16 A Breezy Brunch At The Red BeanBag

Brisk, bright, windy, blue skies - that sums up the mood for the day. It was a good vibes thing. We got together with the family for late breakfast at The Red Beanbag, a cafe located in upscale Publika. Little did we know how vibrant it would be.

There was a queue, the place was crowded and lively. We waited our turn but barely noticed the time as we chatted and chose what to order from the menu. A cheerful waitress ushered us to a table for six with bench style seating.

" We'd like to order now... " I smiled at her.

" Oh! " She was surprised, but gave us a big grin, pleased with our promptness.

While waiting for the food to arrive, we got down to snapping group photos to treasure the moment. Of course, that was only the beginning of our photo-taking for the day. Below are pictures of the beautiful food we ate that day.

Portobello Mushroom, Poached Eggs, Pancakes - The Red Beanbag RM24

Eggs Benedict On French Toast - The Red BeanBag RM26

Super Awesome Fry-Up - The Red BeanBag RM30

Pan-fried Portobello Mushrooms, Poached Egg, Chorizo, Toast - The Red BeanBag RM24

We talked about a lot of things. One of the topics we discussed was the different experiences people have with food, the eateries and how they are treated from waiter to counter attendants.

Have you met people who are only too pleased to share a ton of their nightmarish experiences  - unsmiling servers, grumpy cashiers, bad food? They would throw it out over Social Media how their plates are chipped or turmeric stained, how the char kueh teow uncle is arrogant, put a low star rating and pass the word to boycott the place...consistently. Well, we've met a couple of people like that.

I don't know if we're just lucky but rarely do 'stuff' happen to us. Perhaps it's because we're generous with our pleases and thank yous. Being nice begets a positive experience? Reminded me of this quote.

A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.
~ Dave Barry

And complaints about food are extremely few and far in between if any, more of a case of personal preference. So I can be the most boring person to start a food conversation with. "How's the chicken? " "Yum! " . "How are the tarts? " "Extremely delicious! ". "The cookies? " "Splendid."

Hot Coffee and Hot Chocolate - The Red BeanBag

"Is there anything that's not your favourite..? " My husband asks this a lot. Haha.

Finally, below is a picture of the surroundings and of me and my aunt checking out some of the photos we took.

The Red BeanBag

The Red BeanBag
Address: Block A4 1st Floor A4-1-08, Publika, Jalan Dutamas 1, Solaris Dutamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Telephone: 03-2633 5030
Facebook: www.facebook.com/theredbeanbag

24 Restoran Damai Utama : Stewed Pork Knuckles Noodles

We prepare goodies for our friends and family every Chinese New Year. Sometimes it's a box of mandarin oranges for each. Other times, a bag containing auspicious food items such as peanuts and nian gao. This year, I went with large dried mushrooms and nuts for friends, and cider for the family.

We set aside Sunday just to deliver these items, that being the day before. That's how we ended up in Bandar Kinrara for breakfast.

This corner lot kopitiam is bright and breezy, from staff to ambiance. It was clean and new. What attracted me most was the number of stalls selling pork dishes. There was pork noodles, pork chops noodles, pork knuckles noodles and pork ball noodles - yup, I believe I counted four stalls!

I went with stewed pork knuckles with noodles. Pork knuckles is a must-have at our New Year reunion dinner. So, this is kind of my childhood food but without the noodles. Greedy me found it extremely delicious. The meat was tender. The soy sauce flavour was yummy. Thing is, I rarely ever not enjoy my food.

Restoran Damai Utama - Stewed Pork Knuckles with Noodles RM7

Hubs went with a bowl of soupy goodness.

Restoran Damai Utama - Pork Noodle Soup RM6.50

The restaurant, inside and out:

Restoran Damai Utama

Restoran Damai Utama

Restoran Damai Utama
Address: Jalan DU 1/1, Taman Damai Utama, 47180 Puchong

After breakfast, we headed to the next destination - Subang somewhere 😆 to meet a blogger friend. Some of you may know her. She blogs at www.smallkucing.com . I told myself I had to see her before Chinese New Year to pass on the plant pots I had promised in 2016.

I surprised her with a goodie bag ..she surprised me back! See what I got? All the stuff I love! The chicken cookies are impressive. To date, I sapu (wipe) half already, with much control.

Goodies

"Ladies always like that one horr, " Hubs continued with much amusement, "Rajin to prepare things. Men very cincai one - Hey brother, yum cha ..? "

20 The Magnificent Croissant At Le Bread Days

There was once a huge hoo-ha over these molten salted egg yolk croissants - long queues, shortage, frustrated customers.

Me? I'm late for the party as usual, which is a really good thing. 😉  I strolled into the fairly empty  bakery around 10am last Sunday for breakfast. The hype, I guess, was over. It was my Birthday and I thought what better way to celebrate it than to go where I hadn't been before. Google provided me with lots of suggestions but here I was in this neat and cosy cafe getting my hot chocolate fix and trying out the famed croissant. It was the perfect start to my day.

Le Bread Days - Molten Salted Egg Croissant

A long time ago, I told my friend that life was short and we should look forward to planning and celebrating our own Birthdays instead of going low-key. It's wonderful to catch up with close friends and family, aaaand for the past few years, I have also been setting aside an extra day or two for myself to do the stuff I want. Often, I would choose a quiet staycation or getaway.

But back to my pleasurable experience at Le Bread Days - I fell in love with the croissants, of course. They were heavenly. Sweet, salty, creamy, it is stuff that you can easily overeat. The ambiance of the place was amazing. It was serene and I felt a sense of bliss. I liked that it was only us and another customer sitting in the white interior designed cafe.

The enthusiastic Hubs: Naaa..I cut for you to take picture. Here, here!  😇

Molten Salted Egg Croissant

The wife: Uh ..Ling, I do it myself, ok ... (laugh-die-me moment) 😅 😆 Hubs gave me a sheepish grin that said 'Oh-my-God-I-messed-it-up-so-badly'.

I treasure small moments of funniness such as these. A smile creeping up on our lips whilst we reminisce candid times is the best feeling in life!

This is what we had for breakfast:

Hot Chocolate and Mocha (Around RM10 each)

Molten Salted Egg Custard Croissants (About RM10)

We couldn't resist buying these pastries home. They were yummy too!

Other Pastries From Le Bread Days

The outside and inside of Le Bread Days, SS15 Subang Jaya.

Le Bread Days, SS15

Le Bread Days
48, Ground Floor, Jalan SS15/4, Subang Jaya.
Telephone : 03 - 5612 2780
Open from 8.00am to 8.30pm

I can't wait to come back here! 💗

18 Melaka : Restoran Famosa Chicken Rice Ball

It was a humid day. I was sweaty from an hour of traipsing around Jonker Walk before Hubs and I decided to lunch here. My hair protested with frizzy vengeance and there was nothing I could do about it. Hubs insisted I looked beautiful. Ahem.

The first floor of the restaurant was preserved to give us a glimpse into Melaka's heritage. That's interesting - I get to enjoy the food and then go for a walkabout. I was surprised when I got upstairs. There were several rooms set up to give us a glimpse into the culture of various communities. The wooden carving on the wall and the doors itself tell of an era of skilled woodwork.

Famosa Chicken Rice Restaurant - First Floor

In one corner was a sculpture made out of plates that had me scratching my head trying to figure out what the creator of this piece was trying to tell us. The Chinese wording on the wall made me even curiouser. Hubs showed me what it was for - I laughed.

What do you think? Do I look pretty in my Cinderella dress?

Me In My Borrowed Dress

The Famosa Chicken Rice Ball restaurant, located along Jonker Street, is a lovely place to go for yummy Melaka food. I enjoyed the lively atmosphere, friendly waitresses and watching experienced staff roll the rice into balls.

This is the food we ordered, which we were satisfied with.

Chicken Rice Ball

Here is a short video of rice being rolled into balls to give you an idea how its done.

Below are more pictures of the area in the two-storey restaurant. It is a busy place but if you come at the right time, there will be no queue and you should be able to get a table quickly.

Walking to the back, I noticed some tourists putting on the traditional costume for pictures. I believe it is free for anyone to use. It was here that I saw a staircase and ventured up to discover another world to this restaurant.

Restoran Famosa Chicken Rice
Top: Dining Area |
Bottom: The Staircase To The Upper Floor Is Pictured On The Right

It feels like a place out of a Kung Fu movie.

First Floor and Back Area

The Facade and An Olden Day Cart

There you go - another post on my Melaka trip, but I'm not done yet. There's more which will have to go into another blog post.

18 Snacking : Baked Cheese Tarts Part II

Here I am with more baked cheese tarts to tantalise you.

I finally tried Tokyo Secret's famous Hanjyuku cheese tarts after noticing no queue at their branch in IPC a few days ago. I must say it was awesome. The yummiest I've had in KL so far. Anddd I enjoyed all three varieties.

Hanjyuku Cheese Tart - RM7.90
Matcha Cheese Tart - RM8.90
Hazelnut Cheese Tart - RM8.90

The matcha cheese tart is pretty interesting to eat with red bean wrapped in, I think, mochi skin.

Tokyo Secret Matcha Cheese Tart

But here's the thing. I was in Melaka recently. My aunt and I saw a Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart stall in Mahkota Parade. Wanting my aunt to try something she'd never eaten before, I ordered a couple for us to eat.

I gave my two cents in an earlier blog post - I wasn't wowed.

Funnily, this wasn't the case at the Melaka branch. It was surprisingly the best baked cheese tart I'd ever eaten. The texture was much smoother, it was oozing with yumness and was very pleasant on the taste buds. My aunt fell in love with it instantly. So did I. She was complimenting on the lightness. It didn't feel like we would find a second piece hard to eat. There you go - a case of inconsistent quality!

So I round up by saying that Tokyo Secret is now my go-to for baked cheese tarts in KL, but in Melaka, I'm making a beeline for Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tarts at Mahkota Parade.

18 The Countdown To 2017

FuuUuuhh....fuUUuuuhhhh ! Just blowing dust off my keyboard. 

I've been away for such a long time, I don't know where to begin. My second Melaka trip? Christmas happenings? New Year celebration? Food I ate? Meeting the Cake Boss?

Happy New Year! -- I'll start with this. Wishing all my blog friends a very good 2017. May it be filled with wondrous adventures, love and laughter.

My New Year was supposed to be a quiet affair. We had planned on staying home, watching TV and at the stroke of midnight, watch the fireworks from the comfort of our balcony.

"Where will you be celebrating New Year?" I whatsapped my cousin early in the morning.

She replied with her home address, followed by the same question. I responded with the same. We haha-ed over that.

An hour later, I saw an ad on Facebook about a countdown party at Desa Park City (DPC). I sent hubs the online flyer with no real intention to go. It was just to show him what was going on in his favourite hangout. But he buzzed back with an enthusiastic " Let's go! " that I found hard to decline.

MM Cineplex at eCurve

By 4.30PM, we were making our way to a countdown party ...only we chose to go to IPC Mutiara Damansara instead after deciding that it would be a good idea to watch a movie to while the time away. It would be hard to wait the hours out at DPC - there was no cinema plus very few restaurants and shops.

My Sakae Sushi Dinner

We had dinner at Sakae Sushi, watched Passengers at MM Cineplex, shopped for a gift, then went outside to catch the concert in the last two and a half hours. There was a huge crowd. The atmosphere was amazing. People were singing along to the songs. We were lightly sprayed with party foam and colourful strings by a nearby group of people. That fun was short-lived as security confiscated the items within seconds!

Then, it was THREE! TWO! ONEeee....the fireworks went off. Here is a short video of the mesmerising light display which lasted almost ten minutes.

What an amazing start to 2017.