exactly like McDonald’s and it tastes really good for a frozen home fried french fries. This weekend when we were in Chabd, we did a little barbeque and coincidently there was this McCain fries on the table, so I tried it. Now, I liked it, it tasted really good, nowhere near as good as McDonald’s, but it was reallly goood. I just did some googling before writing this post, and you know what? IT IS the fries McDonald’s use! the same manufacturer at least. McDonald’s use McCain’s Fries.

From McDonalds site:

MacFries from McCain were found to be one of the best. The award means that McCain fries, produced for McDonald’s to strict specifications, can now be used as a benchmark by other McDonald’s fry suppliers worldwide.

I was told it can be found in most Co-ops.

On the last day of our little weekend trip to Dubai we went to The Meat Company for lunch. The restaurant wasn’t a favorite of mine, I gave it a couple of tries in the last 2 years but it never clicked; the starters weren’t all that, the steaks were never tender enough, and there was always this unfair comparison in my head between it and Gaucho Grill, in which Gaucho always won.

We reserved a table the night before, the place wasn’t packed, far from it actually, but I’d always reserve a table if I were you, just in case.

We ordered the following for starters:

Chicken Caesar salad

Read the rest of this entry »

Carrie, A girl born to a freakishly religious mother, never felt normal or accepted by her mother nor her peers. She was the butt of every joke, she came to expect a foot to be shot out at any moment to trip her and then another foot to kick her while she’s down, and ofcourse the laughs, always the laughs that followed every sudden bad turn of events.

Carrie then discovered, gradually, through her own forgotten memories, that she’s telekinetic (has the ability to move objects by mental power). What would you do if you were her?

When I read the reviews and how the book is considered a modern day classic, I thought I’d really like it. I liked some parts, but it was cheesy, the whole topic is old and beaten to death. Maybe it would’ve felt fresh and groundbreaking had I read it when it first came out in 1974, But now, It just feels cliched.

I enjoyed reading the book in general, but did not enjoy the story itself. It’s my first Stephen King book. I thought it would be a little scary, but it wasn’t.

We stayed in Crown Plaza when we were in Dubai last weekend, it’s in Festival City and connected through an indoor path to the Mall which was a really great idea, no need for a taxi to get you there, Actually it was connected to the Intercontinental Hotel all the way to the mall. Our offer was really good which was 2 nights plus the tickets all that for KD92 including the taxes. So you can imagine the whole hotel was occupied by Kuwaities

This is the lobby. Its small but still got a nice finishing.

Since we were 6 people we took 3 rooms and one of the rooms got upgraded to a suite, So guess who took it? Akeeeed Mishary & his wife and this was part of our suit

That was the view from our room (i didnt photoshop it) all the pics came straight from my Camera.

We arrived at Dubai’s airport 40 minutes late due to some annoying bearded guy who refused and his family to sit in the seats they were given. The guy didn’t stay onboard for long coz he didn’t accept the seats given and they didn’t have any choice other than letting him off the plane. The reason of the delay and the apologies were announced over the speakers atleast 5 times, They were quite mad at the bearded guy when they phrased the reason. Anyway, As soon as we arrived we rented a car and headed to Burjman. We window-shopped for a bit and then went to The Noodle House; The happiest place on earth.

I’m a big fan of The Noodle House. I used to eat there 2wice a week when I was studying there.. I was happy they decided they wanna eat there. It’s been like 5 months since I last ate there, and I missed it.

The food is unparalleled, no matter where I go and how many chinese/Asian dishes I try, The Noodle House remains the best in every way.

We’re planning on taking Dubai by storm and make the most out of the little time we have here.

Brief History:

The restaurant was recommended by 9K2HN. He ate at this restaurant with his family and cousins more than 20 years ago. He came to know about this restaurant when they were staying in one of Geneve’s hotels back in the mid 80’s. Back then they weren’t familiar with the country as much as they are now, so they asked the hotel and were recommended this restaurant. They took a taxi and went there. They liked it and kept the restaurant’s card. In the coming years, whenever they wanted to go back to this restaurant, they’d go to the Noga Hiltion Hotel (Now its Kempinski) and take a taxi from there to the restaurant coz its so hard to get there without a taxi. fast forward to yesterday.. 9K2HN, his brother and me wanted to go back there. He dug up the restaurant’s card and used modern day technology to get there, A.K.A. the GPS. The waiter was very surprised to see the restaurant’s old card with us, He said he recognized the logo but not the card itself coz its too old.

According to 9K2HN, the restaurant is still as it was over 20 years ago. Its basically a villa somewhere in geneve (I don’t think I can get there without a GPS either). You can choose to sit inside or in the terrace. The inside of the restaurant feels like you’re in a hut or cabin. The restaurant specializes in Grills. They bring you your own little coal filled barbeque grill and you do the grilling. You can choose one or a mix of their boneless meats. They offer: beef, lamb, chicken, duck, turkey, fish, shrimps and squids. Each dish comes with fries and an appetizer of your choice (smoked salmon, salad mêlée/mix…etc.

Read the rest of this entry »

My father used to take us to this restaurant when I was a kid. Back then I didn’t care much for staying in the restaurant, I was more interested in the swings outside.

The place was run by a nice old lady, her and the cook were the only 2 people working there. Now the old lady has left and her daughter took her place. We went on friday and were greeted by the Chef, he showed us to our table, gave us the menus, brought the drinks, cooked the dishes, presented them and gave us the check!

The dishes are amazing in this little place. They’re very simple and not a whole lot of choices are there to choose from, but from my experience, you cannot go wrong with their limited variety, well.. if you’re going to order a goose liver or a monkey’s feet thats another issue.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been awhile since I last heard something new from Whitney Houston, but Whitney is back people! I just got her new song featuring Akon, titled “Like I never Left”. Its a nice breezy summer song, a catchy slow jam and for some it could be a perfect sing along song. Just the perfect song to ease back into the public and for the people to warm up to her again. Akon’s part is good too, their voices compliment each others.

I think its good they decided (and by they I mean Clive Davis) to leak a song like ‘Like I Never Left’, which I consider a safe song. Vocally and lyrically its very safe and could be received well at radio. They could’ve easily gone with a big production big over the top vocals, but They were smart not to do so, imo, and by leaking this song so casually without announcing to the world that its her first single from her new album, they’ll get a chance to remind people of Whitney and at the same time avoid getting harsh criticism for it not being first single material.

I like the song a lot. Here, listen for yourself:
[audio:http://somecontrast.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/whitney_houston__ft_akon__-_like_i_never_left.mp3]

Thanks a lot loco.