TiPsy Brew O'Coffee, Setiawalk, Pusat Bandar Puchong, Puchong

Address:
Address: C-07-G, Block C Setiawalk, Persiaran Wawasan, Pusat Bandar Puchong, 47160 Puchong

Opening Hours:
Tue-Thu & Sun, 11am-11pm; Fri-Sat, 11am-12midnight

Time Visited:
6:37pm, New Year's Eve (on a Thursday)

Attire worn:
Business

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Nutella Crepe and a Latte

It's New Year's Eve and as usual, I was hanging out alone. My starting plan was to go with what's next on my list and that was Nova Jazz but my best friend finally replied me that he would be free on New Year's Day to watch a movie with me. We had already watched the most anticipated movies that's currently out and that is Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Ip Man 3. Since I had free tickets to redeem, the only good movie left to watch was The Peanuts movie before just before it's gonna be taken down. Since our usual hangout mall, 1 Utama, will not be screening The Peanuts movie on New Year's Day and on the weekend, we decided the next best place to get the tickets would be at Setiawalk which I headed over to redeem the tickets.

After doing so, I walked around to explore what's new in this exquisite place teeming with eateries. After walking a whole round, I finally decided to go for TiPsy Brew O'Coffee for some cake and coffee. They do sell food items as well but I was there for the coffee and cake. There's nothing much written on their board because all their items are written in the clipboard menu which I didn't take a look. After surveying the cake display case, I decided to go for the Nutella Crepe Cake and a latte.

Usually, this cafe is a full service one and not a self service one but due to me entering at a very unexpected time, there were no one to greet me at the door nor at the counter when I walked up there. Only after looking at the display case and I've already decided on what I wanted, the barista walked up to me from the back to attend to me while the other foreign workers who are servers would refrain from speaking. They also serve single origin coffee filtered the way you want it and includes the lesser used siphon method in addition to the press methods and the drip methods. Since I didn't glance at the menu at all, I just decided on a latte.

It took a fairly moderate time for my order to arrive at my table. The cup that the coffee was served in is not one that I've normally seen. It's very English-like with red vertical lines. The cup on the top itself is coated with some coffee extracts as well to enrich the coffee. It also did however, added some bitterness to it as well. I wonder what coffee beans they used to serve me this cup of latte? The coffee was okay. The profile of the beans just isn't the ones that I'm more comfortable sipping with with a more forceful coffee taste that has a strong bitter aftertaste. Milk provided some creamy taste to it but not as much as I would like it to.

The Nutella Crepe Cake tasted average to me and has a layer at the center and bottom that seems to be more thicker or stronger in it's bond when I cut the whole slice with the spoon I was provided. It's mediocre flavor which deceives me on it's color lacks the chocolate taste of Nutella. I would feel that it would be better should it sweeter. After all, it should taste of Nutella. But that's how I feel about it. It lacks that chocolate spread sapidity.

The environment too feels moderate with songs by Adele playing comfortably to the ears of those in the cafe. The staff I must say is very nice and served well. I was politely asked on my order when the barista approached me and it's done with a warm smile. As I sat myself down, the waiter brought me a cup of water immediately. But the buck stops there. I guess they weren't really in a working mood since it is after all New Year's Eve and there were no more customers that entered after me during my presence there. I guess all that's left to appeal to me here would be their single origins and their mains should I were to return.

Total Wallet Damage:
From 3pm to 7pm, there's actually a hi-tea set of cakes and coffee/tea; but because I ordered the Nutella Crepe which is dearer than any other cakes for RM3 more, they added RM3 to the Hi-Tea set. So all in is RM21.20 with 6% GST included.

Final Verdict:
5/10. Everything to me here is average from the cakes to the coffee to the cake. The only thing that stands a bit above average would be their politeness and service. Even then, they weren't really that ready to serve and all were huddled up at the back for some reason.

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Restoran Ayam Penyet AP, One Utama Shopping Centre (1 Utama or 1U), Bandar Utama (BU), Petaling Jaya (PJ)

Address:
LG 323-323A,One Utama Shopping Centre,
No.1,Persiaran Bandar Utama,
Bandar Utama,
47800 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.

Opening Hours:
Daily, 11am - 11pm.

Time Visited:
Around 7pm, Tuesday night for a movie

Attire worn:
Business

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Ayam Penyet AP, Telor, Tempe & Tahu Penyet, Nasi Putih (Rice) and Cold Lemon Drink

Arriving in 1 Utama early that evening with the holiday season approaching, I manage to arrive at around 6:30pm despite heavy traffic just outside 1U.

Still early from ticket redemption time, I proceeded with my plan and that is to obtain dinner until the time comes for me to head to the movie ticket redemption counter to get my tickets to watch The 33. After buying a Christmas gift for my buddy and put it in my car, I then decided to head to Ayam Penyet AP for their food.

From the name itself, you can tell that Ayam Penyet AP is a place that serves the Ayam Penyet, a smashed up fried chicken Indonesian dish that's famous in Indonesia and originated from Java. Obviously with a name like that, that should be the signature dish and that's what I ordered. In addition to that, I also ordered the Telor, Tempe and Tahu Penyet and rice to go with it and an iced lemon drink to quench my thirst.

After my order was keyed in to their system, they later came over to me and told me that they do not have Tempe in stock and whether am I okay to just be served with the Telor (egg) and Tahu (tofu). To tell you the truth, I actually had no idea what's Tempe anyway and so I said that it is okay. After a quick research on it, I discovered that Tempe or more commonly spelled as Tempeh is a traditional soy product food from Indonesia. Still had no idea how that will taste like but I gather that it's probably like tofu seeing that it's a soy based dish that looks like tofu. LOL. By the way, the staff of the outlet can't communicate in English and I had to resort to speak to them in Malay to convey my order and for questioning. Thank god I know the language. It will just be a case of point to order should I only speak in English and don't think I can question much with that.

No surprises that the Lemon Ice made it to my table before the other things. The lemon drink was unlike the many types of lemon drink that I've tasted before but maybe because they added some syrup substance at the bottom to sweeten it. Although the flavoring of lemon was still very much apparent in the beverage, the sourness of lemon was minimal. This probably was the effects of the syrup compelling taste along with the dilution of ice.

The other dishes came pretty quick and so the waiting time was not much. Of course, I also took into account that there weren't many customers there at the moment anyway. The Ayam Penyet and the Telor, Tempe and Tahu Penyet (or rather just the Telor and Tahu) were presented in a nice looking wooden round dish with banana leaf as a base for the food. Both were sprinkled with some spice substance that gives a vague taste that's hard for me to describe. The ayam penyet also has 2 fried tofu served alongside in addition to the many tofu that I ordered. LOL.

The ayam penyet didn't taste as tender as it's supposed to be. In fact, it's not as smashed up as I imagined. Even the fried chicken at Village Park Restaurant looks more smashed up than theirs. LOL. The taste is average nothing out of the ordinary, just like a normal fried chicken but drier than what I'm used to and less chicken taste than I'm used to. The fried tofu and eggs too were just ordinary tasting and didn't had anything unique about them. The white rice that I ordered to go with it were quite dry too and so the whole meal is a very dry one. The only consolation I get would be to douse my rice with some of the fried shallots soup and I had to do it sparingly since it's just a tiny free bowl of soup. There is one thing that I loved out of all the food and that is their chili. More particularly, the sambal. It packs a punch of heat but tasted very very good. It went well with anything that I put on it to eat with. Heck, I can eat that solely with the rice. However, I have to cut down on it because it was so spicy and I was running low in my lemon drink. LOL.

Total Wallet Damage:
Actually, I lost my receipt so I'm not sure in total how much is it. But I think they don't have service charge but incur 6% GST. The Ayam Penyet is RM10.50 while the Telor, Tempe & Tahu Penyet costs RM5.70. The drink I think costs RM3.80. So you can probably work out how much is the bill.

Final Verdict:
5/10. Although it's adequate to fill your stomach, the food is just average. The only great thing about the food is the sambal but you can't just eat that alone, right? LOL. The staff spoke no English and didn't understand me when I asked a question and so I had to resort to Malay. Upon ordering, you have an order chit to write your orders down even though they'll be right there awaiting for your order. Kinda makes me wonder the purpose of that. One thing good about the staff is that they make sure that everything's okay with before turning to leave your table and that is rare in a restaurant. Other than that, the ambiance is okay with a Kampung style feel to it along with the dishes presentation. But the thing is I don't see myself returning for their food because it's just average and I'd rather spend it elsewhere. So sorry for that.

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Outback Steakhouse - Nu Sentral, Nu Sentral Mall, Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Address:
LG27 & LG 28, Nu Sentral Mall, No. 201, Jalan Tun Sambanthan 50470 Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Opening Hours:
Daily, 10am - 11pm

Time Visited:
Close to 7pm. Dinner time on a Saturday night.

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Sirloin and BBQ Beef Ribs and a Long Island Iced Tea

I love a good steak. I'm a very avid meat eater and it shows from my visit to Hacha Mecha and Monte's.

So I decided to head to Nu Sentral Mall and search out for Outback Steakhouse which is a franchise outlet but there's only 2 in Malaysia at the moment including this one at Nu Sentral Mall. The first outlet which was the only one before Nu Sentral Mall came into existence is at Low Yat Plaza.

Outback Steakhouse restaurant is only accessible at the outside portion of the Nu Sentral Mall where it's facing the main road of Jalan Tun Sambanthan. The staff there were really on top of their game and friendly. As I was walking past restaurants at the stretch over there, I made it seem as if I was just passing by. But the maitre d at the front immediately welcomed me as if already knew that I was gonna enter already. I requested for a table of one and she ushered me to my seat. Seeing that the walkway path was congested towards the table she was gonna show me too, she immediately change directions and asked if I would like to be seated over at another table instead which I didn't mind. Quite quick thinking and excellent work there. Throughout the evening during my dining experience there, I got nothing short of great service all the way. Everytime I signaled for somebody, they would rush over immediately to attend to me. When I asked for the WiFi password, the guy ensured that I was connected before walking away. Everytime they brought me something, they would explain it to me. "Here's your Long Island Iced Tea, sir." "Here's a napkin for you to wipe with, sir." "Your sirloin and BBQ Ribs, sir. Enjoy your meal." And they were also quick to clear my finished plates too but always asked before proceeding to do so."

I'm totally impressed with their excellent service. Definitely worth the 10% service charge I paid for. In addition to that, I'm a one man band as well but treated me just the same as any other patrons even though I'm taking up a four person table. There's only one small thing that I would like to point out and that is when I was seated, I was introduced the Christmas menu which clearly indicates for 2 person. LOL. I mentioned to her that it's for 2 person, right? And she laughed nervously realizing her mistake. But of course, that isn't a problem. In fact it's quite amusing. After all, how many lone diners would've walked in here to dine, right? Therefore, it's understandable that she rattled off her procedure because after all, 99% of the patrons consists of families and at least 2 persons. This reminds me of the time where I walked into Wendy's for my own meal and the person recommended me the 10 pieces of chicken. LOL. That was totally unacceptable.

First thing that came was the alcoholic beverage I ordered - the Long Island Iced Tea. It comes on a cool curvy glass so if you're seeing it straight, you're probably drunk. LOL. The Long Island Iced Tea consists of Vodka, Rum, Gin and triple sec with a slice of lemon on top. It was mentioned that it contains a splash of coke but I couldn't taste it. Probably was that blackish substance at the bottom of the glass which tasted a bit sweet. The drink although was laced with many various different kinds of alcohol, yet I could barely taste it. But it is there enough to give me a buzz. Just that the taste of anything in it is rather weak and all I could ever taste is the lemony feel of the drink.

They also served a whopping bread at the beginning. To be exact, it's a French loaf that's about 1/5 of it's size? It also has a scoop of the cream cheese (I think) to go with the bread. The bread was hard on the exterior but soft on the inside. Having that knife stuck at the middle of it and served in a paddle was a great way of presenting it. Totally loved the idea.

It didn't take long for them to serve my meal, probably around 10 minutes for it to arrive. The steak was perfectly cooked which I requested for medium well. Well, not exactly perfect but it's medium well alright. With a little bit of a red color at the center. It just screams out gorgeous. The meat of the sirloin was rougher than what I'm used to but tender enough to consume and succulent enough to eat on it's own. It may not be as juicy as how I got at Monte's or Hacha Mecha but it's a fine enough steak to eat. I also adore their spice sauce that they serve. It has a unique flavoring to it. A little spicy, a little sweet, a little salty and very Mexican-like taste minus the spiciness. It goes very, very well with the sirloin steak and definitely elevates the meat to a better flavor. The Aussie fries were just as good giving me a good feel of the potato flavoring in my mouth with the nicely seasoned salt and pepper to it. As for the BBQ Ribs, it works very well for me too. I can easily separate the meat away from the bones which I hate that kind of hassle so it's good for me. The BBQ sauce upon the meat was spread very evenly. Every bite of the BBQ Ribs is sure to have the BBQ sauce on it without any effort on my part. Although the sweet BBQ sauce makes the ribs a very delicious meat, dipping it into their spice sauce produces another fine unique taste as well. It sort of blends in with the BBQ sauce to create a new unique flavor. All in all, a very satisfying dish that's well worth the RM64.95 (excluding GST) for it. I just wish I had more of the Aussie fries in there too but I don't think the plate will fit. LOL.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is vibrant and family oriented with incandescent lighting to set a more relaxed mood. Chairs weren't too bad on it's comfort level but I would give it an average. Table were huge for me but comfortable in spaces in between other customers. But the walkway path may be a tad too narrow should the restaurant fills up due to it's big tables but I think it's not much as a problem if you compare it to Eat@J's.

Total Wallet Damage:
All in all, RM108.35. It is to be expected with the steak but the alcoholic cocktail seems a little bit pricey. There's also 10% service charge incurred and 6% GST.

Final Verdict:
7/10. Loved the staffs' service and loved the lovely meal. Their own sauce is really a delight to go with the meat. Alcoholic beverage could be further improved lots more especially with that kind of price.

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Brewyard Coffee, SS15, Subang Jaya, Selangor

Address:
42 (Ground Floor), 
Jalan SS15/4,
47500 Subang Jaya,
Selangor

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sun:
12:00 pm - 12:00 am

Time Visited:
2:45pm, Saturday.

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Little Lost Ship and Latte

Wanted to buy a new phone today and so as reluctant as I was to leave the comfort of my bed, I headed off to DirectD to see if they have the phone that I wanted and whether they offer 0% installment plan with my credit card.

Being my first time venturing into that unfamiliar territory, I finally arrived at the location. It was quite a shocker to me because despite it's huge space and building, there's not much to see nor do there. It's more of a go in, inquire or buy the stuff you want (especially in bulk), get it with the cheap price and get out. They did have the phone that I wanted but they don't offer 0% installment plan for it but instead charges an 8%. And so I decided to take my leave without buying it. If there's the 0% installment plan for it, I would've bought it in a heartbeat.

Oh well. Since that was the case, I decided to save my money instead. Due to yesterday's lunch which I had with my colleagues in Subang Jaya SS15, I decided to go back there and tried Brewyard Coffee since I'm saving up from not purchasing the phone I wanted.

Since it's a week away before Christmas, the songs of Christmas cheer glisten up the place with it's melodies but the staffs attitude seem to reflect otherwise. It's kind of a somber mood on all of it's staff which consists of all male as far as I can see. They seem to give me the impression of I'm-being-forced-by-my-mom-to-work feeling.

Brewyard Coffee cafe is a place that serves limited choices of main dishes but today I was there to try out their dessert which is called Little Lost Ship. Little Lost Ship are pancakes (3 pieces to be exact) that's bedazzled with bananas and drizzled with chocolate sauce and sprinkled with peanuts and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. On one side of it contains peanut butter and another side strawberry jam should you want to add some flavors to it by spreading it on top. The taste was not bad. Quite good I would say and I especially loved the pancake going with the peanut butter.

As for the latte, the ratio on the coffee and milk was superb. They surprised me with a star cookie as well. I guess this is applicable due to the Christmas season. The taste of the star cookie didn't validate much taste in it but the coffee was also not bad like the pancake dessert. It did incur a slight bitter aftertaste but the aroma was good.

All in all, I find the food and beverage quite satisfactory. I just felt that the staff needed more cheerfulness instilled into them because they seemed like they're being forced to run the cafe or something. During my presence there, I wasn't served water while another 2 ladies that came were served with it and there was one person who came in through the door, waited awhile at the counter and when no one came to acknowledge him, he left. A pity for any place to lose a customer this way but that's what happened there. I guess Time Out KL merely looked into their food and drinks instead of their service too. Wouldn't blame them since the owners would've known that they're coming and would've served them well being media staffs. That's one of the reasons why I go on my own instead of announcing my presence as a media personnel. That way, I would know how the general public may be treated by remaining anonymous.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM28.60. RM16 for the pancakes and RM11 for the coffee. There's 6% GST and an awesome Internet WiFi.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Would like to give them more but it's a shame I wouldn't because I just felt that they need to improve way lot more in their customer service. Perhaps they should take a tip from The Culture Pot or the excellent service from the boss of MiniMe Cafe

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Beans N Beans Korean Cafe, Citta Mall, Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Address:
Lot G-20, Ground Floor, Citta Mall, No. 1, Jalan PJU 1A/48, Pusat Perdagangan Dana 1, Ara Damansara 47301 Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Opening Hours:
Daily, 10am - 12am

Time Visited:
7pm. Thursday night after dinner

Attire worn:
Business

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Cafe Latte and a Cheesecake

After having my dinner here at Citta Mall, I've been drawn to try out this Beans N Beans Korean cafe.

Been putting off for trying here for so long. Each and every time I hear myself saying the next time around, the next time around but never really got to it. Finally today, I decided by hook or by crook, I'll try it even if I'm gonna fill myself up with dinner first.

The place has a warm ambiance with bright lighting where you can spot from afar. It is by far probably the brightest outlet in the row that it's in. Being a typical proclaimed Korean Cafe, it has to sell Bingsu. But I wasn't there for Bingsu that day. I was on my mission to try their cheesecake which I had consistently tried pairing it with a Latte/Flat White on 2 other cafes.

Being there on a dinnertime, the few people that were there were just leaving for their dinner as I entered the cafe. I wasn't noticed by the person behind the counter where he was busy cleaning the coffee machine but immediately greeted me warmly when he noticed my presence. Since it was nearing Christmas, the cheesecake had a Merry Christmas sign stuck on top of it.

Beans N Beans cafe is a self service cafe where you're given a call bell that will light up and vibrate when your order is ready. It took quite a while until I managed to receive my order and that was when I noticed that it's because that he's been preparing 2 other orders alongside mine concurrently. So that means, I got my order the fastest among the 3 since I ordered last. That's damn long.

The cheesecake was nice and tasted typical. There's nothing fancy nor out of the ordinary in taste just that appearance-wise, there's a Merry Christmas sign on it. It's nice and soft though. Tastes above average and costs RM9.50. The only problem with it is that it's small in size. But being packed with cream cheese, it's much more filling than those cakes that are fluffy and airy.

The latte wasn't to my liking. It's the bitter type where the milk is unable to hide the powerful punch. It also contains way too much foam and is like a cappuccino.

The place is comfortable enough for me to chill and unwind and has quite ample amount of power outlets to charge your phone or plug your laptops and work long there.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM20.95. RM10.30 for the Latte and RM9.50 for the cheesecake. There's 6% GST imposed but no service charge. After all, it is self service.

Final Verdict:
5.5/10. I never do understand the difference in Korean cafes. To me, it's just normal cafes that serve Bingsu. But if it's coffee I'm after, I prefer the ones at Caffe Bene if I were to compare among Korean cafes. This one just don't impress me much. One day, I just gotta go try Bingsu even though it's not really my thing.

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Okonomi, Publika, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Address:
A4-G2-02, Publika, Solaris Dutamas,
No.1 Jalan Dutamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Daily, 10am - 11pm.

Time Visited:
Monday (Selangor Public Holiday), 6pm

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Katsu Curry Chicken and Hot Chocolate

With the long holiday for Selangor whereby Friday was the Sultan of Selangor's birthday and Monday being decided to be a holiday after Selangor won the Malaysia Cup on Saturday night/Sunday early morning, I became increasingly lazy and reluctant to head out for food. But I had to do it anyway since I have depleted all my instant food supplies at home and had Okonomi for the meal of the day this Monday.

As I entered into this restaurant, there were only 2 tables of customers. It's no surprise there since it's very early anyway for dinner anyway. Longing for the taste of Okonomiyaki, unfortunately, this restaurant does not serve that despite the name having the same first 4 syllables. So I chose the next Japanese dish that I crave and long for and that is Japanese curry. To go with the dish, I unusually ordered a cup of hot chocolate for beverage.

It took quite a long time before I ever saw any of my orders coming to my table but I didn't mind it because I find that the quality of their dishes are better than a lot of restaurants that I know.

This establishment is ran by all foreign workers during my visit but that didn't deter on the quality of the food nor the quality of the service. They may be slow to react, but will acknowledge you and will eventually head towards you to serve you as soon as they've finished what they're doing. Just that they react slower. I wouldn't blame them. It is after all the slow off-peak hours and should there be shift work, this would most likely be the changing of the shift session. But they are courteous enough to get to you without you telling them twice. Even when I called for the bill, the off-duty worker signaled to one of his fellow colleagues to assist me.

And so came the main dish to my table. Presentation wise, it's pretty impressive. It screams out eat me to me and makes my mouth water as I see it's perfectly arranged dish. The Katsu Chicken being laid out all pretty in a row on top of the curry neatly filling atop of the plate with potatoes and carrots soaked in in the mix. The rice forming a round bowl shape with some seasoning on top for taste. And finally, a side of spring onions at the side for even more taste. This certainly shouts out Japanese to me. Definitely how Japanese usually arranged a Katsu Curry Chicken dish. As a person who like to mix everything in to eat it, that's exactly what I did. The intermingling taste of everything together were just wonderful as if a match made in heaven. All of the components of this dish played it's part well. The rice was the authentic Japanese rice that I so love and had not eaten for such a long time. The potatoes and carrots were fresh and just made me love eating it. The curry was served hot and kept at that ideal temperature throughout my ordeal of munching through the meal. The spring onion provided a bit of a kick to the eccentric dish and pops out the flavors even more.

The chicken is sufficient in satisfying my taste buds. The curry though, took me back in time and tasted very much of the Japanese curry I crave and very similar to how my Japanese friend made it for me. The only difference to this curry is that it's tuned to be more spicy than sweet which is a little odd for me as far as Japanese curry goes but am loving this unique twist as if it's specifically catered more towards the Malaysian tongue. Worked very well for me.

The place may seemed a little cramp in nature but the mellow lighting has a calming effect and with the rain pouring outdoors, it relaxes me even further.

Total Wallet Damage:
All in total RM32.25. Hot Chocolate costs RM8.90, Katsu Curry Chicken costs RM18.90, 10% service charge amount to RM2.78 and a 6% GST tax of RM1.67.

Final Verdict:
7/10. The service is just above average and the ambiance is too. But what I most like about this place, is the authenticity of the Japanese Curry dish that I had which very much took me back to the time I was in Japan. I quite like the cup that came with a cover to retain the hot beverage too. Though with it's scalding temperature, I hardly see the need to retain it that way.

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The Culture Pot, SS21, Damansara Utama (DU), Uptown, Petaling Jaya (PJ)

Address:
15, GF, Jalan SS21/37, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Opening Hours:
Tue-Thu:
9:00 am - 10:00 pm
Fri:
9:00 am - 11:00 pm
Sat-Sun:
10:30 am - 11:00 pm

Time Visited:
9pm, Sunday night

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
An Oreo Cheesecake and a Flat White

With time to spare before watching a movie, I explored around Uptown a bit walking up and down to find something to munch and just kill some time for a while.

The Culture Pot cafe caught my eye. It's bright, warm and inviting and pulls me in like a magnet to try. When I entered the door, a cheerful voice greets me from behind the counter saying welcome. Although clearly she looks busy, but she immediately stopped to get ready to take my order when I was at the cash register. I wasn't ready so I asked her to gimme a few minutes as I study their menu board and she gleefully pointed out to me their menu which consists of main dishes to eat as a meal as well.  In the end I decided upon a flat white and their Oreo Cheesecake. I'm not sure why but the Oreo Cheesecake was priced a dollar higher than the other cakes. But they were running a promo for that and so ordering it as a set only costs RM20 in total.

I sat myself down at the nearest seat as I scanned across the room. Christmas decors filled the cafe and the friendly staff was as cheerful as ever as she took the time to actually set a bottle of water with an empty glass at my table despite her busy looking state. Every time I thanked her she seemed genuine in replying a welcome. Such an infectious cheery state which puts me very much at ease. Surprisingly, the coffee came first before the cake for some reason but I understand since it was only her behind the counter all the while from the time I ordered till I receive my beverage with dessert.

The pleasant atmosphere of the cafe invited me to snap a few more pictures than usual. But I just wish it were sunlight since my camera phone didn't translate the pictures to a natural lighting and it looks dimmer than it should be.

Although the coffee beans seemed dark in color in the burr grinder, it didn't taste like dark roast at all. It was pleasant with sweet chocolatey kind of taste to it with some creamy feel to it from the milk. The milk faded away though along with it's art with just a few sips from it. But nonetheless it satisfied my cravings for the caffeine.

The Oreo Cheesecake appears to be very dense in it's form. The cream cheese is compact and almost hard while the Oreo formed the base of it with some sprinkles of the crumbled cookie on top. Strangely enough, I tasted none of the Oreo effects but mostly of the cream cheese taste unless I dig a whole lot more of the base than the cream cheese taste. Then a mild burst of the Oreo flavor will surface.

All in all, the ambiance is very pleasant, the coffee is good but the cake is only on a passable standard for me. I would quite like to return to this cafe one day to try their main dishes and see how well the guy behind at the kitchen does in his cooking.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM20. This is due to their promo combo of cakes with coffee after 7pm which costs a nett price of RM20. It includes 6% GST.

Final Verdict:
7.5/10. I just love the chirpiness of the staff and how friendly and polite she was. She seemed to enjoy her work very much.

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A-Lone Diner Event Special: Minut Init Art Social Presents Star Wars Marathon

I have to admit, I never knew such a place existed such as Minut Init Art Galleria which also consists of a social room as well in the Uptown area.

Being close to the launch of the new Star Wars movie entitled "The Force Awakens" that is directed by J.J. Abrams, every fanboys' anticipation is high and to recap on how the whole confusing Star Wars Saga goes (since the original trilogy then got a prequel trilogy to tell the tale that came to be), a lot of places are running a Star Wars marathon to refresh the memories of those that know the series and to lure new interest to this hype as well. Minut Init, an art gallery, did just that from December 10 to 15.

As I walked up the dodgy stairs towards the social room where a bar is setup there as well, I entered a homely room-like settings where the Star Wars theme blared out with the projector ready to go. Unable to see any life forms in the room, I decided to take my leave to adjourn to a cafe nearby for some snacks and coffee and that's when a meek voice at the back of my head called up asking whether I was there for the screening and I said yes. He said that it will start around 30 minutes time and since there's time to spare, I decided to explore the area for a spot of coffee and cake. After all, I saw uptown booming with a lot of new cafes and eateries at the area. I stumbled upon The Culture Pot and will release my post on it at the next posting.

When I returned to the Minut Init, it got a lot more darker and subsequently more dodgier looking than before due to it. LOL. This indicated to me that they've already started playing the movie. As I entered into the room that I was before, it's now pitched dark with the movie playing upon the far ends of the wall. I was warmly greeted by the person in charge there even though the movie was playing and I took my seat at the most comfortable looking chair that I saw to view the movie.

Although "A New Hope" wasn't exactly a new movie to me, but due to me viewing it in my adolescent years, I had no understanding of what was ongoing on it's plotline at all. Re-watching it again now has helped me gain the understanding of the Star Wars franchise which was gibberish to me as a child.

I can't help but marvel at how the effects came to be even though the movie was release in 1977 and how George Lucas managed to conjure up a whole unique galaxy just so the whole plotline makes sense. In addition to that, there's also the many different characters that came into being just solely on that one movie itself.

As for Minut Init, as dilapidated as the place leading up to it may be, the social room setting that they arranged is cozy and comfortable enough. It's like a home setting. The Art Galleria is at the upper floor which I failed to visit due to my time constraint.

Though small in numbers for the event it may be, it still felt good to get out of the house after being cooped up for 2 and a half days in my room due to laziness and my abnormality depressive state, lacking in the motivation to move. I thank the guy who hosted it and am now armed with the knowledge of how Star Wars first came to be.

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Dal Komm Coffee, SS21, Damansara Utama (DU) aka Uptown, Petaling Jaya (PJ)

Address:
No 61G & 61M, Jalan SS21/37, Damansara Utama (Uptown), 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Opening Hours:
Mon-Thur: 9am-12am
Fri: 9am-1am
Sat: 10pm-1am
Sun: 10pm-11pm

Time Visited:
4:08pm. Friday evening where it's a Public Holiday for Selangor.

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Flossy Chicken Cruffin and Aloe Vera Latte

The previous night, I went to a party and got dehydrated due to me only managing 2 glasses of water for about 5 hours and the 3 glasses of beer that I have aggravated the situation since it's not really a hydrating agent but instead does the opposite. So I woke up today with a slight hangover. A friend text me and surprisingly I saw the message in just two minutes apart despite my phone on silent and was thinking of popping back to bed. The friend said wanted to hang out or something, I can't remember the actual words and I asked what time. But then she mentioned what was I planning instead and all I said was I'm just planning to nurse this headache I have. So I popped a Panadol and managed to numb the pain up. But unfortunately, she never got back to me as to when we were going on and after seeing a post on Instagram, I'm convinced she's already out with someone and didn't wanna be bothered and so I went back to bed.

But due to the morning tea I had in the morning and the Panadol in numbing my pain, I wasn't able to get back to sleep anymore and so decided to blog about Hecha Mecha that I had for dinner the night before. After duly done and relaxing a while at home, I decided to head out on my own anyway and decided upon Dal Komm at Uptown. It was raining really heavily when I started my journey. Unfortunately, there was a big splash of water that accidentally entered into my car and drenched my phone. Didn't think much about it and reached my destination in around 15 minutes time.

Dal Komm is a place where it's self service. There's an upstairs sitting area as well. It seems to me that it is a Korean type of cafe that serves Bingsu as well. They also have live performance from time to time and has already 5 outlets altogether including this Uptown outlet. The menu is all up for display on the board. So I decided to try their Flossy Chicken Cruffin and their Aloe Vera Latte.

It took a while but eventually the Aloe Vera Latte came first before the Cruffin and it was dispense to me before it with me still holding on to the calling device when your orders ready.

The Aloe Vera Latte taste quite pleasant and very milky. It has the right amount of sweetness and is very smooth due to the milk. But as I reach to the bottom of the mug, it was clear that all the aloe vera syrup was concentrated at the bottom and so it's undrinkable at the bottom due to the overly sweetness.

The Cruffin came in quite pretty in it's presentation. The cruffin is essentially a cross between a croissant and a muffin. So it's crispy and flaky at the outer layer but it's big enough to shape like a muffin. In fact, it's even bigger than a muffin even. For the Flossy Chicken, no surprise it's lavished with a very generous amount of Chicken floss on top. In addition to that, there's also a cooked egg at the center where below that and the chicken floss lies bbq sauce in between those and the pastry itself. The combination although may sound weird but it's quite nice to consume. Dal Komm Uptown is quite a relaxing and pleasant place to chill especially in these rainy weather.

Speaking of the rainy weather, I wanted to take pictures of the items I ordered with my phone but unfortunately, the deluge that was brought upon my phone has misted up my phone camera so badly, I couldn't take a decent picture. And so I only managed to take it using the front camera with that one photo above.

Later on in the day, I managed to take out the lens itself and started cleaning it. It looks okay for the moment and I hope it stays that way. Else, it's gonna take a while till I'm able to resume my Instagram and blog post since I may need to get a new phone or get a camera to snap my pictures. LOL.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM28.80. RM15.90 for the Cruffin and RM12.90 for the Latte. A bit pricey on their items.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Nothing special to me that brings it further to the top. Though the things that they produce is unique on it's own and it taste good, yet I still feel that they're a bit lacking in something. The price is a little more expensive than usual cafes.

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Hacha Mecha, Electric Boulevard, TREC, Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Address:
E-01-08, Level G, Electric Boulevard TREC, Jalan Tun Razak 50400 Kuala Lumpur

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sun:
6:00 pm - 1:00 am

Time Visited:
Around 7:30pm

Attire worn:
Business

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Blackmore's Wagyu Blade Steak

I was at TREC yesterday for an event at Zouk Club and it took me a whopping 1 and a half hours to reach. Most of the 1 hour was just being stuck at the nearby area awaiting my turn to make a U-Turn so I can go to where TREC is. But instead, I was just stuck there for almost an hour. I can just turn the engine off for half an hour since that's how long it happened for me to be stagnant.

Anyway, due to the massive jam at that area which was the outcome from the downpour, the event started way later. And so being so early, I decided to walk around and see what I can have for my dinner. Not having much of a choice for food seeing the Electric Boulevard were just filled with bars and pubs, I soon settled for Hacha Mecha. Well, this place is kind of a pub and bar as well. But it is the nearest to Zouk Club.

After relieving myself at the loo (what do you expect right? More than an hour in the car with the coldness surrounding and the rain pouring down), I settled myself down at a table after they seated me. The menu was fairly simple. Merely a one page paper menu where the flip side are the drinks. I was thinking of ordering something solid to eat instead of just starters and snacks and so I looked at the 'Mains' section and decided to order the Blackmore's Wagyu Blade Steak.

Unbeknownst to me, although it was listed as mains, it's more like a yakitori skewer like portion when it arrived. Their Wagyu beef has a marbling score of 9 which is impressive and is served with Yakiniku Sauce and some sea salt. The Yakiniku sauce has a little spiciness to it but not like chili spicy but rather mayonnaise kind of spiciness.

The wagyu by itself was succulent and delicious. It's a tad too oily for me for some reason but it also somehow lacks the texture of the melt in your mouth buttery feel of wagyu. But then again, this isn't the sirloin part anyway so it won't be as buttery as that part. Anyway, it is still a very delicious delicacy. Dipping in the yakiniku sauce overwhelms the taste a bit too much but dipping it in the sea salt is most fine because it enhances the flavor of it.

Hacha Mecha has a very vibrant ambiance with a lot of people hustling and bustling in it. It has your typical bar/pub settings with a lot of big tables to cater for groups of many people.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM118.80. They did not specify what the 10% was for but I guess it is for their service charge.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Although it did serve me lovely wagyu, the portion is a bit too small to be deemed as a main. I would probably just call it as yakitori instead. LOL. Other than that, they have the right concept of serving light eats and alcohol because that's what this surrounding area is about, alcohol and after that, some snacks to quell the peckish feeling or to dispel the alcohol effect as a before snack.

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Whimsical Gelateria & Caffe, Solaris Dutamas, Publika, Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Address:
D2-G3-05, Solaris Dutamas, No. 1, Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, WP, Malaysia

Opening Hours:
Mon:
11:00 am - 11:00 pm
Wed-Thu:
11:00 am - 11:00 pm
Fri:
11:00 am - 12:00 am
Sat:
10:00 am - 12:00 am
Sun:
10:00 am - 11:00 pm

Time Visited:
7:30pm, Wednesday night.

Attire worn:
Business. After working hours.

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Whimsical Roast Chicken and Chai Latte

Was actually thinking about trying Mikey's Original NY Pizza in the first place but the place just looks unappealing to me and so I decided to drop by Whimsical instead.

The place is bright and cheerful with some wooden texture into it's decoration. There's also a table with a see-through glass that contains decorations inside it.

Since Christmas is approaching soon, Christmas songs were heard on their sound system where occasionally, the waitress couldn't help but sing along too. LOL. Although, Whimsical is known more for their Gelato ice cream which goes well together with their waffle and their unique coffee as well, I simply decided to go against the grain and ordered the Roast Chicken and the Chai Latte instead.

It was really nice of them that after ordering, they would place a whole bottle of water for you and a warm glass for you to fill it in just like they do at Plan B. When I ordered the roast chicken, the waitress taking my order was courteous enough to inform me that there will be a 15 minutes waiting period for it to be done and whether that's okay with me which of course I said yes. I'm in no hurry to go anywhere.

The Chai Latte came in a fair amount of waiting time but dangerously close to being too long. If there were more people around, I'm sure it would take way longer. The Chai Latte wasn't a taste that I expected it to be and didn't go too well with me. No doubt the spice taste of chai is there. In fact, it's very strong. But other than that, I could taste nothing much else except for the foam. The milk was minimal in it's taste and that's about it. Basically, it tasted like spiced water with foam. A little disappointed with that. If Chai Latte is what you're looking for, it's best to head over to Crave Cafe at Oasis Square for that. Theirs is 10 times better than this one.

After a period of waiting, the Roast Chicken started to appear. It looks pleasant and succulent. But when I dig in, it's below my expectation. The taste of lemon is way too forceful in the chicken due to the great amount of thyme leaves planted in the fowl meat. In the end, that was all I could taste. It's way, way, way too overpowering and I had to employ my skills in removing any traces of it to rise to a much more acceptable level. Though the creamy mushroom sauce by itself hold it's own if you just eat it with the mushroom, it's no match for the ever powerful zesty lemony taste that permeates throughout the whole dish. Besides the chicken, there's also a side of roasted tomato and some potato wedges. Though they mentioned in the menu that the potato wedges were spiced, I tasted nothing of that sort. However, the potato wedges did manage to have it's potato taste linger awhile in my mouth while battling with the strong lemon taste.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM41.85 with a service charge of 10% and 6% GST.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Since what I ordered isn't exactly what they're known for, I would give them the benefit of the doubt and just stick to what they're known for should I visit again the next time. Aside from the unsatisfying food and drink that I had, the ambiance is quite pleasant to chill around. I could hang out here for quite a long period of time without feeling any discomfort.

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Original Penang Kayu Nasi Kandar, SS2, Petaling Jaya (PJ), Selangor

Address:
No. 64, Jalan SS2/10, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Opening Hours:
Daily, 24 hours.

Time Visited:
6:45pm. Tuesday evening

Attire worn:
Business

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Nasi Kandar and Teh Ice

I came over to this part of SS2 because I first wanted to try A'Perfetto but when I arrived, I discovered that it was close. A quick peek at their Facebook page indicates that they're close for these few days for no reason disclosed. I walked up and down the road to look at what other restaurants there are here and see which I would fancy going in to try.

Seeing that I've not step foot in Kayu Nasi Kandar, SS2 for about 10 years, I decided to do so today. I remembered quite clearly that this is the other Nasi Kandar with mixed curry that I like with Nasi Kandar Pelita, SS2 my first and foremost favorite.

The place looks fantastic after all these years. Looks like they did some redecoration and looks really clean and proper like a restaurant and not some mamak shop. They even got this continuous flow of water in the front which I supposed would be a fountain but it's negligible and I don't see the real purpose of it there besides making water sounds to soothe those sitting very near it. Other than that, there's no way those who sit indoors can hear that since it's so noisy.

The layout of the restaurant was just as I remembered it only thing is that it looks like it has expanded to one more shoplot. The Nasi Kandar area now is a separate area where there's a cash register there and you need to pay for it first before you sit your self down. I ordered the usual when it comes to nasi kandar and that is with a piece of fried chicken and the mixture of the curries. Over here at Kayu Nasi Kandar, they will always start you off by putting two types of vegetable dishes onto your plate without you indicating to them whether you want it or not. One is the cucumber and the other is the cabbage. After scooping those into the fake banana leaf plate, they will await on what else you want. This is in line with what I remember. What I don't remember is the need to pay first after they've calculated the cost of your nasi kandar. Not sure when they started implementing this.

As I sat myself down, I can see that the service here is just as horrid as I remember it and one of the reason why I stopped coming here to eat. It's even worse than over at Pelita. Here, they have a lot of staffs. Even more than Pelita. It's not exactly dinnertime yet so there aren't a lot of customers yet though it's considered moderate for me. There's many of them just standing around doing nothing. I signaled for one person and the guy sees me but ignores me. I signaled another fella and he just pretended not to see me and started talking with another guy. And so I started to signal to a guy that's at the inside area of the place and finally that guy nods at me and moves towards me. Just as shitty like last time. At least Pelita they don't dare to look you in the eye because once they do and you signal to them, they will have to come over and not ignore you. LOL.

The taste of the nasi kandar is the same as how I remembered it to be. The combination of curries makes the unique great taste to eat with the rice but I would say Pelita's is still my favorite. Out of the two papadum that were given to me, one was okay and crispy while the other is no longer crispy. At least they still give it. As for Pelita, during the period of 6pm-7.30pm or so, the papadum are not ready and there will be none. The fried chicken that they give are much more larger in size that Pelita's feeble ones. But the taste were not as good. However, it's good enough for me.

The pricing over here are considerably more expensive. Just the teh ais alone costs RM2.50 for a cup which to me is ridiculously expensive. The nasi kandar costs RM7.50 which is reasonable.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM10. As mentioned above, RM2.50 for the ice tea and RM7.50 for the rice with one piece of fried chicken. This is inclusive of 6% GST.

Final Verdict:
5/10. It's a nice place to escape and wait for the horrendous SS2 traffic jam towards LDP to recede but other than that, I don't see any other reason for me to be here. Their nasi kandar with a combination of mixed curries has lost it's appeal to me years ago where Pelita is the only place that can still make me crave for theirs. I also don't have any great nostalgic memory in this place aside from remembering some faces that I've eaten with here. There just isn't any occasion that I can remember nor any memorable topic of conversation that spurred from that place. Pity.

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