Hello from COLOMBO!

World Trade Centre, the Cargills building and tuk tuks

Hi guys, I am currently on a 3-month work secondment to Colombo, Sri Lanka. More updates and insights to this Paradise Isle soon!

Cheers.

Fat Spoon @ Damansara Uptown

Fried Ulam Rice- RM11.90; Nasi Goreng Kampung

Fat Spoon is another one of the latest offering in D'sara Uptown (it's about 4 mths old now). Besides being notorious for the parking, Uptown is also a food hub in PJ. There are dozens of food outlets out there which I have not tried, but Fat Spoon was one of the few which I have tried from a friend's tipoff that they serve good coffee. These days, either food has be to really really good or the ambience have to be really fantastic to attract people to your outlet... Fat Spoon has the quality of the latter, though the food didn't hit the highest note, it was comforting to say the least.

I love the deco here- old rustic charm, mish & mash, dangling kitchen ware, antique wood cabinets, stained glasses, classic classroom blackboard, chinese teacups... does it sound like your grandma's home? But that's exactly the point! We all want to feel like we are eating at our grandma's home once in a while... it's nostalgic! And it's like being in a scrapbook that came to live!

I had the Fried Ulam Rice and I love it! The fried rice was infused with the flavours of ulam. Ulam is the Malay style of salad usually eaten raw or with sambal belacan, cencaluk, budu or sometimes with rice. While the fried chicken was on the dry side, the flavour was good. It's an excellent value for money lunch meal. My lunch friends enjoyed their meals too...


Fresh Orange Juice- RM7.90; Fat Spoon Hot Choc

Ironically, I didn't have any coffee here but was distracted to have The Fat Spoon Hot Chocolate instead... very rich in cocoa taste. I also had the Fresh Orange Juice which is by far the freshest (so good, I think they squeeze it with hands!) no-added ice or sugar.

The only 'miss' about here is the long waiting time for food to arrive... unless you work nearby, or have all the time in the world for lunch, Fat Spoon is most recommended.

Oh did I mention about Peter & Jane books as menu?


Fat Spoon
73, Jalan SS21/1A,
Damansara Uptown,
Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03-7728 3323
(same row as Hon Kee Porridge and +Wondermilk)
Check out their Facebook page here

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Typica Cafe... not your typical cafe

Know Your Coffee Beans

Do you know that if you smell too much off perfumes (especially after sniffing on so many test samples looking for the scent that best suits you), sniffing coffee bean in between test bottles 'clears up the air', literally. I have always enjoyed coffee, but I am not really a fan of black ones (shamelessly, I quite like the 3-in-1 coffeebags). Usually I will get a latte or caramel machiato from Starbucks on the way to work as I feel a little bit more motivated with a dash of caffeine in my system.


Cream cheese cake- RM10; Aroma Blend- RM16; Local Blend- RM25

Lately, however I have started taking this caffeine beverage a little more serious, though not at the level of buying a nespresso machine yet! I'm beginning to explore the vivid styles of making a cup of coffee, but most often than not, I'd rather leave it to the experts to brew me a good one. Recently we found Typica Cafe at Shaw Parade and while the place is typically small (sorry, there's no room to host a party here) but it appears to be well equiped with tools and coffee experts. I overheard that the proprietor learnt the trade from Taiwan (correct me if I'm wrong?) and she was having some coffee tasting/ discussion with a few others while I eavesdropped.

We tried an Aroma Blend and another local blend, and boy it wasn't cheap! At RM25/cup for the local blend and RM16/cup for the Aroma blend, it could buy me 3 bags of instant coffee! I am no good when it comes to explaining the taste and I suppose, coffee, like whisky and tobacco, taste different to each individual tastebuds. The cheesecake was very nice as it reminded me of what mom used to make too... the speciality of the cake is that it doesn't go through baking, merely refridgerated. I also saw that Typica offers Kopi Luwak, which is the most expensive coffee in the world- at RM180/cup!

Have your coffee and drink it too!

o_O


Typica Cafe
Ground Floor,
Shaw Parade,
Jln Changkat Thambi Dollah,
Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2145 0328

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Mr. Tom Yam @ Sunway Giza

Tom Yam Fire Pot- RM19.90

When I first stepped foot at Sunway Giza which was almost about 5 months ago, one of the first food outlets that I tried was Mr. Tom Yam. The signboard was very inviting, with a cartoonish figure of a chef (resembles Mister Potato), white-ish deco and it looks like a fun Thai food concept.


Stir Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts- RM15; Thai Fish Cake- RM9

Well, anyway I guess we got deceived. One quick glance at the menu, we knew it was another one of those Thai chain restaurants from the same management of Absolute Thai, Thai Nudle, Basil and Flying Chillies. The menu was exactly the same as how I remembered Absolute Thai's was.


Crispy Cat Fish with Mango- RM12; Stir Fried Baby Kailan with Salted Fish- RM14

The Thai Fish Cake which is one my favourite Thai appetizers was a great disappointment as it was soggy and not springy as I would love it and lacks the taste too. The Crispy Cat Fish with Mango was another big disappointment as well as I found the shredded mango too sour and I accidentally ate a cili padi! While we have two big misses here, the rest were just so-so.

There's still much to discover at Sunway Giza, I've already marked Movida as the next place I would like to dine at (besides drinks).



Mr. Tom Yam
Sunway Giza Block D
G08 & G09, No. 2 Jln PJU 5/14,
Kota Damansara, PJ.
Tel: 03-2272 3708

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Lucky Dessert at Sunway Giza

Lucky Dessert

Sunway Giza has been the place to be for Friday chillouts, family dineouts or just grocery shopping recently. My initial thought of the place is that it tries to recreate another 'The Curve' but would need some really good tenants to attract people here instead. I think the occupancy rate is slowly but surely improving with more and more food and drinking holes opening up such as the ever packed Movida, Fullhouse, The Beer Factory, Bola Bistro, Overtime, etc. Recently to join in the Giza family would be a dessert house from HK - Lucky Dessert.

A quick Google search on Lucky Dessert tells me that it's one of the 'must-go' dessert shop besides the mass Hui Lau Shan or Honeymoon Dessert. Thriving on the concept of healthy dessert where fruits is the main ingredient, we were told that fruits are sourced as closely as they can get from the same suppliers of the HK outlets, but due to certain import restrictions, sometimes ingredients are locally procured. The menu is extensive, so you'll certainly be spoilt for choice!


Mango Roll - RM12

Don't be fool by the simplicity of the name as this was pretty good and an excellent choice to 'wow' us where first impression does matter especially for desserts! The Mango Roll has real mango chunk enveloped with glutinous rice roll and finished off with grated coconut.


Mango Wrapz - RM10

This was supposed to be a Durian Wrapz but it was changed to mango instead. I don't think anyone is a stranger to this dessert as we've seen it elsewhere but I must commend that the big package packs a punch, mango chuncks and whipped cream... mmmm, need I say more? Just a shame that it's not durian filling.


Trinity Mango Delight - RM11

Still on a mango-mania, we proceeded to the Trinity Mango Delight which is a combo of mango, pamelo and sago (yes, I notice that they rhyme!). Nothing out of the ordinary as this is now widely available in many chinese restaurants too.


Italian Herb Jell-o - RM13

If you're puzzled with the name, so was I. It turns out that the name 'Italian' is after the long strands of herb jelly made to resemble pasta. Great name but didn't match up with the taste as the herb jelly taste was too overpowering, the milky broth was bland and the fruits were just wrong to be there. I would rate this a 'Miss'. More tasting work needed to improve on this one!


Trinity Durian Delight - RM11

Being a durian lover, I love this! It's my favourite dessert for the night. The only difference from the Trinity Mango Delight is instead of mango chunks, this has big chunks of fresh durian flesh. Who knew durian will go so well with pamelo and sago? I was told that the durians are sourced locally as Malaysia is known to have one of the best produce. On the flipside, those who only likes durian mildly will rate this as overpowering.


Durian Krisp - RM15

I'd rate the presentation as excellent to pass off as something you'll get at a fine dining restaurant, but warm durian in a filo pastry? I like my king of fruits to be cold. So, it's a 'Miss' for me on this one too.


Purple Rice - RM8

Last on the list was Purple Rice dessert which is essentially made up of black glutinous rice and corn. While I think my mom will like this kind of dessert, I find it too boring and filling.

Overall, there are some hits and misses, hopefully in due time they will be able to find a balance between presentation, taste and price as I find it a little steep especially if it's just fruit based desserts. Thanks to Suan from Lucky Desserts for the invite.


* This is an invited food review


Lucky Dessert
C-11-G, Sunway Giza,
Jln PJU 5/14, Kota Damansara,
Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03-6148 3798
(same row as 1977 Chicken Rice)

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Hyotan Japanese Restaurant

Sake rack; Smoked Salmon Calpaccio- RM24; Kani Karaage Spiky Roll- RM16, Ocha Pot- RM4

True to the economics basics of demand & supply, there is a particular street in Subang Jaya that is mushrooming with Japanese restaurants due to a large Japanese community presence there. To be honest, I don't remember any Jap companies setup in Subang... so where did all these people come from then?

But I digressed.

Besides the hugely famous and popular Rakuzen (believe it's one of the earliest outlets around), there are a few others side by side on the same street overlooking Subang Jaya Medical Centre. By far, I've visited Rakuzen, Ryu Men Tei, Sumi-Ka and Shun (another street within same vicinity), and adding to the list is Hyotan. The rest are still in the list of Jap places I 'aspire' to visit but reading some reviews on these restaurants already burnt an imaginary hole in my pocket.


Chirashi Sushi Set- RM38

Besides eggs and potato, Japanese food is my comfort food too albeit being an expensive one (most of the time). I love my salmon sashimies and cold soba, sometimes an agadeshi tofu or soft shell crab maki will make my day, but often times diggin' in into some cold raw cuts or sushi pieces is all I need to feel better. At Hyotan, food is not overly great, and prices are not quite affordable (it was about RM100 for this meal incl taxes), but it is better than Ryu Men Tei and definitely doesn't need a pre-book like Rakuzen. You still get a little bit of that Japanese feel but that's just about it. For RM50/head, I think I'll go to Hanazen @ Jaya One instead.

Well, here's one for the spirit of 'never try, never know'. Kanpai!


Hyotan
No.63, Jln SS15/5A,
47500 Subang Jaya.
Tel: 03-5636 0326/ 0328

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Sumi-Ka Yakitori

Satumaimo (baked sweet potato)- RM8; Oyakodon (chicken with egg on rice)- RM16

Taking a change from the usual Japanese fare, my sisters and I tried a Jap place that specializes in yakitori instead. It's hidden on the first floor of a row of old shops in SS15, Subang. Easily missable but perhaps that's the beauty of it and why it's called a 'hidden gem'.


From Top Left- Gyutan (beef tongue)- RM6; Nankotu (chicken soft bones)- RM4; Gyuniku miso and Pirikara Gyumiso (beef ribs with hot/ miso sauce)- RM9; Mentaimaki (pork slice with mentai)- RM10; Tukune orosipongu (chicken meatball with orosipongu)- RM4; Kawa (chicken skin)- RM3; Ika (squid)- RM4; Teba (chicken wings)- RM5

There're a variety of yakitories available from the parts that you don't usually eat (soft bones??, beef tongue??) to the more normal grilled skewer items like beef ribs, chicken wings, squids etc. The beef tongue is a recommended item, I like the chicken wings too and the chicken skin never taste this good.

But...
Pricey? Yes.


Restaurant Sumi-Ka
No.19, Jln SS15/4,
47500 Subang Jaya.
Tel: 03-5632 9312

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Shanghai World Expo 2010 in Pictures

1. Pavillions @ Expo

The theme of Shanghai World Expo 2010 is based on 'Better City, Better Life'. Therefore, many structures are built based on this theme using environmentally friendly and sustainable materials. The contents of every pavillion is almost similar playing around with the country's culture, attractions and the nation's initiatives moving towards being an eco-friendly country. We bought a 3-day pass at RMB400 (about RM200) and only managed 2 days as the area is far too big for our legs to handle the walking. If you've heard it from others, yes I would like to reaffirm that the QUEUE IS CRAZY, too many people every single nook and cranny! The longest that we bothered to queue was about 1.5 hours to get into Australia Pavillion.

Warning: Loads of pictures ahead with my face.


Malaysia Pavillion (the good side)


Malaysia Pavillion (the bad side- from top L: fake coconut trees and blue background to portray our sandy beaches, virtual golf game that is ROSAK, handbags and traveling luggage, and what has bathroom, bedroom and living room furnitures got to do with our culture and M'sia???)


Singapore Pavillion- nothing extraordinarily fascinating either


China Provinces Pavillion- the landmark of Shanghai World Expo 2010


Chinese Provinces Pavillion- the insides that showcase specialities of each province


Australia Pavillion- do you know the structure is made of rusted metal planks?


Australia Pavillion


Africa Pavillion


Belgium EU Pavillion


UK Pavillion- still one of the bestest looking structure


Spain Pavillion


Serbia Pavillion- love the colours! It's made of plastic blocks


Portugal Pavillion- the structure is made of cork


Polska Pavillion


France Pavillion


Germany Pavillion


Some random pavillion that I can't remember...


Egypt Pavillion- I know whatcha thinking... why isn't it a pyramid structure?


South Korea Pavillion- massive structure and love the colourful Korean words. The queue was crazy, about 5 hours long


Uzbekistan Pavillion


Japan Pavillion- Another crazy queue that's 5 hours long!


Vietnam Pavillion- I like this though, it's entirely made of bamboos!


UAE Pavillion- Another consistently super crazy queue...



Other Pavillions- Pakistan, Israel, Taiwan, HK, Macau, Tunisia, Thailand and Sri Lanka

2. Food @ Expo




These are food from Germany and Belgium's Pavillion (tasty but super expensive!)

3. Other Misc


Engrish and look at the sign showing how long the queue is...

The Shanghai World Expo 2010 is still ongoing until 31st October 2010, so if you don't want to miss this opportunity to experience the massiveness of structures and people, book your tix and make your way to Shanghai before the month ends!

The China experience ends here and coming up it will be a journey to Indonesia. Stay tune!

Of Coffee & All-Day Breakfast @ Departure Lounge

Bagel Smoked Salmon- RM13.90; Mocha Latte- RM9; Cappuccino- RM8.50

Do you experience days when all you wanna do is laze on the couch, have a breakfast set for lunch, sip on good coffee and daydream? That's what I wanna be doing everyday!


7-item DIMY Breakfast- RM13.90; Fresh OJ- RM7.50; 5-item DIMY Breakfast- RM11.90; Mint Coffee

I have come to know about Departure Lounge since when they started in Aman Suria but never had a chance to give the place a visit as Aman Suria was never in my radar for food places (simply because I am not very familiar with it), but I have a colleague who loves Orange Juice (we call it 'OJ') and recommended Departure Lounge as having 'one of the best OJs around town'. I know I have to make a visit sometime soon somehow!

The nearest Departure Lounge would be D'sara Uptown as the outlet in Aman Suria has since closed down. I like Uptown but hate it for the rarity of a legal parking spot. Anyway, back to the OJ, coffee and all day breakfast oh yesss. The Do It My Way (DIMY) Breakfast has 3 options to choose from: 3 items, 5 items, 7 items and has everything from sausages, eggs, mushrooms, bacons, toasts, pancakes and grilled tomato. I also enjoyed the Smoked Salmon Bagel, surprisingly it was my first every bagel and I love the chewy texture and smoked salmon being my favourite salad/ sandwich accompaniment.


Salsa Wrap; Mocha Coffee; Mushroom Sandwich; Tuna Melt

The OJ was fresh but later on I found another cafe that offers better fresher OJ... so fresh it's like 'peeling it yourself'. The coffee is a must try as I learnt from a fellow coffee aficionado that they use 5 Senses coffee beans from Australia which apparently is a name associated to quality coffee beans. Yes, definitely beats having a quick cuppa from 3-in-1! If not for the difficulties of getting parking, I'll be 'parking' myself at Departure Lounge every morning for the great coffee, decent breakfast and cozy ambience.

I'm slowly finding and experiencing the wonders that is coffee. And proud to say I've already tried the most expensive coffee in the world- Kopi Luwak! More about that when I start on my Bali posts. Till then, have your coffee and drink it too ;-)


Departure Lounge
10, Jln SS21/39,
Damansara Utama,
47400 PJ.
Tel: 03- 7725 1682

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]