Zest Patisserie @ Connaught Avenue, Cheras

Since we were already in the vicinity for lunch at Summer at 17°C Cafe, we might as well kill two birds with one stone...and proceed to our next venue that was just round the corner without the need to brave the traffic again.

We know of a dessert place here that's almost a year old, Zest Patisserie @ Connaught Avenue, Cheras, within a short walking distance from our lunch venue.

Walking into the cafe located on the ground floor, it again reminded me of a similar decor in our previous lunch place with mostly white and beige furniture from...guess where?  Of course it had to be Ikea!  Ikea furniture seems to be a very popular choice among cafe owners (especially dessert cafes) as I've been to so many now with the very popular white and beige theme topping the list).

We were here for some desserts and drinks and I see that they have waffles, cakes and sorbets on their menu (there could be more which I can't remember) and they serve good quality coffee (RGB, I heard) and tea (Harney & Sons).

Waffles is a popular choice here for some sweet pleasures and I've seen a few of them (in blogs).  A highly recommended one is Caprice (a charcoal waffle with salted egg yolk sauce & ice cream).  We've already had salted egg yolk pasta earlier for lunch, so we weren't in the mood for more salted egg yolk.  Other waffles include Durian King (charcoal waffle with cendol & durian ice cream) and Joli (matcha coconut waffle with lemongrass & ginger ice cream).

But we were more interested in their cakes.  Reputed to be made with high quality French ingredients and modern French techniques, these fine and whimsy cakes looked absolutely dainty and pretty in their cake display counter which made it very hard for us to choose...we wanted them all! ;)

#Side Story:
One thing I quickly realised is that only the name of the cake is displayed...no information on the ingredients and some didn't even have specific names, they're just listed as petit gateau of the day! >.<  I ended up asking the lady at the counter what some of these cakes were and she rattled off the names of some of the ingredients which I forgot in the next second already.  You see, people (like us) who knows how to eat only(!), but knows next to nothing about baking, would find the terms alien in our vocabulary and thus find the words won't easily stick to memory.  I gave up (more like embarrassed) after asking her about a few of them. I would much rather they list the ingredients (like what Crosserie Artisan Bakery does) in their place cards (or, maybe, display it in a list at the cake counter) and let us read the ingredients (and commit it to memory at our own pace...kekeke!) thereby making it much easier for us to decide which ones we fancy.

We finally made our choices and selected three slices of cakes....Fantaisie, Le Royale and Earl.  We went with their tea set promotion of one slice of cake with a pot of tea at RM19.90.  Otherwise, the cakes cost between RM13.80 to RM15.80 a slice.  I know their cakes are a bit more on the expensive side but they're made with quality imported ingredients such as Elle & Vire whipping cream (French, no less) and the finest Belgian chocolates (Callebaut) for their pastry creations.

The first one, Fantaisie @ RM13.80 a slice, is made with coconut mousse, passion fruit cremeux and matcha dacquoise.  Now you must be wondering how I know these since the ingredients were not listed in their place cards...well, I referred to their Facebook for the details, of course! ;P

It's a soft and luscious cake with a predominant coconut flavour coming through which I found to be a bit on the sweet side.  That was why the matcha dacquoise was there to lend a hint of bitterness to balance out the sweetness, I guess.  I would have loved for more of the tangy fruity flavour in the passion fruit cremeux to come through in the cake though.

Pomegranate Oolong Tea (Ti Quan Yin Oolong infused with pomegranate)

My friend wanted to try the Le Royale @ RM14.30 featuring layers of chocolate mousse, chocolate cremeux, chocolate sponge and hazelnut feuilletine.  Chocolate lovers would certainly find this ravishing as did my friend's little girl.

Lemon Verbena Tea (caffeine free, lemony with herbal infusion)

Our final cake was the Earl @ RM14.30 made with Earl Grey milk chocolate mousse and mango custard in a fluffy Japanese vanilla sponge....and topped off with a small edible silver leaf to add a perception of luxury.

This tiny piece of cake was one-of-a-kind, so airy and light....it was just sublime...and very pretty too.  I just love the soft, delicate texture of the cake in my mouth, with a hint of chocolate, and an absolutely smooth mango custard...undoubtedly my favourite of the three! ^o^

Dragon Pearl Jasmine Tea (Jasmine scented floral tea)...all served with a little cookie (nice touch!)

There were a couple of other cakes that looked just as stunning (that we didn't choose as we could only eat so much after lunch) >.<  I've listed some of them here for you (I wished I had this list earlier)...it would have made our decision-making so much easier! ;)

1)  Petit Gateau of the day (second from left) - Vanilla/Mascarpone/Summer Berries

2)  Kaffir (third from left) - cream cheese/sour cream/kaffir lime zest/kaffir juice/digestive biscuit

3)  Ruby (no idea what the ingredients are)

4)  La Fraise (extreme left) - some kind of strawberry cube cake

(this one is quite common and I've eaten quite a few of them recently)

5)  Petit Gateau of the day - red wine berry ganache/chocolate tart/crisp raspberry/raspberry mousse

6)  Lavender - lavender cream/blueberry compote/almond tart/lavender chocolate cremeux/honey sponge

7) Eclate - Chocolate chilli cremeux/raspberry jam/dark chocolate sponge/chocolate glaze
(I'd probably would have picked this one, instead of Le Royale, if not for the little girl in our midst as chocolate with chilli sounds intriguing)

8)  Tarte au Citron - I've already had some very outstanding lemon tarts lately, so I thought I'd skip this one

9)  Baked cheese tarts are also available on weekends

They also have sorbets on their menu and I wanted something tart to follow after the sweetness of the cakes. The moment the Berries Sorbet @ RM6 caught my eye, my mind was made up already.  The sorbet had some kind of sugar coated crushed biscuits at the bottom to offer some crunch and some fresh berries on top.  It was tangy and refreshing.

My Personal Opinion

The creations at Zest Patisserie are certainly dainty and irresistible with some unique and uncommon flavours. Prices may be on the higher end but rest assured that they're made with some of the finest ingredients.

For this part of the town, this is surely a have-to-try patisserie!  I hope to return to sample some of their other delectable cakes (and maybe a waffle) in future ^_^

Zest Patisserie
K-G-3 Connaught Avenue 
Jalan 9 Taman Bukit Cheras
56000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 016-617 6644

Just One Food - Ikea's Curry Puffs

When it comes to curry puffs, I've always enjoyed eating Ikea's Curry Puffs.  I used to eat them quite often back in the days, some 10 years back, when I was shopping frequently at Ikea Mutiara Damansara! ^_*

That was because my house was going through some renovations and I had to get all the new furniture, fixtures and fittings I needed from Ikea.  When all that was done and completed, I stopped going to Ikea altogether (and stopped eating their curry puffs) until a new one opened in Cheras late last year.  I've been to this new Ikea a couple of times now and have since got reacquainted with them Ikea Curry Puffs again....hehe! :D

Right off the bat, I noticed two things.....and I'm hoping my memory serves me well...one, the price of half a dozen curry puffs has remained unchanged @ RM5.50 (or RM1 for one).  Whoa! O_o.....10+ years later and they've not increased the price?  Thumbs up!!

Two, the curry puffs are now packed in just a brown paper bag instead of a nice and easy-to-carry paper box previously.  This is probably one of the ways they've cut costs and maintain the price of their curry puffs...use a cheaper packaging!  Although, presentation-wise, it doesn't look as good (with the oil seeping through the paper bag) :D  And now that Ikea has dispensed with plastic bags altogether, you get this as it is...which is a bit troublesome to carry around and, worst still (when you get to your car), you can't hang it or put it on the car seat (because of the oil seepage).  So, remember to bring your own (recyclable) bag if you intend to buy these! ;)

All the way home, the aroma of the curry puffs permeated throughout my car.  On reaching home, it was time for a taste test...to see if it still tastes the same after all these years.

It still had the slight crisp on the crust that I remembered (maybe just a tad softer by the time I got home).

It still had that nice and soft but not-too-flaky crust.

It still had that hard-boiled egg pieces inside....maybe a smaller piece?

The filling of chicken and potatoes was still there.....just couldn't taste the scant chicken.

Alas, it wasn't quite as good as it used to be (or as I remembered it to be)....not because the taste was different.....but because the filling was not as plump as yesteryears (you can see some gaps in the filling....hehe!).

Even though the filling has reduced over time, it's still a very decent curry puff (by my standards and one I still enjoy eating)....and you have to give them props for maintaining the price all these years (when everything and anything has gone up in price)! >_<

Sweetland (Curry Laksa) @ Taman Delima, Cheras

After trying out the curry laksa at One Yulek, Cheras, we went looking for another (the following week) courtesy of a review by themalaymailonline.  This time our curry laksa hunting brought us to Sweetland @ Taman Delima, Cheras (if you ask me, I'd probably guess that this shop sells "tong sui" or sweet soups).  

Walking in on a late Sunday morning, I instantly didn't like the dark and dodgy feel of the place which was pretty empty and devoid of customers.  But we stayed primarily out of curiosity (and hope) that perhaps we might find a good bowl of curry mee here.

I immediately went looking for the curry mee stall and placed our orders.  Right after I placed our orders, the curry mee seller told me that she doesn't have "see hum" (blood cockles) today.....what, no see hum??! So disappointing!  *Potong markah* (minus marks) at the onset already!! :'(

This was my bowl of Curry Mee @ RM6 which came with shredded chicken, long beans, bean curd puffs and pieces of rehydrated pig skin.  For RM6, I thought it would come with poached chicken pieces (since the other one in One Yulek cost only RM5.50 with poached chicken) but got shredded chicken breast instead! >.<  

Judging at how the curry was topped with mint leaves and served with sambal and half a calamansi lime, this has to be a Penang version (but without seafood or coagulated pig's blood).  The curry broth was too light and diluted with very little flavour...it was no where near a good curry mee for us.  

And this was my spouse's bowl of Curry Mee also @ RM6 which had some fish and meatballs (since he doesn't like poached chicken) and all the usual stuff in the other bowl.  The only positive I can take away from this is that the bowl of curry mee had a lot of noodles (so much so even my spouse wondered why).  He looked around and saw that other people's bowls of curry mee seemed smaller than ours.  It was only then that we realised we were probably given 'big' when we didn't ask for it.  *Potong markah* again (default size should always be 'small' unless we ask for 'big' and I don't take kindly to stall owners who take it on themselves to make a quick buck by giving us 'big' when we are 'silent' on the size).  No wonder there were so much noodles until I couldn't finish my bowl and the below par curry didn't help either.

Although the curry laksa in One Yulek wasn't among some of the better ones I've had, it was still miles better than this one.  After the disappointing curry mee, I was in no mood to take photos of the pan mee (from the same curry mee stall) and a western breakfast.  Anyway, it's not like you missed out on anything worthwhile.

To make matters worst, my "kopi-o ping" (iced coffee) was terrible and my son's soya bean drink (those already pre-packed in a sealed plastic cups) came with a dirty straw.  On checking the soya bean, I saw that it was three days to expiry.  I asked for it to be changed to something else.

My Personal Opinion

First and last time.  So not coming back.  No way.  Not in a million years.  Heck no.  Ok, I think you get the message.....wakakakaka! :D

Restoran Sweetland
No 65 Jalan 34/154
Taman Delima
56000 Cheras

Burger & Sushi @ G Village, Desa Pandan

After previous trips here to try Vanilla Sky and Brunch & Munch, we got wind that another new restaurant opened up and knew we had to visit Burger & Sushi @ G Village, Desa Pandan since the place is within close proximity to where we live.

Opened in March, this 5-month old Japanese-cum-western restaurant seems to focus on burgers and sushi (judging from its name) but, looking at the extensive menu, there's a lot more on offer besides the 5 types of burger and various sushi such as beef steaks, teppanyaki, donburi, sashimi, udon and more.

Other than the tell-tale name, I wouldn't have expected it to be a Japanese restaurant when I first stepped in as the decor didn't scream the typical Japanese ambience I've come to associate with a Japanese eatery.  That aside, what's shown below is on the back of our two visits here three weeks apart.

Glancing through the menu, I was attracted to the beef steaks straightaway...and there's only two on the menu (the other being the chilled Australian Black Angus Rib Eye).  I settled for the Grilled Sirloin Steak @ RM45, a piece of Australian sirloin with the chef's special sauce served on a hot plate.

Cooked to a perfect medium-rare as requested, covered with their house-made sauce and served with a simplistic parboiled vegetables of sugar snap peas and cauliflower, the steak was assuredly juicy and tender...and flavourful enough for a steak of that price.

The special house-made brown sauce was what made the steak extra delicious...and I was glad to see that they provided a pitcher of sauce in case we wanted more.  Oh yeah, I wanted more! ;)

My son had the Panko Fish Burger @ RM19.80 offering a deep-fried bread crumbed fish with cheese, shredded cabbage and wasabi mayo (which I asked to be replaced with just plain mayo) with a side of fries.

A close up of the panko fish fillet enclosed in the nice soft bun.  It was a typical burger, nothing out of the ordinary in terms of taste.  They offer other burgers like (breaded) chicken katsu burger, (grilled) teriyaki chicken burger, a Japanese hamburger (with grilled beef) and, the priciest one on the menu at RM29.80, their signature B & S Burger (with homemade Australian beef patty).  Their burgers, it seems, are one of their best sellers.

I also tried the Unagi Chilli Roll @ RM32 featuring a maki roll (of 5 pcs) filled with roasted unagi, coated in a light tempura batter, and deep fried to perfection.  The sushi roll stayed crispy throughout our meal (which was a good sign).

When I first saw this dish on eatdrinkkl, I was intrigued by the combination of unagi with "cili padi" (bird's eye chilli).  Well, I thought...I love unagi and I love spicy....so this seems like a unique killer combo.  It was a "killer" alright....it was so, so spicy, it blew the roof off my mouth!! :D  Not only that, the drizzle of spicy sauce at the bottom of the plate further contributed to the spiciness of the sushi.  Even after I dug out all the chopped bits of cili padi (and, mind you, they were roughly chopped chunks, not thinly sliced ones like those served with noodles), I could still feel the heat in the sushi roll.

The friendly lady boss (who introduced herself as Netallie) came round to get our feedback on the food we had.  I told her that the unagi chilli roll was just too hot (I think each piece had close to one whole chopped up cili padi in it...yikes! >.<  Mind you, this was the red cili padi (with seeds intact) which is even spicier than their green counterpart.  She told me that they used green ones previously and the chef probably underestimated the fieriness of the red ones (and she would certainly relay my concern to the chef to reduce the amount of cili padi in future).  After all, just a slight kick from the cili padi to enhance the taste is enough, it shouldn't overpower the unagi.  She was very nice to offer me some hot green tea to ease the fiery aftermath in my mouth.  And since I enjoy eating steaks, she also highlighted that they do sometimes offer (off the menu) good grade wagyu too.

On my next visit, Netallie remembered me immediately and asked if I wanted to try the wagyu, so that became our first order.  You can have it in a set meal or just simply grilled.  This was my simply grilled Wagyu MB8-9 (120g) @ RM120 served with the same vegetables (as before).

Seeing that it arrived on a hot plate, I made sure that I spend just mere seconds to capture the pics as I certainly don't want my meat to overcook while sitting on the hot plate.  The steak came with great sear marks on the outside and visibly dripping with juices...oh-em-gee! ^o^

I asked for it to be cooked to medium-rare and it was expertly executed to that doneness.  Netallie was also far-sighted enough to provide a plate for me to transfer the meat onto (which was great) as the meat did start to cross over to medium as time went by.  Luckily, it was a great piece of meat, so, even between medium-rare and medium, it still tasted stunningly succulent...every inch tender, juicy and flavourful!  With such gorgeous marbling and taste, the steak was perfect just the way it was (no sauce required).

It was very decent...as good as the one I had at Steaks & Lobsters (3 weeks earlier) though this one is pricier in comparison (but, then again, this one has a higher marble score).  On hindsight, I would have preferred if the steak was not served on a hot plate.  Serving the steak on a hot plate has the advantage of keeping the steak warm as we eat but it also has the disadvantage of continuously cooking the steak as we eat.  I think it's more acceptable for lesser-priced steaks (especially those doused in sauce) to be served on a hot plate (like the ones in Coliseum or even the earlier grilled sirloin I had here).

If you're a small-eater, this 120g piece of steak might be enough for you.  If not, you can always supplement it with an extra order of Garlic Fried Rice @ RM12.  I must have been hungry (still) and gobbled it up without taking a pic! >_<

Their other best seller is their teppanyaki and they offer chicken, seafood, beef and gindara teppanyaki.  We settled for their Seafood Teppanyaki @ RM40 accompanied with stir-fry vegetables (of bean sprouts, cabbage, red and green bell peppers) and steamed rice.

The seafood teppanyaki came with three good-sized prawns, a slice of salmon and a few pieces of squid...all cooked to perfection and topped with crispy fried garlic.  God knows we've eaten our fair share of overcooked and dry salmon but this isn't one of them.  The salmon deserves mention for being cooked just right, still pink and moist in the middle.

The prawns were nicely done and we appreciated that the prawns were properly deveined with shells peeled, leaving just the head and tail intact.  They were fresh...and the juicy prawn heads made for good sucking too....hehe! :D

Since we enjoyed their Unagi Chilli Roll in our earlier visit, we wanted to try another of their signature roll, this time it was the Caterpillar Roll @ RM32 with roasted eel and crunchy salmon topped with avocado and ebiko.

One mouthful of this and I got elements of crunchy, creamy, roasted flavours as I devoured every bite. Although the taste of the roasted eel wasn't as prominent as the earlier Unagi Chilli Roll but the creamy and luscious avocado + the crunchy salmon (I was told it was crispy salmon skin) more than made up for it.

This was an excellent sushi roll...and to get 8 pcs for that price, it was well worth it.  Definitely the better one of the two rolls we had.  A must-order, for sure! ^.^

Of course, we just had to have a sampling of their Salmon Sashimi @ RM10.80 as well.  The three thick slices were decent enough but could be better presented.

Even the pickled ginger, I like...must ask for more next time :)

Our drinks on two visits:

Root Beer @ RM6.80 (from a can)

The Hawaiian Cooler @ RM11.80 (pineapple, orange & mint) was absolutely zesty and refreshing, no less.

The Red October @ RM12 (raspberry, lemon & elder flower) was worth the "hunt"...(get it...The Hunt for Red October?....kekeke!).  Love the fizzy berry goodness ;)

BS Iced Tea @ RM12 (Ceylon tea, blood orange & lime)

My Personal Opinion

I see lots of potential in this family-run place, with a friendly husband-and-wife team at the helm, together with their brother-in-law and nephew (one of the chefs), going forward.  It happens to offer two of our favourite cuisines under one roof (plus parking is a breeze).  I'm leaning more towards their sushi (and their extensive Japanese menu) than their burgers (or limited western menu).  You've got to try their signature rolls and teppanyaki.

But if you like steaks, they have that too (just enquire if you don't see it on the menu)....though the top-notch wagyu may not be so wallet-friendly.  If price is a concern, then go for the more affordably priced sirloin and ribeye which are more than decent too.

Though I don't usually make too many repeated visits to the same place for the sake of trying new places (and featuring them on my blog), this one will prove difficult to resist because of its convenient and strategic location not too far from where we stay! ^_*

I personally think Japanese food is Burger & Sushi's forte and I prefer this place for its unpretentious appearance and food over the other more premium one (Yamaguchi Fish Market) near our locality.  Let me end by saying, B+S is no BS.....they serve good food!! ;D  

Burger & Sushi
Lot 06 Ground Floor G Village
No 35 Jalan 1/76 Desa Pandan
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-9226 9788