LOVE LIFE, CHERISH MOMENTS

   With the current heat wave hitting Malaysia real hard, i can't help but missing the icy cold desserts i had in my Bangkok trip few weeks ago. Similar to Malaysia, Thailand also shares the tropical warmth and monsoon seasons. I still remember all i wanted during my trip there was cold coconut water all day every day. Now that i'm back, i'm starting to miss some of their sweet lily mangoes as well. That leads to my entry today, which is all about this popular mango-themed cafe in Bangkok--Mango Tango!





    Mango Tango is situated in this 2-storey shop lots. It was super crowded when we reached, as usual, filled with hungry tourists like us. We were required to queue for a while before making our order at the counter. After we made our payment, then only the waitress will lead us to our table. (So much of insecurity right? Afraid that we will run away?) Anyway, i was quite bumped when they rudely demanded us to order one item per person. I was like, this doesn't make sense at all. What about small eaters that cannot even finish one serving? They will waste the food instead (thinking about poor African kids). I was utterly disappointed with their service and policy, a big no-no in my dictionary.

   Nevertheless, since we made it here after such a long walk, we had to succumb to their rules and order several items. Mango Tango is well known for its mango sticky rice dessert. Hence, we ordered their signature Mango Tango, Mango Salsa, Mango Aloha, Mango Parfait and Mango Iceberg.

Mango Tango's Signature Mango Sticky Rice--160+THB Mango Pudding+Fresh Mango+Mango Sorbet+Sticky RIce

Mango Salsa--95+THB Mango Pudding with Fresh Mango cubes and juice

Mango Aloha--75+THB Diced Mango in Milk Sago topped with Mango Sauce

Mango Parfait--95+THB Mango Ice-cream, diced mango and corn flakes

Mango Iceberg--95+THB Mango Sorbet with sago and mixed fruits

    Sadly, this cafe fell short from my expectation. The mango sticky rice was not remarkable. The serving of sticky rice was only a tablespoon, too small for the price that we are paying. Mango pudding was bland, mango sorbet was ordinary. Similar materials were used in all the other desserts, so we got to taste the exact same thing in different arrangement and combination. It was redundant and lack of creativity. The only plus point was the sweet lily mango that saved all the dessert items.

   In other words, i was totally disappointed with Mango Tango and it was seriously over-rated. I hope that some improvement can be made with their menu and service, so that tourists that came all the way for this would not be disappointed as we did.

More Information~
Website: http://www.mymangotango.com/

    Recently, there has been some stirring in my social circle, all revolving around this 'glasshouse cafe' that swept over the whole Malaysia. From JB's Palladium Cafe to KL's similar branch off Jalan Ipoh, this little glasshouse cafe just opened its sister's cafe in Penang as well. So what's so hype about this cafe? It turns out to be something similar as one of the scene Jay Chou used in his music video. If you are interested, you can check out the link here: Jay Chou's music video

Hot Cappucino--RM 9.90

Iced Cappucino--RM 11.90

Red Velvet Cake--RM 13

I found the cute little logo of The Lawn Cafe

#flatlays

Yeap, the typical tourist post

Every moment is photo taking session with this girl!

Cafe hopping never ends with this dearie!

Gion Set--159+THB Green Tea Roll Cake filled with strawberry custard, served with green tea+bamboo charcoal soft serve, sliced fruits, nama chocolate and green tea syrup.

Matcha Deluxe Parfait--229+THB Green tea+milk custard jelly--Red bean--green tea shaved ice--Kantan jelly--glutinous rice ball--single scoop matcha soft serve--nama chocolate--whipped cream--cookies

Sumi Matcha Anmitsu--149+THB Matcha-bamboocharcoal mixed soft serve (Wagashi), served with fresh fruit toppings, 'Kuromame' black soy bean, azuki, shiratama, 'Kanten' jelly, 'Kuromitzu' (black honey) syrup.

    As you might notice, these photos were not upright enough and flawed. The truth is, i was not able to focus when taking these seductive desserts. After a few shots, i immediately started gulping all these wonders down. For the Gion Roll set, we went with matcha roll cake. I must say, the roll cake was amazing with generous amount of strawberry custard cream, and it was soft and silky smooth. Their matcha+bamboo charcoal was super smooth and it melted away inside my mouth. Bamboo charcoal did not carry much flavour, it tasted like vanilla milk soft serve with bamboo charcoal powder as colouring agents. My second favourite is the Sumi Matcha Amitsu, or soft serve fruit bowl. I like how generous they are in the serving and types of fruit toppings. It was so refreshing and black honey syrup really stepped up the entire flavor for this dish. Lastly, the matcha parfait was a little bit let down as i dislike the bottom milk and green tea jelly. I'm not quite sure whether it can be called as jelly because the consistency was very hard and tasteless. Nana's parfait would topple this item easily.

   Anyway, i still recommend this cafe to all the matcha-maniac out there. There are actually plenty of awesome dessert cafes around Bangkok. So the next time you visit this city, be sure to try out this Japanese dessert cafe rather than the usual 'touristy' cafes! I'll catch you guys next time! xoxo

More Information~
Website: http://www.kyorollen.com/
Menu: http://www.kyorollen.com/menu/
Address: GF (Sweet Avenue Zone), Siam Paragon, Bangkok

    Since Kota is situated inside the compound of Fort Cornwallis, one has to pay for the admission fee of RM 10 per person. A wrist tag will be given to you. Don't worry because as long as you spend more than RM 20 in KOTA, they will refund your admission fee by deducting it from your total bill.

I suppose this is Francis Light reading some cooking recipe?

    KOTA is a little glasshouse on the far left corner of the Fort. The interior is in my favourite white, dressed in both modern and antique scent, evident from its comfortable and sleek furniture to the old English emerald green coffee bar. The design of all glass wall provides abundant natural lighting to illuminate this beautiful space, perfect for photo-taking.

Papadum

Honeydew Sago Drink--RM 16 Honeydew ice blended drink, served with sago

Hokkien--RM 25 Hokkien mee/Prawn noodle inspired angel hair pasta cooked in prawn broth, served with quail eggs, sambal, prawns and caviar.

A closer look at this beauty

Nyonya--RM 25 Baba Nyonya inspired 'Nasi Lemak' with otak-otak (fish cake) as base, topped with coconut rice and 'rendang chicken'.

#flatlays

Parfait--RM 19 3 frozen mousse-like dessert with the flavours of: 1. Pandan topped with gula melaka infused coconut flakes 2. Black sesame topped with glutinous rice ball filled with black sesame paste 3. Nangka/Jackfruit

   From the outlook of it, i guess it is pretty obvious that KOTA adapted the concept of fusion between Western and local Malaysia cuisines in producing their menu. My favourite is the Hokkien dish. I thought it was pretty brilliant and innovative in combining our Penang's pride--Hokkien Mee/Prawn Noodle and everybody's favourite--Italian pasta into something so unique and delicious. The broth was incredibly rich and packed with the flavours of Hokkien mee's goodness (prawns). The sambal was mixed with some dried shrimps, further enriching this dish. The angel hair was cooked to perfection and the addition of prawns, quail eggs and caviar accentuated the quality and elegance of this pasta, making it a wonderful dish at the level of fine dining.

   However, the Nyonya dish fell a little bit under the shadow of Hokkien. The portion was too small, we only got 2 pieces of tiny chicken breast. Otherwise, there are no major issues with the flavours and seasoning, very Malaysian and unique in a way. In the end, i don't quite get the idea of adding a layer of 'otak-otak' as the base of the rice tower, as the flavor did not go well with the rest of the body.

   Lastly, our drink and dessert were just alright, nothing too significant to me. The only problem with the 'parfait' was the interpretation of the menu doesn't seem to fit into the product. Parfait in my understanding is layered dessert or frozen dessert (something like ice-cream) in French. What we received instead was 3 mousse-like cubes that stood in between pudding and frozen mousse. Flavors wise was the same Malaysian-inspired local flavours such as pandan coconut, black sesame and jackfruit. It surely doesn't worth the RM 19 judging from its size and material.

My cafe hopping partner--Caryn

    Nevertheless, this was still a wonderful dining experience with Kota. I am very impressed with their effort and the beautiful fusion concept they have in this cafe. I see substantial potential in this glasshouse and i believe they will continue to impact Penang's cafe industry with the creativity they acquire. Till next time, xoxo.

More Information~
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KotaPenang/
Address: Kota Cornwallis Dine & Coffee-When Francis Meets Rempah, Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah, Georgetown, Penang.
Business Hours: 10am-10pm, Daily