Kuta, Bali

Known as the busiest area of Bali, full with parties, alcohols and crazy nights..

It's just 20minutes away from my hotel and yet I didn't have the time to go till the very last day.

As time was very limited, we didn't get to do much except walking around looking for some souvenirs, take a short walk on the beach and finding for a place to eat.

Of course, you have to visit the Hard Rock Cafe there as a tourist right :D

Bought a super cute charm from there ❤

See the detailing on this tiny cutie? (:

Went to one of the malls there, Beachwalk Bali. Closest and easiest to access for us at that moment, no time no time. Didn't take any photo but here's one from the Internet (:

Not bad, quite a number of branded stores and also makan places but not much bargains can be found if you are looking for cheap shopping. Only managed to buy a pair of flip-flops from Roxy sadly.

Then, makan makan!

REALLY LOVE this place a lot! 

The environment was cozy, staffs were friendly and attentive plus the food was AWESOME!

They'll welcome you with wet towels to refresh yourself, really good for the weather in Bali.

The complimentary bread, yummy! Love the front sliced ones, really soft and fluffy. Middle ones were a little dense and the round ones are hard. Seems like they have arranged them according to level of hardness, LOL. But anyhow, they are yummy! The dip was yums too!

Lasagna, 70000 IDR and Garlic Spaghetti, 50000 IDR

We ordered two items from their lunch deal, the Lasagna Bolognese and Garlic Spaghetti.

Even though it's lunch deals, they never fail to impress me. Just look at the portion and presentation of the food. Efforts are thrown in, unlike some restaurants here which serve "cincai" cooked meals for the sake of serving the customers. Tasted even better, the bolognese has a generous amount of minced meat and the layers of pasta were cooked perfectly. The spaghetti was awesome as well, tasted so good even though it was simple! Definitely worth every penny paid!

Watermelon Crush and Kuta Beach, 84000 IDR each

My love, Watermelon Crush! It's a MUST HAVE on a hot sunny day! Super refreshing and tasted so yummy! They mixed the juice and alcohol well so you can slurp on it easily, it's 100% juice btw. You can eat the chunks of watermelon in it and also there's mint leaves. The whole combo was plain awesome. Kuta Beach was good too with a mini sugarcane to stir your contents and it was refreshing as well.

Bailey's Suffle, 60000 IDR

Our dessert of that day, Bailey's Suffle. Equally awesome as well. Top part was crispy and the insides were creamy, together with the coffee, it was perfecto!

Every thing here tasted so good and service was excellent so it's definitely HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Do drop by for a meal here if you are in Bali, bet you will never regret it ;)

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So, this is the end of my Bali trip.

Will be posting on France very soon, hope you enjoyed reading!

❤

Much loves, xoxo.

Food: A Tea Affair @ TWG Tea 1837

There's this new place in town, well.. Not exactly new but new to me if I have not been there yet! :D

TWG Tea 1837, sounds so classic and glamorous right?

This place opened in Sunway Pyramid a while back, somewhere in the early of the year if not mistaken. It's located right opposite of Zara and sits there glamorously with its glass panels separating it from the outside world. It sort of reminds me of the whole Breakfast at Tiffany's thing.

When it was newly opened, the boyfie promised to bring me there somewhere during CNY before he leaves again but time was so limited that we didn't make it. But he made it up by bringing me there few days ago ❤

Their tea menu list was endless.. About 4 pages, front and back. We were having a really hard time browsing and choosing the tea that we end up asking the waiter for recommendations.

This was what he recommended, one of their signatures and exclusive tea blends, T6033 1837 Black Tea.

Before preparing the tea for you, they would bring the tea leaves in the jar for you to have a smell and this one smelt very strongly of strawberry, sweet and fragrant. The tea tasted sweet even without sugar and there was a hint of strawberry behind the black tea's taste. Pretty unique blend I would say.

And who would expect them to serve main courses too?

I've always thought that they only serve drinks and desserts as the kitchen is no where to be seen. Guess where is the kitchen? It's actually just right under the staircase. They even have breakfast menus and the expected high tea menus. And since we were filled with popcorn from our movie catch up, we ordered only one main course and the rest were desserts.

TWG Tea Lasagna, where you will have 2 choices to choose from; Bolognaise ragout with signature homemade tomato and fresh basil sauce infused with Moroccan Mint Tea or seafood in a Love Me Tea infused cream sauce. And since he is allergic to shrimps, we went with the bolognaise one. I love the lasagna as the sauce was pretty unique with the tea taste and the pasta layers were perfectly cooked with awesome meat fillings. Not really a fan of the bun that came with it though as it was hard to chew on. I prefer breads that are served warm, soft and full of fluffiness.

And this is from their range of desserts, Normandy Apple Tart. Topped with their homemade Singapore Breakfast Tea ice cream and caramel coulis infused with Pomme Prestige Tea, I would say that the ice cream was rather unique, something different. As for the tart, I love it with the apple slices but you have to eat it fast or else it'll be soft and gooey soaked in the sauce. 

Then we have..

TWG TEA MACAROONS!

From left: Earl Grey & Chocolate,  Bain de Roses Tea and 1837 Black Tea & Blackcurrant

Earl Grey & Chocolate, it was okay, not too sweet but I expected better while the 1837 Black Tea & Blackcurrant one was a little sourish and wasn't my type as I don't like sour stuff. Favourite one would be the Bain de Roses Tea which has a strong rose taste and the level of sweetness was just perfect! ❤

While eating all of that, we finished the pot of tea in just minutes and as per usual, you would definitely ask the waiter for refill on hot water right? So that was what we did and to our surprise, there was no refills available as one pot of tea is per serving only and it cost RM19 per pot. LOL. Then he decided to order another pot to try and we wanted something mint.

So the waiter brought over some of their tea jars and we have another one of their Exclusive Tea Blends, T6009 Alexandria Tea. This one smelt of strong peppermint and sweetness but was rather disappointing or maybe not up to my liking as it tasted like a chewing gum that was chewed very long ago. Added some of their sugar but still tasted quite disgusting for me.

Love their display of desserts available! So cute and tempting at the same time, wish I have one at home that is accessible 24/7.

They also have a lot of tea sets and wide range of teas for you to purchase as gifts. This is one of my favourites, the packaging is just too cute to resist!

And I shall end this post with my next level selfie, reflection on the golden tea pot!

Hope you enjoy reading! ❤

Much loves, xoxo.

Food: Restaurant Wonderland Valley, Bentong

My dad got the random foodie adventure switch on last Sunday and decided to bring us somewhere out of the ordinary to dine. And he told us that the journey is going to be more than an hour and I was thinking, "Okay lah, here to KL, 45mins, probably around there include the jam time". And since the brother was the one driving, I nicely took the opportunity to nap in the car since it was raining, the perfect weather for it ❤

Then they stopped at the petrol station for a toilet break and I realized that this is no KL, the area is surrounded by trees and hills, seems like we are going somewhere really far for this meal. After passing by Genting Highlands and another short drive, we finally arrived at our destination..

Once you enter, there will be a bridge connecting the two lands separated by a stream. The bridge is extremely narrow, just nice to fit exactly one car with no extra space. And guess what greeted us at the parking lot?

WILD BOARS!!! 






There were so many of them strolling around and they are very tamed. Unafraid of humans in fact, they would just come to you if you have food in your hands. Many people bought loafs of bread to feed them, pretty cute animals especially the babies! Not much photos were taken as I initially took a video using Instagram but the app wouldn't allow me to post it. Every time I try, "Instagram has stopped working".

Our table was located just right next to the stream, very nice view and cooling environment. And that's the scary bridge that your car has to cross to get over that I mentioned earlier. Since there was not much photos, we'll be focusing on the food itself!

This have to be my favourite one, live prawns with 'Tang Hoon' noodles in soup. A very strong flavored dish, the prawns were fresh and the soup was awesome with black pepper seeds! I have always love soups cooked with black pepper seeds especially the ones bought from Sarawak as they are more fragrant than those factory manufactured powdered pepper. 

This is one dish that the Chinese believe is good for health. Terrapin cooked with ginger.

In case you don't know what is a terrapin, it's a labi-labi (in Malay). It's a freshwater turtle which is edible and it looks like..

This is one big giant size terrapin, probably for display purposes only as the ones cooked are usually small in size. Its meat gives you health benefits and a boost of collagen. I didn't dare to eat it but in the end I took one tiny weeny piece to try. The meat doesn't have any distinct smell like those in beef or mutton so it's still okay but the collagen part was a bit jelly like.

Their signature vegetable dish, giant water spinach (kangkung) according to my dad. This is also very nice, just that it could be improved by chopping the vegetables smaller in size as I feel like a goat while eating this.

Steamed chicken with minced ginger sauce. This one.. Yum yum! Love how they cooked the chicken, the meat was tender, soft and smooth while the minced ginger sauce was nicely mixed, it wasn't as spicy as expected. Very good for me as I'm not fond with ginger and garlic. With or without the sauce, it's still an awesome dish.

Last dish of the day, curry wild boar meat. The curry in this dish is also very fragrant and the meat is tender. Overall, a nice dish too.

I really enjoyed the whole dinner experience there as the place was quiet and very nature based while the food is just plain awesome. Their rice is served in buckets, one bucket is RM7.50. So make sure to tell them no rice if you're planning to just gulp on the dishes.

Location:

Restoran Wonderland Valley

Lot 926 - Kg Bukit Tinggi, 28750 Bentong, Pahang.

*Make sure to call up for booking on weekends because it might be full.

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Hope you enjoy reading this post.

Much loves, xoxo.

Food: Flat White, SS15

Last weekend, the boys wanted to go out for dinner and hang out a little since one of them is leaving back to NZ very soon. Supposed to have a balance of both genders but Ms Leow had to bail on the very last minute. We went to Burger Lab for dinner and it took us an hour to get there thanks to Mr T's good sense of direction. It was so chaotic in the car since he and Mr K were busy arguing. Here's a joke that happened while we were otw there.

Mr S: So, what is nice ah to eat at Burger Lab? I've never been there lah.

Me: Ask Mr T to intro lah since he's so fond with the place.

Mr T: I think you can have "Hangover".

Mr S: Hangover? But I don't plan to drink eh tonight.

*burst of laughter from me and Mr S*

No pictures are available for Burger Lab since we were all hungry monsters when the food arrived. Waited for a good 40minutes from the time we got there. After dinner, we decided to go to Flat White in SS15 since Mr T have to get his dose of caffeine and apparently their coffee is good.

When we first went up the stairs, I really like the murals on the walls that were greeting us, very cute and artsy.

Ordered Cappucino and one of their cakes, Strawberry Chocolate cake.

Overall experience:

Ambiance: 3.5 / 5

Quite small and packed but the decor is nice.

Food: 4 / 5

Coffee was good but the cake was pretty bad. The chocolate tasted cheap and the texture was gooey.

Price: 4 / 5

Standard cafe prices.

Not very keen to go back there but the coffee is pretty good. Probably would give it a second chance and try out some other cakes.

Much loves, xoxo.

Food: Cosans Coffee

Time really flies.. So fast it's another weekend and it's so close to CNY already! Have you done your shopping yet? I'm sure the shopping malls would be more crowded than usual with all the last minute shoppers, not to mention the jams and parking issues. The thought of it makes me lazy and don't want to leave the house (sloth mode on).

In case you didn't know yet, there's a new coffee house in Subang!

It just opened recently and they had a private event with invited fellow bloggers for a little food & coffee tasting. I didn't get a photo of the exterior as they were still setting up some lights and stuff (didn't want to kacau their work).

First impression when I stepped in, "Yup, I'm starting to like this place already even without tasting the food yet". I really like their interior space, it's all so simple yet cozy which makes you feel like you want to just enjoy your coffee and spend whole day reading some romantic novel there. Plus, their staffs were really friendly and welcoming (bonus points for them)!

Everyone's favorite, goody bags!

Credits to Serah @ http://viviryamarlavida.blogspot.com/

I was already starting to feel a little hungry when I got there and looking at this doesn't make things better.

Seems like they have already arranged them accordingly; salads for starter, sandwiches for main and cakes for dessert. They do have soups too! But they weren't serving soups that evening so I didn't get to try.

It was still early when we got there so we went around taking some photos.

The sofas were different but they complement each other well. Something different from the ordinary cafes which has same tables and chairs. I like really the posters hung around together with the mini spotlights, all adds to the vibe.
Oh, did I mention that the sofas are uber comfy to sit on too? 

Credits to Serah @ http://viviryamarlavida.blogspot.com

This spot would be awesome if you have a big group of people. Really love the big windows, can do some people watching while sipping a cuppa.

Their signature house blends; Equarre and Carreau.

Carreau has a fruitier and sweeter taste while Equarre is bitter and has a nutty taste. 

(read more about it here)

My pick: Carreau House Blend  ❤

Left: Cappucino
Right: Cosans Latte (one of the signatures)

Our drinks were free flow that evening, how nice of them!

Wide selection of drinks : coffee, frappe, tea, sodas, chocolate drinks and yogurt smoothies

I did not pick which beans I wanted for my coffee so the barista prep it for me. I tasted bitter and strong burnt taste then I added some sugar into it. It's better but the burnt taste lingers there. As for the Latte, it has the right balance of both coffee and milk while the level of sweetness is perfect even without sugar.

They serve their coffee with brown sugar ❤

We were served two of their sandwiches that evening; Asianese Roasted Chicken and Smoked Duckling.

Love the tender juicy chicken thighs, lemongrass and overall flavor but it would be better if there's a bit more chicken in it as I tasted more of the greens rather than a balance of both. I would also prefer if they ask the customers whether or not they want to have coriander in it. I know it's part of the recipe but I am a strong hater of coriander :(

Credits to Emily @ http://emilychoong.blogspot.com/

This is something that I would go for during my next visit there. Smoked duck with mozarella, arugula and tomatoes, how does that sound to you? Heaven! :D I definitely prefer this much more than the Asianese Roasted Chicken as the duck was good together with the cheese, everything seems to go perfectly well with each other. 

Blogging about it now makes me hungry.

My most anticipated session for the evening, a demonstration by their award winning barista on the two coffee brewing methods; Aeropress and Pour Over. You would never guess that preparing a good cuppa coffee requires tonnes of effort behind it.

CEO of Cosans Coffee, Mr Matthew introduced and thanked his staffs one by one for all of their hard work in making the cafe happened. In less than 3 months, they came up with everything from scratch, from the concepts, designs, all the way to the art of coffee. He also mentioned the meaning behind Cosans.

Co = Coffee, San = Sense, S = Social Responsibility

After that, they had a lucky draw session where 6 winners are picked. Too bad I wasn't in luck.

We continued to mingle around and have more drinks!

Credits to Emily @ http://emilychoong.blogspot.com/
From left: Carmen, Emily, Sandra, me and Serah 

Some of the fellow bloggers that we managed to take a photo with using Emily's camera! :D

I'm so happy to meet all of you lovelies ❤

The staff took a polaroid shot of us. Yay for the photo as Jessica and Jia Qi's in it! ❤

Try to spot us when you visit this cafe!

In each of our goody bag ...

❤ A bag of Carreau house blend (YAY!)

❤ Two packets of Dammann Fréres tea; Black tea and Chamomile herbal tea

❤ Two packets of Gryphon's artisan selection teas; Hanami (blend #152) and Lemon Ginger Mint (blend #212)

❤ A name card with the serial number for the earlier lucky draw session

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

My overall experience there was great, will definitely drop by again for a cuppa soon!

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For more info, you can visit their website or FB page.

Opening hours: 

10am - 12am (Sunday - Thursday)

10am - 2am (Friday & Saturday)

Address:

No 30 (Ground Floor), Jalan SS15/4, Subang Jaya

Tel : 03-5612 9600

Much loves, xoxo.