15 Snacking : Baked Cheese Tarts

The Japanese Cheese Tarts interest ruled my Facebook news feed for a brief moment with oohs and aahs, only to disappear as fast as it started. I'm late to the party as usual, preferring to take my time with all things new. Experience has taught me that long queues are never worth it when it comes to food. 
   
After breakfast one Sunday morning, whilst heading to the car, Hubs and I walked into Berry's Cake House in Damansara Perdana out of curiosity. Hubs saw the Japanese Cheese Tarts first, alerted me to it and minutes later, we were paying for two of the tarts.

Berry's Yummy Japanese Cheese Tarts

Light, creamy with a tart crust that made a great match - yummy flavours. Nothing over-powering. Worth the buy at RM3.00 per piece. We found it delicious.

Berry's Cake House - Japanese Cheese Tart

Berry's Cake House
Address: 2A-1, Jalan PJU 8/5G, Perdana Business Centre, Damansara Perdana, 47820 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel: 03-7722 4120 | Business Hours: Mon - Sun 8am - 10pm.

VS

A week later, I was at Mid Valley Megamall to catch up with a friend. I chanced upon Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart during my walkabout and proceeded to purchase two to take away at RM5.80 per piece.

Tadaaa! It is pretty.

Hokkaido Cheese Tart, Mid Valley Megamall

It has a richer and creamier texture. The cheese ooze factor was definitely more. I found the crust plainer in taste and as you can see, thicker too. It was nice.

Hokkaido Cheese Tart

Hokkaido Cheese Tart
Address: Centre Court, G Floor (beside Secret Recipe Malaysia), Mid Valley Megamall.

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We prefer ...

As with all things, it is a matter of personal taste. For me and Hubs, Berry's will be our go-to for Japanese Cheese Tarts because we were hooked at first bite and found it addictive.

"Ling, Berry's one is much nicer! The crust and the filling was delicious together!"  Hubs proceeded to give me his thoughts on the matter. I agreed. Both crust and filling was awesome to us.

That said, we're not big fans of cheese tarts rarely ever buying any. The cheesier and richer it is, the more we go "ugh!". You can imagine how we feel about no-bake cheesecakes. No, no!

Have you jumped on the Japanese Cheese Tarts bandwagon yet?

32 Eat Out : Restoran Fatt Fatt Fatt - Eat And Prosper

It's Fatt Fatt Fatt, not fat fat fat but I think that's debatable. A number of Chinese eateries in Malaysia include the word fatt or 8 into the restaurant name because it means prosperity. At the rate I'm enjoying my food, prosperity is hitting me smack in the waistline ..now lack of. The restaurants? They prosper pocket-wise. Fatt fatt them, fat fat me .. haha!

My Malaysia Day started out with brunch at Restoran Fatt Fatt Fatt in Taman Tun - opposite Maybank. Hubs and I love coming here for the chicken rice. The seller is a nice chap who is passionate about what he does. He doesn't hesitate to ask us to try out his new creations or help out fellow friends in the food business even if he is the busiest man! It's not easy waking up in the wee hours of the morning to prepare food for the brunch crowd. I should know - I'm exhausted after organising a party for just twenty!

This is the chicken rice we ordered that day and the one below, the week before.

Steamed, roasted and with some char siew - all delicious.

Restoran Fatt Fatt Fatt - Chicken Rice

Restoran Fatt Fatt Fatt - Chicken Rice

The spicy squid dish at the Nasi Lemak stall had us drooling so we asked for a plate of that too.

Spicy Squid

We finished our meal with two pieces of durian tarts for dessert - something that was introduced to us weeks earlier which was made by a friend of the nice chap. It is yummy stuff. Not overpowering at all - light, creamy and can I say duriany?

Durian Tarts

And finally, some pictures of the place - a little old, but we like coming here because of the people.

Restoran Fatt Fatt Fatt, Taman Tun

Restoran Fatt Fatt Fatt, TTDI

I am always fond of eating in places where there is this feeling of warmth.

21 KindMeal.My - Meat-free Food Options At Your Fingertips

This isn't a sponsored post. I'm just spreading the word on a good thing.

Have you heard of KindMeal.My, an online platform which promotes meat-free dining ...with perks?

KindMeal.My

For the record, I am not a vegetarian. I am just someone who makes a conscious effort to be responsible with my eating habits - a big part of that being not to waste food.

Sometimes I feel like a nagging mum! I admonish myself with thoughts like:

For every vegetable we push aside on our plate, it is the farmers' hard work and months of sweat that we so carelessly toss away. Every piece of meat we discard for whatever reason, means a life callously sacrificed.

It's motivated me to be a better foodie. Reading about KindMeal's efforts made me think about reducing my meat intake. I already love vegetables so this is achievable. I don't have to include meat into every meal!

The thing about KindMeal is that they make looking for meat-free dining options so easy. No more hunting for vegetarian restaurants or meat-free offerings the hard way - googling and googling! It is even more attractive with discount coupons that can be downloaded and used immediately - no upfront payment required and no need to print it out either. Read the FAQs here before you begin.

Via Kindmeal, I discovered this interesting food - a triple-flavoured dosa called Tiranga Dosa by Radhey's, a vegetarian restaurant.I have bookmarked this to try!

Tiranga Dosa - Meat-Free and Exciting!

KindMeal is an interesting place for both foodies and bloggers alike. The following information should interest my blogging friends - free meals for blogging about the meal! Details can be found here ; so far there are participating restaurants from Klang Valley, Perak and Penang. I hope it spreads across Malaysia soon.

There is a reward system in place where KindMeal foodies can collect points and win gifts. See? So many good stuff going on.

How's that for encouraging meat-free dining? I'm on KindMeal's web version right now but will be downloading the app onto my mobile soon for a more convenient experience.

14 Eat Out : The Yums At Franco, The Curve

We celebrated Malaysia's Independence Day with food. Surprisingly, none of it local! Thai, Fusion and Western cuisine ruled the week. 

Jen, my best bud, stayed over for three nights. We had a great time catching up with life, did a bit of window-shopping and tried out restaurants we had never stepped foot into before. Franco, being one of these places.

I've always wanted to come here. Franco is a French Japanese fusion restaurant that has 'fine dining' tagged to its name. The food, as we expected, is pricier than what we would usually go for but it is a special occasion and we didn't feel that it hurt the wallet too much.

We had Squid Ink Rice. It was a beautiful combination of strongly flavoured seafood that matched the plainer-tasting egg and rice. I absolutely loved this dish! So sedap-lah (delicious-lah).

Franco - Squid Ink Rice RM29.05

Franco - Yummy Squid Ink Rice

Then, we ordered two desserts. Ahem, stressed is desserts spelled backwards ; surely more was the way to go! The warm vanilla souffle was beautifully made. It was yum at first bite and I wished I'd ordered the chocolate one too but we were already half full as it was.

Franco - Vanilla Souffle RM16.80

The Adzuki red bean with Matcha softee is a delightful treat to end the meal. I must say that I found great satisfaction in having the souffle along with a teaspoonful of matcha softee; it was a matcha made in heaven!

Franco - Adzuki Red Beans With Matcha Softee And A Pancake RM19.65

To end, some pics of the cozy restaurant, our drinks (lemon tea) and the fish pond we saw out back.

A Cozy Ambiance At Franco

Fish Pond At The Curve Shopping Mall

FRANCO at The Curve
Address : Lot G49, Ground Floor, The Curve Shopping Mall,
No. 6, Jalan PJU 7/3, Mutiara Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Telephone : 03 7732 7623