CzipLee (集 利): SOMe Market 3.0 - Stationery & Journaling Market

Rooted in tradition yet forward-looking, CzipLee, a family-run stationery and books store is synonymous with quality stationery, artistic treasures, and a passion for nurturing creativity. 

This weekend, 8 - 9 June 2024, CzipLee is proud to support the SOMe Market 3.0, a stationery & journaling market, set to feature talent from across Malaysia and beyond. This year's SOMe Market 3.0 will be held opposite Cziplee at Bangsar Village II. 

[Cafe Review] Burrow KL, Bangsar Shopping Centre

I've never had proper canales until I've tried one at Burrow KL at Bangsar Shopping Centre. I never realised that caneles were supposed to have a crusty exterior nor did I realise they could taste so nice without rum. To my understanding, this pastry is notoriously hard to make as the ingredients have to combined in a specific order, left overnight to set and requires a special mould. 

'Getha' enough sleep with HawaIi Collection at Getha Roadshows

Having the right pillow, mattress and blanket is a must for me to catch some Z's and I am sure everyone can relate. But did you know that relaxing your five senses before going to bed can also contribute to a better quality sleep?

Yep, that's what I learnt at the Aloha Getha  Roadshow at Midvalley Megamall over the past weekend. I also got a chance to check out their new limited edition Hawaii series which are exclusively only available at Aloha Getha Roadshows. More deets on that later on.

Instagrammable Fruit Desserts at Namelaka Patisserie, Bangsar

Bangsar continues to be the area to head on to for desserts with new dessert specialist Namelake joining the neighborhood. By now, you would have come across their incredibly life-like fruit desserts all over Instagram and why not? Their desserts were oh so very pretty and most importantly, an interesting treat to the palate.

Starbucks Malaysia’s Signing Workshop is Back

After an event celebrating the world's first signing Starbucks store in Bangsar Village II, I have gained an interest for learning sign language. However time hasn't been on my side and I missed out on all the workshops conductng by Starbucks Malaysia.

World's FIRST Ever Starbucks Signing Store Celebrates 2nd Anniversary in Malaysia

In July 2018, Starbucks U.S announced that it was going to open up its first ever signing store, to be located in Washington DC in October 2018. But get this - the store will be modelled after the first ever Starbucks signing store in the world - right here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!

photo credit: Elie of CantusLupus

UberEATS Launched in KL - at last!

Being a true Malaysian, food remains an integral part of my daily life. Just ask my colleagues and family. I'll be the one running around the office at 12noon sharp asking the all important question...

"What to eat ar?"

Of course, being the lazy bum that I am, I end up eating around the office area most of the time or bringing food from home simply because traffic jams, looking for parking and queuing/hunting for table scares me. I am sure many of you can relate.

Naughty Babe Dirty Duck restaurant, Bangsar review

I was hungry, naughty and ready to get down right dirty. And Naughty Babe Dirty Duck in Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar was just the dining place to suit my mood that night for dinner.  As expected of a place with the words babe and duck in it, whimsical pig and duck decorations were aplenty in the restaurant.

Under the delusion that we needed to balance the rich meal ahead with some greens, we ordered their Wildest Rocket salad. Wild rocket leaves were my favourite so I enjoyed this delicious healthy dish very much. With a mix of pomegranate for crunch, crispy turkey ham, a generous shaving of parmigiana and a drizzle of honey lime dressing, this salad was a combination of sweet, savoury and sour.

Jarrod and Rawlins Bangsar review

It’s no secret that breakfast is the most important dish of the day and Jarrod and Rawlins knows this. Their breakfast meals are huge and the ideal representation of what is available in an English breakfast. Because, you see, Jarrod and Rawlins aka J&R, having hailed from England, have been in Malaysia for 10 years and has since become a household name for English breakfast amongst locals and expatriates alike.

To start, I ordered the J&R English Fried Breakfast which was served with two lovely organic sunny side-up eggs, sausages, bacon, grilled tomato, hash brown and toasted bread. The Weekend Brunch menu set comes with a coffee or tea and a freshly squeezed orange juice. As expected of the English kind, everything on the plate complimented each other with the toasted bread acting as a nice palate cleanser for the heavier stuff such as the sausages and bacon. 

Eat Me Dessert Club, Telawi Bangsar

I love my desserts. Those who know me will tell you that I would move heaven and earth for desserts. And if there is one dessert that I absolutely and truly love, it would be creme brulee. Creme brulee and Project C's Teh Tarik cheesecake are probably the only two desserts I would willingly toss aside all diet plans for. 

And it just so happened that a new dessert parlor has opened up in the ever busy food hub of the Bangsar Telawi and it offers, perhaps, one of the best creme brulees I have ever tasted. But before I drive into depth how lovely the desserts are, let me introduce this magical dessert place. It's called Eat Me Dessert Club (wah, sounds so exclusive...) and it's right next to and affiliated to the famous Killer Gourmet Burger (KGB) in Bangsar.

Bite Hopping: Telawi, Bangsar Part 2

I am back with the second part of the Bite Hopping series, once again in Bangsar area. Because there is simply too many good eateries in this one area!

Breakfast was the first order of the day and my friends and I agreed in unison where to eat. Aunt Christina's Sarawak Laksa at Nam Chun coffee shop, Lucky Garden is the main reason I frequent Bangsar so often. Besides one in Sunway, this is the only other place I can satisfy my Sarawak Laksa craving. Like myself, Aunt Christina hails from Sarawak herself, making her dish the closest I can get to the authentic version.

Bite Hopping: Telawi, Bangsar Part 1

Bite Hopping is my new cafe-hopping series that will feature a few F&B places that I have visited within a specific location and where else better than to start than in food haven, Telawi Bangsar.

So on a recent Friday afternoon, I met up with my childhood friend who was finally back in Malaysia for good after years studying overseas and we decided to catch up over brunch and coffee. Our first stop was Nutmeg in Bangsar Village II.

The restaurant was in front of the Haagen Dazs stall and at first glance, it looked like any other modern day restaurant with low lighting and a cake and dessert display. But what really caught my attention was the back wall of hanging potted plants where natural sunlight was streaming through the window. Naturally we opted to sit there.

Having read a review from Drops of Contentment on this place, I ordered the Nutmeg Big Breakfast. The dish comes with two eggs made any way you like, confit mushrooms, lamb sausage, toasted brioche, roasted garlic tomatoes, hash potatoes or fried macaroni and cheese and house-cured salmon or salted beef.

Just Heavenly, Oh So Heavenly

Glorious cakes!

Bloggers and the media have been raving about this particular cafe located in Bangsar Shopping Centre. The brainchild of Nigel Skelchy and Allan Yap, Just Heavenly cafe offers a comfortable dining experience with a clear simplistic theme of calming blue, white and brown. Prior to visiting Just Heavenly, I tormented myself by reading up blog reviews on it and knew more or less what I wanted.

Simple inviting decor.

Sourdough with Nutella, bananas,
hazelnuts and orange reduction.

To start, I ordered the cinnamon toasted sourdough, topped with Nutella, delicious bananas and hazelnuts with a drizzle of orange reduction. The sourdough was toasted to perfection with a crunchy base that goes well with the Nutella spread and the lightly toasted bananas on top. A definitely must-try.

Moroccan Mint tea.

To cleanse my palate for the next dish, I ordered the Moroccan Mint tea which came in a triangular teabag to allow the tea leaves to seep better in the hot water.

The Classic Carbonara

Just Heavenly's Penne Carbonara comes highly recommended and I could certainly see why. The sauce was deliciously creamy and not too thick or too rich. With ample bits of bacon and mushroom, I could easily finish off the whole plate myself. My dining buddies who tried it too agreed it was one of the best carbonara they have tasted.

We also ordered Coconut Chicken Salad, Chicken & Avocado Open Sandwich with Cranberry Sauce. and the Tiger pie.

Coconut chicken Salad.

Coconut lovers would enjoy the Coconut Chicken Salad as the chicken slices has been cooked in coconut milk, giving it a nice juicy flavour. The chilli dressing offered a combination of sweet, sour and spicy to the salad made of cucumbers, pineapple, fried shallots, onions and lemongrass.

Chicken & Avocado Open Sandwich.

The Chicken and Avocado Open Sandwich was unusual for a lack of a better word. It looked like salad served on a fluffy pita bread but don't let its appearances fool you because it was delicious. While the chicken was juicy, the avocado was soft yet crunchy and the cranberry sauce complimented the entire dish with its sweetness.

Tiger Pie

The Tiger pie has no tiger in it but it does have beef.  Lots of it. The puff pastry was buttery and airy and soaked in the yummy beef sauce wonderfully. The beef chunks were succulent and juicy. On the side, a serving of mash, peas and gravy completed this wholesome comfort meal.

Durian Chocolate cake.

And of course, this being Just Heavenly, we must have their cakes to finish. It wouldn't be a complete affair without their famous cakes. The Durian Chocolate cake was just heavenly! (forgive the pun). The moment the fork sliced open the chocolate layer, the scent of durian hit us at full force, indicating its freshness. Real durian flesh was used for this delight, making it a definite must for durian lovers.

Key Lime Pie.

Another recommended slice of heaven (again, forgive the pun) to try was the Key Lime Pie. Unlike many places, Just Heavenly was really generous with the amount of cream which helped tone down the sourness of the lime custard. I dare say, this was one of the best Key Lime Pie I have tasted.

Carrot and red velvet cake.

We also had the Red Velvet and carrot cake but these two barely held a candle to the Durian Chocolate and Key Lime Pie in terms of flavour. Texture-wise, I would say they were moist with a good proportion of key ingredients like the cream cheese on the Red Velvet and crunchy nuts in the carrot cake.

Overall, food was a constant bullseye. Service was a bit slow but this was probably due to a lack of manpower at lunch hour. The waiter servicing us was accommodating and helpful in recommending dishes to try. Ambience was easy and relax and you don't feel the need to rush through your meals to make way for the next customer. Just Heavenly is a great place to just sit for 2-3 hours, catching up with friends over coffee or tea and cakes.

If this is what heaven is like, I would like to make a reservation please.

Just Heavenly indeed!

Just Heavenly Cafe
Level 2, West Wing
Bangsar Shopping Centre
285 Jalan Maarof
59000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603 2011 4866
Opening hours: Daily 9:30am – 10:00pm

Girls' Day Out @ Sommerset Nails and Waxing

I am a manicurist's worst nightmare. Short, broken nails on one hand, long, brittle ones on the other. I should just wear gloves 24/7.

Fortunately Phoebe, my manicurist at Sommerset Nails & Waxing was understanding when I explained to her that I was an outdoorsy person and very rarely took care of my nails. Heck, I think even my tennis racket gets more TLC than my nails.

Complimentary ManiPedi or Waxing for 2, courtesy of Hot magazine

I was lucky to be able to try out Bangsar's Sommerset Nails & Waxing salon thanks to Hot magazine. I was allowed to bring one other person with me so I opted to drag invite my mother along for a girl's day out. Like me, my mother also very rarely sets foot into one of this beauty parlours and has never gone near any form of waxing (other than candle wax). So this was the perfect opportunity for her to try bikini waxing. Yay.....(she begged to differ)

The salon is located in the heart of Bangsar, a walking distance from Bangsar Village 2 and is right above a corner restaurant called G3. Its light teal coloured entrance is hard to miss and the window front gave the illusion of a white-picked fence garden with flowers. The immediate interior is elegantly simple and spacious which is important especially after you have your nails done and need to move about...um, weirdly. The waxing rooms are located behind for privacy and that was where my mother was led to for her first ever bikini wax.

Wax on, Wax off
As it was her first time, they opted for the hard wax as it was gentler on the skin and doesn't hurt as much. To quote my mom, "I didn't even realise when it was finished. There was no pain and not at all uncomfortable." She also mentioned how experienced her wax therapist was, being able to put her at ease as she walked my mom through the process. I am so proud of you, mom for doing this!

The waxing room.
photo: jamiechin.com.

Women have a higher tolerance for pain due to our nature-given ability to, you know, give birth so naturally having hair removing by wax should be a breeze.  But if you are terrified of the pain, just let your wax therapist know. They have ways to get your mind off the pain and to make the experience as painless as possible. But again, it depends on your threshold for pain.

My mom was done in a quick 10 - 15 mins and settled into the waiting lounge to wait for your truly because my mani-pedi took much longer. 

The Mani-Pedi
Overall, it was a comfortable 1 hour 30 mins treatment without having to move from pedicure station to manicure station. Phoebe was very efficient and meticulous with trimming and shaping my toenails first before applying OPI's 'Teal the Cows Come Home' to them. I think she was very amused by my baby toe nails because they were so tiny that it probably only took a drop of polish to colour them.

Loving the entire experience.

My colours of choice.

Then as my toenails dried, she moved onto my fingernails, first checking the length on them and then advising me that it would be best to trim them short as it is easier to maintain for an active person. Hey, you're the expert so trim away, I told her. It was nice having a manicurist who does not bark at you every minute to relax your wrist. For my nails, I selected 'Red My Fortune Cookie' from OPI and I love it! The fiery red complimented my teal coloured toenails very well.

Verdict
I enjoyed my experience there and my mom did too, considering that this was her first bikini wax. I found the service quite good as they served us tea before and during our sessions and my manicurist was very pleasant and experienced. Judging by the flow of steady regulars pouring in that day, I would say Sommerset already has its loyal clientele.

If I were to pick at something, I would like a little privacy during my session as I could hear (and see) the lady next to me talking about her breast pumps but I distracted myself with the television.

Pricing, I would say is reasonable as you can have a bikini wax at RM29 onwards and a ManiPedi at RM65 onwards. It's recommended to make an appointment two days prior so that you can pamper yourself at your convenience.

Address:
Sommerset Nails & Waxing
19A, First Floor,
Jalan Telawi 3,
Bangsar Baru.
Tel: 03- 2287 8887
Opening Hours:

Tuesdays to Saturdays	:	11.00am to 8.00pm (last call 7pm)
Sundays	:	11.00am to 7.00pm (last call 6pm)
Open on most public holidays.