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Review – Munchease Khaldeh

By Rami on May 18, 2017 in Food, Restaurants, Reviews

On the highway from Beirut to Saida there probably not a single restaurant or sandwich joint worth seeking for good food except for this burger place called Munchease.

Until last summer I never thoigh of checking it out even though a couple of friends kept talking about how good it is, but it wasn’t until they once dragged there me that I knew what I was missing!

I know there are several good burger places in Beirut but Munchease is probably the most underrated one among them. Passing on the highway you can’t miss it after COOP as it stands out with the wooden design and cool ambiance.

The menu is straight forward and is divided into 4 sections, starters, subs, burgers, and hot dogs. By now I can claim I tried almost everything they have and was never left disappointed except for when it gets too crowded inside (especially on weekends) even though the friendly waiters try their best to cope with everybody.

The portions are in general quite generous, and you can sometimes get enough with appetizers alone whenever you do not intend to go on an eating spree! My personal favorites are the mozzarella sticks, onion rings and chicken wings, and although they’re all fried items but they always served crispy and taste “clean” (or non-oily). I highly recommend you try the chicken wings by the way because they’re as good if not better than those served at popular american diners in town.

On to the burgers. They’re good, trust me, and I won’t go on to describe the bun and the patty because they’re just good! However, one thing you have to know about the people at Munchease is that they like their items to be overloaded with sauces and cheese. So the burgers they serve will always be messy (good luck avoiding to drip) and quite heavy with all the cheese inside. I personally always feel full with their decadent combo meals and never managed to finish the fries at the end.

For starters, I recommend you go with my all time favorite “Munchease Special” since it has the least amount of cheese, and make sure to try their different dips since they all taste good especially the honey mustard.

Price wise, value for money is quite fair compared to other places, a fulfilling meal for two with drinks will set you back around $20-25 which is far less that what you’d pay at other popular diners or burger joints.

Long story short, Munchease is worth the 10 minutes drive from Beirut to change from the usual places you’re used to, and with the summer season ahead, it’s also one of the ideal places to hit on your way back from the southern beach resorts.

Smartphones in Lebanon – Low Prices VS Genuine Warranty

By Rami on November 11, 2016 in Opinions

Back in June when I got my S7 Edge, I decided to save some money by getting it from Amhaz in Bir El Abed because the price they provide for smartphones and accessories are usually the lowest in the market ($630 back then) *cough no VAT and no tax cough*. However, for selling at such prices, Amhaz does not give you a receipt and the warranty you get only covers factory defects which seemed fair enough for me.

I previously got some phones for my friends and family from there and luckily never had any problem with the handsets so I never resorted to the warranty. But fast forward to last week, my phone’s screen suddenly started to show a pink and green tint then continuously flashing, so I immediately took it to Amhaz to have it checked.

I got a phone call the next day that the screen is defected and I can have it replaced for $350 (Edge screens are expensive), so I went to the shop and started arguing with a technician about the origin of the problem as he insisted the screen was damaged due to some shock, knowing that the phone was unscratched and I never dropped it during the last days of using it.

Long story short, I couldn’t convince him of having it replaced under the warranty so I sold him the phone as it is for $160 and got an S7 instead.

I’m not sharing my story with you to bitch about Amhaz customer service, but to rather shed light on the importance of buying gadgets and electronics from authorized dealers. Such dealers have direct contact with the manufacturers and can help you easily replace a handset if it proved to be factory defective. On the other hand, other shops get their stuff imported through alternative channels and should go through a hassle to send a defective item to its origin, which explains why the warranty they give you is very limited.

I will never know what was wrong with my screen, maybe it was factory defected or maybe I could have damaged it myself, but what I’m sure of is that I had a higher chance of repairing it for free had I opted to originally get it from CTC because I heard of so many stories where people were able to get their phones repaired at no cost. Needless to say, with dealers like CTC and others the cases where a service is provided for free are clearly defined and do not depend on the technician’s mood.

At a time when tech companies are always challenged to keep innovating and releasing new models, shit can happen with their new designs and you never know when you might end up purchasing a messed up device like the Note 7 and regret not having a valid warranty with it. I learned my lesson the hard way, but I urge you to learn from my mistake! I now believe a genuine warranty is worth a few tens of bucks when buying such expensive devices, and no don’t settle for “kafeilit ma7all”. When it comes to mobile phones, make sure you a warranty from CTC for Samsung phones, and from Gomobile for Sony, Alcatel, HTC, and Lenovo.

Phonefinity.net is one of the shops I recommend for smartphones with genuine warranty at a really good price.

Review – Samsung S7 Edge and Gear VR

By Rami on June 9, 2016 in Reviews

s7edge

I’ve been using an iPhone 5 for exactly 3 years now and recently started looking for an alternative. Among the current flagship mobile phones I was basically tempted to either get a 64GB iPhone 6s or a Samsung S7 Edge, still having never owned an Android mobile before, I didn’t want to get the S7 Edge and end up regretting it, so I thought of asking Samsung for a test unit and they were kind enough to send me one along with a Gear VR.

Long story short I’ve been using the S7 Edge for a couple of weeks now and totally loving it! In this review I won’t go all techy on you with specs and stuff, but rather describe how I found the S7 Edge fitting my needs as a blogger and someone who uses the phone camera very frequently.

Design

Plastic covers on older models of the Samsung S phones were the main reason that made me avoid them, they just made the handsets look cheap. This however has changed with the S6 and its rear glass which made it look more elegant, while the S7 Edge is a further enhancement with beautiful curves. The unit I got looked premium with the gold color on it.

The S7 Edge is also considered a compact phone. It is almost the same size of an iPhone 6s but has a larger display (5.5″ vs 4.7″), and this was made possible by minimizing the amount of bezel above and below the screen which increased the screen-to-body ratio by a great deal.

Screen

The QHD display on the S7 Edge is absolutely gorgeous! A friend of mine always bugs me with how good AMOLED screens are, but I honestly didn’t know they were THAT good. Colors looked much more vibrant and made it hard for me to go back to watching media on an LCD screen.

Still, and even though it isn’t a deal breaker, the screen was a bit reflective for me when I was using it outdoors.

Camera

Having a 3 year old kid I always find myself using my phone camera whenever he’s fooling around. And for that, I really appreciated how quick is the autofocus in the S7 Edge camera. It also performs pretty well in low light.

Here are a sample of unedited photos I recently took. (Click on each photo for the original size)

Usage

It’s not a secret Android wasn’t the friendliest mobile operating system. And being a longtime iPhone user, I really hate to say it but Android has come a long way in being much more user friendly. In fact, I found it easier for me to write a blog post on the S7 Edge than on my wife’s iPhone 6s.

Moreover, since Android is a more open platform, I found it much easier for me to deal with some files I usually need to upload to my server from time to time. All in all, Android is indeed more flexible if you’re a tech person.

Gear VR

I’ve never used a virtual reality headset other than Samsung’s, so I really cannot compare the Gear VR to other products.

I personally found the Gear VR very easy to setup, and the available 360 videos and images were quite entertaining. I was mostly interested in travel videos showing places from exotic parts of the world and I really enjoyed them, it was cool sitting on my couch and feeling like I was somewhere totally different.

The headset however felt bulky on me after 20 or 30 minutes of usage, so watching full length movies on it wasn’t my thing.

The Verdict

With a cool design, a stunning camera, and a sharp display, I really can’t ask for more. In fact, I’m honestly having a hard time returning the test unit! 😛

If you’re interested in buying the S7 Edge along with the Gear VR, the guy I usually get my handsets from is offering them both for $690. (Note that his prices differ from day to day)

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