Bob's Kitchen, Johor Bahru

It's been a pretty hectic week but I thought that I should have some "me time" to write down my thoughts before I forget what I was suppose to be thinking LOL

So this was when I was back in my hometown, Johor Bahru for nearly two weeks. Met up with my friends and I decided to try this new place out. Simren suggested many nice places at Sutera Utama but then I wanted to try out Bob's Kitchen because my sis said that the food was rather good and I was attracted by the deco of the place.

Bob's Kitchen 

Danga Utama Commercial Centre

More info

Bob's Kitchen entrance

See what I told ya? The entrance to the restaurant look really catchy right! Can't blame me for being attracted to this place. Love how they have their fonts in such retro style. Looks like those dressing table bulbs! 

BK

When I was there there was this Buy 1 Free 1 promo going on. According to Naomi, it's worth the buy. She got herself and her friend two types of steak for the price of one. So that's like bang for buck. However, there is a catch to this luring promo- Everyone has to have their own main course.

Which means if you and your companions are in even numbers the deal makes sense because buy 1 main course (for yourself) free 1 main course (for your companion). But when you are there with odd number companions then the deal becomes rather redundant.

For me, there were three of us (odd numbers). Note: Everyone at the table HAS TO HAVE a main course. In order for us to do that we have to buy 2 main courses to get another 2 free. Which also means that we will have one extra portion of main.

The main course ain't cheap of course, if I've not mistaken mains starts from RM20.

Dessert menu

The desserts are not very cheap either. I didn't try their dessert so I can't comment much about it but based on their food/ drinks I was relieved that I didn't order desserts:X

Naomi recommended their chocolate lava cake, she said it was good. Usually, her food reviews are rather accurate but this time I felt like I headed the wrong blog recommendation LOL

Beverages menu

Interior, ground floor

Interior, top floor

Interior 2, top floor

Stairway up to the second floor

The initial plan was for us to meet up for lunch. But I had some home cooked food before I left home and the promo deal wasn't to our best interest as well so we just snacked there. For this I kena kao kao from Simren who was expecting everyone to actually EAT and not snack LOL

Nit and I shared the expensive mushroom tacos.

Mushroom tacos, RM14.99

I was rather dissapointed with the tacos because it tasted so cheap and bland! I think there were only a few strands of mushroom and lots of lettuce. Wait, by lots I mean more lettuce than mushroom- they should have called it lettuce tacos. As you can see from the picture above, the good thing is that their tacos are the crispy type but the downfall is that the edges are mostly burned.

Guacamole was bland, sour cream tasted okay. I just wasn't getting value for the price I paid. 

So Simren was mood out by us not EATing properly, she just ordered mushroom soup which tasted slightly diluted. The good point is that it is homemade, as in they made it from a scratch using mushrooms and cream etc but I just made mushroom soup for dinner yesterday- the Campbell soup from the can and it tasted better:(

Mushroom soup, RM7.99

Strawberry milkshake RM12.99 | Chocolate milkshake RM12.99

For drinks, I was rather excited to see milkshake on the menu! I love milkshakes so I ordered Strawberry milkshake and Nit ordered the Chocolate one. It tasted not too bad, something like frozen strawberry milk with ice blended. No thick creamy ice cream taste.

While it isn't horrible, it definately shouldn't cost us RM12.99! For that quality, I say RM8 would be more than sufficient.

So Simren wanted an alcoholic drink in the mornnig (#smirks) and I agreed to share the Irish coffee with her because it ain't cheap. Simren asked me if I knew what alcohol is used in Irish Coffee. The naive me answered: Irish cream!

Simren's reaction =.="

HAHAHHAHA It make sense what! Irish cream (liquour) in Irish coffee la. Apparently not, they used whisky?!

Irish coffee, RM17.99

The waiter who brought the coffee over teased Simren of having alcohol so early in the morning LOL. But to her defense, it wasnt't thaaaaat early, it was 12pm already hehe And, according to Simren you wouldn't notice much of the alcohol till you actually finish the drink.

It was my first Irish coffee ever! I was quite excited to try it. So I took a sip, a big one and... OMFG it burns!!!

WTF it felt like I was downing concentrated hard liquor!  What happened to "supposed to notice alcohol only after you finish the drink"? 

I think the bartender got a bit too excited and poured way too much liquor in the coffee. Nit who was sitting right across the table could smell the strong alcohol smell when Simren was gulping away. Yes, GULPING! 

Okay, perhaps a few gulps only LOL

Simren 'high' after first gulp

Since I couldn't take it after three sips, and Simren couldn't stand it after a few huge gulps we just left three quarters of Irish Coffee there. Our RM17.99 burned! Seriously, it was undrinkable! Now to think of it I should have asked them to redo the coffee.

Really wasted.

Simren, a doctor who usually drinks (hehehehe) also gave up.

So for our snacking session, guess what was the damage? RM77.65!!!!!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

*horror face*

*super horror face*

Damage

I felt so really bad for recommending the place to Simren and Nit. I have ever ever made such a food blunder before! I really felt humiliated! The food and beverage was below average yet we were charged such a price! Could have nicely ate at some other cafes nearby.

But, I got to give it to the workers there (except the top floor waitress who was suppose to be on standby mode) for great service! The moment you stepped into Bob's Kitchen they will tend to you really nicely. The waiter was really friendly and crack jokes as well when serving.

So verdict, never returning but I love their exterior deco much!

My vege bestie

Mikey's Original New York Pizza, Bangsar

I've been wanting to try out Mikey's New York Pizza since they officially opened (initially they only opened for dinner) especially since everyone who went there had nothing but praise for their pizza! But then I had to postpone my visit till I actually had enough money LOL

Yes, their pizza is slightly on the pricier side and since it's a new york pizza, I reckoned I needed at least three slices of pizza to be full which would cost me about RM30+

Finally, about 2 weeks back I had my dinner at Mikey's! The queue wasn't too long. Actually there were about three groups of people in front of us but we immediately got our seats since we could settle for seats at the high chair.

The rest wanted a proper grounded table so they waited.

I would have waited too but my companions thought that high chairs are fine so I compromised:P

Mikey's Original New York Pizza

Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar

Menu

Mikey's New York Pizza, Bangsar

It's partially self service. You would have to go to the counter to place your order and foot the bill. Once done, they will give you a table number... more like a table plat, that's your table number. We got "Ave B" as our table number. At first, I was puzzled when they cashier handed me this upon payment, then he explained that it's my table number.

Oh. 

Okay.

Table plat: Ave B

Pretty cool table number I must say, good for cam whoring

While we waited for our food, I took a few pictures. Maybe just two pictures because I was on the high chair and I didn't dare to move much. So I quickly turn a little, to whatever possible angle and quickly snapped some pics with my sweaty palms.

Pizza counter with menu in chalks on top

Mirror on the wall to make the place look bigger

Interior of Mikey's

Something challenging about Mikey;s (No, not the high chair) is that they have this 911 Challenge! You would have to finish eating one whole 18" 911 Pizza within 45 minutes. The prize for the winner includes:

•  RM500 cash!!!!
• Free 911 pizza that you ate
• Free drinks on that visit
• Free cash vouchers for the next visit (I think)
• A picture of you on the Wall of Fame and all other social media sites
• Free tshirt
• Bragging rights!

I was very excited about the challenge. So far I think they only got one winner for this 911 challenge. And all competitors were male! I thought it would be great to be the first female attempting the 911 challenge, and who knows win it! 

I could use that RM500! Pay off my one month rent. Or maybe get myself a pair of pretty shoes for graduation.

Anyway, I ended up not taking the challenge because someone convinced me that it's crazy to do so. But I'm still itching to give it a go. The bad thing is that if they use the same spice as that of their buffalo wings then I will not be able to take it. Not that it's spicy, but it stinks. More on that later.

So our drinks arrive  after a few minutes.

Coke and mineral water comes in the upgrade package. The New York Egg Cream, RM9 comes by itself.

This was what we ordered:

1. Classic New York Pizza + Meatball Pizza + Upgrade 1 (Brooklyn Waffle Fries + Coke)
2. The Tony Soprano + Upgrade 2 (Boneless Buffalo Chicken Wings + Mineral Water)
3. Pizza Bianco + New York Egg Cream

Upgrade 1 cost RM12, Upgrade 2 cost RM13.

Classic New York Pizza, RM8.88

Fairly safe pizza to have. Good crust- thin and good texture. But it tasted very normal though. Fresh but normal. Nothing to shout about.

Meatball Pizza, RM10.88

This is Mikey's favourite pizza. The thing is it tasted the same as the Classic New York Pizza, just that it has additional tiny meatball chunks on it. It's one fresh topping pizza with good crust and base, but again mediocre in taste.

After tasting these two pizza, I started to feel skeptical about all the good reviews that were raving about the pizza's in this place.

Then came my pizza,

Tony Soprano Pizza, RM15.88

The Tony Soprano Pizza is fantastic! Love the meaty toppings very generously served. I'm a big fan of peperoni and beef so it's thumbs up for me! Finally a pizza that taste more than mediocre. 

But! But... but... I have no idea why their pizza crust was so soggy. When I try holding it up in one hand, and before I could actually fold it and eat it the pizza slumps like a soggy wet diapers. Only if it had the right pizza base like the Classic NY, it would have been perfect!

But then again RM15.88 for a slice of pizza, not too sure whether it's worth it.

Pizza Bianco, RM10.88

This Pizza Bianco is the chef's favourite! It has four types of cheese on it but surprisingly it's very light to the palate. Initially I thought having this pizza would make me muak after a few bites but no, my sis could actually finish this up all by herself and still have tummy space for another slice!

She had to spread out the big chunk of cheese though.

Cheese on Pizza Bianco being spreaded out

The downfall of Pizza Bianco, the base was superrrrr hard! You gotta chew it several times before you can get it down your throat. Why must there be a downfall in their good pizza? Ughhh, I blame my high expectations of the place.

Buffalo chicken wings, RM12.88

The Buffalo Chicken Wings, ugh.. how do I put it? It has this very pungent smell and taste from both the chicken batter and the Blue Cheese dipping. At first, I thought the Blue Cheese was the culprit of the overpowering smell but no, it was the chicken itself too!

Not too sure if buffalo wings are supposed to be like this? Once you take your first bite, please take a small bite first, and inhale... the smell actually pierce you nasal cavity! Just like how Wasabi reacts!

I could only have one wing and pass the whole basket of lovely looking chicken to someone else.

Brooklyn Fries, RM12.88

My favourite dish of the day has gotta be the Brooklyn Fries!!! Mikey's pizza was rather a let down for me but at least they had awesome fried to make up for that loss. Brooklyn fries is served with melted Cheddar cheese and tasty beef gravy! A little pricey but it was worth it! 

I particularly like my fries crunchy. I like dips too. But the fries should still be crunchy at a certain extend even after it's being dipped. And that's what you'll have with the Brooklyn Fries.

So in a nutshell, Mikey's pizza are very homemade tasting but somehow it's not awesome. Sadly, this makes the pizza price relatively expensive. But, their fries rocks! Please, take my money and gimme fries! LOL

Ending with a picture of me and Tony Soprano. Notice I could only hold it up properly now for a picture after eating 85% of it.

Tony Soprano, delicious topping but sadly soggy pizza base

Bandung Day 3: Tangkuban Perahu + Natural Strawberry Farm & Resto

My last post about Bandung, Indonesia was on Ciwalk and the vicinity. Do read!

It was Saturday and Gaya, my enthusiastic host and tour guide had a whole day off to bring me around! I hired a driver to bring us around because Gaya told me that it was more convenient and economical that way. So the driver was hired for 12 hours (8.30am- 8.30pm) for RM150. He would bring you to wherever you want and may even suggest places of interest to visit.

My driver wasn't the talkative and very friendly type. He's more introvert but that's okay because he drives safe. Probably he was fasting so he wanted to conserve energy by not talking much:S

First destination,

Tangkuban Perahu

Volcanic crater at Tangkuban Perahu

Tangkuban Perahu is an uphill cooling sightseeing place. It took us about 45 minutes to reach (I was staying near Paris Van Jawa). I reached at about 9.30am and it coooold! Very much like Cameron Highlands. Very very clean and cooling air, it was great!

I love places with cool temperature because obviously the place that I come from is hot and humid all year long. Bandung town's temperature (about 23 degree Celsius) is my favourite optimum temperature! You wouldn't have to wear a jacket around, just plain t- shirt to enjoy the cooling weather. It's like natural air con! (Except when it rains then I'll have to snuggle under my blankets)

The temperature at Tangkuban Perahu is much colder than the town's so I had my jacket on. However, in an hour's time there suddenly the sun came out of no where and it became warm LOL I had to take off my jacket. So grateful that I could experience the coolness of Tangkuban Perahu!

Tourist picture at Tangkuban Perahu

I find the story behind Tangkuban Perahu very fascinating and a little disturbing. So the story goes like this: Once upon a time, there was this lady who sent her son away because he did something wrong. This of which made her very sad. I mean who wouldn't feel sad especially since her husband wasn't in the picture.

So the Gods (I think) took pity on her and grant her eternal youth i.e. she never grows old and soggy. One day many years later, she met this charming man and they both fell in love. Both were about to get married till she found out that her prince charming is... .... ... HER SON!

OMG.

I told you the story was disturbing.

So she had to stop the wedding! She told her prince charming aka her son that he had to build a dam on the river and a boat that can cross that river before sunrise. When her son was almost completing her request, she managed to fool him by thinking that he had run out of time.

The guy aka son was so pissed off that he kicked the dam and flipped his boat resulting in the creation of Tangkuban Perahu which literally means "Overturned boat".

Spot the boat. I couldn't LOL

Around Tangkuban Perahu, there are many sellers trying to sell you stuffs like key chains, fan etc. If you are interested in getting a souvenir from that place, fret not because they have a row of shops that offers variety of souvenirs. I'd rather buy them from Pasar Baru but I did get two keychains for my sisters and a wooden duck for myself here.

Carving my sisters' name onto the keychain using hot stone- tipped pen, I think it cost about RM4 per keychain.

Creative clocks for sale 

More shops

Stalls selling wooden handicraft

Wooden animals

I find the wooden crafted animals really interesting because their patterns and prints are naturally from a wood called "Kayu Batik". As you can see in the picture below, the man removed the outer layer of the wood and you can see patterns appearing inside!

Slicing Kayu Batik

The guy was very nice because he have me the bits and pieces that fell off for free! Tada, patterned wood!

Flakes of Kayu Batik

It was also at Tangkuban Perahu that I had my first (and only) street snack!! As mentioned in my previous blog post, I really fancy the vendors selling various types of food along the roadside but you would need a local stomach to withstand the consequence of eating those food.

I wasn't allowed to have any street food throughout my stay, for my own good of course lol, but I keep pestering Gaya to allow me to try the fried tahu at Tangkuban Perahu!

And she agreed! Hesitantly. HAHA.

Piping hot tahu (beancurd), 3 for RM1

LOVE LOVE LOVE the tahu in Indonesia!!!! 

So fresh and natural tasting!

My first street snack!

I was ecstatic when the seller was packing my tahu. Gaya made sure that it was the tahu that came out immediately from the hot oil just to decrease the probability of it being contaminated LOL 

Enjoyyy

Gaya said I looked so happy finally getting my tahu from the street :D

FYI, Tangkuban Perahu is a must go for tourist but the entrance fee was slightly pricey. It was all worth it though for the scenery and the tahu hehehe. Following was the breakdown of the cost per entry:

• Foreign visitors: IDR 75,000 (RM22.70)
• Local visitors: IDR 17,000 (RM5.60) | If you are a foreign student in Indonesia, that counts too.
• Vehicle: IDR 10,000 (RM3)

On the way up to Tangkuban Perahu, the driver, I think we call him "Pak Supir" around here suggested for us to go to the Strawberry Farm. So we did on the way down from Tangkuban Perahu. I'm not a big strawberry fan so visiting the farm was optional but since we had so much time and we were to passby anyway, I decided to go ahead.

Natural Strawberry Farm & Resto

For more info

The entrance fee was IDR 10,000 (RM3) per person. You will be given a basket to store the strawberries that you had plucked and a free strawberry drink voucher to be redeemed on the way out later.

The strawberries that you plucked will be charged according to weight. I think for every 100g it cost RM8. Not too sure though because I knew I wouldn't be picking any.

Me and strawberries, a bit disappointed to only see four of them

Super red strawberries

I thought most of  the plants didn't had fruits...

... till I turned to the other side and... wala! Whole row of fruitful strawberry plants

Borrowed someone's basket of strawberries LOL

How sweet to look at!

How sour it tasted LOL 

Yup, I kinda took a piece of strawberry to try without... paying HAHA Gaya encouraged me to do so, and I did, Opps. Then on the way out, I redeemed my free strawberry juice! The strawberry in the juice tasted better than the strawberry that I 'took' from the farm.

Slurping up

Instagram-ing

I think they sell Kopi Luwak too, a very expensive coffee. Coffee beans collected from a racoon looking animal's poop.

Ending my post with a picture with a smelly horse! They have horse rides outside the strawberry farm too. I wasn't interested in a horse ride but the guy was so nice and told us that a picture with his horse is free! So Gaya quickly help me snap a pic or two. 

The horse felt so warm and velvety, I like! But so smelly, like he haven't had a shower for a long time.

Gaya, the very caring host was worried if the horse gets violent so she quickly escorted me back to the car later. That's because she witness (in hospital) a case of this boy being bitten by a horse! :O

Smelly horse shivered (or wriggled) suddenly, I got shocked!

Of course, I did go to many other places with the hired driver so do keep a lookout for more updates! Too many places to blog about, I'm splitting up the posts:)

SS2 Pisang Goreng

I'm a big fan of pisang goreng (banana fritters) so whenever I google for famous pisang goreng, one of the pisang goreng stall that comes up is Pisang Goreng SS2.

Pisang Goreng SS2

Jalan SS2/64

This stall, more like truck, is situated right in front of Pelita Nasi Kandar shop. So the other day when I was packing Nasi Kandar for dinner, I managed to buy some pisang goreng from this stall. Been wanting to try it out but since it's a Chinese seller, I assumed that their batter wouldn't be as nice as the Malay sellers, so I procrastinated till that day.

SS2 Pisang Goreng Truck

Variety of fried food such as banana, yam, carrot cake etc

Pisang Goreng, 1 for RM1

So I bought two pieces of pisang goreng just in case it doesn't taste as good. As you can see in the picture above, they dipped one whole banana in batter and deep fry them. Unlike the ones that we usually eat which has been halved. 

I myself prefer the banana to be halved before being dipped into batter and then fried because I'll get a crunchier unit of banana.

SS2 banana is kinda huge though, it's no wonder they charge you one for RM1. Usually at pisang goreng stalls, you can get about 3- 4 pieces of bananas for RM1 (but of course they halved the bananas)

One big banana, the with is about three times my finger 

SS2 Pisang Goreng was okay. It has a flakier batter texture on the outside. The banana itself was really sweet unlike some other stalls who sells tasteless bananas. Soft and sweet inside, rather nice but I still prefer those Malay aunties pisang goreng lol

Flaky batter on the outside

Soft and sweet banana on the inside

It ain't too bad. Could be my fix if I was desperate for pisang goreng. They have an outlet at One Utama too- LG at the Food Street area.

p.s. I noticed a new truck next to this SS2 Pisang Goreng truck that sells desserts, as in dessert soups such as red bean soup, green bean soup and my favourite bubur pulut hitam etc. The truck looks very clean and new. One bowl cost about RM2.50. Might have a try the next time I see it.

Picture of Bubur pulut hitam from Google.