Urban Stove - Homecooked Restaurant Grade Meals in under 30 minutes

Since the start of the year, I started home cooking as part of my fitness quest. I realised that I needed to control my calories intake and what better way to so than to bring your own homecooked lunch to work. It ain't no fine-dining masterpiece but it serves its purpose and is actually delicious. And on top of that, I also get the satisfaction of knowing that I am capable of making my own meals.

However I am no Marta Stewart or a Masterchef in making. That's where Urban Stove comes in.

I was one of the few who volunteered and was selected to be a part of the trial stage for this new food endeavor, intrigued by the concept of it all. On their Facebook, it was stated that Urban Stove aims to help you cook healthy restaurant-grade dinners in just 30 minutes by providing fresh pre-portioned ingredients right to your doorstep.

Tossed at Jaya review

Hidden on the 4th floor of Jaya Shopping Center is Tossed, a little cafe that serves up a mean combination of pasta and local dishes as well as awesome salad, dessert and coffee. The menu was simple enough with a nice mix of the usual pasta, local, salad and dessert dishes.

Mukha, TTDI review

I first heard about Mukha from my ex-boss who recommended their fried Mars Bars. That alone engraved the little cafe in Taman Tun Dr Ismail in my mind for years to come. Ironically, only four years later, did I decide to visit Mukha for dinner.

I was in luck as around the time of my visit, they had just revamped the menu and had a few new entries. Mukha offers modern Turkish dishes, simple, delicious and fuss free.

Strangers at 47 cafe, Section 17 PJ review

I love Petaling Jaya. 

So many new cafes and makan joints have opened up all within vicinity of my house and each weekend, I am spoiled for choice over which new coffee and dessert joint to try. This week, that joint would be Strangers at 47, located in Section 17 along the same row as Kanna Curry House.

Cool cement walls and wooden furniture offered up a cosy feeling. I learnt that more wooden fixtures were added to be the interior two days after my trip there.

Epicuro, Damansara Uptown review

Just at the end of 2013, a new restaurant joined the busy busy neighbourhood of the infamous Damansara Uptown (and no, it's not A Pie Thing) and within the next few months, garnered the attention of food bloggers and pork lovers around. Why? Because the pork, pastas and desserts there are delicious!

Enter a cosy atmosphere of black and yellow with natural lighting and a cute chalk drawing on one whole wall.  Much like its name sake, Epicuro invites its customers to relish the indulgence of dining on good food without breaking the bank. Because given its food quality and portions, I would say Epicuro's prices are rather affordable.

Signature Cafearo by Yves, 1 Shamelin Cheras review

In this unpretentious mall in Cheras called 1 Shamelin shopping mall, there is a hidden jem of cafe and it is called Signature Cafearo. Signature Cafearo has a bright future as a crowd-bringer due to its wide range of scrumptious food, drinks and desserts. And what a crowd it was with 18 bloggers heading there for a food review.

Much like finding the mall, locating the cafe can be quite tricky but as Isabel told Elie and I on the day of the review, "just look for Share Tea and Ipoh White Coffee." The entrance to Signature Cafearo is just down the corridor next to a Japanese cafe.

BluMed restaurant, the Gardens New Menu review

Strangely enough, no matter how many times I have been to Midvalley and Gardens, I never once thought to step into BluMed Ristorante e Bar for a meal or drinks. It might be because I was intimidated by the elegant and posh exterior and interior of the two-leveled restaurant that sits between Midvalley and Gardens.

Recently, I was invited by Ivy of Food Malaysia to try out several dishes from their new revamped menu (available 17 March onwards0. Upon entering the outlet, it turned out it wasn't at all that intimidating as the entire restaurant was warm and inviting with an open kitchen concept, a bar and a dessert display. 

William's Corner, Taman Mayang

The famous Williams Corner in Taman Mayang and their gigantic portions of fusion mamak italian food has been circulating the world wide web for some time now and I have always been curious to try their dishes and their just-as-huge drinks.

So one fine day my girlfriends and I popped over to Williams to catch up over dinner. As warned by multiple blogs, there was no clear signatures or signboard of the place. Your only hint would be the tables and chairs set outside an open lot-turned-into-a-kitchen.

As soon as we sat down, a waiter came up to ask if we had ordered. We told him no and took turns checking out the menu on the wall inside the lot-turned-kitchen. They don't offer the typical book menu but here's a glimpse of they offer.