Clarissane reviews: Free Mori Bakery & Cafe @ Publika, Solaris

There’s a new bakery in town! From breads, pastries and cakes… a carb-laden haven!


One of their specialty and best-seller, the Layered Bun.


Meant to be peeled layer by layer and eaten fresh. With its soft, fluffy texture… every bread lovers dream! Taste a bit plain on its own, spread some peanut butter or nutella and voila!


The Parmesan Chicken Ham Bun was delicious! Just a hint of cheese on the bun wrapping a thin layer of ham, this is the perfect morning pick-me-up and will keep you going till lunch.

This Chicken Floss bun was my favourite among the lot! Generous amount of chicken floss buried beneath the bun, layer by layer.. every bite was heavenly!

Being an avid bread lover.. I’m in heaven already!


Their Coffee Cake is definitely worth a mention. Past few visits render a repeat of this item on my list. Subtle hint of bitterness with the right combination of sweetness makes it not overly empowering. Goes very well with their famous La Petite Free Coffee! Absolutely satisfying!

Address:
G2 - 67, Publika, Solaris Dutamas,
Jalan Dutamas 1,
50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Map *here*

Free Mori also has branches in SS2, Damansara Utama, SS15 and the most recent one in Taman Danau Desa.

Clarissane reviews: Suki-Ya & En Ginza Café, Tokyo Street Pavilion KL

A way overdue post, I’ve finally stop my procrastination. I am back!

Blogospheres spotted all around have many reviews about the still-quite new Tokyo Street in Pavilion KL which opened mid this year. I’ve read all the rave about Santouka Ramen (which Ronnycakes & Wils have reviewed) and the new Café Takahashi that I’ve both yet to try! Haven’t been there for a while now.. my food trips have been very rare these days sigh!

Anyways, if you are a fan of Shabu Shabu and Sukiyaki (like me!!) and cannot get enough of it, this is the place for you. Priced reasonably at RM 29.90++ for lunch (different prices for dinner) it’s an eat-all-you-can… literally eat till you drop.

Limitless amount of meat is made to order with beef, lamb and chicken for you to choose. I of course stuck to my usual beef. The lamb slices for that day were not available for some reason with the chicken slices being the usual.

Choose from three choices of soup: Sukiyaki, Shabu Shabu or Kimchi. I went for the Shabu Shabu and Kimchi. Needless to say, the shabu shabu was delicious but the kimchi was mediocre.. could do much better with more seasoning and taste.

Wide variety of vegetables, mushrooms and beancurd with some fishballs thrown in as well.. makes for a balanced meal.

Side orders are available as well like the above Shrimp Tempura (another crowd favourite!).

Different people have different ways of eating shabu shabu. Some just dump everything in (like the Japanese, and apparently this is the way to eat it) but I prefer dipping the meat into the hot soup, simmer for a few seconds till its half-cooked and voila, ready to eat with just the right texture and juiciness.. ahh heavenly!

Finish the meal by adding an egg, vegetables and noodles into the soup that has been used to cook the meat.. and you get a very VERY tasty meal with all the flavour leftover from the meat. Typical case of saving the best for the last! ;)

Now I know where to get my fix of limitless beef slices! Oh, and they do have desserts as well.. chocolate or green tea ice-cream.. a perfect way to end your meal!

En Ginza Café, another Japanese inspired outlet is great for chilling out sessions with the girlfriends over a cup of coffee. My cappuccino was nice, frothy and thick with the perfect taste of being sweet and bitter at the same time.. just how I like my coffee to be.

The Ice-Blended Green Tea was something out of the ordinary.. I found it a little too milky for my liking though, but if you’re a big fan of green tea and love milk.. I’m pretty sure you would enjoy this.

And of course, a café would be incomplete without the usual buns and pastries. I’m not sure if this is how Japanese breads are supposed to taste like but I found the bread texture dry and hard. A personal preference, I prefer my breads soft and fluffy :D

I would probably come back for their coffee and ambience but I’ll definitely give their buns a miss. They do serve hot main meals as well.

P/S: Forgive me for the not-so-clear photos.. haven’t downloaded a good photo-editing software since my old laptop got stolen. I promise better photos in my upcoming posts! :)

Address:
Suki-Ya and En Ginza Café,
Level 6, Tokyo Street,
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.

Wils reviews: Bing! Coffee @ Padungan Road, Kuching

Tired of the mainstream coffeehouse chains such as Starbucks and Coffee Bean? Caring to try something different and in the vicinity of the Sarawak capital? Introducing Bing! Coffee, where java fixes are made, massive selection of fine gourmet coffee, a long line of homemade pastries and salivating snacks.

You won’t miss it because almost everyone in Kuching knows about this highly raved spot. From checking in to sit back to take a breather, sipping on a fine cuppa to simply looking for a WI-FI spot, you will not feel out of place one bit.

What you will first notice is the cosy ambience and simple interior design, with the freezing air conditioning that makes you want to daze the day away especially when coming from a scorching outdoor.Tidy and clean to the core is another trait you will take notice, something hard to find in most of the coffeehouse outlets these days.

I was there in the afternoon with some local friends after strolling along the lake and garden so it comes to no surprise that I had my eye on something chilled to quench that thirst and heat anxiety. Thought I gave the Iced Caramel Macchiato a try since I’m a pretty huge fan of the one sold at Starbucks and to my surprise, it tasted better because of the right caramelised flavour to espresso ratio toped by whipped cream with honey. At slightly above RM11.00, its a cheaper alternative to its direct competitors too.

 

A classy and contemporary coffeehouse as such would not be complete without a signature dessert. The Brownie with Whipped Cream and Chocolate Sauce fits the bill in that department. What I loved most was that the hot chocolate sauce covering the brownie have the same essence of flavour and that it wasn’t too sweet. When taking a bite accompanied with the whipped cream, I was in cloud nine.

Impressed by its signature dessert, I was not satisfied to leave before trying its adoringly looking Chocolate Muffin. As you can see, it is indeed a good-looker but what comes from the inside might disappoint you a little depending on your taste bud's preferences. I found that it lacked a bit of sugar and the chocolaty flavour that was suppose to keep me wanting more was non-existent. On the other hand, it does come in a pretty big price tag too at RM6.00.

Despite it being the only minor disappointment, I was thoroughly pleased for the most part with my experience there. Confined in an ambience as such with unrivalled cleanliness, friendly baristas and quenching brews and mouth watering desserts, there’s really not much you can ask for. In some ways, it is an upgrade from the likes of Starbucks and Coffee Bean not only on the basis of those factors but also especially when money is of the essence.

Address:
84, Jalan Padungan
93100 Kuching, Sarawak
Malaysia

Map *here*

ronnycakes reviews: Starbucks’ Cake Pop

Starbucks has recently revamped its logo (if you haven’t noticed already) and all of the mugs or cups that I own from Starbucks may now be considered “special edition” since they no longer produce cups with that logo anymore. :P
Maybe 50 years from now it’ll be worth a fortune as a vintage teacup? :P

Anyway, Starbucks has recently come up with a new range of desserts: mainly the Cake Pop (cake on a stick) and mini cupcakes. Haven’t had a chance to try the mini cupcakes yet, but I was quite excited to try out the Cake Pop (as mentioned before I have a very large sweet tooth *toothy grin*) since I’m a great fan of Starbucks’ desserts. :D

The Birthday Cake Pop looks a bit creepy to me… all that pink icing can’t be good. Since I love all things chocolate-y, I opted for the Rock n Roll Cake Pop instead. These things don’t come cheap at RM6 per stick! :O

Accidentally cracked the chocolate coating when I removed it from the plastic wrapping. :(
The cake pop is simple enough, a ball of moist cake coated in milk chocolate and topped with ground hazelnuts and bits of marshmallows. The cake itself is rather large, slightly larger than the size of a ping-pong ball and pretty heavy as well.

A lot of people complained it was really sweet, but for me I thought it was just right and not too sweet. The cake was incredibly moist, too moist in my opinion as it started to become a little chewy and got stuck between one’s teeth. Also, there was not enough topping and I could barely taste the marshmallow.

Slightly disappointing, taking into account the fact that it was quite expensive but failed to deliver. However, have to give them credit for coming up with something so cute!

Their new Hot Cocoa Cappucino (RM11.50 tall-size) didn’t disappoint me, however! Very aromatic and if you’re caffeine intolerant like me, ask for decaf which apparently is less sweet than the normal version. :)

If I’m feeling in the mood I’ll definitely be back to try the mini cupcakes. :)
Did I mention that the Peanut Butter Crème Cake and Chocolate Tuxedo is really good? Also, the hot chocolate is amazing as well. Recommended by Clarissane. ;)

Address
F352 ,First Floor
1 Utama

Map *here*