caffeinedoll

Kampachi @ Johor Premium Outlets

caffeinedoll — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:27:58 +0000

According to Kampachi, they are one of the top five Japanese restaurants in Malaysia, as noted by The Miele Guide To Asia’s Finest Restaurants for 2011/12. So, as we’re famished from walking around the premium outlets at Johor, we decided to treat ourselves to a big lunch!

My mom (the foodie) was telling me how my dad (the other foodie) used to always entertain his Japanese customers at Kampachi in Equatorial KL, which was THE place to be for fine japanese food back in the old days.

Previously, you can only sample their fare at Equatorial Hotels in KL, Penang, Putrajaya and Melaka. But now they have expanded to include restaurants in shopping malls like Pavillion and JPO (lucky us!)

Japanese Tea

I loved the understated deco of the restaurant, with a wall display of all their featured teas.

Special Green Tea

A special blend of green tea, recommended by the helpful staff, came served in this “kawaii” teapot. The tea was fragrant and flavourful.

Soft-shell Crab

Golden perfection. The crabs were fresh and had eggs in them!

Unagi

YUM! The meat was thick, the sauce divine and I just couldn’t stop eating it!

Seafood Fried Rice

This had ‘wok hei’. Amazing.

Nabeyaki Udon

No ramen, so I settled for this. Light and clear soup with yummy thick noodles. The highlight? Served with a tempura prawn and loads of crispy tempura bits.

Tempura prawn + crispy tempura flour bits

The highlight of the above-mentioned dish.

Seafood Tempura

Big prawns coated in a thin layer of tempura flour. *bliss*

Dad's Bento Set

I did not take note of what this bento set was called, but it’s great for lunch! Note the name of the restaurant that’s seared into the eggroll.

Chawanmushi

Fish egg lovers, prepare to enter heaven. Delicious!

Dorayaki

The waiters were going from table to table, asking customers if they wanted to try the dorayaki that’s fresh off the grill. Dad couldn’t resist. The red bean paste was smooth but a tad bit too sweet for my liking, but then again, that’s just me. Dad loved it! Wish they had served it with a scoop of green tea ice cream.

This lunch for 3 people came out to be approximately RM300. Pricey, but worth it. DH didn’t get to try this time, so I’ll be bringing him next time… maybe to the Pavillion outlet, cause I have nothing to buy at JPO.

Kampachi, Johor Premium Outlets
Address : Lot 506, Johor Premium Outlets, Jalan Premium Outlets, Indahpura, 81000 Kulaijaya, Johor Darul Takzim Malaysia
Tel : +60 7 590 9277
Business Hours : Daily 11am – 10pm

Joan Bowen Cafe @ Jalan Wangi, SG

caffeinedoll — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:07:34 +0000

We had our annual christmas lunch at Joan Bowen Cafe – a cafe that employs and trains youths with special needs so that they can develop healthy self-respect and hopefully contribute to society. You can read more about their good work here.

Their menu may not be extensive, but the food served is scrumptious! Plus, their desserts just blew me away!

The Menu & Environment

Was amused by the naming of their dishes like “Belly Dancer” and “The Duck Stops Here”. LOL

Their waitresses in action

Affogato

Expresso with a large scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream.

Belly Dancer

Threw my diet plans out the window for this strip of pork belly that had been slow-cooked for 8 hours and then pan-fried till the skin’s crispy. Beautiful!

Chilli Crab Pasta

SJ ordered this unusual dish and I had a bite. It was a bit too “fishy” for my taste but still had a good kick to it.

Alfredo Squid Ink Linguine with Prawns

BL ordered this. He said it was sinfully creamy! *mmmmm*

Below are some of the food my colleagues ordered.

Fish & Chips

Catch of the Day

And then, it was dessert time!

Oreo Cheesecake

The house specialty. It was served like a frozen block of ice cream straight from the freezer! I love the creamy texture of the cheesecake that contrasted nicely with the crunchy bits of oreo.

Brownie

For a chocoholic like me, this wins hands down. Moist, chewy and chocolatey inside with a crunchy caramelised layer of sugar on top, it really hits the spot.

Apple Crumble

This wasn’t as good as the others, due to the fact that the apple filling was not soft and sticky enough, but overall taste was still good.

Wonderful dishes, amazing desserts… there’s no excuse not to try it out at least once!

Joan Bowen Café
Address: 9 Jalan Wangi, Singapore 349354
Tel : +(65) 6281 3629
Business Hours :
Monday to Friday: 11am – 9.30pm
Saturday: 12pm – 9.30pm
Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays

The Han Room @ Gardens Mall, Mid Valley

caffeinedoll — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:23:03 +0000

Part of the Oriental Group of Restaurants, The Han Room is tucked in a quiet corner of the Gardens Mall where The Gardens Hotel & Residences is located. Once again, my parents the foodies brought us there for lunch. I swear that if my parents were food bloggers, they would be super famous by now. Sadly, they only have me, and my day job consumes my life on most days.

So, what’s good to eat here? HOKKEIN MEE! Yes, it has to be in caps, cause it’s that good. Besides that, fans of dim sum can also expect a variety of delicious fare here. At 1pm on christmas day, the restaurant was packed! The place is short on space, so our baby stroller had to be folded, and I had to eat with my daughter on my lap (she’s still too young to sit in a highchair)

Hokkein Mee

Incredibly, fantastically, amazingly good. Who cares about blocked arteries when something like this comes along? Must must must must try.

Chu Yao Char (Fried Pork Fat)

This divine plate of porky goodness accompanied the above-mentioned mouthwatering dish. I’ll detox later.

Siew Mai (dumpling stuffed with prawn and pork)

First bite? *Yum*… I want more!

Century Egg and Ginger Dumpling

According to the waiter, this is their speciality. I am not a fan of century egg so I gave this a miss. DH liked it though.

Fu Chuk Guin (meat wrapped in beancurd skin)

Good, but not fantastic.

Steamed Pork Ribs

Another good try but it was somewhat lacking…

Char Siew Pao (steamed buns with pork meat)

A must-have when DH has dim sum. The paos were small (similar to those in Singapore) but the filling was delicious!

Siew Yok (roasted pork belly)

Crispy skin and succulent meat. Only complaint? The layer of fat was way too thick.

Char Siew (grilled pork)

DH, a char siew lover, gave his thumbs up to this dish (and consumed most of it too!)

I cannot wait for my next trip back to KL so that I can eat those black noodles again.

The Han Room
Address: Lot G243,G246 &G247, Ground Floor, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 KL.
Tel: 03 – 2284 8833
Business Hours:
Mondays to Fridays
11.00 am – 11.00pm
Saturdays, Sundays & Public Holidays
10.30am – 11.00pm

CoCoICHIBANYA @ 313 Somerset, SG

caffeinedoll — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 04:00:22 +0000

We went to 313@Somerset for some seriously famous japanese curry during JY’s birthday. CoCoICHIBANYA has been in business since January 1978 and now have more than 1200 restaurants worldwide! They opened their first store in Singapore at the basement floor of 313@Somerset and we had to go and check it out. Besides, it was wonderful to have some stress relief after a tough couple of weeks at work!

The shop wasn’t impressive – nothing jumped out and said *special*. However on opening the menu, their marketing strategy was revealed. Anything and everything can be customised – from the amount of rice (250g is the standard) to the spiciness of the curry (level 0 to level 5) to customisable toppings for your curry (like corn, egg, bacon etc.) It was a novel experience and we had fun challenging each other to order the highest level of spiciness for the curry.

In the end I settled for a Pork Cutlet curry with Cheese, with the standard amount of rice and level 4 spiciness. I always find Japanese curry lacking that *spicy kick* so I was hoping that a hotter curry would satisfy my tastebuds. Nobody in my group wanted to try level 5. Only the two Malaysians (SJ and me) ordered level 4.

Tonkatsu (Pork Cutlet) Curry Rice with Cheese

Here’s my curry. They were really generous with the amount of curry sauce and I loved it. However I wished they had an option to put in a raw egg (like those we had in Tokyo) for it would really make the dish much much better. The menu has an omelette curry rice option but the dishes there are non-customisable so it wasn’t as “fun” to order.

Curry Rice with optional toppings

Additional toppings like corn, cheese, spinach and even clam comes in little dishes for you to pour onto your rice.

Sausage + Curry Rice

This is another variation of the curry. They have seafood curries as well as vegetable curries etc. There’s something there for everyone!

I thought that Level 4 spiciness was just right for me, though my Singaporean colleagues say that Level 2 is hot enough. Besides, there’s a bottle of spice there that you can add to your curry if you think it is lacking *oommmpphh*. So when in doubt, order the milder curry, then add more spices later. By the way, I found that 250g of rice was way too much for me so the next time I go, I will get the 150g of rice (with a $1 discount!). For the big eaters, each additional 100g of rice will cost you an extra $1.50.

Any excuse to have a good meal

Even writing this post now is making me salivate. Oh when will we have another excuse to go eat curry?

CoCoICHIBANYA Singapore
Address: 313 Orchard Road, #B3-25/27 313 @ Somerset, Singapore
Tel: +65 6636 7280

September Cooking Party

caffeinedoll — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 08:53:10 +0000

We had a crazy party at my boss’ house. The challenge for everyone is to cook an (edible) asian dish at his place. It was a day full of laughter and memorable moments where we bonded as a team.

THE RAW INGREDIENTS

We bought most of our stuff from the nearby supermarket and prepared them on-site.

THE PREPARATION & COOKING

When creatives are let loose in a kitchen, the results can be ohhh soooo surprising!

THE RESULT

Alright… not everything was home-made but most of us fulfilled the challenge and the food was amazingly good!

CHOW TIME

It was fun cooking and eating together! We have to do it again!

PLAYTIME

Right. Loads of Nerf gun play. These pics show the true colours of my interesting colleagues!

BEHIND THE SCENES
Photographer hard at work

Gianni’s Trattoria @ Johor Bahru

caffeinedoll — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 08:30:57 +0000

Sometimes when I think JB can’t surprise me anymore, I happily find myself being proven wrong! Good italian food (omfg) in a city dominated by a plethora of uninspiring asian eating outlets.

My adventurous parents (with lashings of help from the internet) discovered this place. First off, as you walk into the restaurant, one wall is papered with newspaper clippings of the famous chef & owner (Hans Durst). I saw Hyatt on Collins in Melbourne being one of the places he’s worked at and that was when I started paying attention. Melbourne has a prominent italian community and I used to live a stone’s throw away from Lygon St (italian foodie heaven). Loved all that pizza and pasta I had stuffed my face with there *omfg*. My thoughts were, if he has such experience, then the food ought to be more than passable (so jaded, I know!)

We went there for an early lunch (11.30am), way before the Sunday afternoon crowd appeared. Hans himself was sitting at a table drinking coffee and enjoying his newspaper. The atmosphere inside was pretty cozy, with throw cushions to lounge against as you tuck in to their fabulous offerings. Since we had the little one with us, I had no chance to scrutinise the menu and just ate whatever was placed in front of me, so the dishes may not be correctly named.

Bread + Olive Oil & Vinegar dip

Nice soft bread with a crunchy crust. DH had the time of his life pigging out on this one!

Mushroom Soup

The unappetising look of this is absolutely deceiving. It had a generous serving of mushrooms with a nice chunky texture to it. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had but it’s pretty close.

Calamari and Prawn fritters

The addition of prawns to the usual calamari fritters provided that extra crunch that made this an interesting dish. *Yum*

Fettucine with ham

Very very creamy (oddly similar to those I’ve tasted before in Perth), but there wasn’t anything else going for it. I suppose I am awfully choosy about my pasta. BTW, the serving is pretty large. The dish is shaped like a bowl so there’s more pasta hidden away from view.

Grilled fish

This was a respectable, juicy fillet.

Pizza

If you like your crusts thin and crispy, order this. It had a nice thick layer of cheese and that won me over

Lamb (it is not the lamb shank... just look for the most expensive lamb dish on the menu)

This was the highlight of my meal. They messed up the order (serving us the lambshank instead of this one) so we had to wait quite a bit before this was served. But was the wait worthwhile? Hell, yeah.

tiramisu that is to-die-for

I have no idea what a “real” tiramisu ought to taste like but this as a dessert is to-die-for. Good balance of sweetness and bitterness, my husband kept raving about it days after our meal.

macchiato

Ordered a coffee but it came even before the soup and starters so by the time I got around to ending the meal with it, it was horribly cold. *sigh*

The food was good, the prices were high (around RM300++ for all this), and the waiters needed to relax more and learn to crack a smile sometimes. But I will go back again if I’m stuck in JB and craving Italian food.

Address:No. 110, Jalan Serampang, Taman Pelangi, 80400, Johor Bahru
Tel: 07 – 3312 230

Ayukawa Japanese Buffet @ Sutera, JB

caffeinedoll — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 06:26:54 +0000

We brought the LO out during the Hari Raya holidays and ended up in Tmn Sutera Utama, JB. This place is a hot spot with loads of food outlets, situated just beside Sutera Mall. We originally wanted to eat at Nijyumaru but it was full (could never get a place there without prior booking >.<) so we entered this place instead.

It was a buffet but there's no tables groaning with mountains of food anywhere. You're given an extensive menu and little pieces of paper whereby you're expected to write down your order and they will bring the food out. You get up only to get drinks, and some fried stuff (fried rice, sausages etc.)... oh and for ice cream :p I had no expectations whatsoever so it was a pleasant surprise to find that some of their food are actually pretty good.

Grilled Lamb

A Must-Try. Beautifully marinated *yum*

Chicken Teppanyaki

Another good dish, would have been heaven if paired with good garlic rice (but theirs are not up to standard because they did not use japanese rice… *bah*)

Grilled Pork Shoulder

You can see how good this is when there were only two left on the plate before I remembered to take a picture of it! Very oily too, but wtf I’ve been deprived since I had my LO.

California Rolls

I wish they had more filling in theirs, other than that it’s alright.

Gyoza

Kinsahi does this better, but for buffet quality it’s good enough.

Unagi Rolls

They didn’t have unagi alone, so we had to order this one. Acceptable, though I wish the sauce was better.

Char Siew Udon in Miso Soup

The char siew was really tough, and thick >.< No melt-in-your-mouth goodness. I only ate this cause I wanted some hot soupy stuff.

Scallops with tomato and cheese topping

If you like the taste of pizza, you’d like this

Tempura Prawns

DH’s fav. He polished off two plates by himself. Nothing fantastic, but it’s an expected dish to have at japanese buffets.

Sesame Tofu

Never, ever order this. Or any other tofu dish. Done Agedashi tofu-style, with the tofu coated in sesame rather than corn flour, i found that their dashi extremely *yucky*. Couldn’t stomach it at all.

Some hits, some misses. There may be more gems buried in that multi-paged menu but we didn’t stay long enough to try more of their food since LO needed our attention.

Ayukawa Japanese Buffet Restaurant
Address: 101-103，Jalan Sutera Tanjung, Taman Sutera Utama, Johor Bahru, Johor.
Tel: 07 – 5583 202 / 016 – 7733 701

Opening Hours:
Monday – Friday
Lunch 12pm – 3pm (RM38)
Dinner 6pm – 10.30pm (RM55)

Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays
Lunch & Dinner (RM55)
Special Discount for senior citizens (55 yrs and above)

Back To Work

caffeinedoll — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 03:12:13 +0000

My life after giving birth has changed, no more freedom to go out at the drop of a hat, sleepless nights and endless diaper changes…yet some things remain the same… like work :p

The Little One

I’m back at work now after a hiatus of 3 months plus. It’s hard because I am critically sleep-deprived all the time and I have to force myself to get back into work-mode. Sometimes I find my mind drifting off wondering whether she’s ok? Is she’s eating / sleeping well? My mom is now helping me take care of the LO but in a week or so I’ll be placing her with the nanny during the day. I do so hope everything will be alright.

U-Village @ Sungei Wang Plaza, KL

caffeinedoll — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 12:02:20 +0000

Have been frequenting this place since DH and me were still dating… *gosh* umpteen years ago! The food served here is inspired by Hong Kong char chan tengs. During our most recent visit there, we were surprised to find it jam-packed!

The menu was extensive with loads of choices but I guess it was wanton mee day for DH and I. He had it dry and I had the soup version.

Scrumptious char siew... *mmmm*

The noodles were alright but what made this dish good was the beautifully roasted char siew

wanton mee soup

After all the icky versions of wanton mee soup I’ve had in SG, this had a ‘welcome home to kl’ feeling to it.

Their teas are also good, albeit on the sweet side. DH prefers the HK style tea or the “Ying Yong” (a mixture of tea and coffee). They were having a promotion then – unlimited refills of the tea. *sugar rush*

U-Village is a very casual dining place that serves pretty decent food but don’t expect much in terms of service from the staff. Trying to catch the eye of a waiter is nigh impossible… plus there are inconsiderate people smoking when “no-smoking” signs were placed throughout the air-conditioned restaurant. *sigh*

U-Village Restaurant Sdn. Bhd.
Address :LB-R1 Sungei Wang Plaza, 50250 KL
Tel : 03 – 2148 9686

Hello 2011

caffeinedoll — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:43:11 +0000

It’s been many months since I wrote anything on this blog. I’ve been busy… *baking* There’s a bun in my oven and it’s at 18 weeks now and counting! After a hellish 10 weeks of morning sickness, I’m almost sane again.

Now don’t let the term “morning sickness” fool you, I had it all day and all night! Even the smell of food can have me running to the loo. And with the hormones going haywire, thank goodness DH was there to support me through all the tears and retching.

As I slowly recovered from the hormone surge, I find that my love for food still exists… but I’m now forced to make each calorie count thus ensuring that I do not gain too much weight and the babe get the best nutrients it possibly can. I’ll still indulge once in a while for I won’t be able to resist!