Baba Low's 486, Bangsar

Going back to my hometown soon so we can start the Chinese New Year (CNY) baking! This year we're making 4 types of snack: Suji biscuits, Seaweed Popiah, Almond Brittle and Honey Cornflakes! The other types of snack liks pineapple tarts and prawn rolls will probably be bought because it's just too much work to make from scratch :P

Btw, I have two books sitting next to me waiting for me to be read but I kind of lost all working motivation so I decided that today will be my cheat day! No work, just blogging and catching up on Running Man! WOOT! Okay, maybe I'll squeeze in some time to read later when I'm done making myself happy, lolol.

Last week, I had nyonya cuisine for lunch! 

Baba Low's 486

Lorong Kurau, Bangsar

I'm not a very big fan of nyonya food because somehow the cuisine makes my tongue and brain confused :S But I don't mind having them once in a while. Oh, I obviously don't mind having Portuguese steam fish! Wait, is Portuguese fish a Nyonya cuisine??

Baba Low's 

This shop is quite hidden. It's not situated at the Telawi area where usually food shops are at. So I consider it a hidden gem since it isn't so easy to spot but the food hunt trip was worth it!

On the side note, just thinking this thought out loud.. Are there very limited baba names? I often hear the name Baba Low. I've never heard of like... Baba Chan :S 

My table and the serenity view from my seat

Wooden tables and chairs

Interior of Baba Low's

Huge menu board. Check it out for the day's special.

 Baba Low is a very simple shop. Nothing fancy,it actually looks like a cleaner version of our normal coffee shops. Coffee shops as in hawker food centre not coffee shops like Starbucks LOL Good thing about places like this is that my meal would definately be cheaper than RM10!

This is how I judge my food:

• < RM3 Very Cheap
• RM3 to RM4 Cheap
• RM5 to RM10 Affordable
• RM11 to RM16 Pricey
• RM 17 to RM30 Once in two weeks indulgence
• > RM30 Big occasions i.e. Birthdays, Anniversary, Graduation, Hen Night, Baby Shower etc

Menu

So most of the items found on the menu is within my "Affordable" range so that makes me a happy eater! I usually cook during weekdays so weekend is eating out day! Usually I'll treat myself food from the Affordable to the Pricey range but of course cheaper is always better LOL

Here is what you can get with RM10 in your pocket:

Nyonya Laksa RM7

This Nyonya Laksa was yummy! The gravy tasted like those Lemak/ Lodeh Sayur's gravy! Quite generous with ingrediants such as fishcakes, tofu ad egg. Also, I noticed that they are very generous with shredded cucumbers. 

You can choose to have yellow noodles, mee siam or kuey teow to go with your Laksa. I'm always with the yellow noodles if I'm having laksa or curry mee. 

Mee Siam RM6

They gave me a lot of mee siam and a lot of shredded cucumbers! I like it that the mee siam was moist enough even without having gravy poured on top. The mee siam didn't had as much ingrediants as the laksa though. 

Drinks was Ice Water, RM0.50. Yes water is not free here unlike N Square Restaurant. Iced tea was RM2.50. Tea probably isn't their forte. It tasted quite bitter and diluted, not enough milky taste too so paying RM2.50 for that was too much.

Oh ya, the parking spaces there are very limited so you gotta somehow squeeze your car and jump down for lunch. The bright side, it's a very quiet area so somehow you will get your parking, one way or another.

Chee Cheong Fun @ Seow Fong Lye, Macalister Lane

This is going to be a quick post before I go off for dinner. Dinner is chicken rice today!!! The only downside to it? I cooked too less chicken so each of us only has 3 pieces of tiny chicken so I fried 4 eggs to compensate:S Seems like buying one whole chicken isn't worth it after all because the chicken is so skinny. Next time I'm just gonna continue buying chicken parts. Hmph.

Taking us back to Penang! Yes, food post on Penang has not ended because we tried out so many food and I haven't been the most diligent lately in blogging LOL Maybe it's because my trip to Penang is just for relax and makan so food blogging is just a plus.

Chee Cheong Fun @ Seow Fong Lye

Macalister Lane

This is the Chee Cheong Fun push cart that you should be looking for

And this is the coffee shop that the push cart is at. 

Chee Cheong Fun is opened for breakfast as early as 8am if I've not mistaken and it goes on till about noon when she runs out of chee cheong fun to sell. So it would be great if you're able to drag yourself out of bed in the morning and head over for some yummy breakfast before it gets sold out!

I was craving for chee cheong fun even before my Penang trip so I googled for it in Penang since I was going there anyway. Just google "Penang Chee Cheong Fun" and lots of reviews pointed me to this particular one!

What's so special you ask?

THIS.

Very smooth and soft chee cheong fun topped with some sesame oil, sprinkled with sesame seeds and served with THICK prawn paste, sweet sauce and chili sauce!!!

My God! This is to die for! She was very generous with her prawn paste and the prawn paste was very very extremely thick and concentrated! No scrooge on prawn paste there! You should see her drizzle the thick sticky prawn paste on your plate, I bet your jaw will drop wide open!

It was just a very simple dish. No fancy fillings in the chee cheong fun like some shops offer (e.g. prawns) but culinary skills seriously lies in simplicity. 

Give it all a nice stir. Can smell the prawn paste smell, crazy good!!

Price?

• 2 strips of chee cheong fun, RM2
• 3 strips of chee cheong fun  RM3

I had the 2 strips at first and obviously it wasn't enough but we had to rush back for our bus to KL. So I packed 3 more strips back home!! The lady was very nice to separate the sauces for me. She somehow knew that I travelling back home LOL

I regretted only buying 3 strips back because it wasn't enough :(

Btw, I had the take- away chee cheong fun the next day and it was still very tasty and fresh. What sorcery is this? :O

Take- away Macalister Lane chee cheong fun

Breakfast with my sis who felt that 2 strips was enough for her because "noodles" fill her yummy up fast LOL

Jaslyn Cakes, Bangsar

I'm a rather conventional person when it comes to celebrating special occasions like birthdays, graduation, anniversaries etc.Conventional in the sense that I would need a cake LOL Of course, my first option would always be to get a cake wholly so can cut it and all... but because usually there's only two or three of us, I'd settle for cake slice so we need not force the whole cake down ourselves :S

Remember when I was blogging about Souka, TTDI I mentioned that I was on a hunt for more cake shops for a special occasion? Since we tried Souka, I thought I should get cake from elsewhere this time. So I found this rather newly opened shop in Bangsar.

Jaslyn Cakes

Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar

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I'll show you some pictures of the shop because that's practically what you will be paying a high price for since the cakes were so disappointingly mediocre. I thought the homemade ones by my sister tasted better:S

Outside of shop. Opens till 7pm only.

Entrance that I've seen other bloggers rave about =.=

Interior

There are limited seats inside the shop because the shop itself is actually half a shop. There are two seaters facing the counter and the walkway was rather cramp. Not that I mind because I was there only for a takeaway.

Beverages menu if you're interested in dining in. I wouldn't though- Still very grumpy from yesterday's purchase.

Next to the cashier counter is the place they baked cakes I think

Cakes on the counter

So I was having rather high expectations for the cakes here because it seems like other bloggers gave them a thumbs up! Also, I think the owner  (Jaslyn?) was the one who supplied cakes to Wondermilk Cafe. Now I know why Wondermilk's stuff are so pricey :S

With the high expectation, I walked into the shop only to get my high hopes and expectations crushed by the minute variety of cakes on the counter. So there was only Earl Grey Chiffon cake, Red Velvet cake, Carrot cake and Vanilla Bean Cake. They had Brownies, Blondies, and other small tea time snack.

I remember being unable to conceal my disappointment when I asked the lady "So... is these all the cakes that you've got?" . She unabashedly replied yeah, oh but we have mango cake (which was the special of the day and wasn't on display).

Today's special

I comforted myself by thinking that since there's limited cake choices the cakes available should taste fantastic because they have all the time in the world to perfect them. You know, Jack of all trades but master of none logic? I know of cake shops like Le Trianon Cakes that only have TWO types of cake for sale but buying either one of those would awe you!

My takeaway

Takeaway cakes in silver boxes

I didn't had much choice but to pick the cheesecake and the mango cake because I was sharing the cake with someone who doesn't fancy carrot cake, so carrot cake was out. And I had enough of Red Velvet cake, so that was out too. The thought of getting salted chocolate brownies and blondies did cross my mind but they were too tiny for RM10.90. 

Btw, Blondies tasted quite good because of the toffee taste but the price didn't justify it's taste so I decided to give it a pass.

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake RM14.50

The lady told me that their Vanilla Bean Cheesecake was one of their hot selling item so I decided to give it a go even if it looks very ordinary to me. Was still convincing myself to not judge a book by its cover. I didn't mind paying a steep price for the cake because after all it was to celebrate a special occasion.

To my biggest dismay, the cake tasted ordinary :O I mean it wasn't disgusting or anything like that but it was so mediocre that paying RM14.50 made it feel like I got conned! And I hate getting conned.

The cheesecake was nicely baked no doubt, soft and fluffy but... that's all. Was expecting some special vanilla flavour but don't see how that popped. The fact that my sister's cheesecake tasted better really pissed me off.

Mango Cream Roll Slice RM9.90

Mangoes were a thumbs up, fresh sweet chunks.

So the mango cream roll slice was cheaper than the cheesecake and thank God for that because when I first dig into it, I thought the cake tasted like something I could buy off from Kings Confectionery. But as I eat my way to the centre of the spiral it didn't taste too bad. Still rather mediocre though. 

I'm still very upset with the cakes even though it has been more than 12 hours ago since I had them LOL Could have spent the money on Alexis' cakes instead! Oh well, so now you know. You're welcome. 

SS Spicy Food @ Jalan Belfield, Kampung Attap KL

Last Sunday, I suggested for us to have lunch at Kg. Attap but to our dismay the stall was closed so we ended up eating at Pavillion's foodcourt. Don't ask, long story LOL Anyway, I was introduced to Kg. Attap by my bestie, Nit several years back and it is my favourite place to have mix rice because I love their deep fried cauliflower!!

Their deep fried cauliflower is da bomb! Every time when they lift it up from the wok and into the tray, the cauliflower will be snatched up by people so fast that you wouldn't be able to catch it despite being 3 people away :O

So you want their famous deep fried cauliflower? You gotta rush the Malaysian style HAHAHHA I'll show the the cauliflower later, I managed to whack half a plate of them!

SS Spicy Food

Jalan Belfield aka Kg. Attap

So apparently they do have a stall's name and it's called "SS Spicy Food". I still call it Kg. Attap stall though LOL I think I've ever read about their curry fish head but I've never tried because not a big fan of fish head.

Waze yourself to Jalan Belfield and you would see the stall (as shown in picture below). 

SS Spicy Food aka Kg. Attap

There's usually no problem finding a parking there because people would just simply by the side of the road and that's okay. The place is rather quiet so traffic isn't a problem too. 

Self service 

At SS Spicy Food aka Kg. Attap they cook the food there (See the man cooking behind?) and then turn around and place the freshly cooked food on the island table for you to pick and choose! So food there is usually hot from the kitchen!

You would need to queue to get your rice. The guy will ask you whether you want white rice or beryiani. Yes, they serve beryiani too but I've yet to try. Always go there, my goal is to whack all the fried cauliflower LOLOL. But I saw people eating beryiani and it looks quite yummy too! Wouldn't mind giving it a shot next time!

So once you have your rice, you move on to select your dishes. I like their curry lots so I'll usually mix several diferent curry gravy on my rice. Then I'll push through the line and quickly put as much fried cauliflower as I can on my plate without thinking of how much they would charge me later HAHA Then, I'll usually go for their... um, dry sambal chicken? Yums!

Lunch that day

So this was what we had for lunch that day: 

• Rice, mix curry & HALF a plate of fried cauliflower RM5
• Teh ais & Teh- O Ais RM3
• Rice, mix curry, fried chicken, fried fish & egg RM12

Their pricing is very reasonable so if you're around that area, might wanna give it a shot! You MUST MUST MUST try their cauliflower. When it's served piping hot, I swear it doesn't taste like vege! More like some kinda of snack, I must say. *Mindblown

A few pictures of the seating area. Sometimes it's hard to find for a place to seat especially peak hours but the guys there are very kind so they will help you find seats. We had to share a table with this lady who was finishing her meal that day, good that she chao soon after LOL

Very cooling seating area

A view from my seat. Eat first, pay later.

Souka Bake Shop @ TTDI

Back for some updates on my foodies during the weekend! I'm always looking forward to the weekends because those two days are the days where I just eat and chill without feeling guilty of my pocket or about not doing any work. So last weekend was a pretty good one! We had lunch at one of my long lost place (will blog about that soon) and then we had cake!

PMS can really drive a girl's appetite crazy! Most of the times I crave meat, like red meat, like BEEF! I crave real meaty beef as in steak and not those mince beef or burger Ramly beef. On other days I crave something sweet, like pastries, like cakes. So cake was what I had!

Souka Bake Shop

15 Lorong Rahim Kajai 13, Taman Tun Dr Ismail

Website

(Closed on Mondays)

Souka in Mukha

Souka is a shop within a shop called Mukha. Mukha is a cafe, immediate left at entrance you will see Souka. I think it's possible to order the cakes and dine in at Mukha- they are after all one. 

Outside sitting area.

 See Souka circle 'signboard' on the top of that entrance?

Since it was about to rain and I just wanted to go home and watch my TV series, I did a take- away. So I just walked into Souka, chose my cakes and left. However, it's a pretty place to chill with friends because this cafe is rather quiet situated in a very cooling area with cosy interior.

Somehow overcrowded eateries irritates me much because there's just too many people, lots of them are inconsiderate and very much of an attention seeker so they tend to be loud. Also, in a crowded cafe somehow I don't get to relax even if I did get a table. It's like with everyone there, I tend to rush and not enjoy my food. This happens everytime I'm at Levain- no thanks to taitai who stands right next to you waiting for your seats:S

This is Mukha cafe

Thought that you would like to have a look at Souka's nook. And by nook, it's really a small corner of the shop but that's all I need if the cakes are good!

Souka's deco

More deco on the same wall as the picture above

Menu

I googled the menu on the way there and I was thinking to have Carrot Walnut cake but since I was sharing my cake, I was thoughful enough to choose something that both of us would fancy. The second cake that I wanted to get was the Mars Cheesecake!! Or the Nutella Cheese! But they didn't have those that day:(

These were all they had

Oh and these too

Rather limited choice of cakes. I wanted to have cake cake as in cake consistency and not pies or cupcakes so I was left with about 2- 3 choices. Made a hard choice and chose Red Velvet and Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolate cake because the limited choices of cake wasn't really what I had in mind. 

I didn't wanted Red Velvet initially because I had my fair share of Red Velvet back in JB already but since it's Souka's signature cake I decided to give it a chance. I chose the Peanut Butter cake because the cake looks new as if they just brought it out for display LOL

Take- away bag

Red Velvet RM10

People were raving about their moist red velvet cake and true enough it did not disappoint! It was moist enough yet not too dense of a cake! The cream cheese frosting was pretty good as well! It's prolly as good as the ones that my sis makes back at home. So this cake is a thumbs up!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolate Cake RM12

This chocolate cake was a little dry though but they had very good peanut butter icing! This cake was a little too much for me and my ulcer on my tongue made it worse (imagine peanut butter and dry cake on my sore tongue, yikes!). It's slightly more expensive than the Red Velvet but if you're a peanut butter fan I think you wouldn't mind the RM2 difference. 

I like the place and the customer service quite a bit so I'll probably go back for some other cakes next time! 

Actually, I googled and found this place so that I could buy some cakes for a special occasion soon but since we tried it already, I'll have to google again for other yummy cake shops! LOL But the good news is that I'll get to blog about more new places so stay tuned! :D

Ming Xiang Tai @ Burmah Road, Penang

Why is everyone still on holiday??? I'm back and ready for action since a week ago but then everyone else seem to be still on holiday, which leaves me to have nothing to do, which makes me feel guilty for wasting time. Though there's nothing much that I could do.

Another post on Penang!

So prior to the Penang trip I was googling about the places to find good food. I wanted to try out different food that I have not had the opportunity to eat the last round I was there. Of course, good food from the previous trip will be eaten again LOL

Don't know how but I was googling about pastries in Penang and apparently quite a number of people were talking (blogging) about this chinese pastry shop. So I did my homework and paid them a visit!

Ming Xiang Tai 

133 Jalan Burmah, Georgetown Penang

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If you are coming from Penang Rd (It's a one way street), Ming Xiang Tai will be on your left

Entrance of the Burmah Rd shop

Ming Xiang Tai is a Chinese pastry shop that sells Cantonese snacks like egg tarts, Siew Pau, and other types of sweet and salty pastries. 

Initially I wasn't sure if it's worth the visit because Penang is a Hokkien place so I assumed that whatever good there is there should be of Hokkien originated cuisine right? However, lots of people were saying that the pastries were really good and that this lady even ordered many packs of Trishaw Eggtarts to be brought back to KL as souvenirs!

Since I didn't had to ride on public transport to get there, I decided to give it a go!

Interior of the shop

Sidewalk board outside the shop

I think this outlet on Burmah Road is their first shop, if I've not mistaken. Now they have a few branches all around Penang. Have a look at the pastries that would be the first thing to welcome you as you walk into the shop:

Pastries say hello!

Walked inside and found more pastries

They have soybean drink and Tau Huey (soy pudding) as well for sale in the refrigerator alongside other beverages.

Seems like their soybean drink is a hit! One bottle cost RM6. Since it's pricey I'm assuming that it would be really really good.

We packed back our pastries and Tau Huey to the hotel because we just had Pata Mee Sotong for lunch and also Swatow Lane Ais Kacang so we were so darn full and tired. Back in the hotel we had a nap and once I awaken from my slumber I felt hungry so just in time for snacks!

Pastries nicely packed in a transparent plastic box

I got the famous Trishaw Eggtart (RM1.80) and Salted Egg pastry (RM1.50). My sis got the eggtart and a chicken siew pau (RM2). We shared a lotus filled pastry (RM1+) as well. 

Trishaw Eggtart

This was the pastry that motivated me to go check out Ming Xiang Tai. It's call Trishaw Egg Tart because his grandmother started off selling pastries in a trishaw. People actually pack boxes of this back! Must be good!

I love the egg centre of the tart, very fresh, soft and wobbly. Not too sweet so that's good. The crust of the egg tart is the crispy flaky type. I thought that the crust needed to be more buttery though since it tasted quite bland. Overall I give it a 3 Star, not sure if I'd pack it all the way back to my hometown as souvenirs though. The ones at Canton- i tasted significantly better for me:P

Tau Huey, RM3.50 I think 

They soy pudding and the syrup were packed seperately. Here you don't get to choose your sugar. Usually I'd have mine in white but since they only had black I didn't mind too much either. The fun part comes when you drizzle your syrup onto your pudding!!

Syrup on pudding, yums!

This, I like!! Very fresh homemade tasting Tau Huey. The pudding was very delicately made, tasted so fine, fine as in halus with no clumps and easily slurped down your throat! YUMS!! I dumped half the syrup on the pudding yet it wasn't too sweet! By the way, the syrup was thick (I was impressed with how thick it was because usually the syrups are watery) so I thought it would be very sweet LOL

Naomi's Chicken Siew Pau

She didn't really like this because she said it didn't taste classic. Usually the meat is pork but since Ming Xiang Tai is pork free, they substitute pork with chicken. Also I think this siew pau is modernised in some way because they added extra ingrediants inside (Forgot what they were, was it lotus seeds?)

My salted egg pastry wasn't that tasty as well. Tasted very dry to me. Basically, all the pastry skin in Ming Xiang Tai is dry LOL But their fillings are not too bad though! But don't think I'll return when back in Penang.