LOVE LIFE, CHERISH MOMENTS

   Greetings world! I can't believe that 2013 is coming to an end in one more day! It felt like yesterday, when i was still at home writing my new year resolutions and poof, here i am, blogging one last post for the year before welcoming 2014. The year 2013 has been rewarding and challenging to me as a student, blogger, young lady, daughter, sister and friend. I've learnt and grown so much and am looking forward to what the new year has to offer. Well before we start on 2014, let's have a recap on my favourite cafe so far. It's purely personal preference and nothing to do with any scoring system. So sit back and enjoy!

   I'm feeling extra excited right now peeps! As i'm flying to Bangkok in less than 24 hours yo! I am going to a few places in the land of Siamese for few days and i promise will bring forth more great travel and dining experience to you alright? Stay tuned!!

   Anyway, today i'm gonna write about a Japanese Restaurant i used to hang quite often when i was studying in Bukit Jalil. Initially, it was my dear friend Laine who introduced me to this family business, hidden, little Japenese Restaurant by Old Klang Road, called Nihon Kai. She always go there with her family and boast about the awesome Japanese cuisine offered here. Since then, i've been their regular customer as i love the big food portion, great taste and affordable price served by Nihon Kai.





   It is not extremely hard to locate Nihonkai. It is situated by Jalan Klang Lama (Old Klang Road). If you are coming from MidValley/Bangsar/Brickfields direction, once you see a Michelin's car service center, immediately take a left turn. The restaurant will be on your left. Parking is pretty limited as there is no proper parking so you gotta be creative in finding a carpark. The crowd is always big in Nihon Kai, especially during lunch/dinner hours. Therefore, make sure you call up and make a reservation beforehand.

   Today, i brought my family to have lunch after Christmas celebration at church. I ordered by all time favourite--Terriyaki Salmon set/Nihonkai special, daddy had the Salted Saba/Mackerel set while the bro had his usual item--Unagi/Japanese Eel Set. I had an add-on of Salad Hand Roll.

Salad Hand Roll as starter--RM 6++

Salted Saba (Mackerel) Dinner Set--RM 23++

Squeeze them lemon!

Unagi Don--RM 35++

Terriyaki Salmon Lunch Set--RM19++

   Alright, just to clear any confusion, you can order dinner set during lunch time and vice versa. The difference between these two is an addition of Chawanmushi (steamed egg) in the dinner set. Therefore, it'll be slightly more expensive compared to lunch set. I love my terriyaki salmon set as you can see from the photos, the portion is HUGE. It was well flavored and well cooked. My salad hand roll was pretty amazing as well as the rice was moist and the mayonnaise blended all the ingredients together flawlessly. Daddy's mackerel was lightly salted, very refreshing and fresh. Lastly, the Unagi Don was pretty good as well, but it lacked a bit of the sweet sauce. Otherwise, the whole dish would be perfect.

Mini sakae bar on Ground Floor.

   Aside from Kura Japanese Restaurant in One World Hotel, i love this restaurant as well. It serves great food with affordable price. Each person costs around RM 25. The service was average and environment was classic and ordinary. I gotta warn you that the waiting time for food can go up to 30 minutes to an hour. I guess there were too many customers and not enough kitchen staff to finish the tickets. Anyhow, good food deserves some patience right? Have a awesome last week of the year 2013! Please stay tuned for one last interesting blog post from Love Life, Cherish Moments. Cheers!

Contact info~
Address: No. 4-2, Jalan Telok Gadong, Off Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur
Phone No.: 03-79823668
Business Hours: 12noon- 3pm, 5pm-10pm, Daily

   Hello dear readers! How's your week so far? I'm sure most of you are looking forward to the Christmas/year end holiday as much as i do! So now, i'm reporting live from my hometown Penang. During this trip back, as usual i'll be hunting down great hidden food in Penang and let you know where and what to eat in this little food heaven. Before that, let's journey with me from Penang to Petaling Jaya, introducing Gathers Cafe and Fat Spoon, both are cafe, serving nice coffee and desserts, perfect for your gathering/reunion.

1. Gathers Cafe, Raja Uda, Butterworth

Some stupid yet amusing cafe rules.

      I went to Gathers Cafe few weeks ago with my long lost college firends. I've heard the sudden uprising popularity of this cafe, situated off Jalan Raja Uda, a developing business area. Hence, it's a must for a foodie to try out this cafe. As you can see, though the appearance might be a little bit ordinary, but the interior totally won me over. It is such a relaxing and casual cafe, very suitable for gathering and reunion during the holiday season.

   Well, on that day, i ordered the christmas special: Snowman Espresso set and a cup of Butterscotch Latte. The rest had the famous Affogato, Banana Waffle and Oreo Waffle.

Liege Waffle: Baked Banana with Caramel Sauce--RM 6

Liege Waffle: Temptation Oreo--RM 10

Vanilla and Chocolate ice-cream affogato--RM 7.50 & 8.00

Butterscotch latte--RM 8.0

Christmas Limited Dessert: Snowman Espresso--RM 11

Awww, looks like the snowman is crying~

    Let's start with my items first. I think the butterscotch latte was alright, nothing memorable. The snowman set is quite creative. I mean, incorporating few different items like affogato, marshmallow, lemon water and chocolate into one platter is a new and effective idea for the sweet-tooth like me. Well, for the sharing items like the banana and oreo liege waffle, they were merely satisfactory. I do not fancy the waffle as they were both very tasteless and the flour to egg ratio exceeded the normal range to call it as a good waffle. It tasted like those pre-mix waffle that armatures make at home.

   Aside from the food, the service was alright and the ambiance was good. Pricing was average, approximately RM 15 per person. I would say Gathers Cafe is more on the ambiance than the food. It is certainly a great place for you and your friends to hang out and chit-chat, but do not expect too much other than that. I certainly hope that they would work harder on their execution of food, looking forward to more from them in the near future.

College friends~

 Contact info~
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gathers-Caf%C3%A9/562922303727129?rf=354934621277981
Address: 155, Ground Floor, Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth, Penang
Business hours: 2.00pm-11.00pm daily except Wednesday

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2. Fat Spoon Cafe



   Fat Spoon Cafe is situated in the forever happening Damansara Uptown. It is on the same row as The Good Batch, just on your right if you turn in from the Sprint Highway. I went thr with Ms Zheng few days ago to have some desserts and cold drink to quench the thirst. It is a Malaysian inspired old school cafe, with obvious Malaysian influence from its decor to its menu.




   We were quite stuffed for the day, after 2 meals elsewhere, so we only ordered a Iced Coffee with a scoop of Vanilla ice-cream and Sago Pudding with 'The Last Polka' Salted Gula Melaka ice-cream.

Iced Coffee with Vanilla ice-cream--RM 11

Look at the amazing color gradient!

Sago Pudding with The Last Polka's Salted Gula Melaka ice-cream--RM 10

Well somebody's happy~

   I truly enjoyed the sago pudding. It was so soft and chewy, together with the salty-sweet ice-cream, just SPOT ON! I always love dessert with different flavor and texture, so that the entire thing has more dimension to it. However, i didn't like the iced coffee here. I find it very bitter and nothing else. The coffee that day was just flat, with only bitterness. Even the ice-cream could not save the drink. I had to add some syrup into it so that i could finish that drink. It would be better if the coffee is smoother and less bitter.

    Anyway, Fat Spoon is a promising cafe around as it is different from the usual Western/Australian inspired cafe. It has a theme which is easily accepted by us Malaysian. I appreciate the little details they put into the decoration of this cafe. From the table to the ceiling, every single item was carefully created to bring us back to the olden Malaysia, our childhood. I highly recommend this cafe to those that wish to find back some precious childhood memories via good food and more.

Contact info~
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fatspooncafe
Address: 73, Jalan SS21/1A Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya