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When I first discovered foret noir, or black forest, the cake (duh), I was not so fond of it. What is there to like anyway? it is supposed to be some kind of a chocolate cake that doesn’t taste quite like chocolate, it has this sour syrup that everybody on this earth hates with a vengeance, and its covered with this thin layer of cheap whipping cream (the ones I tried are cheap) then covered again with something that is supposed to look and taste like chocolate flakes. It is hatable. Almuhaissin, I think, is one of the main reasons why I’ve always hated the black forest, the other reason being the egyptian movies and the way they pronounce it’s name; belack foorest.
Anyway. I discovered this AMAZING cafe (actually, I didn’t discover anything. Mom took me to this cafe 2 years ago and made me try their foret noir) their foret noir is nothing like almuhaissin’s! its nothing like any other black forest i have ever tasted. First of all they got it right and won major points for cutting that sour syrup out of the recipe, then they scored even more points for including a chocolate paste (is it called paste? its a layer of melted chocolate) that works perfectly with the cake, very subtly sweet, it adds this whole other dimension to the otherwise boring cake and it kind of redefines the cake. Then there is the award winning whipped cream layer which takes it to a new level.
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Actifed Duo is one of the best allergy medicines I have ever tried, even better than the mighty Zyrtec. It has double effect, acting as both an allergy drug and a running nose’s. I also love it coz I don’t feel drowsy/sleepy after taking a pill.
Highly recommended.
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There is this tiny little restaurant in Movenpick Hotel called Al Dente. It can easily be overlooked by everybody who hasn’t been in and ate one of its various dishes. Its little, the decoration is so so, and its in Movenpick. As you can see the odds that can come between you and one of the better italian restaurants in Kuwait.
I’ve been to this restaurant countless times. I like it because its not crowded, its consistent and I can have the pasta my way, which is a thing I really appreciate in an italian restaurant. I always order their pasta (whatever kind I feel like when I visit) with the cream sauce, I love heir cream sauce, its heavy so I always make sure that I stay away from any kind of appetizers just to make enough space for the main course. Recently my friend introduced me to a new kind of creamy sauce, it’s pink, a mixture of white and red sauce (I think they call it rosa?). Anyway, I usually ask the chef to be generous when using olive oil and garlic while making the pasta. (I just ate a pizza, I’m really not happy describing food).
The service is excellent and friendly. The atmosphere is nice, not great. The place is small and chances are everybodys gonna hear your conversations (but that happens everywhere in Kuwait coz Kuwaitis have it in their blood to eavesdrop, so it’s ok).
Score: 4 Out of 5.
Al Dente is located in Movenpick Hotel in Shuwaikh’s Free trade zone, near Villa Moda. Phone # 4610033.
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I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by the awfully talented Khaled Hosseini. I should first say that the writer didn’t drift away from what made him famous; his first novel. The story is set in Kabul, afghanistan and it sees much of what we already have read in The Kite Runner, and it adds some more.
I enjoyed the novel, I enjoyed the plot, the characters, the war-zone atmosphere and above all I very much enjoyed and marveled at the way he writes. Its a story of a young harami (bastard), her name is Maryam, who lives with her mother in a hut away from her father, who came to visit once a week. She awaits his arrival every week with patience, every single week, and loves him dearly and relentlessly, inspite of her mother’s constant bashing and warning that one day he won’t come to her anymore and will forget about her exactly like how he forgot to publicly own his mistake and let her, Maryam, live legitimately with her other sisters from his other wives.
The writer then starts another story with another girl who lives down the street from Maryam, her name is Layla, who is in love with Tariq. Fate plays the cruelest games with these 2 girls. They learn much about life and how, at times, it means nothing and everything at the same time. You learn much about how life was not so nice to Afghan girls during the 70’s, 80’s and ofcourse their worst days in the 90’s during the Talibans stage.
I recommend this very well written novel to everyone. Its like what you’re probably going read if you ever (not possible) read one of Amir’s* novels.
* Amir is the boy in Hosseini’s first novel.
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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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Today we decided to have our lunch at Al-mayas restaurant. I went there with my wife, 9K2HN and Labeba. This time we decided to take my family there.
So we went ahead and ordered our appetizers (mazaat). We ordered 3arayes (basically its a round bread, cut in quarters with meat mixed in with some spices) 
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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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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*
Click here to see the rest of the pictures
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Yesterday after ANM’s birthday we went to the Avenues and wanted to taste Häagen-Dazs Fondue, so we went there and placed an order. BTW its in the Avenues phase II.
Its says that it serves 4 persons in the menu, but actually it serves only 2 (Kuwaiti person) you know what i mean by Kuwaiti .. ya3ni etha 7ag 4 beseer bas e7alfoon 3alaih
It comes with 2 large plates
First plate contains:
- Strawberry.
- Kiwi.
- Banana.
- Brownie.
- Cookies.
Second Plate contains:
4 choices of their ice cream flavor.
The ice cream melt so quickly if you dip it in the chocolate sauce, so beware. I think it deserves 2/5 due to the cheap tasting chocolate sauce.
FYI: they are accepting cash only at the moment.
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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
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Yes, it arrived yesterday with the wheel too! what can i say?! Hmmm.. I have been a fan of Mario Kart ever since it first came out. Before this game came out, the best one, hands down was Mario Kart 64. This game takes the Game Cube version, improves it, and adds all of the elements that made the game famous in the first place.
The wheel is a great toss in, and is fun to play with, and the response is much more accurate than expected. Even better is that you can go online and play different people from around the world in versus mode or battle mode. This is so much fun when you don’t have someone you can play with at home… all you have to do is go online and you can play whoever you want. If you have a friend that has a Wii you can add their friend code and race each other too.
My Score:
Graphics – 4.5
Audio – 5
Replay – 5
Fun – 5
Controls – 5
Overall 5/5 (its a must for a wii owner!)
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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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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
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I ordered a 4 GB Kingston Ram for my Macbook pro off amazon.com. I went to Youtube and looked around for an easy installation guide and found a good one, I won’t be showing that video in here, Instead I’m doing my own stepbystep post
First thing first, Go to whatever site you like to order your desired RAM. Crucial, OWC & Newegg are all good sites, but unfortunately they were a big pain when it came to placing my order. They emailed me asking for a copy of my driver’s license and my (late) visa card. I ignored them and went to amazon and ordered my RAM from kingston. Windows users, there is a good Kingston Helper in there to help you find the suitable RAM for your PCs.
Now lets get to business. make sure you have a tiny philips (cross) screw driver. and i mean tiny!
Flip the laptop and remove the battery.
Now take the screw driver and start undoing the screws. becareful you don’t want to lose any of those tiny things.
Now remove the lid
There are tiny little clips on the left and right holding the RAM down. press them outward, away from the memory to release them.
Once you do so they’ll stick out. Remove them and place your new RAM. Press them down hard and you hear this little “tikk.” (anything other than a little tick means you broke your RAM)
Close the lid and put the screws back. And You’re Done!!!
*Now its just plain bragging*
The RAM was $115 when I bought it, now they’re selling it for $95, Link.
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Posted By Mishary.
A few days ago i received my Time Capsule, the 500GB version. it was supposed to be shipped at the end of Feb. but due to some version update Apple delayed it till the end of March.
Whats in the box:
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Posted By Yousef
I wanted to review DHL’s @ Home forwarding service for over a week now, but I waited until my first 3 packages got to Kuwait so I can get a sense of DHL’s speed and their delivery patterns.
I ordered 3 packages, 1 of them was a laptop for a friend. The laptop took 12 days to arrive in Kuwait’s customs. The other packages, one took 12 days and the other took 8 days. Keep in mind that I start counting once they are delivered to my US mailbox, which is checked twice a week, every monday and thursday. Once the shipments arrive in Illinois in the mailbox, you’ll feel like you’ve been disconnected from the package until it arrives to Kuwait. There is no tracking number and no site to monitor the progress. You just have to wait. It can get frustrating as you wait and have no idea about your package status and its whereabouts. You may however call DHL in Kuwait and ask about it.
Now, my cousins had a different kind of experience with DHL’s @ Home Service. I learned that DHL once misprinted the value of one of the packages which contained a couple of PC games and printed an extra zero, causing my cousin to pay around 45kd as tax for a package not worth that much. While my other cousin told us that they do not use DHL throughout the route to Kuwait. They use other company to deliver the package from illinois to Bahrain, then use DHL to deliver the packages from Bahrain to Kuwait.
First impressions can make or break a company nowadays. DHL should know that by now. Having no advantage over other competitors and no site to go with the service is not helping at all. What would make anyone leave their current forwarding service and join DHL? What will motivate them? At the moment, the answer is Nothing.
Having said all that. I think its still too premature to make a real judgment as to whether I’d continue using DHL for my online shopping or if I would go back to the miserable Aramex. They both, up to now, are doing a job that leaves much to be desired. But DHL being the company that it is, makes me a bit more hopeful for a real improvement. And with Sarita on board, it actually makes it worth giving it a chance.
UPDATE:
Click here for a newer updated review
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Posted By Mishary.
Today me & my wife decided to go to Villa Moda Al-Manshar which is located in Al-Manshar mall in Fahaheel.
Its located at the end of the mall which is near Rotana Hotel.
Once i got in i grabbed my camera and started taking pictures. But suddenly they came to me and asked me to turn it off! So, all the pics below are spy pics Sorry if they are not clear enough
There is a flower section for a shop called Cozy Corner at the entrance.
If you can see above, basically the place consists of circles and each circle got its own brand. One of the circles is for DIGITS shop (its an apple computer shop).
The shop also got a second floor which is also for ladies! 
There is a cafe too!
I just want to mention that this branch seems to be a little bit different from the other branches, it doesn’t have the major brands such as Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada or even Marni. But it’s worth going.
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Its one of those movies where from the opening credits you know, you just know its going to be one of the best movies you ever saw. that was the case with me, my friends and whoever watched the movie.
The movie is set in the early 1900s. It tells the story of a young 15 year old black girl named Celie. Celie was constantly abused and humiliated by her father who later forced her to marry a widower with a bunch of kids. and that widower, Mister, as Celie would call him, picked up where her father left.
Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Cast:
Whoopi Goldberg
Danny Glocer
Oprah Winfrey
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Le Pain Quotidien, to many its just another cafe, But to me, its the home of my favorite egg benedict! Whenever I’m in the mood for a good breakfast and I happen to be able to get up in time, I go there and have one of the best breakfasts in Kuwait.
Last thursday was a great day for having breakfasts outdoors. We went to Le Pain Quotidien, Marina Crescent’s Branch. The weather was amazing, The weekend was starting early & I was really craving PQ! and the food was outstanding! as usual.
Omelette With Kashkawan Cheese
Egg Benedict
Waffles
One thing was off that day, their service. they were not organized and very.. disoriented? The waiters were not concentrating even when taking our orders! they’re always attentive and very professional but for some reason they weren’t that day.
Their Site
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Posted By Mishary.
Today me, Ali and Abdullah were going for dinner at Ruby Tuesday. Just before we were there Ali noticed this new building which, at first, he thought was an Indian restaurant called Muhraja Palace.
This Restaurant is circle shaped and divided into two sections, 2 half circles, One is Fish Market (not related to the one near Marina Mall, and the other is Fusion.
Fish Market is a sea food restaurant and Fusion i think is either Japanese or Chinese. Both restaurants are owned by Americana. Both are going to be officially open in 15 days.
As you can see, the decoration must’ve costed them a small fortune! no i take it back, i think it costed them a HUGE fortune! You can see there are a fish tanks all over the place.
Here is the entrance for both restaurants.
Here is a part of Fish market restaurant. As you can see there are a lot of fish tanks. I think they’re there so u can choose the fish you’d like to eat and they cook it for you.
Thank You Abdullah for letting me use your mobile camera and thanks Ali for asking the employees all these quesion, which proved to be very helpful to this post
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