Afternoon tea in a Mall @ Pastis Cafe & Dining, The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur

A lovely cafe sitting at a quiet corner at The Gardens Mall. This cafe offers quite an extensive menu ranging from local cuisines, Western, desserts, coffee, and best of all, afternoon tea! Panda and I were looking for a place to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee here when I realised they also have afternoon tea set in their menu. We went for that considering it was more worth it plus we had the chance to try a few of their items at the same time. 

The afternoon tea set came as a 3-tiered tea set; with savoury sandwiches, bruschetta and quiche at the bottom tier, followed by scones with cream and jam and finally the sweeter stuff; tiramisu, crème brûlée and a couple of their gourmet chocolates. It also came with 2 cups of coffee/tea. Perfect afternoon tea for a price of RM 54:) It was definitely more worth getting this rather than ala-carte coffee and desserts for each of us.

Coffee with a piece of cookie

I've always enjoyed afternoon teas although I'm not particularly a sweet tooth!

So, there is a way to eat the items on the tiers. You have to start from the bottom which is the savoury tier which usually consists of sandwiches, quiches etc. The second tier commonly is the cafe's scones with jam and cream. I love scones but usually would have been quite full by the time I reach this tier. The top most tier are the sweeter items; and although I'm not much of a sweet tooth, I personally like Pastis' tiramisu. The set is prepared for two however, three people sharing would be just perfect in my opinion (it was a little bit too much for us two as afternoon tea..lols)

Gourmet chocolates

Just come, relax and have a cup of coffee or tea or even to indulge your sweet tooth!

Address: G235-Ground Floor, The Gardens Mall, Kg-02, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur

Nyonya kuih @ Baba Charlie's Nyonya Cake, Tengkera, Melaka

Probably, every Nyonya in Melaka would know of this place or at least who Baba Charlie is. I remembered my mum used to get our regular Nyonya food from him at the night market. Anyway, this place is probably not very easy to find unless you are a local. They have however done a good job of putting an obvious sign at the entrance of the alley (yes alley, a small alley which can be easily missed). Look for Tranquerah Mosque and directly opposite, there will be an alley leading to a few houses inside. Walk in or drive into the alley, and you will see this place. 

Ahjummas (ladies) working on the nyonya delicacies.

You can really get practically all Nyonya and Melaka local delights here

I need to say this though. A majority of the items here are made with some form of sweet coconut. So, you've got to like coconut to like these delicacies. It's easy to get carried away with the wide variety of kuih, so make sure you know what you are buying in the first place. Prices are surprisingly quite reasonable as I thought they would have hiked up the price considering majority of their customers are probably tourists.

Hard time choosing what we want. They looked so tempting!

Some family favourite! Pulut tekan (Steamed glutinous rice with kaya, coconut egg jam)

Colorful..colorful...

Absolutely good place to bring a tourist here!

Our nyonya kuih 'haul' ;p

Kuih ketayap (sweet coconut stuffed pancake roll) and ondeh-ondeh (coconut dumplings)

Overall, this is a wonderful place to bring your guest to experience what Nyonya delicacies and of course to savour some of them. Apart from the famous Nyonya Colours cafes in KL that I've been to, it's really not easy to find a place with all this local sweet delights eventhough Melaka is supposed to be a Nyonya place. Tastewise, I will not say they are the best around for I've eaten better ones somewhere else. Even the ones in Nyonya Colours I felt were better, again it might be personal preference. 

Address:72, Jalan Tengkera Pantai 2C, 75200 Melaka
Website: Babe Charlie Nyonya Cake
Opening hours: 10.30 am to 3.00 pm

Sanmotoonge 'Coffee Prince' Cafe @ Buam-dong, Seoul, Korea

If you've watched Coffee Prince (A famous k-drama in 2007 starring Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun Hye), you might recognize this place as the home of Han-Sung Choi (played by Lee Sun-kyun). It was also a filming place for another more recent k-drama, My Princess. Due to its location, this cafe is probably not on the list of most tourists to Seoul. We met up with a Korean friend for a 'double date' on our last day in Seoul and he brought us here to hang out after lunch. This place, which is on the hill top is not accessible by food or public transit; you will need a car or use a cab. Parking is a pain because basically, this place is right at the corner of the narrow road somewhere on the hill with high-end properties surrounding it. Since it was a Sunday, the place was fairly packed with majority being the locals themselves. This hill top cafe also boasts a spectacular view of Seoul city and the ruins of the fortress during Joseon Dynasty.

Recognize this? L: Coffee Prince; R: My Princess

This place is uniquely constructed with different levels and has space for tables on the terrace as well. We enjoyed roaming this fairly huge property and taking photos of whatever that was unique to us. I personally loved the outdoor terrace which boasts a stunning view of the hills surrounding and city. Since it was winter, no one in the right mind will sit out but I can imagine this would have been different if its Summer or Autumn (hill foliage would have been a stunning sight!). 

We managed to grab one of the best seats available - the couch where  Gong Yoo once sat ;p

Super loved the outdoor terraces

Their menu is fairly simple but it's all in Korean. Prices are fairly reasonable considering the location. Since the drink menu is not in English, just order anything that is familiar to you; coffee, latte, tea, green tea etc. They also offer a small variety of cakes (this is with pictures and in English). We ordered a drink each and a slice of crepe cake to share and hang out for the rest of the afternoon!

Simple menu

Caramel macchiato, green tea latte, cappucino, coffee latte and a slice of crepe cake

A Msian couple with a cute Korean couple. The couch where I sat was once sat by Gong Yoo in Coffee Prince (haha)

The wall ruins of the Joseon Dynasty fortress as seen from the cafe. Imagine the autumn foliage?

If you ask me whether this place is worth going, I would definitely say yes. Unless you have a car or a local friend with you, I would suggest you to just take a cab from Insadong or Bukchon Hanok Village, which is probably the closest major tourist attraction. For the view, experience and quality time spent with your loved ones (or even private time for yourself), this cafe is surely one of the worthy-to-visit unique cafes in Seoul where you can easily spend the whole afternoon. Even the drive up there (hilly driving) boasts an awesome view. 

Address: Sanmotoonge (산모퉁이) Gallery and Cafe, Jongro-gu, Buam-dong 97-5, Seoul

Hours: 11:00 - 22:00

Website: Sanmotoonge Cafe (only in Korean)

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zChocolat-Chocolate with a touch of luxury

This came as a surprise birthday delivery from Panda! In case you are wondering, zChocolat is a premier online retailer of luxury chocolates by some great French chocolatiers (just google zChocolat). Honestly, although I'm a huge fan of chocolates and snacks (and practically everything else), I don't often indulge myself on luxury handmade chocolates. This package express delivered from their  headquarters in France, packed in a lovely silver box and insulated with a cooler pack inside as well to prevent it melting while it crosses half the globe to get here. And, the thing with these gourmet chocolates is that it has to be eaten at the right temperature without having to refrigerate or freeze them. 

It came in a soft drawstring pouch with a external slot for the personalized gift card and a little guide book to explain each and every chocolate you are eating (talking about being pampered @__@). Panda got me a cute but sleek bass wood box engraved with the birthday wish ( you can actually personalized your engraving as well!). Inside the box are 2 boxes of its most complete 15-piece assortment. Being like a 'sakai', I immediately gobbled down the first…and then the second…while flipping the guide book wondering what am I eating, only to realise there are numbers on that piece of chocolate itself to show which type it refers to (ok, the numberings were fancy so I thought they were just designs @__@)

Were they good ? I'm no chocolatier but I can definitely differentiate if its better than the commercial ones! These were absolutely delicious and totally wowed me. The fun part is, every piece has its own description and they were not like the common flavours as well. Thank you Panda! Muaksssssssss

PS: If you want to surprise your sweet-tooth gf, splurge once in a while and get this ultimate indulgence and I'm sure they will love it like keraazeeee….:)

Website : zChocolat

freakZspeaks had a party @ Assinoboine Hall, Saskatoon, SK

 

Entering another decade..yeehaa ! Gathered with a couple of close friends and had some good finger-licking food. Sister in London, UK delivered a surprised birthday cake from Crave, Saskatoon. Awesome choice! Delivered with ice packs at the sides…totally a surprise! 'Good-looking, tall' (white horse prince kinda look) 6' cake; red velvet with cream cheese. People here lurveee super sweet stuff; too sweet for me but the combination tasted superb. Cream cheese was really good and fresh. Its more like a combination of icing and cream cheese which I felt was not too heavy. Easily can be ordered online. Probably they are more famous for their cupcakes but can easily turn your favourite cupcake into a cake, like the one I had!

Address : Crave Cupcakes, 802A Broadway Avenue, Saskatoon, SK
Website : Crave Cupcakes

I also ordered some cakepops from Sweet T's Cakepops and Cupcakes. Just couldn't resist the cute-looking little thingy. Cakepops are homemade by Tanya; a nice lady who definitely had a passion for baking and probably one of the best cakepop-ers in town! Sold by the dozens, there's plenty of flavors to choose from, starting from $ 20/dozen. Everything can be personalized! Had the white and purple color cakepops; coconut cake dip in white chocolate for the whites and red velvet for the purple. While the red velvet is….red velvet, the coconut flavored cake with white chocolate was totally amazing! Never really had coconut cake before; hence was trying to be adventurous when I ordered it and was glad I made the right choice! Easy communication with Tanya via her facebook page. Check her out!

Website : Sweet T's Cakepops and Cupcakes

Since I wanted to hang out with some friends without the need to do much washing after the party, I ordered some finger food from Izumi.I had the sushi party tray (80 pieces) $ 60, which I thought would be just nice for that amount of people. Not the prettiest-looking tray but with a variety of rolls. Came with little containers of pickled sweet ginger and wasabi. The sushi was just okay, the consistency of the rice was not really good in my opinion and the rolls were a bit crude, and not well-compacted. Probably because they were trying to stuff more ingredients in each of the rolls. Also explains why instead of 'a' party tray, it became a big party tray and a smaller tray (because everything couldn't fit into one). Definitely can be improved! 

Party tray (regular rolls-80 pieces) $ 60

The second portion of the party tray…ummm...

I was dying to try out their Korean fried chicken or 'chi-mek' (chicken and beer) in Korea. Since probably they are the only restaurant in Toon-town that has them, it was totally worth trying. It didn't come cheap though; the original fried chicken was $21.95 while the sweet and spicy version was $ 22.95. Amount would be enough probably for 2-3 people. I ordered one each since we had like 8 people. Not sure about other fried chicken joints, but Korean fried chicken are fried twice; hence the crunchiness of it. It's usually eaten with pickled radish as sides. The sweet and spicy fried chicken was to-die-for. Eventhough it was not as crispy as the original ones (since it was sitting in a box for about an hour before that), the sauce coating the chicken was superbly tasty. None of us had these before but we totally agreed on this (another item to add to my must-eat-list in Korea). I'm pretty sure it would have tasted even better if you had it dine-in. I would definitely be back for more of their fried chicken!

Korean sweet and spicy fried chicken $ 22.95

Korean fried chicken $ 21.95

Address : Izumi Japanese and Korean Restaurant (only pick-up and dine-in)

Website : Izumi Japanese and Korean Restaurant 

Hors d'Oeuvre Quartet $ 12.99 (regular price)

Had some fancy little pastries from M&M Meat shops. Frozen pastries, easily baked and good for parties. Four different varieties in a box of 40 pieces; Roasted Red Pepper with Asiago Cheese Puffs, Mushroom and Leek Triangles, Caramelized Onion and Three Cheese Crescents, and Spinach with Feta Cheese Puff.

Overall, it was a nice little gathering; nothing fancy but we had a good time :) Cheers to myself for a great year ahead!

It's not just about the food…..@ Taste of Saskatchewan

My blog title basically sums it all. One of the highlights during summer in Saskatoon! So basically, its an event held at Kiwanis Park where participating restaurants feature some of their best dishes. A week long event together with premier bands and performances as well. Some might say its expensive and not worth eating etc but the crowd there says otherwise. Its the only summer event I've not missed for the past 3 years I'm in Saskatoon. Just loved the atmosphere!

Eating buddies…..you need them…so that you can taste more of the dishes! lols…(Photo courtesy of Bambi)

So, all you have to do is purchase the tokens ($2.50/token), amount depending on how much you would plan to spend with most items priced at $5.00 (2 tokens). Of course, being normal human, you would realise the longest lines would probably be the restaurants with the best, most-worthy and safest bet on your money (lols). For the past two years, the longest lines were seen at Riviera Restaurant & Lounge (for their poutine) and Joeys' Seafood Restaurant (fish and chips). So, being me, I just had to try why these were good. 

L:Asian Bowl Restaurant's Combo (just ok, can pass this) R:Riviera's Gourmet Poutine (love the fries, big portion, gravy tasted a lil bit weird but people seems to like it including me ;p)

L:Tomas The Cook Restaurant's boneless dry ribs (big portion, one of the famous items) R:Sardinia's greek riblets (really worth it and tasted quite good; well-marinated with herbs)

Joeys Seafood Restaurant : Popcorn shrimp and fish & chips. Long, long lines so we bought two items to make our wait worth it. Huge portion (which probably explains the long line). 

L: Tomas the Cook's Fried banana with ice cream and chocolate sauce (another famous item) R: Tony Tomas Turtle cheesecake  with chocolate sauce (apart from the cute turtle on the top, I really think this is the weirdest cheesecake I've ever eaten; I think Superstore's cheesecake tasted better)

Good times. Relaxing by the river after our heavy 'snacking'. Lols (Photo courtesy of Bambi)

Overall, I would say this is one of the best summer events in Saskatoon! Honestly, the food is not the greatest (but hey, just go to the restaurants if you are looking for the best meals!) but its not just about the food. The atmosphere, the people, the weather and the food (of course!) makes a great combination. With so many varieties, I'm sure you will find something you like. At least this is one family-friendly event without alcohol ruling it ;p

All-you-can-eat supper@ Smiley's, Saskatoon, SK

I'm not sure whats with me and buffets (we seem to click quite well ;p). Anyways, for a small place like Saskatoon, the number of buffets in town will definitely burn someone's goal to slim down. Reviews on Smiley's have been a mixed so I decided to try it out myself. For a dinner buffet at $16.95, I would say this is definitely cheaper than the whole lot out there. A huge building that also caters for events, banquets and of course, the daily buffet.  Reminded me much of a hotel buffet.

They have the usual salad bar with quite a variety of items. Although I didn't really try anything from there, the items looked fresh even though it was close to closing hours.

I was actually quite surprised with their hot buffet as I did not really expect much from this buffet. The variety of items they have was quite impressive. Friday was seafood buffet, so probably that was why there were so many variety of seafood; mussels, shrimp, fish filets, squid etc. Their Asian spread was also quite acceptable; maybe not the best Asian food in town but they covered the noodles, fried rice, pork roll, egg roll and even Vietnamese cold rolls with peanut sauce. A newer addition was the sushi bar with a few types of sushi offered; sushi were well-made and presented in a neat fashion (although I'm not sure what they do with leftovers!). And then of course, the much talked-about Smiley's Gourmet Fried Chicken. I honestly think it was quite good. Chicken was quite fresh, crunchy, and not too salty like KFC's. I was contemplating to whether have seconds but was just too full @__@

Eat eat eat with sunbae

Ok, the pics are not doing justice to the real thing but the stuffed zucchini at the top pic tasted awesome. I'm pretty sure its stuffed with fish and shrimp. Zucchini was a little bit mushy but this item reminded me of 'yong tau foo' (tofu/vege stuffed with fish meat).

One of the better dishes : Mussels ! Loved this!

Sushi

What I had on my plate - First round ;p

They have a huge assortment of desserts at their dessert bar; I'm pretty sure you will not be able to try all of them. Apart from pop and slushies (which I think there's additional charges), the rest of the items included frozen yoghurt and vanilla ice cream (with toppings!), assorted cakes and cookies, coconut bun and custard bun, English toffee pudding and rice pudding. One thing that I definitely like was their coconut bun and custard bun. Its really hard to get this kind of buns in Saskatoon because no one thought of opening a bun bakery (@__@, last spotted were some assortment of buns at the Asian Market on Clarence). Totally fell in love with these buns. They were freshly baked, soft with lots of coconut filling. Even the custard bun was pretty impressive, a little bit crispy on the top and tasted super good (maybe I'm being biased coz I love bread and buns ;p)

Left : Coconut bun, Right : Custard bun

Ok, not really presentable coz I took a bite and then snap a photo but there was lots of coconut filling that I just had to show you. 

I did not take any photos of their desserts because I did not touch any apart from their frozen yoghurt. One thing lacking in this buffet is the aesthetics of food presentation. Although there were lots of variety, the desserts did not look quite tempting to the point I was wondering whether they were left overs from events or banquets that they hosted. I'm sure they will taste good though (can't really go wrong with desserts I guess).

Will I be back ? Yup, probably. And I think Friday will be my favourite day because its seafood buffet. They have specials everyday so, it will be better if you check out what features they have for the day. We were there quite late so servers were quite attentive since there were already not many customers around. 

Address : 702 Circle Drive East Saskatoon, SK S7K3T7

Opening hours : Dinner buffet at 4.00-8.00pm

Website : Smiley's Buffet and Catering