Ro needed some sound editing for a Christmas tableau her team is working on. Some overlaying, some cropping, noise reduction and other magic.

Audacity is the best software I’m aware of that’s free, easy to use and gets the job done. There is a 1.3.12 Beta version which I’ve found quite stable actually. It supports a lot more plugins than the earlier stable version and has some nice new nifty features which maked editing audio easy even for a novice like me.

Best of all you can export to MP3 with your own tags and easily share your compositions with friends.

I guess you could also use it to mix taped conversations and get someone into trouble. Should be a fun way to learn how to use it.

What comes to your mind when you first look at this?

I guess the chaps at China Kitchen are not keen on presentation.

The Nokia netbooklet 3G is the neatest looking netbook I’ve seen. Its also the most expensive @ KWD 259/-.

BIM received this unit from Nokia for testing and review and I went over to check it out. It’s got an amazing 12 hour batter life, a sim card slot for 3G net access, its got built-in GPS (which works only with a 3G sim) and a HDMI connector. Also, it runs Windows 7 premium so its a lot better than those XP netbooks. And best of all, its built into a sturdy aluminium frame. More or less like an Apple Powerbook.

The two main drawback I found were the keyboard and the screen. I just hate it when they put a “FN” key in front of the “CTRL”. Not good for fast “typers” like me. Also, the gap between the keys could be reduced for better typing on such a small keyboard. The screen could have been wider. There is a lot of “black edge” along the sides of the screen. For this price I would expect a multi-touch screen, but guess Nokia didn’t think so.

One missing feature was a virtual cell phone. This could be the best portable conferencing tool ever.

And thinking of  travel agents, this is an amazing piece of hardware for a mobile agent.

Overall a very posh netbook with GPS and internet. It would be a great grab if it was half the price and had a multi-touch screen.

I came across this great website for comparing camera features. Snapsort allows you to pick two camera models and compare them feature wise. It also shows you the clear winner between them.

I just love the simplicity of the site. But although its very informative, some user / editor reviews on the same page would be great. In addition there is no mention of approx prices. I guess this site is best used once you have gone around town and need to decided between 2-3 cameras of your liking.

We were at the 360 mall, checking out the food court when we noticed this restaurant and decided to give it a go. Supposedly its one of Lebanon’s finest restaurants.

The decor inside the restaurant is very nice. Its pretty spacious with large tables. The constant flow of water from their indoor waterfalls were a bit annoying and the lighting could have been brighter.

I must say that our initial impression was not that great. It was 15 mins before someone came to our table to take our order and then another 15 mins to find someone who knew English to take our order.

Their famous Sabah Wa Masaa cocktail didn’t impress me much but the Kiwi Ro ordered was very nice. We started with some Wine leaves and a Hommus with Spicy Sausages. Now I was expecting Sausages, but all we got was mince sprinkled on a bowl of Hommus, and it wasn’t one bit Spicy. However, it was very tasty and was the lightest Hommus we ever tasted.

Now when we ordered the mixed grill plate, the guy explained it to us like it would feed about 10 people. And even though we were just 3, we ordered it anyway. To my shock, they brought just a small dish with 2 tiny kebabs, 2 mini Sheesh Taawouk’s and a few tiny pieces of lamb. I said to Ro… “what stingy portions for an Arabic restaurant”. However after tasting it …wow!!! Most Arabic food is very “heavy” to eat. This mix grill dish was extremely light but yet very filling.

The meal was so filling that I couldn’t order their Kunafa. I was eyeing our neighboring table where 3 guys were digging into a big chuck of it!

Overall a good place with fantastic Arabian food. I’d recommend not sitting near any of the waterfalls since I noticed a few tiny flying thingies around them.

No pics of the food to post since the lighting was very poor in there.

After all the hype with Best Electronics, Ro and I decided to drop in and check it out. I must say I was very disappointed. The only interesting section was a tiny display with solar powered cell phones and a netbook with a built-in touch screen track pad. Both were display-only items and not for sale!

I was not at all impressed with their selection or pricing of laptops. Their cell phone “corner” had a handful of phones and most of them were out of stock.

There are 3 floors and no proper directions on where to find what! The floor upstairs was dedicated for TV’s and most of the people who came up on the escalator with us, took one look around and went back down.

Overall, not what I anticipated and even the staff were not very helpful. At the entrance itself 2-3 of the staff looked at me funny… like they wanted to karate my ass out of there!

Indian Delights is a relatively new eat-out in Salmiya. We noticed it a few times but all those lights hanging out put us off from entering every time we passed by!

Not this time though since it was pretty late and we were terribly hungry. First off, I must say that the decor is incredible for a restaurant this size. They have about 5 tables inside and 6 out and they have a very distinct “bar” counter that you can’t miss! Of course, since this is Kuwait, the bar only serves mocktails!

And so we ordered. I picked a Black Knight to start with. Its a berry & lime concoction which tastes pretty good!

We started off with some Paneer Tikka. And that was some amazing Paneer dish. Larger than we expected for a starter and it was pretty filling.

I’m definitely going back there since there are a lot more Goan dishes in that menu just waiting for me to sample!

Its been a while since we ate at Pizza Express. In fact we had only eaten there once before when Amber introduced us to her favorite pizza place in Kuwait. Since we were at the Avenues and Ro was very hungry we decided to pop in for a quick meal.

As usual the food court by the cinema was packed but amazingly there were a lot of free tables at Pizza Express. Since there was a big crowd outside and it was getting noisy, we picked the more quiet table #1 inside.

We started off with some drinks. The Green Giant for Ro and a Peach breezer for me. And I know what your thinking but no, this is Kuwait and this was an alcohol-less breezer.

Since we wanted to eat light we decided to skip the appetizers and get started on our pizza. We picked the Salmon pizza. You have to try it out! Poached salmon and creme fraiche dripping down …yummy yummy yummy!

To top it up I ordered a Tiramisu. Now from the image on the menu, I was expecting a small slice. But when it arrived, it was a huge chunk of sinful delicioso!!! So sinful and delicious that Ro, who is abstaining from sweet dishes, ended up eating most of it!

The staff  here were very nice and the place was well lit and very organised. Table #1 where we sat had the best view of both the outside, inside and the kitchen.

Now for the ratings:

• Staff Knowledge: ****½ (4.5/5)
• Service: ****~ (4/5)
• Food Quality: ****½ (4.5/5)
• Price: ****~ (4/5)
• Location & Branding: ***½~ (3.5/5)

Overall Score: ****~ (4.1/5)

If you have never tried Pizza Express, go there this week and you have to try out their Tiramisu!

It’s been a while since we ate at Mughal Mahal. And I can’t recall ever eating at their Salmiya branch. I guess the main reason would be that you can hardly see the sign board since there are 3 more prominent ones nearby and the entrance is at the back of the building!

Anyway, we got there early and hungry. We started with some Sweet Corn Chicken soup and I must say that for a 1 by 2 order it felt like a 2 into 1 serving. Very generous portions of chicken in the soup.

For the main course we chose the Mustard Fish from their continental menu and a Black Mushroom Beef and Shrimp Noodles from their Chinese menu. You have got to try out that fish. Simply awesome. The beef dish was a tad bit tangy but it was very delicious.

And like I do at every other restaurant that serves Indian food, I ordered a Rasmalai for dessert. Now when it first came, I though they brought me a coffee latte. Must be the very dim lighting. But that is one thick and yummy Rasmali and unlike some other neighboring Indian restaurants, they were actually able to serve me a Rasmalai and not just show it on the menu!

Although they didn’t plate our dishes or offer to, their presentation and organisation impressed me a lot.

Now for the ratings:

• Staff Knowledge: ****½ (4.5/5)
• Service: ****~ (4/5)
• Food Quality: ****½ (4.5/5)
• Price: ****½ (4.5/5)
• Location & Branding: ***½~ (3.5/5)

Overall Score: ****~ (4.2/5)

I think that from now on Mughal Mahal is now going to be our #1 choice when eating out. There is a lot more on their menu waiting for us to sample.

Both Ro and I were in the mood for some Thai so we decided to drive down to Reggai to our favorite Thai food restaurant. Among all restaurants we have eaten at in Kuwait, this has the most homely feel. The staff are extremely sweet and warm to you and the fish in that big tank are always glad to see us.

We started with our favorite plate of breaded shrimp sticks for starters. I love that topping on the sticks. For the main course it was a combo of Pad Thai, Chicken noodles and Ginger Beef Fry (or was that Garlic!?!, I can never tell). Ro enjoyed the noodles so much, she ordered another as take-away.

All in all, everytime we visit this place, the food has been fantastic and the service even better!

Now for the ratings:

• Staff Knowledge: ****½ (4.5/5)
• Service: ****½ (4.5/5)
• Food Quality: ****½ (4.5/5)
• Price: ****½ (4.5/5)
• Location & Branding: **~~~ (2/5)

Overall Score: ****~ (4/5)

If I shift to Reggai, I’d probably order from there every night.