ronnycakes reviews: Basix Cafe, West Hollywood, Los Angeles

When I was doing my research for places to visit and eat before our LA trip, I came across Basix Cafe which was highly rated and calls itself a West Hollywood tradition that is a favourite with the locals. Located on a corner lot of 8333 Santa Monica Boulevard, Basix’s menu boasts a large selection of breakfast offerings, from power breakfasts to muffins and buttermilk pancakes. The lunch menu is extensive as well, with interesting sounding pizzas, sandwiches and pastas.

We arrived at the Cafe at around 12.30pm and already the inside was packed to the brim. Luckily for al fresco seating and for outdoor heaters as the chilly wind almost froze our socks off.

The Tuscan Tomato Bread Soup (US$6.50 per bowl) was a slow-simmered thick broth with ripe tomatoes, basil, rosemary croutons and a parmesan cheese crisp. Certainly tangy and refreshing.

The Chicken Tequila Pasta (US$12.50) was a hit; fettuccini with red & green peppers, red onion, cilantro and a jalapeno cream sauce. The cream wasn’t overpowering and you could really taste the tequila in the sauce.

 
For an additional US$2.50, you can add a mini Caesar salad to your meal.

Chicken & Sundried Tomato-Pesto Fettuccini (US$12.50), chicken breast & sauteed mushrooms with a tomato-pesto cream sauce.

The Turkey Club (US$11), applewood smoked bacon (yummers!), bibb lettuce, tomato, avocado, mayo and house-roasted turkey on toasted sourdough. A little bit on the dry side but delicious nonetheless. Portions are seriously huge on this side of the globe.

Spaghetti and Meatballs (US$12.50), 100% certified angus beef meatballs with fresh herbs. Look at the generous heaping of cheese topping!

Basix Special Scramble (US$8.50), 3 eggs scrambled with Italian chicken sausage, mushrooms, caramelized onions & fresh spinach with toast and choice of griddled potatoes, sliced tomatoes or fresh fruit.

Perfect breakfast food with a twist; Crabcakes Benedict (US$10); two poached eggs on crabcakes with chipotle hollandaise sauce, served with griddled potatoes. Wils absolutely loved this one, being a huge fan of eggs benedict.

 
Came with a side of fresh fruits (raspberries!!).

Great food at reasonable prices, I can definitely see why Basix is described as a place with “well-made, uncomplicated Cal-Italian eats with a decent price”. Definitely a must-visit!

Address:
8333 Santa Monica Blvd,
West Hollywood
CA 90069, United States

Map *here*

ronnycakes reviews: Crumbs Café, Lucky Garden Bangsar

Ah desserts, the best course that was ever invented. Thanks to my huge sweet tooth, I’m always on the prowl for the newest and best desserts to sample. Crumbs Café is located in Lucky Garden – same row as the famous pork noodles that I’m sure everyone is familiar with – and is so small that you’ll almost miss it if you go by too fast. However, if you’re looking closely, you won’t fail to notice a mug with a mustache on it as Crumbs’ logo, which I think is super cute.

Crumbs is all about mustaches.

Crumbs is a homely café and a cosy nook of a restaurant that is adorned by plenty of whimsical and humorous illustrations pegged to the wall.

 

Crumbs doesn’t only serve desserts and cakes but they also have healthy sandwiches and wraps, and a wide variety of drinks. This makes it a great place to chill or catch up with your friends!

Babycakes! How adorable.

 
Left: Mushroom Soup
Right: Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Soup
We originally ordered the pumpkin soup, but because the kitchen was almost running out, they offered us a half portion of mushroom soup to make up for it. The mushroom soup they gave us was more than a half portion so plus points for good service and generosity! :D
Both soups tasted very authentic and rich, with the mushroom having a subtle taste of nutmeg and the pumpkin soup having all the sweetness of the sweet potatoes.

 
A Blondie (RM5 without ice-cream, RM8 with ice-cream) with vanilla ice-cream. Blondies are similar to brownies in taste and texture with the small exception that it is flavoured with brown sugar instead of chocolate. Crumb’s offering was a tad too dry but still tasted yummy with an abundance of chocolate chips.

Something not to be missed at all at Crumbs is their Salted Caramel Brownie (RM5 without ice-cream, RM8 with ice-cream) which is absolutely heavenly. A fat glop of vanilla ice-cream on top of a salty and sweet brownie and drizzled with salty and sweet caramel sauce. Moistness is controlled well and flavours blend perfectly together. With the added attraction of the price tag what’s not to love?

 

Haven’t had a chance to try their other stuff yet like the baby lime cake or peach and ginger cheesecake (the allure of the salted caramel brownie is too strong T_T) but good things have already been heard about them from other bloggers.
Look nowhere else for your brownie fix, gluttonssquare guarantees it!

Update: Just found out from Crumbs’ Facebook page that their Lucky Garden shop has closed indefinitely. :( oh my salted caramel brownie T_T

Address:
10, Lorong Ara Kiri Dua
Lucky Gardens, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

Map *here*

Clarissane reviews: Jade Pot Dim Sum @ Old Klang Road

Being an avid fan of dim sum, I am always on the lookout for good dim joints around town, be it restaurant or coffee shop style. Places like Jin Xuan in Damansara Jaya and Room Eighteen which we have reviewed and a few other notable ones like Summer Palace and Fu Lai are known for their notable servings of dim sum. Average dim sum is easy to find but good ones are hard to come by.

Groupon recently had a Jade Pot Dim Sum promo for only RM10. So cheap I couldn’t resist…I thought it would be a great opportunity to check out another dim sum outlet for a great bargain!

I always judge whether a place serves good dim sum by the taste of its Siew Mai. It MUST be plump, juicy and have the right combination of pork to skin. Jade Pot fares pretty well on this scale! :)

Next up was the Beancurd Skin! I really, really enjoyed this dish I didn’t wanna share it! Juicy and tasty with the perfect sauce combination, this is something I highly recommend!!

Their Steamed Fish Balls wasn’t all that great. It tasted processed and a lil too fishy for my liking.

Their Fish Porridge was mediocre, a little too salty and could fare better with more fish slices in it.

Jade Pot serves pretty tasty Char Siew Chee Cheong Fun (Steamed Flour Roll with Pork). Just the right ratio of pork to flour roll. At least they do not serve thick and tasteless flour rolls with pathetic filling like some dim sum joints do. I reckon their Prawn Chee Cheong Fun would taste even better!

Overall, their dim sum fare was pretty good, apart from the overly fishy fish balls. Would definitely come back for their Beancurd Skin! If I’m not mistaken, only this outlet serves dim sum dishes with the Hartamas branch only serving steamboat.

Jade Pot does tasty and delicious steamboat using freshly made ingredients. These are unlike some steamboat joints that serves processed fishballs like those you can find at the supermarket which tastes cheap. Our Jade Pot steamboat review here.

Prices are akin to places like Room Eighteen and Summer Palace (may be slightly on the steep side). Dim sum fare ain’t cheap anyway.. it is akin to our very own Chinese ‘fine-dining’ experience ;)

Address:
No 413, Batu 5,
Jalan Kelang Lama,
58000 Kuala Lumpur
(adjacent to Pearl Point Hotel)
Tel: 03-7987 9918

Map *here*

ronnycakes reviews: Steam Room, 1 Mon’t Kiara

1 Mon’t Kiara is still relatively new in the area and there are hardly any restaurants located inside it. So when Steam Room was set to open, we were a little skeptical on whether it was just going to be a run-of-the-mill, average Chinese restaurant with the likes of Dragon-I and Canton-I (which have considerably dropped in standard over the years).
We were surprised to see on one of our visits to Sushi Zanmai, that a line had formed outside Steam Room during a weekday! So a gastronomical trip to Steam Room was promptly on the cards.

Steam Room as the name suggests, mainly focuses on steamed cuisine: think steamed dim sum, steam rice (akin to those you get in Char Chan Tengs), steam fish, etc etc. But don’t be put off though, they still serve deep-fried and stir-fried food lest you think everything here is steamed and bland.

The deco of the place is very comfortable, wooden tables and sturdy cushioned chairs, with bamboo trees lining the brick walls and a front partition of bamboo dim sum baskets to complement the whole steamed food theme.

The best Siew Mai I’ve tried so far is at Room Eighteen and I was pleasantly surprised that Steam Room’s version is as good as, if not better than the siew mai at Room Eighteen. And for only RM7.80!

Of course we had to try the classic Steamed Rice with Minced Pork and Preserved Vegetables (RM12.80) which I grew up having. Tender minced pork that was a combination of fatty and lean meat, seasoned well on a bed of green vegetables and rice makes a balanced meal.

Steamed Rice with Chicken and Lily Flowers (RM12.80) was delicious as well. A mixture of black fungus, lily flowers and well marinated chicken drumstick coated in gravy made of soya sauce.

A plate of Steamed HK Kailan with Garlic Oil sets you back RM13.80, but portion is quite large and most importantly, the vegetables are fresh.

Double Steamed Soup with Pork Ribs and Yellow Cucumber (RM12.80) reminded me of the soup my mum used to make for me as a kid, except the flavours were much stronger (since they double boil the soup, and boil it for countless hours). Yummy!
Even their other soups are really good as I’ve tried the Chicken and Herbs soup and can vouch for it.

We decided to splurge and ordered their Steamed Rice with Abalone and Exotic Seafood (RM46.80) which was one of their signature dishes; and boy, no regrets at all!

Every single ingredient (scallops, prawns, fish maw, mushrooms, sea cucumber and abalone) was fresh. The prawns were juicy in a refreshingly non-tenderized way and scallops didn’t have that freezer taste to them. All of it was coated in a light abalone sauce which complemented the seafood.

The tiny little abalone.

For dessert we had the Lemongrass Infused Soft Jelly with Exotic Mixed Fruits (RM7.80) which is similar to Ai Yu Bing that you get in pasar malams, except a more fancy version with cubes of mango and strips of pomelo. I personally found this a little too sweet for my liking because lemongrass jelly should be tangy instead of overtly sweet.

Head down here if you’re up for reasonably priced good ol’ fashioned traditional Chinese food, and Steam Room will definitely not disappoint because almost everything I’ve tried here is delicious.

Address:
L1-3A, 1 Mon’t Kiara Mall,
No 1, Jln Kiara Mon’t Kiara
50480 Kuala Lumpur

Map *here*