"Me" Time in Krabi - Day 1

I have always been dreaming of traveling alone, spend some quality time with myself. And I am finally doing it now in Krabi !

Touched down. Checked in to hotel. and while I was looking for some food to fill up my tummy, I stumbled onto this :

A humble little store set up along Aonang street, for cocktail take away!! How cool can this be??
Needless to say, I “tar pau” my first drink in Aonang – Long Island tea. Going for only 100baht for all cocktail, I was half expecting the drink to be a diluted one. But it ended up not so watery after all. Though it is not the best Long Island I ever had, I have been sipping away happily… with empty stomach. Bad. I know..

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ok. I am a “Jakun”. There are more "cocktail take-away” from convenient stores along Aonang. And 100baht is not the cheapest cocktail on the street. Some restaurants are offering 99baht.

Still.... I like my take-away! :-D

I am now seriously thinking of having a margarita take-away tomorrow morning to Phra Nang beach : sun-bathing with a good book and sipping some margarita..... what more can I ask for?? just need to cross finger that they open early in the morning.. hehe

A Cuppa BAD ASS Coffee please...

I have been hearing about Mei bragging on her Badasss coffee for some time. I was not very eager to try as i am not really a coffee person. But the coffee addict had been promoting it strongly. (her office is just nearby... so she is trying to get her "BadASS~~!!" as often as she can)

One not-so-fine day, i was feeling down for no reason, mind was wandering while driving to office (no 13th month salary, of course no mood la....) and i was passing-by Tropicana Mall. An idea stroke me " let's fix my badass mood with some badass coffee....." So i made a last minute turn into the carpark.

I was greeted with a cheerful "ALOHA~~" from the bartenders and lively Hawaiian music. The decor was also very Hawaiian feel with surfboard as menu, and beaches and their mascot - Donkey!

If i was being my normal self, i would have ordered "ice-blended", but i was not. I ordered HOT Jitter juice, one of their 7 flavors of mocha. Dark chocolate and irish cream sounded just the drink i might need to boost my energy.

While waiting for my drink, i was browsing through their menu and this statement caught my eyes :

"The native people of Kona, Hawaii, remember the days of the "Bad Ass Ones". The bellows of the donkeys could be heard echoing through the mountaints as they hauled the heavy loads of coffee up and down the mountainsides. In honor of these hard working donkeys, we named our coffee company. The legend of the Kona nightingale lives on right here at the Bad Ass Coffee Company"

soh des kar...!! Bad Ass in honor of the donkeys....

100% Kona bean is used in Bad Ass coffee (now that i know the origin of the name, i shall mention it with more respect). Kona coffee has been classified as one of the world best coffee. Only coffee beans produced in the Kona districts can be legally described as "Kona Coffee". What makes Kona coffee so precious? Why is Kona coffee one of the most expensive and sought-after coffee in the world? Lady Kathy has no answer to that because Lady Kathy is no professional coffee drinker.

But if you ask me how is my cup of Jitter Juice? It is robust and aromatic and creamy and rich and the full-bodied froth is just like icing on the cake!!

I have been saved from a hellish morning to paradise! And yes, it is as orgasmic a drink as Mei claimed. And yes, i have been converted from a non-coffee drinker to a coffee lover~~! a Bad Ass Coffee lover, that's it...

Rating :

Ambiance : 4.5/5

Service : 4.5/5

Price : 4/5

RM 12.50 for a 12oz drink, and RM13.50 for 16oz, RM16.50 for 20oz of any of their flavored mocha.

Taste : 4.5/5

Recommendation :

I've since tried Snickerlicious (dark choc + caramel + hazelnut) and Monkey Mocha (dark choc + banana) and i still like Jitter Juice the best. I shall try on Bad Ass Mocha (white choc+ dark choc) on my next visit... or shall i just stick to my Jitter...? mmh....

Location :

Ground Floor of Tropicana City Mall, near San Francisco Steakhouse.

**Correction : Flavored mocha is not of 100% Kona coffee, but a "Kona blend" which consist of only 10% of kona coffee and mixed with other beans from Colombia and Brazil. maybe i should try their 100%  blend the next visit eh?

Berlin Biergarten, Solaris

Spotted this drinking place few months ago, and had promised  myself to check this place out.

Situated in SohoKL, Solaris above Haagen Dazs, this biergarten featured a relaxing ambiance with bar stools arranged along the corridor for al fresco drinking and traditional dining tables and chair at their dining room.

Although as suggested from its name - Berlin Biergarten, this place serves more than just German bier, but German cuisine too!! We just had a very fulfilling dinner and was just hoping in for a couple of drink, so the food will have to wait for the next visit.

Out of curiosity however, i did check out on their food menu. The menu is simple but sufficient one, covering most of German signature dishes such as pork knuckle, Bratwurst, et cetera... As a pork lover, i was ecstatic !! Another porky place to hang out!! hehee...

Berlin Biergarten carries several brands in bottle as well as in draught : Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr and Thurn and Taxis.

They were out of stock for all range of Hacker-Pschorr on the night we were there so i took up the waitress' suggestion for Paulaner Oktoberfeastbier, which served only during the month of October. Light-bodied, the beir is smooth and malty. Stress of the week was flushed down with gulps of cold, well-brewed bier..

A great place to hangout with girlfriends gossiping and having fun!

Rating :

Ambiance : 4/5

Service : 4/5

Price : 4/5

RM19.50 for a half pint, and RM28 for 1 pint

Taste : 4/5

Recommendation :

All the beer!! I personally love Hacker-Pschorr, for it has the lingering fruity taste. Hope they have stocked up on my next visit. And the food menu looks promising too...

Soho KL Lot J-01-04, Solaris Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-6203 0958.

Business hours: 11am to 11pm daily (until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays).

Italian Dinner @ Nero Fico

October is a feasting month for us. First, is the octoberfest which we never want to miss a single weekend without drowning ourselves with german beer... and of course a celebrating month for the 3 2 october babies in our group : MeiMei the Stalker, Ah Fun the Snowflakes and Ah Kong the Shit-Stirrer. okie, kong is sept baby. but we postponed the celebration to oct...

We had a 3-in-1 Italian celebration at NeroFico, another new outlet from the Nero group.

Situated at Wisma Perintis in Jalan Dungun, Damansara Height, Nero Fico adapts a cozy atmosphere perfect for all ocassions. Be it a romantic dinner or a relaxing dinner with friends and clients.

As soon as we are seated and settled down, fresh-from-oven homemade bread is served together with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

To start the night, we ordered some starter for sharing:

Insalata di asparagi -  RM 24

First up, Insalata di asparagi - baked asparagus with parmesan cheese gratin, topped with fried quail eggs and wild rocket then season with aged balsamic vinegar. Presentation is kinda cute, with mini quail eggs on top. Taste wise, there is not much different from any sunny side ups. Asparagus and rocket is fresh and crunchy. Though it mentioned that the asparagus is baked with parmesan cheese gratin, I couldnt detect much of parmesan or any cheesy taste. And i would prefer more balsamic for the salad. 

Nero Fico caprese - RM 32

We are just a bunch of cheese-lover, especially buffalo mozzarella. So Nerofico caprese which consist of buffalo mozzarella and fresh tomatoes with  lettuce and basil, we just cant resist to order it. As oppose to the asparagus salad, i personally prefer this : refreshing and appetizing. And of course, the melt-in-your-mouth buffalo mozzarella cheese is as usual, heavenly moist and rich.

Since there are 6 females and 1 male hungry gluttons of us, we ordered one sharing of Nero's famous wood-fired pizza.

Pizza Quattro Stagioni - RM 32

Pizza Quattro Stagioni, a 4-in-1 pizza with 4 favours in each quarter : turkey ham, beef pepperoni, wild mushrooms and artichoke. The crust is all a good italian pizza should be : thin, crunchy and yeasty. It is so good that it was just not enough to feed all 7 of us. We were considering of ordering another serving, but sensibility took over our greedy heart (thank god!) as we would like to save some tummy-space for dessert later.

We came to NeroFico mainly for their Italian pasta. And yes, we ordered almost half of their pasta menu:

Spaghetti Oglio - RM 22

The simplest pasta in the menu, but surprisingly one of the best aglio olio i've tasted. Pasta was cooked to the right texture, and tossed with the perfect amount of olive oil, garlic and chillis. Tastebud is being teased with a tad of spiciness, making you wanting for more..

Fresh Tortelli - RM 30

Freshly made tortelli stuffed with wild mushroom in butter and thyme sauce is beautifully topped with a thin slab of foie gras. The pasta was cooked al-dente. One bite and the juice of mushrooms gushing into your mouth.. yum!

 Homemade ravioli - RM 26

Almost similar to tortelli (can someone enlighten me the differences of tortelli and ravioli??), this one is stuffed with flakes of crabmeat and served with fresh clam. Crabmeat is juicy, while clam is plump and firm. The bisque sauce is light but flavorful. If the mushroom stuffed tortelli is being described as passionate, wild love; then ravioli is gentle, yet intensely intimate love. Both bring you to the peak of orgasm!

Spaghetti al Nero - RM 38

Came as a wonderful surprise. Squid ink spaghetti served with fresh seafood in tomato and bisque sauce. All the taste of sea in a mouthful, as if the chef just brought you out sailing.

Homemade Bigoli - RM 22

Extruded pasta in tube form is firm and springy, which reminds me of korean teakbokki / rice cake. Served with duck ragout and rosemary, this dish brings you all the way to Italy countryside, in a lovely cottage enjoying a hearty bowl of bigoli.

Linguine ai gamberi - RM 34

Served with fresh, huge tiger prawns and rocket in light tomato sauce. The sauce is tangy and appetizing. Although i do enjoy this dish as much as the others, it is by far the plainest, most unimaginative dish, as compared to the other pasta. Perhaps, my expectation had been upped to a thousands after tasting the others.

We were stuffed by the time we finished our pasta. Instead of admitting to our deteriorating stamina (age is catching up and our stamina is not as good as before), we insist of ordering some dessert for sharing. After all, how can a dinner be complete without dessert, rite???

MeiMei and Ah Fun each ordered a scoop of ginger gelati and stracciatella gelati.

From left : Ginger gelati, Stracciatella gelati - RM 8 per scoop

Ginger gelati was out of the world : smooth and creamy and gingery. As for the stracciatella gelati, MeiMei polished off within minutes, before we get to sample it. According to Mei, the one and only who had tried the said gelati, there is not much chocolate chips as it should be, but more like a vanilla gelati. Enough said, she must have loved it so much that she forgot to share... :P

Lemon tart meringue - RM 22

This came highly recommended by one of the waiter. A spoonful of thick, luscious lemon custard, meringue and shortcrust pastry, plus a dollop of vanilla gelati and mascarpone cheese is simply a match made in heaven.

Nero Fico Tiramisu - RM 22

Warm chocolate soft center - RM 26

Tiramisu and chocolate cake however, is below par. There is not enough coffee liquor in tiramisu, and although is palatable, it does not leave any significant taste.

The chocolate cake is supposely to be one of Nero Fico's best selling dessert. I was expecting molten chocolate oozing out from the center of the cake, just like the one i had in Cafe Cafe, but not. The texture is a bit too dry to my liking too.

With a slight miss on dessert, we did have fun riding on an orgasmic tour to the gastronomy world of Italy.

Rating :


Ambiance : 5/5


Service :4.5/5


Price : 4/5
Total bill for a dinner of 7, without alcohol drink is RM466.20. For good quality italian food and classy ambiance, the price is consider reasonable, dont you think? However, i do think that the price for alcohol is at the higher side. And the collection of wine is lack of middle range.


Taste : 4.5/5
Nero is definitely THE brand for good Italian pasta and pizza in KL


Recommendation :
Ravioli is my favourite of all, so is the seafood spaghetti al Nero, and the pizza. In fact, i have not come across any pasta that i do not fancy at all from the Nero group... Try also their cold cut counter for some fresh cheeses.

Contact :
Ground Floor, Wisma Perintis, 47 Jalan Dungun, Damansara Heights
Tel : 03-20895312
Fax: 03-20895312
Email: info@nerofico.com

Opening hours : noon - midnight daily,
                             6.00pm - midnight on saturdays

Map :

I WANT DONUTS

Am in office whole day long : "refreshing-training"... meeting... and meeting.. and meeting..................

My body is stiff, my soul is wandering... and worse of all, i have a craving. I WANT DONUTS !!!!!

FLUFFY, SOFT DONUTS WITH SUGAR GLAZED TOPPINGS!!
 be it Jco or Big Apple or Krispy Kreme. the sweeter the better.

photo courtesy of google.com

I WANT DONUTS~~~!!!

Confession of A Korea-holic

I am crazy about anything and everything Korea, so much so that i think i am all ready to marry a korean already.

To start, I have to confess that I am a K-drama addict. I watch comedy romance drama till the wee hours, almost every night..

photos courtesy of dramawiki.com

And of course, who dont love the korean men???? tall, dark and muscular......... *drool*

photos courtesy of dramawiki.com and google.com

I am constantly craving for korean food : Kimchii jiggae, soodonbu jiggae, taebokki, korean bbq, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera...

Then, there is korean drink too : the refreshing barley rice drink which served after meal,

and cheap alcohol : soju (RM12 at Lotte Mart and around RM20+ at korean restaurant), bokbunjajoo / korean blackberry wine (RM25 at Lotte Mart, or around RM40+ at korean restaurant)..

You see, cheap food, cheap drink, addictive drama, and handsome korean hunk... who cant fall in love with Korea, rite??

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I was searching for some korean recipe one day and came across the recipe for Yogurt Soju here, i decided to try out. So out i go to grab some Soju from Lotte Mart, Vitagen and Sprite from 7-11, and mix one part of everything.

Ta~daaa~~~~~!!

A refreshing yogurt soju, which taste like carbonated-yakult with hint of soju. So easy to drink that i tossed down the whole glass in an instant!!

Now i need to mix a 2nd glass.... *hic*

Claypot Lunch @ Kien Kee Restaurant, Serdang

Last public holiday, I brought my parents and Clare to Kien Kee for claypot lunch.

In order to enjoy your lunch more comfortably in the air-con room, you ne ed to pay extra RM2, which i do not mind at all.
Hey, you know how hot malaysia weather is lah... some more want to drink spicy soup wor... no air-con want to die mer....

We ordered  fah tiu kai (chicken in chinese rice wine), lat tong (hot pepper soup), blanched chinese cabbage and steamed beancurd.

The soup is packed with chicken, stripes of pork and a bucket of guts. It was still boiling hot when served. Very peppery but with an aftermath of sweetness lingering in your throat. Very tummy warming. Especially during rainy days. Best if served during winter... Unfortunately, this is Malaysia. Summer whole year round... so now you understand why i insist to be seated in the air-con room eh?

Fah tiu chicken is cooked to perfection with thick soy sauce and chinese fah tiu wine. Free-range chicken meat is firm and tender. The thick gravy has only slight hint of fah tiu wine teasing the tip of your tongue, making it almost impossible to stop yourself from wanting more rice...

The two side dishes, blanched chinese cabbage and beancurd complimented our meal well. Veggie is crispy while beancurd is smooth and refreshing.

All in all, it was a satisfying lunch. Worth every minutes of lost sleep (eh, i woke up before 11am on a holiday ler...)

Ratings :

Ambiance : 2/5

Service : 3.5/5

Price : 4/5

Total bill for lunch was less than RM50, including drinks.

Taste : 4/5

Recommendation :

Fah tiu kai and lat tong. Am not a big fan of wong chow kai (drunken chicken) but alot of diner order that too.

Business hour Tuesday to Sunday, 9.30am to 3.00pm

Closes every Monday

Contact : 012-350 990, 012-254 9822

Address and Map :

Jalan Sk 10/2, Seri Kembangan

GPS Coordinate :

N3 01.330

E101 42.292

Famous Fish Head Noodle @ Goon Wah Restaurant

Since the first day i tried Goon Wah, I have been dying to bring my parents here, but they opens only on weeekdays. So during the previous Raya holiday, I finally had the chance!

On the 2nd day of Raya, I woke up early (10 am IS early for me on holidays, ok...) and got ready for my fish head noodle. I wanted to be there early so i can get better seating, but as we were there around 11 plus, there were already crowd queueing for seats and i had hard time getting a parking space!! arghhh~~ arent they out of town holidaying in other states?? dont they need to balik kampung?? why are they up so early on a holiday???

Anyway, we needn't wait too long to get a seat near the kitchen. And as soon as we were seated, orders were fired up!

"Fish head noodle is a must! fried rice good too... eh, want to try nyonya fried noodle too??"

"jie~~ that  kau york looks good tooo....." Clare's saliva was dripping everywhere eyeing on the stewed pork from other diners.... bla bla bla....

To start, we ordered each tong sui of the day, fu chok yee mai (bean curd skin with barley and ginkgo), which tasted fine with just enough sweetness and smoothness.

First came our MAIN highlight of lunch : fish head noodle. (RM22 for a big serving)

The cook was very generous with the fish : fresh, chunky and meaty. I dont think they added milk to the broth, as it is not the creamy type. The milky-coloured broth was results from long hours of stewing with fish bones. It is sweet with a tad of sourness from tomatoes and pickled veggie. Light aroma of chillis added more body to the broth. Yam was added, just like the penang style. The noodle was cooked just right to the bite. 

Fried rice came next. Crispy little anchovies, thinly sliced long beans, eggs and small chunks of char siew - simple ingredients created this heavenly fried rice. Every single individual grain of fluffy rice was cooked al-dente.

Then came the 2 side dishes : Marmite Fried Chicken Wing and Kau Yok (stewed pork with yam).

The chicken wing was finger-licking-good, but nothing special than any marmite chicken wing served elsewhere. As for the kau yok, the meat was too dry and tough to bite while yam was too mashy. It was the one dish i do not fancy.

We polished up the fish head noodle and fried rice, and while our tummy was protesting when we stuffed ourselves with the two side dishes, Nyonya Fried Noodle was served. Damn.... i was being too ambitious when ordering or what..?

I managed to had a bite of the noodle, before decided to have it take away. Noodle was firm and tasted slight spiciness from the dried chillis. If only we had bigger stomach, we would have polish this dish too...

Rating :

Ambience : 3/5

Service : 4/5

Price : 4/5
Total bill for a big serving of fish head noodle, individual serving of both Nyonya noodle and fried rice, chicken wings and kau yok was RM65.40 for 4 diners, included fuk chok tong sui

Taste : 5/5

Recommendation :
Fish head noodle, definitely. Fried rice and nyonya fried noodle is worth trying too.

Opens 9.30am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday. Closes on Saturday and Sunday.

Map :