LOVE LIFE, CHERISH MOMENTS

   Hmmm, took a break from writing food review and now i'm back in the game!!! Today, i'm gonna introduce you to a special cafe in Penang that i visited when i was back, a week ago. Actually, i intended to go to this cafe months ago when i first saw it on a food blog and the picture of the toast looked so tempting!! Yet, i never been to that part of Penang so didn't try it till now. Last Saturday, i went to the island with Ms Ah Zheng and Ms Victoria!!! [They actually appeared in my older posts before, so you know..:)]. Vic just came back from Australia, so this meeting is mainly to catch up with her and to see how much she has changed. (since she said she gained a lot, oopssieee). We had our lunch in Bayan Baru, but weren't satisfied so i suggested why not we try out this cafe.

   Love Bites Fusion Cuisine is considered one of the heritage cafe, located at Jalan Nagore, Penang Island, somewhere near New World Park. It's next to La Mei Zhi as well, a famous steamboat outlet which i'll try out some time later. It is not a very big scale cafe like China House but i love their decor as it's very simple, modern and romantic. It hosts around 8 tables but the soothing music and clean interior won me over. Love Bites serves various Western fusion dishes like spaghetti, chop, the usual ones. However, its speciality and trade mark is still the Love Toast. A love toast is not your ordinary butter+kaya toast that you have in a kopitiam, it is basically a dessert toast: a block of toast, filled with different fillings, decorated by various toppings and sauces. It's my first time trying this so i was super excited!!!

A petite cafe~

cozy environment~

   Love Bites serves 3 types of dessert toast: Temptation of Love, Sensation of Love and Impression of Love. Such a gluey and sweet name for a toast right? LOL. We finally decided to go with The Impression of Love, which is a strawberry-flavored one and also a glass of peach tea to go with.

le menu~

   When the toast was served, the waitress even gave us time to take plenty of photos before she cut it. LOL. I guess there must be many customers like us huh? Sigh, young people nowadays, photos first before eating. LOL. Anyway, i was amazed by this love toast as i thought, ohh well, it's just a toast topped with a scoop of  strawberry ice cream, strawberry slices, strawberry and white chocolate sauce. When the waitress cut it up, a chunk of cookie crumble suddenly tumbling out from the block of toast. The inside was actually filled with a few buttered and sweetened bread sticks and cookie crumble. The bread stick is crunchy, flavorful and goes really well with the toppings. It's just lovely to see and even more exciting to taste.

The Impression of Love~

TADAA!!! XD

Lovely~

   Overall, it's a nice and unique cafe, perfect for a day out with friends and dates. The price is considered average, RM 18.90 per love toast, service is good and the environment is excellent!! If you are bored with the usual cakes and coffee in the usual cafe, feel free to try out this one. You'll definitely be surprised and delighted. Ohh, one more thing, i think it's better if you share the love toast with someone cause i think the portion is quite big. I shared with 2 of my friends and we couldn't finish the last few bits. LOL. I kind of like this place, will surely come back next time!! xoxo.

Last but not least: selca of the day~ my lovely food buddies~ <3

   Hello hello my dear readers!! It's a beautiful Sunday, just came back from church, lunch and grocery shopping with ma family!! Just a regular sunday evening, but i appreciate every moment of life, every second spent with them is really valuable~ erm, bought the whole family Chatime beverages, 4 drinks for just RM10!! So worth it right? Cause normaly an ordinary Chatime beverage will costs like RM5.90, but this time, DiGi collaborates with Chatime One Utama branch, offering a buy-one-free-one deal to the public. DiGi users will have a special rebate, which is RM5 for 2 drinks. The detail is as below:

   So, today i'm gonna continue where i left on, which is also the last part of this Penang series. It's gonna be a short one, but i'll make it up with lots of gorgeous photos taken by me!! LOL. Last but not least, the reason why you should set your next travel destination as Penang is......

   Ok peopo, i'm back to my lappy again. Erm, remember what i said in my previous entry? I'm giving you a few reasons why you should love Penang as much as i do? LOL. Here comes the second part..

#2: Heritage attractions~
   Well, as many of you know, Penang is actually an old city, started off hundreds years ago, with The British Settlement. It's basically a guy named Francis Light, how he came and mesmerised by the beauty and potential of Penang, slowly getting this piece of land from the local king (Sultan) and the story goes on with tonnes of development, wars and finally independence. Anyway, the main point is that The British played a huge role in developing and defining Penang. All the old buildings you see in Penang are influenced by the architecture culture from Britain. Thanks to them, Penang has everything a modern and developing city ought to have. They saw the advantage of Penang as a sea port, transformed Penang to a trading harbour, further upgrading it to a place with plenty of business opportunities and diverse culture.

   Today, Penang still looks the same, with addition of significant development and sky-scrappers. Even though the British has left for so long, but we could still see those old buildings along the streets, some were destroyed, some were conserved, some were rebuilt. I especially like driving on the streets in island, constantly amazed by the old big trees along the road and also the sunny yet windy weather. With the recent acknowledgement from UNESCO as one of the world's heritage site, it quickly gains attention from the world. Moreover, with the help of Ernest Zacharevic, a Lithuanian artist who created few interesting, lively mural on the old streets of Penang, it is now a hot spot for tourists all over the world. You can check out his artwork here: http://www.zachas.com/.

Sister and brother on a bike, based on a real photo. Located at Lebuh Armenian.

Lebuh Ah Quee

Lebuh Victoria

Step By Step Lane. The latest addition.

Gat Lebuh Chulia

Lebuh Cannon

Chew Jetty

  Just some places i went this year. This is not all of them, there is still plenty of sites that i haven't been~
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   On top of all the above, another must go when you visit Penang is the heritage cafe. Heritage cafe is a cafe operating in a heritage/old houses, found mostly in Georgetown. The owners renovated the old buildings, converted and transformed them into modern, romantic and chillax cafe which served nothing but awesome Western fusion cuisine and also great coffee. I've been to a few, like China House, Love Bites Fusion Cuisine, Cafe 55 and more which i will blog about later on. So stay tuned!!! *exciting*

Cafe 55

Love Bites Fusion Cuisine

China House

The Twelve Cup Mile Crepe Cake.

   I've tried quite a few of these heritage cafe and find them really awesome and memorable. Each of them offers diverse choices of speciality and nice ambience, just perfect for a day out with love ones, friends and even business meetings. I have so much to write about just hope that you could give me some time to gather my thoughts and photos. I promise you, it'll be great!! I love Penang!! XD

   Good day my fellow readers~ So, i just came back from Penang, my sweet and irreplaceable hometown. For those who know me, you'll know that i came from Penang, just moved to Kuala Lumpur last year. Yes, KL is such a busy and happening city, but nothing compares to my beloved hometown, the place that i was born, grew up and stores a great variety of food and attractions!!! Hence, i've decided to post something to promote this lovely place and tell you why you should pay it a visit! :)

#1--THE FOOD
   Ok, Penang is famous for its hawker food, it's an understatement yo~ Hocker food makes Penang. Without it, it's not Penang anymore. LOL. This is how significant food is to us Penangnites. Well, it's hard to tell you how different it is from other places. Hmmm, i just find it more authentic, no MSG, no addictives, just   pure flavor inherited from the past. It's sincere, cheap, exciting and what's more, it holds the true spirit of a food prep, humble and passionate. If you were to visit Penang, you'll find that the best hawker food is always located in some not so high-class area, maybe beside a drain, in an alley, roadside, or even at the hawker's house. Nevertheless, do not look down to it, give it a try and you'll not be disappointed!!! Ok, enough crap talk, just take a look at the wonderful photos and i hope you can imagine the fragrance behind your PC screen!! XD

very very delicious, freshly prep koay teow th'ng

so famous, it's featured on local newspaper!!

Next, I also went to this awesome kopitiam at Sungai Nibong, Island, right opposite Kwong Hua Primary School. It's open as early as 6.30 in the morning. Koay Teow Th'ng is simply a rice noodles with clear soup and fishballs. However, in this kopitiam, koay teow th'ng is served with a twist. You can pick your own ingredients to be included in the dish, like extra egg, chicken meat, vege and more, and the boss (tauke) will cook everything you chose in a pot with clear soup that is prepared earlier. Hence, every bowl is unique and re-cooked. I dare to say that this is the best koay teow th'ng i have ever tasted in my life!! i'm so so so lucky to be born in Penang!!! LOL. The koay teow is so smooth that it just slip through your throat! The soup is clear, sweet and flavorful but not oily. All the sides used is fresh and i love their minced pork meat. Each of them is so juicy and sweet!! I like thier coffee too. As you can see from the photo, i ordered a cup of kopi susu, which is coffee with milk. It's so smooth and silky but not too sweet. A big thumb up to this kopitiam!! :D

Laksa

Hokkien Mee again~

Loh Bak: which means variety of fried processed meat and prawn mixture, dipped with sauces.

All 3 dishes above can be found in Bee Bee Hawker Center, located behind Sunshine Shopping Complex in Bayan Baru, Island. There is plenty of awesome food there too, but these are my favourite!! :)

Tomyam noodles

Note: this tomyam noodle is different from all that you've tried in the usual Thai restaurant. You can choose your own ingredients to be put into the soup, and also the types of noodles and soup base (tomyam/clear soup). In other words, you can customise your own dish!!! Some of the ingredients is like big, juicy prawns, meatballs, mushroom, pork meat and more. This can be found at a shop beside Kwong Hua Primary School at Raja Uda as well. Please don't get confused, this Kwong Hua Primary School is in Butterworth, different from the one in Penang Island!! XD. It's open daily at 7pm except for Monday. Beside this, you can also try out those from Joo Heng (Jalan Raja Uda) or Heng Heng at Bandar Mutiara, Bukit Mertajam.

Hokkien Mee!! Yea, i know, i have a thing for it.LOL

Wantan Noodles

Popiah: lettuce, sweet turnip, carrot, shrimp sauce all rolled in a spring roll skin.

The next destination for great variation of delicious hawker food is Northam Beach Cafe. It is situated opposite of The Northam Hotel, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, somewhere near Gurney and Pulau Tikus. It's opened only at night 5pm onwards till late night. This is a famous hang out spot for foreign tourists as they adore the strategic location of it, situated next to the windy shore, overlooking the mainland jetty. There's music played, romantic night lights and tonnes of great food. You'll definitely get spoiled of choices!!!

The famous Penang Road Teochew Cendol!!!

tasty Char Koay Teow

Well, last but not least, you HAVE to try the famous Penang Road Cendol whenever you visit Penang. It's situated in an alley beside Joo Hooi Cafe, Penang Road. It's just a stall, which has operated for the past decades. It's so good, creamy, sweet, chilly and attracts so many customers every day!! People don't mind queuing up for a long time, under the scorching hot sun and enjoying a bowl of cendol standing up. It's THAT GOOD!! LOL. The friendly boss, which is more known as The CEO has a total of 9 branches of awesome hawker food around Penang, one of them is also a cendol/ice-kacang stall at raja Uda, Butterworth. However, somehow, i just think that the original stall here in Penang Road is still the best!! ;) ermm, besides that, feel free to try out the Char Koay Teow inside the Joo Hooi Cafe. It's considered quite well cooked, but i have to warn you for the long waiting time!! :)

   "What?!! Publika again?!!" LOL. I know, i know, I have been posting reviews about Publika's restaurant over and over..but i just couldn't help it, totally in love with this cool hang out place..teehee..even my family is influenced by me. Therefore, my dad brought us there 2 weeks ago and we decided to give Fat Boy's Burger a try since i've heard so much good review about it from my peers.

   Fat Boy's Burger Bar is a new highlight in town with branches in Singapore as well. It's something like an American food outlet with obvious influence on its interior design: simple, direct and a little 80's black and white floor tiles. They have a semi-open kitchen concept where you can see what's going on in the kitchen. However, for me, it's just an opening for me to see when is my food gonna come!! LOL


   Besides, Fat Boy's offers a huge variety flavors of burger ranging from patties (beef, lamb, pork, chicken) to buns (sesame/wheat), sauces and add-ons. It's amazing to see their step-by-step instruction on how to create your own customised burger written on one of the walls. CREATIVE. I'm loving the music they played also, all those 80's classic, from The King of Pop, Michael Jackson to Elvis Presley, such an enjoyment to dine in here.

   Okayyyy, moving on to the food, le bro ordered Fat Boy's signature: The FAT BASTERD. It's basically a sesame bun, sandwiching 2 pieces of succulent beef patties (can choose the other meats as well), cheddar cheese, bacon (!!!), an egg with their special BBQ sauce. I ordered the smaller version of this which is The WHOOPER. The difference is that mine has only 1 patty. All burgers comes with fries and some lettuce and tomato. Well, what can i say? The beef was very juicy and well-seasoned as i like my beef medium rare! :) The barbecue sauce mix all the ingredients together, making this burger so irresistable!!! No wonder so many people praising it all these while. However, the fried steak that daddy ordered wasn't up to standard. We find it a little bit too dry. I don't blame it, cause after all, it's a BURGER BAR. LOL.

the legendary FAT BASTERD!!!

The Whooper~

daddy's fried steak with mashed and coleslaw.

   I'm very pleased with this place and will definitely bring my friends here one day!! :). Next stop, i'm gonna visit Fat Boy's competitor: My Burger Lab at Sea Garden, PJ. Stay tuned!! ;) xoxo

   My stressful semester 4 had finally come to an end, and my holiday started a week ago!! I'm like super excited!! Finally, i can have some time for myself, my plans, food trips or maybe just lying on my bed, doing nothing..:p. Anyway, this post is all about a great restaurant i went on last Friday along with my uni buddies!! Introducing The Bee, Publika.

   The Bee is situated in a strategic location--Publika, Mont Kiara. Publika has evolved into a popular hang out location for KL peeps over this year. This is mainly due to the very unique and creative design of the mall itself. Publika constantly fascinates its visitors with recyclable materials as decorations, even though the christmas tree's decoration also made out of card-boards. Besides, it is also a great place for gathering, meals, brunch, tea, or any special occasion as it holds many interesting cafe and restaurants. Hmm, and not to forget about B.I.G--> Ben's Independent Grocer!! This i'll cover in the next post, let's just focus on The Bee today alright? :)

le menu~

   I always wanted to visit The Bee since my pal Zheng highly recommend it since our last meeting. Moreover, from all the research i did from online food blogs, all of them gave The Bee a big thumb up!! So, after selective, i drove to Mont Kiara (without knowing the way..oops) to have lunch over there. However, too bad, we reached there at 2.03pm, which was passed their last lunch order(2pm). Hence, we have to settle with ala carte instead. Nevertheless, the food was still awesome!!! I ordered a Chicken Terriyaki Sandwich with lettuce, tomato, onion and a drizzle of mayo and fries along with a cup of Cappuccino for a dose of caffeine. Overall, the sandwich was quite ok, better than subway of course..crunchy crust, fresh vege and very tender chicken meat. My favourite cappuccino was surprisingly creamy, rich but not too overwhelming!! I like my coffee with a significant espresso boost yet not too strong or sour accompanied by 1/5 of foam with extra milk. The Bee's cappuccino was definitely a spot on for me!! happy grin*

derek's hotdog bun with fries

laine's the Bee's signature beff burger

sarina's the Bee's signature chicken burger

my chicken terriyaki sandwich

cappuccino~

    After that, while waiting for our friends to join us, i tried their ice-cream~The Last Polka too. As many bloggers pen down how unique and tasty these ice-cream are, i couldn't wait to try it out myself!! As The Last Polka wrote: If you're looking for great tasting homemade ice cream in Kula Lumpur, You've come to the right place. made with 100% natural ingredients, we combine our creamy French-style ice cream with the regional Asian flavours we love. What else can i say? The exact truth!! They offer us a wide range of special flavours with an Asian touch such as: teh tarik, salted gula melaka, guinness beer and also some internationally accepted flavours like nutella, strawberry cream cheese, brown butter and almond and more. I was a happy girl just by looking over the wide variation of ice cream in front of the counter!! LOL. Mine was the teh tarik-flavoured ice cream. Hmmm, it wasn't very sweet, the teh tarik essence was very strong and i could taste it in every mouthful! If you're a ice cream lover like me, i highly recommend you to come and give this a shot..you'll definitely be surprised!!!


   Overall, the food is awesome, ambience and environment is comfortable and relaxing, but i find that the service was rather bad as there was only 1 worker in charged of the whole cafe during lunch time!! We waited for a long time just to order/add on. If you're not rushing/just wanna have a lazy afternoon to read and chit-chat with friends, this is the place to be!! xoxo