Why 1600 Pandas

Did you know...that as of 2004, there are only 1600 pandas alive in the wild?

What the fark so morbid! 

I also just learnt from WWF Malaysia that Malaysia only has less than 300 tigers in the wild. What the hell, Malaysia?! Get your shit together and protect our national icon! Stop deforestation or I'll deforest the shit out of your homes, your government and development cronies!

Coffee Societe, Publika review

Mochatella...the holy offspring of Nutella, frozen coffee cubes and hot milk and an must try at Coffee Societe in Publika. I went into the coffee cafe not really expecting anything other than a good cup of coffee with my friends. We had just come from Coffee Stain a few doors down and were keen to try what Coffee Societe had to offer.

It was crowded inside, a good sign and we found a table outside. The servers were foreigners but the first guy who gave us the menus was friendly and courteous. The one who took our order, not so much. He was pretty snappy while we were still deciding what to have and more or less snatched up our menus as soon as we were done.

Despite the flippant serve, the Mochatella came promptly. Priced at RM14.90, when a drink has Nutella in it, nothing can go wrong and Coffee Societe's Mochatella is the ideal example of that. The Nutella's sweetness mellows the coffee cubes and the hot milk melts and mixes the both elements perfectly. 

3D Latte Art at Coffee Stain by Joseph, Publika

Coffee drinkers have always been fanatics over their beloved drink and of late, the coffee scene seems to have taken it a step further from just the simple artistic foam art and gone to 3D Latte art. I only caught on the 3D latte craze....well, last month and along with a group of nutty friends, headed over to Coffee Stain by Joseph for some 3D art instagramming. 

It was 9pm when we arrived and boy, was it still crowded. People were still pouring in at that hour and we quickly secured a table outside after making our order. Another drink that we were curious to try was the coffee cube drink (RM15.90) where hot milk is poured over the cubes of coffee to create an iced latte. The resulting effect was a less diluted, creamy coffee drink. We found out though that we had to wait for a while for the coffee cube to melt into the milk.  

Hotshots Coffee & Tea, Solaris Dutamas

Admittedly, finding this place was a challenge. It is like one of those elusive treasure islands that you see from a distance but when you try to navigate your way to it, all bearings are lost. But that is due to the confusing layout of Publika. HotShots Coffee and Tea is on the first floor of Solaris Dutamas, facing the main road and along the same row as Pappa Rich.

HotShots gives off the feeling of coming home to the smell of fresh brewed coffee as you walk into a well-furnished warm and inviting kitchen/dining room area with a black marble island table in the middle. While one side of the table made up the coffee brewing area, the other was a sunny homey space with high-chairs and sofa seating. There is also outdoor seating on the balcony walkway overlooking the busy road. This is the kind of place you could just sit and relax for hours either catching up with friends or just doing your work.

Everything Yummy at The Red Beanbag

The Red Beanbag could very well be my new favourite place to eat at whenever I am in Publika. On three separate visits, I have been wow-ed, impressed and mouth-orgasmed to their yummy dishes, coffee and desserts. You can read about my first trip here.

My second visit was supposed to be for lunch with a friend but because we arrived before 12noon, we could only order from the Breakfast Menu (10am - 3pm) as the Lunch Menu starts from 12pm onwards. As we were starving, we went ahead and ordered even though it was only 20 minutes to noon.

Friend ordered the Specialty Baked Eggs (RM17.90) that comes with three slices of crusty bread. The eggs are baked and served in a baking dish along with a combination of lamb, beef and chicken bratwurst sausages, sundried tomatoes, potatoes and cheese. The dish was oozing with tomatoes and cheese that can be scooped up with the bread. Every helping we had of it had at least a piece of meat that was juicy although albeit salty. My friend was super pleased RBB had French unsalted butter upon request for the bread. There is a 15-20 minutes waiting time for this dish so it's not advisable to have this if you're starving. God knows why my friend ordered this....

Tickling My Tastebuds: Top 3 Mille Crepes

With so many restaurants and cafes offering mille crepe cakes on their menu, how will we know which deserves to grace our tastebuds? Here are my top 3 Mille Crepe Cake Countdown.

Number 3: Nadeje Cake Shop, 3 Two Square

Now we don't have to drive all the way to Malacca to get our Nadeje fix as they have opened up an outlet right in the heart of Petaling Jaya at Dataran 3 Two Square. I recommend their original mille crepe cake (RM9.50) that was simply oozing homemade custard vanilla cream that was light and not too sweet. The many layers that form the mille crepe are thin, allowing the Tahitian Vanilla Beans flavour to linger as it melt in your mouth.

Number 2: Food Foundry, Happy Mansion

Every crepe cake lover has heard about Food Foundry's delicious crepe cakes but the one particular crepe cake I would like to highlight from this place would be their Almond Salted Caramel cake (RM11). Topped with crunchy almond bits, this cake has the perfect balance of sweet and salty as the salted caramel sauce complimented the light texture of the cake wonderfully.

Number 1: Red Beanbag, Publika

And finally, the number spot for, perhaps, the best rum and raisin mille crepe cake I have ever taste, the Red Beanbag at Publika. I have blogged about it before but a second visit merely confirmed it. The rum and raisin mille crepe cake (RM14.90) explodes with ample rum flavour soaked into the layers and cream. There is also plenty of raisins in the cake which is also soaked in rum, living up to its name sake of rum and raisin. It is more expensive than most places but trust me, it's worth it. 

Cakes at The Red BeanBag @ Publika

Photo credit: The Red BeanBag

A friend's friend introduced us to the Red Beanbag in Publika after a two hours hike through Gasing Hill in Petaling Jaya recently. The hike was exhausting but fun and we felt that after burning all those calories, we deserved a reward. In the form of cake.



Photo credit: The Red BeanBag

My friend's friend, Sher Lyn mentioned a friend's cafe in Publika that had the most amazing cakes. And that was how we ended up at this adorable restaurant overlooking the Square, near the Bee's and Plan B.


Photo credit: The Red BeanBag

We got there about lunch time and the place was buzzing with people waiting for a table. Fortunately we had the foresight to grab a bite at the food court downstairs which prevented us from salivating over the other customer's food. I heard people would wait 45 minutes to be seated, indicating the popularity of this place.

Pardon the poor quality pictures of the food as it had been an impromptu trip and I only had my phone with me. I had to steal some of the interior shots from their official facebook page here.

The interior design and ambience of the restaurant immediately reminded me of Australia and my friends from there quickly confirmed this, noting the cardboard menus and bottles of water to help yourself to on each table. The entire place, althought crowded, gave off a warm welcoming feeling that just invites you to come in and chill out for the rest of the day. Preferably with a cuppa and a slice of their yummy cake.

As soon as we were seated, I headed to the cake display to check out their cakes. Sher Lyn recommended the Rum and Raisin Mille Crepe cake (RM14.90) which was too die for! As soon as we dug in, we relapsed into silence to fully appreciate the smoothness of the cake and the mixture of sweetness with clear flavour of rum in it. It was slightly more expensive than the crepe cakes at Food Foundry but totally worth it! All of their crepe cakes are home made by Oneatezero and often sells like hot cakes!

 

 

I also ordered the Red Velvet cake (RM12.90) because I have been craving for one ever since trying the Starbuck's version. Sadly the Red Velvet was a disappointment as the cake was dry and crumbly while the layers of cream cheese were too thin and little. Perhaps it was because we had the Rum and Raisin before it which affected our taste buds but the Red Velvet was also lacking in sweetness.  

 

 

While we were there, Sher Lyn ordered a cup of coffee. It smelt divine! And that wasn't the only thing that smelt good there. The table across ours had the Mussels & Clams In Aromatic Wine Broth and the My Crustacean Cousin (Tiger Prawns, Scallops & Pipis Served With Freshly Pressed Tagliolini Pasta) that had us drooling despite our full tummies. We could smell the scents wafting through the air and we promised we would come again for a proper meal.

 

 

Service was prompt and efficient, I have no complains about that. The restaurant decor is just lovely and in the mood of Chinese New Year. The pricing of the cakes are slightly more expensive than what I am used to but the Rum and Raisin crepe cake is worth every cent and considering the location, I believe the prices are justified. I will certainly come back again, this time with a bigger group of friends, my trusty cameras and an empty tummy to try everything.

 

Aw, dammit. I've gotten hungry again just from writing this review. Oh and by the way, the Red Beanbag is also pet-friendly, ringing up another plus point in my books!

The Red Beanbag

Add: Lot A4-1-08, Level 1, (overlooking The Square)

Solaris Dutamas, Mont Kiara

50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +6 03-6211 5116
Hours: Tue-Fri, 10am-10pm;

Sat & Sun 9:30am-10pm,

closed on Mondays

 

Photo credit: The Red BeanBag

 



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To all my readers,

Happy Chinese New Year!

Have a safe journey and happy eating!