Baked cheese cake@Komugi, Paradigm Mall

http://foodventuras2.blogspot.com/2013/09/baked-cheese-cakekomugi-paradigm-mall.html

Late supper/post mortem@Gastro Sentral, Le Meridian Kuala Lumpur

http://foodventuras2.blogspot.in/2013/08/late-supperpost-mortemgastro-sentral-le.html

Best cheesecake I've ever had@New York Cheesecake Factory, Seoul, Korea

http://foodventuras2.blogspot.com/2013/08/best-cheesecake-ive-ever-hadnew-york.html

Chocolate madness@Max Brenner, Sydney

Max Brenner: a famous local joint for Sydney-ians, especially students, to gather, catch up, "Lim teh" (as what Malaysians love to do during in the evenings) over gooey delicious chocolates : drinks, waffles, cakes, pastries, etc. We came here, about an hour after the crazy sashimi loaded lunch. In normal eating circumstances, the sashimi meal itself was already too filling. In holiday circumstances, there's always room for more interesting food! *burps*

My eyes widened with excitement when I saw the display of chocolate pastries. Could almost hear them calling out to me ,"pick me! pick me!"

The chocolate sauces were melted in a big pot, hidden somewhere. There were pipe linings above us, apparently funneling all the melted chocolate to the tip of the nozzle, located next to the cashier machine at the counter. The waiters will turn on the nozzle to drizzle the hot chocolate sauce all over our food. Much like a bartender pouring a mug of draft beer. We had a mixture of chopped fruits, banana cakes and marshmallows to dip into melted dark chocolate and milk chocolate. IT WAS AMAZING! Chocolate dipped banana cake chunks were like the most sinful yet most tasty one. Brrrrrr. Shivers of sin!

Need I say more. The picture itself tells the whole story in one glance. The waffles were so buttery, fluffy and warm, absorbing in all the melted milk chocolate drizzles. On top of that, creamy vanilla ice cream to complement the chocolate and for 'slightly' healthier people, fruits as an option to complement the waffles.
The best waffle I've ever had. Much thanks to the chocolate.

The face of guilt. Mr Travis's sugar high face. Miss Joy, shaking her head, while looking through our pictures from Day 1, to Day 4-after-Max-Brenner-face. 4 days and we all turned CHUBBY!

As our trip is coming to an end, we talked about life, relationships, future travel plans.. and our next group holiday aim : flights to Goa, India. Or flights to Japan. Or flights to South Africa. Or re-visit flights to this gorgeous romantic city, Sdyney.

Till next year, Joy, Travis, Neets!

Campos coffee oh so good!@Sydney

Our gracious host, Mr Trav says that this place serves the best coffee ever. That strong statement got us caffeine addicts excited altogether. This cafe is located in the viscinity of colleges and universities, hence packed with students, lecturers and then ...us!

A cuppa costs between 3-5 AUD. All 4 of us have a specific coffee preference. Myself, long black. Joy, latte. Neets, double shot cappucino. Trav, ice coffee with a scoop of ice cream, if possible.

Mr Trav was right. By far the one of the best brews I'd tasted. A little bitter yes, but the aroma was fragrant and the most importantly, the coffee wasn't burnt which happens quite regularly on long black nowadays.

When I took a sip of Neet's cappucino.. fuh! Deliciouso! Besides the perfectly roasted coffee beans, I believe the other key ingredient was its fresh milk. The milk in Australia is unlike the crappy, thin skimmed milk we get back home. The creamy, frothy milk really made the cappucino cuppa star quality material.

I'm missing Campos already!

They sell their beans too, if anyone wishes to barista in their own backyard. Some pastries and desserts were also sold there to complement a good cuppa coffee. We skipped the pastries, as our next destination..... big greasy fatty breakfast with bacon and eggs!

First Sydney lunch@Lumiere Cafe, Sydney

Finally, the long awaited all-girls trip had finally arrived! The 8-hour flight on the AirAsia A330, was horrendous. Too cold and too tight. But it was all worth it when we finally stepped on Sydney soil. The first meal we had was in Lumiere Cafe. And boy oh boy, the awesome food totally fired up our Sydney mood!



Neets, with her all-time favourite eggs benedict. Based on her facial expression, this must have been one chart topper egg benedict. Do not be fooled by the eggs and holondaise sauce camoflauge, hidden underneath were thick layers of bacon. OMGOSH. AUD 19.

All I know was that, I NEED COFFEE. Without a single dose since we arrived, I was alive, but mentally asleep. And finally, a long black! Kau kau style. A waking booster right away, alright.

Joy and I shared the BigBreakfast. At first she was reluctant to share, hunger pangs. But luckily I succeeded persuading her to share the meal with me. The portion was so big! The thick layers of bacon were hidden underneath the greens and beans. Tastewise, 9/10. YUMS! Total damage was quite bad though: 22 AUD.

This was the STAR dish. By far the best cheese cake I've ever tasted in my life. It was nicely thickened, slightly sourish only to match the sweetness of the strawberries.. and most of all, it was SO creamy. Thumbs up!

Here goes my buddies with our gracious host, Mr Travis, bred in Sydney for nearly a decade now. Without him, Lumiere would've missed us and we would have missed one of the greatest cheesecake moments.

Kudos to all!

Serene lunch@The Haven, Jalan Ampang Hilir

I am glad to have discovered this interesting dining place, quietly hidden in the midst of the hustle and bustle of KL city. Haven is a white coloured bunglo converted restaurant, with a wide open space of greeneries surrounding the house. The trademark signature of Haven, is its organic food servings, both dine and purchase. Above is a picture of the organic coffee station, each cup freshly brewed.

The mini grocery store selling organic products. Surprisingly, there were quite a number of people buying these items when I was there. It seems locals/expacts who are living nearby frequently come over to buy the organic meats and vegs. Wow.

A calming view of the compound to ease the tension off, before your meal. I was just imagining how great it would be if my dogs could run and roam around while I chill out by the porch.

Haven's credo for their food servings!

The big breakfast set, RM 19. Bread slice, with 2 choice of breakfast servings. The list contains the usual stuffs served at breakfast meals: eggs (cooked in the style you like), mushrooms, tomatoes, ham, bacon, pancakes, fruits etc. The selection of only 2 types, reminded me of an episode from "River Cottage" of AFC, whereby the chef says sometimes piling all sorts of fried food of every kind in one plate on one serving may dilute the whole feeling of a great breakfast meal and narrowed down to only 2 choices. This rendition, was not bad. Quite good I must say, the eggs were too creamy for my liking though.

The chicken pie was surprisingly delicious! It seemed normal looking when it arrived, but hidden underneath the pastry sheets, were steam hot creamy, tender juicy chicken chunks, with chopped mushrooms. Yums! I think it cost about RM 18 -23. Can't remember the exact price.

Fried fish fingers dish. This dish was average, however marination was not bad. Just nicely salted, coated with herbs and spices. The good thing is that, at least the fish fingers were coated with batter, like many places where you end up digging em' batters out exposing superbly thin slices of dory fish fillets. What you see in the picture, is what you get of the fish fillets.

Lamb ribs, Yums! Is it the organic lamb? Or is it the nicely grilled skills? I don't know. What I do know is that the lamb was tender and juicy. Worthy try! I think this was RM 35-40.

Molten chocolate cake, nicely baked. Not too sweet, and the molten lava chocolate goodie inside was really... finger licking good! I was actually more impressed by the presentation skills of the chef. The chef's sincerity in decorating a beautiful dessert dish can be seen from the well sliced fruits. RM 10.

The cheesecake, was also quite good too. It was not sickly cheezy creamy, just nice, and not sweet too. What made a big different was the drizzled over sour strawberry sauce that blended well with the creamy cheese cake. RM 10. Haven definitely has caught my foodie attention based on this first good impression I had. I sometimes feel that the overpriced organic food concept is a real rip off, because many a times they do not taste good, but this restaurant priced its food items similar to normal restaurants and they actually taste good! A great place for a long Saturday brunch over a cuppa coffee, newspaper and IPAD!

Birthday cake from Patisserie Rui

Cakes from Patisserie Rui were the theme for my best friend's 29th birthday. My initial plan was to order her famous red velvet cake, but unfortunately her business is so good now that I need to pre-order 5 days in advance for her red velvet cake. PHEW. I settled for a simple fruit cake instead.

Above is a green tea macha chocolate swiss roll slice that I bought when I collected her cake. Boompacked with green tea flavour and not sweet at all. I must say, her signature deliciousness lies in her light, slightly sweetened whipped cream. This was quite good! RM 6 a slice.

The dinner was held at Plan B, Publika. The food here is quite good, but they've got to seriously buck up on their service.

This birthday meal proved to be rather special this year. Best friends who are working out of KL made an effort to make a trip down to get together. Ann, from Singapore, Ling, who is based in KL, but the nature of her job (banker) just makes it impossible to meet her, Joy from Temerloh.

Birthday girl cutting her cake!

The fruit cake was, delicioussssss... light, creamy, fluffy, fruity chunky bits. You really feel like a little kid again eating this cake. Small alright (only 6 inches wide) but the size was just nice for nibbling a bite or two after a heavy meal. Anyway, the cake is quite tastefully decorated, so it is still presentable as a decent looking birthday cake despite its tiny size. RM 35, I think. Can't remember exactly.

I bought for myself a fruit cake swiss roll slice. This was by far my second most favourite cake from Patisserie Rui, after her red velvet. Initially, I thought that this swiss roll slice would not differ much from the cake but it sure did. The lightness, yet creamy and slightly sweetened whipped cream, coating the fruit chunks and holding the vanilla sponge cake layer together proved time and time again that it deserves to be number 1! Best swiss roll I've ever eaten. RM 5/slice. An entire roll costs RM 45, you can cut into 6 - 7 pieces, depending how thick you like your swiss roll slice to be.

Writing about this made me want to take another bite of this deliciousness!

p/s: Nowadays, any cakes from here needs pre-ordering few days in advance. Business is really thriving for her! Downside is, sometimes when I crave for her cake, I won't be able to just drive over to buy but to call and check on availability instead. Kills off the craving mood sometimes, especially when I am extremely desperate to eat it and they tell you, "Sorry, sold out already!"

Magnum, Stroopwaffles and all things Ben@Home&Solaris Dutamas, Publika

 

Seriously, Eva Longoria's advert really makes you crave for a Magnum. Despite its costly price of a tiny stick for RM 4, I do have the urge to splurge myself with this luxurious ice cream every now and then. Today, is one of those days. Sometimes, the urge comes along with the level of stress I faced for the day. 

This new chocolate truffle flavour is lacking complexity and character. Just another normal chocolate ice cream. I recommend sticking to the original flavour. I tried the hazelnut flavour once, also disappointing.

 Now, moving on! To.....

 

 

WOW WEE!!! A gigantic stroopwaffle from Starbucks Indonesia, courtesy of Dogma. Half of the waffle was dipped with chocolate sauce. The size was big enough to let it sit on top of my hot cuppa home brewed coffee, allowing the steam from the fragrant aroma Maxwell coffee to seep into the caramelized layers of deliciousness.

WOW WEE!!! I really can't wait for June to arrive for stroopwaffle stock replenishment!

 

 

One of those working Saturdays again. Came over after working out in the gym. A rainy stormy Saturday, coupled with a hot cuppa cappucino, served with a slice of biscotti. Nicely prep-ed coffee but taste wise was average.RM 6 for a small cuppa. Mai hiam la.

This was the almond banana cake. RM 11. So so la.

Tasted like an expensive version of the sliced banana cakes we get from high school or university cafeterias.(The sliced ones came from those really long block of banana cake by suppliers. I'm sure many of you know what I mean). I've yet to taste a good cake from BEN's with the exception of the macadamia brownie.

These desserts play an important role on a working Saturday. Else, working gear can't start running!

Tapao Worknights@WOW Chicken, Hartamas

Some nights became work nights. We are often misjudged by others thinking we lack work to do, but in fact, I spent many nights working. The comfort I get from taking my resting time to serve jail, is from the dine-ins!

WOW Chicken, is located in Desa Sri Hartamas. They have delivery service also. We ordered a pack of fried chicken for our working night!

 Siu Kai Yek! Ngo Zhi Sai Zhong Yi Sek!

Fried chicken ala Korean style. Do not be dismayed by the colour, in fact the chicken was very, very juicy. Truly enjoyable to chew, munch, bite. Half a chicken, RM 30plus. A little steep, considering the fact that you could eat a lot more for RM 30 with the finger-licking goodness KFC. However, the fried chicken in WOW really tastes different. Crunchy and juicy. Yumss...

 Wine, goes well with taking away the pressure from work.

A cheap Sauv Blanc, this time from Aussie. A slight deviation away from my NZ Sauv Blanc escapades. Peachy, and a little heavy on the palate. Luckily we had fried chicken to go with the wine. Nonetheless, only RM 30 over.. sometimes the tastebud's got to take the hit during economic downturn.

 

My dear friend bought me a pack of stroopwaffles at her pitstop at Amsterdam, coming from Prague. Wheeeeeee! One of my happiest work days. Next stroopwaffles eating session, June! Can't wait to eat you again, my darling stroopwaffle.

Ngarm, ngarm, ngarm, ngarm.

 

Dinner with the airhead@Plan B, Bangsar Village

I just realised, man.. I've been visiting BEN's too much lately. So many foodie picts from there. Phew.

I had dinner with my friend, to catch up and also 'pirate' some movies and series from his precious 1terrabyte HDD. He is a soup man. A must-have dish in almost all meals, if soup is available. He ordered the mushroom soup. RM10.

This was the creamiest, thickest mushroom soup I've ever tasted. You could chew chunks of mushrooms and after few spoonfuls, you feel full already. We both could not finish this. Definitely a mail meal on its own.
Quite a worthy deal.

The carbonara. Sliced ham, mushrooms.. and creamy again. Phew. I felt my coronary arteries flagging out distress signals. Nonetheless, it was quite tasty too. Portion was just nice for one hungry tummy.

I ordered my usual duck confit ciabatta, just for the sake of eating the duck confit. I really like BEN's duck confit, especially the one served with pasta in his sister restaurant, BEN's grocer. Save half a piece for my next day lunch meal :)

This was my first time eating the macadamia brownie with vanilla ice cream. My colleagues raved so highly on this dessert and despite being full, I convinced my fellow friend here to stuff our full tummies with this brownie. RM 11.

Yes, it was as sinful as it looked. Drizzled with chocolate sauce ( I believe it came from Hershey's as it tasted like it). The brownie was very soft, and dense. The baker probably used very little flour in his/her recipe. The macadamia chunks laid on the bottom.

To me, vanilla ice cream goes well with almost all desserts, especially warm ones. Obviously, this one did not fail to complement the brownie well.

We finished our dinner with very strong urges to change into the loose, oversize comfy sleeping clothes. Just a meal like this alone made our work clothes suddenly tight!

Dinner@Plan B

Dinner a little too heavy for two.

Carbonara: sliced ham, mushrooms and a whole lot of creaminess going on again, burps! Quite nice to eat but arteries may be clogged, guys! Rm20ish.

The mushroom soup (rm10) was truly creamy as crack. You could munch bits and pieces of spliced mushrooms. We could not finish it. Definitely a main meal tho' it is meant as an appetizer.

Duck confit ciabatta: thumbs up! My second time having this. Crunchy duck meat, topped with chopped walnuts and Sundried tomatoes. Healthy to the max. Could only finish half. The other half became my lunch the next day. The chips are better off finished upon serving itself, because the next day they turned treacle-like. Hard as hell. The only thing that is slightly peculiar, is the salad dressing. Too spicy for my liking. Simple olive oil with herbs would have been good enough. Rm23.

The ultimate calorie killer was the macadamia brownie, rm11. Came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzled with hersheys choc syrup as a finishing. Quite good i must say, the brownie was so soft and chocolatey. Not sweet so as to blend in with the sweet vanilla ice cream and choc syrup.

And now... To let go my fly. Tummy bursting out!

Eric Kayser Artisan Boulangerie@EK Plaza, Seoul

Stumbled upon this petite, yet posh looking bakery situated along the underground walkway between one MRT stop to the other. There were only 2 to 3 tables placed inside the bakery. Patrons were mainly females. Like a 'desperate housewives' pit stop for gossips before going back to their hubbies/ boyfriends. We had to wait for quite while for a table because these chatty ladies just wouldn't stop their sizzling hot gossipy chats. 

The pastries looked delicious. Actually, more beautiful than delicious. The waitress by the counter told me that Eric Kayser's signature pastry was the chocolate eclairs. One eclair cost nearly RM 5!

Within two gulps, these smooth, soft, creamy eclairs disappeared. Very good eclairs I must say. Deliciouso!

Total damage. Coffee cost 2000 won..nearly RM 8! Coffee, on the other hand was nothing to shout about. Without conversion, and if I was earning Korean won, I would say cost of food here is considered cheap. Heck, for a cuppa coffee and eclairs in a nice cafe in KL, would cost me nearly RM 20! And local Koreans would only need to pay 4300 won.

A quiet afternoon strolland tea@two MRT stops from OryuDong

I can't recall which MRT stop it was, but it was one or two stops away from Oryu-Dong. We decided to have an aimless walk around since we only had 2 hours free time before the 6 pm evening service at the sanctuary.

Paris Baguette, is a well established franchise bakery all over Korea can be found in almost every street available. At first, I thought it was a franchise bakery originating from France (from its name), but surprisingly, it was started by 2 Korean ladies who have great passion for baking. Today, there are more than 3000 franchises throughout the world, and they are also big in the US. WOW.

The other bakery that is also pretty obvious in the eyes of a streetwalker, is the "Boulangerie". I really wonder why most bakeries here are named with a whiff of French, rather than building a local brand name.

Bakeries excite me, especially ones that are nicely decorated with pastries deliciously presented. It inspires me all the time. Sighs. When can I finally fullfill this dream?

 

I ordered Boulangerie's trademark pastry, the cream puff. The cream.... Oh...my...gosh, was so light, fluffy, sweet, and cold too. Each bite can make one close their eyes, and smile like idiots. It cost about 1500 - 2000 won (Can't recall the exact amount)

 

This was the strawberry shortcake. The pastry is a lot harder than the puff above, a little mixture of cake-like and brownie-like. The cream used was quite similar as the one above, but somehow the tougher texture of the pastry blended well with the sweet cream and the slightly sourish strawberry slices. This was 2500 - 3000 won (Erm.. I think)

After a quick bite of sweet deliciousness, we strolled along aimlessly looking at the surroundings. Up ahead, we saw this stall where this hardworking Korean lady was busy making some local pastries and also cooking waffles on the hot pan.

Out of curiosity ( we were already FULL), we bought one to try it out. It was rather hollow on the inside, and the inner lining of the pastry was coated with cinnamon and butter. I think our local Hiao Pia/ Kaya Kok rawks this over anytime! 1000 won for this.

Nearby the MRT stop, there was tiny local coffee shop, called Coffee AD. The shop is no larger than an average bedroom, therefore the owner arranged tables outside by the pathway. The breeze was so strong at this time that anything left on the tables were blown away.

 

I found the decor of the coffee shop really adorable. If only the weather and road/walkways/public transport systems back in Malaysia permit locals to walk safely and conveniently, we may be able to have more shops like these which will create a more interesting makan environment for us. I wouldn't mind popping by for a cuppa coffee from this store everyday walking to work.

I ordered an ice blended green tea shake, which was one of the best I ever drank. Super sincere with the green tea powder, not sweet, and the ice was nicely blended (very fine). YUMS! Especially drinking this while sitting outside, enjoying the strong cold breeze.

Peaceful. Amen.