Hong Kong Causeway Bay (铜锣湾) ：人和荳品廠

I'm back from Hong Kong and it is time for me to slowly tell what I've tried in HK for 9 days. *wink*

I had very good experience with  the people in HK, which is really different from what I've heard from others. Waiters/waitresses are really friendly and even the salesperson or toilet cleaners make me feel so welcomed. I LOVE HK. haha! 

So today I'm here to share what I had as my first ever meal in HK. My friend and I wanted to eat Wan Tan Mee but we couldn't find that shop in Causeway Bay. Friend said it might moved to other street and we were hungry that time. So we dropped by a small restaurant to have Tau Fu Fa and Fried noodles (Chau Mian) instead. 

From the name of the restaurant -- 人和荳品廠, we can know that it is famous with soy bean products. After looking at the menu, I can say that they only sell soya milk (豆漿), tau fu fa (豆腐花), fried noodles (銀芽炒麵), and some fried tau fu stuffed with fish paste. Every table in the shop ordered the same thing. XD

So we ordered a ginger tau fu fa (薑汁豆腐花), original tau fu fa (豆腐花), fried noodles (炒麵) and fried tau fu with fish paste (魚肉煎豆腐). Because of hunger, I forgot to take photos of my fried tau fu. But it tasted great! Soft texture of the Tau fu is so much loved. The other food comes with pictures and description. Ready? Don't get hungry after reading yea. 

   

Ta-daa!! The very vegetarian fried noodles. Nothing to fancy about as it is just like the normal economy fried noodles. Just that the noodles are thinner compared to those in Malaysia.

Ginger Tau Fu Fa ordered by my dear friend. I tried a bit and it was a good dessert during winter. Ginger can make your tummy feel warmer and less bloated whereas the tau fu fa is soft and warm. Nice combination!! 

My original tau fu fa (means just normal syrup and tau fu fa). What I like about this tau fu fa is that it isn't too sweet and the texture is nice. :)

Great experience for my first meal. HK is really a heaven for traditional style dessert. Definitely wanna go back for tau fu fa. Haha. 

Here's the location of the shop: 銅鑼灣渣甸街55號. It isn't too far away from causeway bay MTR station. Oh well, every place in HK is within walking distance. Just make sure you know how to read the map. 

More food posts to come!! :D

Bangsar: Nutmeg @ Bangsar village II

Have you ever heard of a restaurant called Nutmeg? I have mixed feelings when I heard of the name. It sounds like a Penang-style restaurant, so like home, but I heard it's located in Bangsar village II, which should be serving high-end food. 

I was contemplating if I should pay a visit as I don't want to pay RM20+ for my laksa. Haha... There's one day when I hanged out with my Penang college friends, we passed by BVII and I decided to walk pass Nutmeg restaurant.

Surprisingly, they are serving coffee, big breakfast, wine, and more western food. That amazed me and I decided to go in and try out with my babes.

Eggs Benedict ordered by my babe. They are very generous with their salmon. Awesome!! 

This is my highly-recommended dish that I ordered. Pan fried chicken breast with mushrooms and it served with mashed potatoes. The juicy chicken breast is so delicious that I would want to finish them even I'm very full. This dish is about Rm30+ but definitely worth trying. I would start to save money to try this restaurant again! 

My tired face after hanging out for a week . Haha! But the dish in front of me worth a smile. :)

The restaurant has nice ambience and we had a great catch up session there. Quiet although full with people and the waiters are friendly. 

Wait for my Hong Kong food posts!!

I am flying to Hong Kong in less than 12 hours time. Will be there for about 9 days. Stay tuned for more photos and more FOODS....  Love ya...

Subang: Big Hug Burger

Finally, I have the chance to visit Big Hug Burger @ Subang Square! I always read about this restaurant from other blogs and also saw lots of pictures on instagram. They have big bears as decoration in the restaurant! The bears really attract me as I love cute things. XD Few days before my visit, a friend of mine suggested me to try Big Hug Burger in Big Hug Burger. Hmmm... Sounds interesting.

I went there for dinner with my bestie and the restaurant is kinda empty when we reach. When we were deciding what to eat, more people start to fill up the empty tables and we felt the stress to order faster (coz we don't want to wait too long for our food).

We went to the order counter and the aunty is really friendly and sweet. She suggested what is good in the restaurant and recommended me to choose different burger when I wanna order the same burger as my friend. She used greetings like "hi dear, how can I help you?", "thank you dear, love you." Sweetness overload. Mood is better after ordering with her and hmmm.... maybe that's a reason their burgers are good too!

The ambience is comfortable with lots of nice decorations. Too bad the sofa seats were filled up when we reach.

Big Hug Burger @ Big Hug Burger Restaurant 

It comes with sesame bun, crispy fried chicken, lots of lettuce and a special sauce. We chose to change our fries to sausage (good decision XD)

Mario Burger suggested by the aunty. It is much smaller than big hug burger in size (just half of it). It comes with charcoal bun, grilled chicken, cheese and lettuce. Love the combination and a good choice for people who wanna be healthier.

Sunway: Beyond Veggie

This is a #throwback post. Visited Beyond Veggie in Sunway Pyramid 2 months ago, when it was newly opened. Surprisingly, they are selling cakes, pasta, pizzas and of course asian cuisine. 

I ordered one of their pasta --Sesame spaghetti with mushrooms (RM16.90++). It was good and I forgotten that I am in a vegetarian restaurant after finishing my spaghetti. Thumbs up!

Their Beyond Veggie Fried Rice (RM15.90++) is a must try! I love their satay and the portion is huge!
It is more filling than the spaghetti above. Maybe this can be a choice for the boyfriend and girlfriend shall eat pasta. XD

I tried their yam cake too. Worth trying I would say. *sorry for not uploading the photo of the cake as I couldn't find it.* Will try this restaurant again! Please open in Perak!! 

Sunway: Delicious (Dessert)

I always hear people saying that desserts in Delicious are good. A year ago, I tried their caramelized macadamia cheese cake. It is a bit hard for me to recall the taste but I remember I commented "OK" for it.

During finals in November, I went to Delicious for dinner and ordered a slice of red velvet cake. I have high hope with Delicious due to its high reputation and nice ambience.

The cake is alright but a bit too cheesy for me. You can see how thick is the cream cheese in between compared to the red velvet I recommended in Upstairs Cafe. The decoration of the cake in Delicious is undoubtly beautiful. Look at those cute little macaroons on top! They are really lovely.

However, I still prefer the soft texture of the cake in Upstairs. Sorry to say. And Upstair's red velvet is half the price. =P

Subang: Upstairs Cafe

Friend: "Dear, I am craving for Red Velvet cake in Upstairs. arghhhh...."
Me:       "Upstairs? Is it that nice? I tried a few Red Velvet in KL and they are just alright."
Friend:  "You gonna try this."

That was part of the conversation between a friend and me 2 months ago. I looked forward to try the cake and I read about the nice ambiance from other food blogs too. *tempted*

Luckily, I have an opportunity to drop by this cafe before going back hometown. A short conclusion for my visit -- Nice place to catch up with friends, affordable price + large portion for main dishes, and RED VELVET IS AWESOME.

This cafe is located at SS12, and it is really upstairs. Restaurant Bawang Merah is the downstairs shop. It is self-service and their menu is written on a blackboard. I heard from my friends that they change their menu everyday as they have limited choices per day.

Chicken pesto pasta ordered by my friend. I tried a bit and it is creamy. The portion is just nice that it can fill up your tummy and would not let you feel disgusted with the creamy texture.  

Roasted chicken sandwich (RM8.00) and surprisingly served with chips! I enjoyed munching the chips and the sandwich is better than my expectation. They have a lot of vege in the sandwich. *claps*

Hot chocolate ordered by my friend with such a cute innocent bear on top. haha! We were so reluctant to take a sip after looking at the bear's face. XD

Last but not least, the RED VELVET CAKE (RM8)! Ta-daa.... Happily presented to you by me! The colour of the cake matches my OOTD (Outfit of the day). hehe... 

We chatted in the cafe until 11pm, which is their closing time. The waiters are quite friendly and they did helped us to take several group pics.

Little gift from Wrigley's -- sugar free mints

Thanks to Wrigley's Malaysia Facebook page, I've the chance to try the new product for free!! It's spearmint flavor doublemint sugar free mints. 

Being retarded, I thought this is a box of mini chewing gums and my perception did not change until I bite on the mint. Ooppps! It's a real surprise for me. :) This box of mints came at the right timing where I need refreshment the most-- my final exam period. Really appreciate this little gift and enjoyed them waking me up! 

Publika: Coffee Stain By Joseph

Girls can wake up for nice breakfast or dessert. =D

This morning we wake up early to try out Coffee Stain by Joseph in Publika as we saw a lot of instagram photos about those cute latte art -- cats, bears, doggies, etc.... We're having holiday and since I'm going back hometown very soon, we decided to try the cafe out and keep ourselves "up-to-date" with current trend. *wink wink*

Reach publika around 10am and the cafe is still kinda empty.

Cake counter on our right when we enter the cafe.

We came all the way for 3D latte art and anticipating latte art for our coffee. However, it is a bit disappointing as the waitress informed us that they can only make 3D art with dark chocolate. So, we have no choice but to order chocolate, instead of coffee. *Disappointing, I can't get my mocha dose*

Then, the waitress also informed us that we have to wait 30 minutes for our chocolate. =O So, while waiting for our drinks, we decided to order a slice of cake to try out as we're getting hungrier. 

Oreo cheesecake that we ordered. 
It isn't the cheesecake that I'm looking for. Their cheesecake is too milky and I can't taste cheese at all. Oreo taste isn't too strong as well. Oreo cheesecakes that I tried in Secret Recipe and CakeSense are much better.

One of my friend ordered soy latte and the latte art isn't nice. =( 

Their soy latte is full of soya taste and I can't feel the coffee. This is making my breakfast very sad. 

After a small talk, our chocolate came finally!

First design: Cute bear with paws.

 Second design: 3 little cats

I would say their dark chocolate is alright. I thought it would be bitter but it is similar as the normal milk chocolate that I usually have. Why is it dark? Hmm... I've no idea. It is just a nice place for you to take photo with your drink, nothing much that I would recommend. 

Just a note: Their latte art has to add on RM5 and you have to request for it. The dark chocolate costs me RM15++. Worthy or not? You can justify yourself I think =)

Sunway: Garage 51

As I am a student studying in Monash University, opening of Garage51 in Sunway aread is a WOW. Before opening, I passed by Garage51 and saw their design, it was really cool and I believe it can attract a lot of students. =) This cafe is being recommended by a lot of bloggers, of course I have to try it out since it is so near!

Finally after a month, I have the chance to try Garage51 by CoffeeSociete! Had too many assignments and tests for a final semester student. Went there with my coursemates after our last in-semester test. 

This is where they prepare and serve food for customers-- Look so cool! Love the environment in the cafe with friendly staff.

The menu: They have daily special (the day I went was Chicken Bolognese + iced lemon tea). Their choices are just good enough for me to who have difficulty in choosing. 

Soy latte as my coffee dose of the day =) It was really good and their little sweet latte art. 

I'm craving for it at the moment! The soy latte I had was great - not too sweet, nor bitter, and love the coffee aroma. Great choice for a lactose intolerance people like me.

My food of the day: AWESOME GARAGE BREAKFAST
(smoked salmon, hashbrown, swiss brown mushrooms, paoched eggs covered with hollandaise sause)
Great choice for brunch if you're salmon/hashbrown lover like me!

And and and, this cafe is a great spot for you to have a few photos with your friends. they have special corners for you  to pose, and not to forget the red car outside!

I would say I enjoyed my lunch in Garage51 and definitely will visit it again before I leave Sunway. T.T Why I have to graduate when there's good coffee around??

Cameron Highland: A Weekend Getaway

A recap for my Cameron Highland trip this year. What is so cool about Cameron Highlands? I get different opinions from friends, some says it is boring - there isn't many shops around and you have nothing to see other than nature, some says it is relaxing - a great weekend getaway place where you can clear your mind and enjoy the chilling weather, some says it is a great place for steamboat - when you have steamboat in any non-highland places in Malaysia, I can guarantee that you will sweat like mad, whereas in Cameron, steamboat shops are everywhere and vegetables are fresh and you will appreciate the heat as the temperature can be around 14-16'C.

I went there on a Friday evening and joined a day tour the next morning. The tour was great as I went to some new places instead of all the farms I've been to. (For your information, this isn't my first Cameron Highland trip. I've been there for about 4 times before this.)

First stop early in the morning -- MOSSY FOREST. The picture below tells it all. All the trees in the forest are covered with mosses. I find the trail quite challenging for that day because it was drizzling and the ground was wet and slippery. And guess what, I slipped before stepping out the trail @_@ Then, I have to carry on with other activities with my dirty butt. Great experience! It is just the clumsy me that cause me to slip. I still find mossy forest beautiful and it can be a great hiking place for hikers. =)

MOSSY FOREST

Next stop was another hiking trail, then follow by tea plantation. As I was not in mood and the rain got worse at the other hiking trail, hence I'll skip that part. 

Tea plantation is beautiful and our tour guide gave us a briefing about tea. Interestingly, most of us were't paying attention and busy taking photos. How could you resist the pretty of the greens!

Tea Plantation

Tea Plantation - definitely a good place for photoshoot =P

We had lunch at strawberry farm and it wasn't too filling and a bit over-priced. However, I enjoyed their strawberry salad -- the lettuce and tomatoes are really fresh; strawberries a bit sour though.

Strawberry farm

Our last stop before dinner was waterfall and we also visited Orang Asli (They are really cute and friendly =)). After that, we have steamboat for dinner! (Told ya Cameron Highland has plenty of steamboat places)

Waterfall

It was definitely a great experience for me to explore something different in Cameron. It has something more challenging than farms visit. Yeah, of course you shouldn't miss the fun to visit Honey Bee farm, Cactus farm, Rose farm, Strawberry farm, etc, if you're a first timer.

If you need more information about Cameron, I can provide you some, especially advice for accommodations. =)

Cheers!

Subang: Haikara style cafe and bakery

Yeah! First food review for my new blog is here!! I've been scrolling through my photos and thinking which restaurant/cafe that I would want to share the most. Ta-daa!! No surprise as the title is a big hint. Haha...

Haikara style cafe is located at e-tiara, subang. It is within walking distance from Aeon big (previously known as Carrefour) Subang. You need to pay some attention while searching for this cafe (just my opinion as I got lost =P). 

It is a small cafe, runs by a Japanese lady. She is very sweet and I like her Japanese accent. Roasted coffee is their top-hit but it isn't my type of coffee to be honest. It has strong "roasted" aroma which should be good. It is just that I am a mocha/latte person.

I went to this cafe twice- once for breakfast once for dinner. Both experiences were good and I am craving for their dessert at the moment. 

Chicken teriyaki don - very good! Although the price is higher than usual Japanese don that I tried in sushi Zanmai or sakae sushi, it is good and healthier. Look at the salad they serve with the don. So happy to see the vege as I'm always constipated. 

Must-try dessert: cinnamon toast with ice cream. The toast is warm and sweetness is just nice. Imagine the fragrance of cinnamon + warm toast + vanilla ice cream. Best combination ever! They have double toast/scoop of ice cream too! Just beware of calories girls. 

Mocha Swiss roll is another good one. Their cream didn't give me an "oily" after-effect. It is refreshing with the fruits. Recommend for people who dislike cinnamon or sweet desserts. :)

I would give a 8/10 for my food indulgence in this cafe. The price range is slightly high, around RM20 for mains and RM10 for dessert. I would save money and go again soon! 

Cheers. 

Tasmania: Launceston Cataract Gorge

Hey all! I'm going to start my first post with a beautiful picture of Cataract Gorge in Launceston that I took in 2011. I went there for a road/backpacking trip with a group of friends. Cataract Gorge was our first stop after reaching Tasmania. 

A brief description of Cataract Gorge quoted from their website: 

Cataract Gorge Reserve, or ""The Gorge"" as the locals call it, is a unique natural formation within a two-minute drive of central Launceston - a rare natural phenomenon in any city.
In 15 minutes you can walk from the city centre along the banks of the Tamar River into "The Gorge".
From here you follow a pathway along the cliff face, originally built in the 1890s, looking down onto the South Esk River. The Kings Bridge over "The Gorge" was floated into place in 1867. 
The First Basin, on the southern side, features a swimming pool and an open area surrounded by bushland. 
In contrast, the shady northern side, named the Cliff Grounds, is a Victorian garden where wilderness is created with ferns and exotic plants - nature is enhanced by art. There's a Restaurant and kiosk, rolling lawns and a rotunda, a pub with a view, a footbridge and chairlift across the river, peacocks in the trees, wallabies at dusk. This may be the nation's most alluring urban reserve. 
Further upstream is the historic Duck Reach Power Station, now an Interpretation Centre. The Launceston City Council originally commissioned the Power Station in 1893, making it the largest hydro-electric scheme of its day. By 1895 it was lighting the city.

Looking at the beautiful scenary, I am sure you won't regret paying a visit here. Back then, I'm like a little girl, holding my camera, keep snapping photos and "wow"-ing all the way. 

Of course, to get better scenery, you need to put some effort in. Follow the walking trail and you will find nicer scenery along the way. I enjoyed the walk and it wasn't a tiring experience for me because I went during end of Spring (the weather is just perfect! Note: Tasmania is normally colder compared to cities like Melbourne and Sydney). 

This is a photo taken by my friend half-way through the walking trail. The lighting is heavenly pretty isn't it. =) 

 (On the left) A photo of cliffground - there's many peacocks around that area. Get your chance to take good photos with them. They're really cute! Some even appear in the restaurant while we were having our lunch.
(On the right) The blogger on the kings bridge with amazing scenery around. 

If you wish to find out more about Cataract Gorge, you can go to their official website and have a look. It is definitely worth a trip. I miss Tasmania again after writing this post. haha!

Stay tuned for next post! Thanks for reading. =) Cheers