Thanks [Bader]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5_AKjDdqaU

[Watch on YouTube]

Now this is kinda funny, I was at Marina Mall when I saw a long line, mostly girls, waiting at OSN booth, I thought they’re running some summer offer or special promotion, so out of curiosity I waited along with the line to only to find out almost half an hour later that the crowd was because of Harem Al Sultan season 2 showing only on Showtime. The salesman was happy saying “Our profits have jumped”.

I hate Harem Al Sultan!

I hope everyone is safe.

[Watch on YouTube]

See my previous visit to DownTown Expo here

Where: Kuwait International Fair Hall#8, Mishref.

When: 17th, 18th, and the 19th of May.

Phone: 55550308

Do you think we need more gyms and health centers in Kuwait? I say yes gyms can help us greatly to get in shape bearing in mind the zillion calories we consume especially that we have numerous restaurants and tempations are infinitely many, also more gyms will help improve prices and services for the exisitng gyms, but I noticed most of the new gyms are men-only, also women health clubs are more expensive. So let’s see what are the gyms:

Fitness First: Its the world’s largest and most popular with over 540 branches, they said they have plans to further expand in Middle East and Kuwait is included, though they were supposed to open in first quarter of 2012 but nothing so far, I really wish they open soon.

Gold’s Gym: I spotted it in Salmiya beside electrozan, Gold’s Gym is American health club and also considered one of the best with over 650 branches worldwide, I expect it will open by end of this year.

Oxygen Gym – Jabriya: I’m sure you are all familiar with this one since its one of the most popular ones in Kuwait, they are opening another one in Jabriya on August beside Champions. I personally like it becauase they have good prices, the other locations are Adeileya, Fahaheel, and Al Riggae.

Platinum Gym – Sabah Al Salem: Its also one of my favorite gyms in Kuwait, nice facilities and offers, they will soon open Platinum at Sabah Al Salem area. The other locations are Kaifan, Salmiya, Fahaheel, and Corniche.

Thanks [AlMubarkia]

Power Gym: It was recently opened at Jahra, they say its amazing with great facilities and charges 40 KD/Month, sadly its way too far from my home but its a great option for those who live in surrounding areas.

Phone: 24570995

Note: We have used random.org for the draw, only comments with twitter names (53 comments) were included in the draw.

Their other branch at Al Raya complex.

Image by [Fatma  AlRefaee]

[Watch on YouTube]

A friend of mine emailed me a video for Real Madrid football team arriving at Kuwait airport today at 5:00 pm with strict security measures, I overheard they will stay at Regency Hotel and the match tomorrow will start at 8:00 pm exact. What saddens me is that the Real Madrid management requested that no one is allowed to take personal photos with any of the players or even get an autograph.

Below is the team formation for the match tomorrow.

Thanks [Ahmad]

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I was longing for Fatayer (فطاير) and I read about this new gluten-free bakery named Firin from Bazaar so I thought I’d try it for breakfast, I keep hearing about health benefits for gluten-free foods but wasn’t sure what it is, from what I read on Wikipedia that some people are sensitive to gluten (Celiac disease), plus they say removing gluten helps losing weight and increase energy levels and improves general health.

The bakery was small with a furnace, they handed me the menu; they had fatayer, cupcakes, breads, pizzas, muffins, and cookies. They only have take-away and home delivery orders, I ordered margarita and meat fatayer.

I favored their margarita, they don’t offer beverages. My check was KD8 and yes its high, I highlighted this to the owner; she explained that all their ingredients are brought from the outside and are high quality, she said they will look into improving their prices and services.

Phone: 22666100

Address: Hawally, Tunis street opposite to Hawally Pharmacy.

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Read my previous post here

I like about Manshar mall that they have those souvenirs and antiques shop that can’t be found elsewhere in Kuwait, they could have at least considered to renovate or re-design the mall to minimize the cost but I guess money isn’t an issue for the owners.

Anyhow they say the mall will be shutdown by end of 2012, I shot a few pictures for the mall to remember the old Manshar Mall by.

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Also we sometimes get some rain during summer, then we have those scary heavy dust storms that hit us every now and then let alone the dust every weekend. I know we are currently experiencing what we call in Kuwait (Pre-Sarayat and Sarayat) but changing climate is also another possibility since its a global phenomenon, maybe pollution has an effect too.

Rules:

1. Follow us on twitter (@BananaQ8) and show us your twitter name as a comment.

2. After following us; Tweet this post.

3. Enter the draw.

 Note: Deadline is on Tuesday 15th 12:00 AM, only those who follow us on twitter and tweet or re-tweet this post will enter the draw. Good Luck!

I’m not yet into biking but a friend of mine who’s really into bikes told me that the most awaited bike of the year (as he called it) the Ducati 1199 Panigale has just arrived to Kuwait, I admit that seeing this hot bike in real got me tempted enough to take biking lessons.

My friend says the 1199 Panigale is powered by 195 hp engine, weighs about 164 KGs, and design-wise it looks hot (thats’s I can tell), and the engine roaring is awesome. Sadly I don’t know its price but I think the TriStar (Ducati and BMW bike dealers) has an idea.

Thanks [Nasser][Fangears]

[Watch on YouTube]

I was checking Kuwait Stock Exchange website this early morning, you see I also lost a big deal of money in trading (or should I call it playing around) with stock exchange, I saw they have introduced a new smart trading system named X-Stream which is used by American stock exchange NASDAQ.

Initially I can say the new trading system is faster and far more reliable, they cancelled trading by fractions and now minimum trading amount is one share, they increased the order value to 5 Million shares, also no more 5 minutes waiting for cancelling/modifying orders, in addition to many new features.

I heard the new system will help preventing the last minute changes (closing time) thus reducing cheating, nice.

Note: There was a problem in the first day of launching the new trading system and they say they will fix it shortly.

[Watch on YouTube]

A friend spotted this crazy, or should I call it suicidal, act on the street, it seems some guys are truly creative finding ways to kill themselves.

Thanks [Yousif]

We checked the menu and found the Wagyu steak available, the 250 grams fillet costs KD32, that’s almost equivalent to 16 Shake Shack burgers. The server said customers rarely order Wagyu for its high price, I chose my steak to be medium well for more juiciness.

Finally the Wagyu’s served, after the first bite I can say it was the most tender steak I’ve ever had, it was very juicy. We enjoyed every bite but sadly it didn’t last long since it was only 250 grams, and a few minutes later came the pay time.

So do I recommend it? Well if you have a very fat wallet then go for it otherwise normal steak will do just fine.

I tried the branch at Al Jahra and posted about it before, see here

Thanks [AboFlan]

I’m noticing more recycling awareness campaigns in Kuwait in the withing the last couple years, this is great but we wish that government also build more recycling plants to Re-use more of the wastes (tires, house wastes..etc) rather than dumping them at the yards or burn them at landfills.

So if you have old phones or CDs that you wish to be recycled contact them.

Phone: 97261279

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The agency had to cover the Jeep to keep attention off it. I usually get angry at my car agency but never thought I’d take it this far. The funny thing is that this story went international, see here

Via [FroyoNation]

خلال تواجدي في المرينا مول اليوم شاهدت اشهر محلات بريطانيا “ليكلاند” المتخصصة في ادوات ومعدات المطباخ قد افتتح اول افرعه في الكويت. قمت بجولة سريعة داخل المتجر فوجدت العديد من الاشياء مثل السكاكين والصحون والاكسسوارات والملاعق والاطباق وكل ما يتعلق بالمطابخ.ا

ا

المتجر كان كبيرا ورائعا واعتقد ان كل عشاق الطبخ سيعجبون بما سيشاهدونه, المحل موجود في المرينا مول بالقرب من “مانجو”.ا

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I received a box of Dunkin’ Donuts from BlackBerry and when I asked what’s the occasion they said “We’re giving free Dunkin’ Donuts for BlackBerry users in Kuwait”, that’s generous.

Offer starts from 16th of May for a month, every Wednesday (6:00 pm till 10:00 pm) BlackBerry and PlayBook users just have to show their devices at any Dunkin’ Donuts branch in Kuwait and will get free donuts and a coffee, no strings attached.

It seems the never ending debate regarding where the singer Shams is from has just came to an end when she stated in an interview that she’s Saudi. Though this isn’t the reason I’m posting this since I wasn’t curious where she’s from, but seeing how people are obsessed to know every tiny private detail about her is kinda funny, even the paper printed the story on the first page to boost sales.

I guess this is the tax one must pay to become a celebrity.

Read more here 

My first question to them “What is different about your gym since we already have many in Kuwait?”, their answer was the trainers and fitness experience they have, I liked how the gym was spacious and neat.

The gym is mixed, some of the facilities included group fitness studio, free weights area, treadmills, punch bags, kick bags, kettle bells, different fitness equipment, private lockers, changing rooms, and nice reception area spread on two levels. I liked how the training machines were located next to windows with nice landscapes, this helps with exercise.

They provide personal training sessions and advice on how to achieve the required fitness level.

Shortcomings: There was no swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room or cafeteria and their reasoning is that they want to focus on fitness rather than SPA experience. Also I wish they lower their prices so more people can afford it.

Find other health clubs here

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On my way to work this early morning I saw this billboard on King Fahad high, it reads “Here Begins the Future Kuwait” with a sketch for the planned Sheikh Jaber Bridge project, I’m not exactly sure what they meant with that but it seems its a PR thing to help showing that they’re working.

Later I saw on the paper the same ad with the current projects handled by Ministry of Public Work but I’m wondering if they can really complete the Metro Project and new Kuwait airport as planned, I consider them to the be the most vital projects that we need.

Phone: 22969904

I’m looking for a good headphones to use for the gym and exercise since music can really help, I know Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones are good but I wanted something new. The new SMS Sync by 50 Cent wireless stereo headphones were just released in Kuwait, but the cash price is KD108 which isn’t cheap.

Quality-wise, I was impressed with the 16-bit digital sound experience, the bass was awesome plus the design is cool and being wireless gives freedom. The battery lasts for approx. 17 hours and the wireless allows you to be 15.5 meters away, great. There is also this nice feature which allows group listening, and the passive-noise cancelling technology is amazing.

The wired version costs KD81 but I loved the wireless one, you can find it at Eureka Salmiyah.

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I remember former Kuwaiti football player Jasem Al Huwaidi also received this title back in 1998.

[Watch on YouTube]

Inside I saw good stuff and there was a 1st floor, their shoes were good but somehow felt tight. The other branches are located at Sharq Market, 360 Mall, and the Airport.

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