Maison Baillon @ Rue Louise Michel, Levallois-Perret, Paris

My first food related post from my trip: Carbs are so yummy *sigh*.....

How lucky I was - found this really yummy bakery just a stone's throw away from my hotel in Levaillois-Perret (an area about 15 minutes away from the main Paris city center).
:)
From the outside, in the early morning....
The great thing about it is that it opens really early (from around 7am, although not the full range of products is ready at that time) so I could always grab something yummy while on my way out to go sightseeing.

Sadly, they don't have many savoury items there, but the Pizza bread (haha, it's not very French, I know) was quite good:
The pizza bread....
The pizza base was deceptive! At first I wasn't expecting much as it looked quite thick but it turned out to be perfectly crunchy yet slightly fluffy, topped by a yummy piquant tomato sauce, cheese and mushrooms.

Their specialty though is more to sweet pastries, I suppose, as that was the majority of their offering at this small neighbourhood patisserie.
The apple pastry....
The apple pastry (pictured above) was delicious! - perfectly crisp and flaky layers of puff pastry enveloping a juicy centre of chunky apple filling... What I especially liked is that the filling tasted natural and not too sweet (in fact it was a bit sour). :)

I also tried the Pain Au Chocolat and it was just as good:
*CHOMP* A bite out of my Pain Au Chocolat while on the go....
Oh, but the pièce de résistance was definitely the mini macaroons! :) I know it's not exactly normal breakfast food but I couldn't resist:
A selection of cute macaroons - Which one to eat first?? :)....
And how weak I was too! - I ended up buying one of each flavour: Vanilla, chocolate, pistachio, hazelnut and raspberry. :D

Save for the pistachio flavoured macaroon (which I found a bit too synthetic, both in flavour and colour), they were the bomb - the meringue-ish macaroon biscuit was moist yet crispy on the outside and had a generous layer of dense, flavourful and creamy ganache sandwiched in between.
(I could not ask for more - it really knocked my socks off)

Overall, it wasn't too expensive, as most of the items cost between 1 to 3 Euros (I guess it is slightly cheaper as it's not in the city center). I just wish I had more time (, stomach space & cash) to try out all the other things there. *sigh*


So, it's: Unpretentious neighbourhood bakery with a fairly good range of yummy baked goodies BUT no seating here at all (I saw people take-away in large amounts though) and not much in terms of savoury pastries....

Summary Information:
Maison Baillon @ Levallois-Perret, France

Opening Hours: 7.30am till late.
Phone: +33 147577617
Address: 57, rue Louise Michel, Levallois-Perret 92300, France

NOT SURE WHETHER HALAL

TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Restaurant Reviews, Paris, Maison Baillon, Boulangerie & Pâtisserie, France

The Cafe @ Palma Condo, Mont Kiara, KL

A new cafe has taken over Bella Italia in the Mont Kiara Palma condo....

Talk about great timing... Just as my friends and I try out a new (to us) restaurant in the Mont Kiara Palma Condo, we find out from Boo_licious that it's closing down (thanks for the update!).....

Well, the good news is that her friend was taking over and opening a new restaurant immediately after so we quickly went over to the Palma Condo again to try it out.
(Can't resist trying out new places, if you can't already tell):
The cafe, by the pool side...
(Recap: This cafe is located at the poolside of the Palma Condominium, specifically, it's near the ground level pool - ask the guards, because apparently this condo has 2 pools)

The new owners had taken some time to give the place a fresh new look - I liked the lighter colors, which made the whole place seem much more welcoming:
The interior of the cafe...
Looking at the menu, it's not extensive (a mix of local and simple Western dishes) but there were definitely some interesting items, one of which was the Ulam(?) Fried Rice (about RM7):
The yummy Fried Rice...
I LOVE a good plate of fried rice and this one was (thankfully) pretty darn good. Dry yet fluffy rice (perfect grain-y fried rice texture), not too oily, wonderfully fragrant of bunga kantan & kaffir leaves, and laced with some cili padi for that extra kick - I would definitely order this again. :) :)

It is however, a vegetarian option (no meat) although the very friendly restaurant manager told us "Ask, and it shall be given!"...
... meaning that upon request, he can adjust it any way we want (eg. add chicken, but for a price of course)

We also tried out some of the western dishes. First up, the Lamb Chops with Black Pepper Sauce (about RM 16?):
The lamb chops...
Not bad. The lamb was much more tender than I expected (.. it was not like, SUPER tender but was very decent for a non-upper crust restaurant.. ) and the sauce was tasty (although I would have liked it just a tad more pepper-y).

The Roast Chicken (about RM 15?) was recommended as a specialty so we tried it too:
The Roast Chicken...
Also not bad - the serving was a little small but the chicken was tender and well marinated, so it made for a satisfying albeit light meal.

As for desserts, they prepare a fresh batch of home made desserts everyday but that day it was Red Bean Soup which (1. I don't like, 2. the others were too full, so) we didn't try.....

So it's: Cosy setting by the poolside, friendly service, fair selection of local and simple Western dishes at reasonable prices BUT can be warm (it's open air with no air conditioning) and not much in terms of desserts.

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

The Cafe @ Palma Condo, Mont Kiara
(the condo next to the Mont Kiara Coffee Bean/ just a bit down the road from Plaza Mont Kiara)

Taste: 6
Ambience : 6
Service : 7
Price** : RM 25+ per person
Parking: OK***(It's free but limited inside the condo - and do not park for >6 hours or you will get charged RM10)

** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
*** It's free but limited inside the condo - and do not park for >6 hours or you will get charged RM10

Telephone No.: 017-2492881
Opening Hours: 10am - 10pm (Closed on Mondays, but can be open any time if negotiated for private bookings)

NO PORK SERVED

OTHER REVIEWS:
-

Map:


TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Hartamas, Mont Kiara, Palma Condominium, The Cafe, Local Food, KL, Kuala Lumpur

Stretching The Boundaries...

... Of Chocolate Norms!

Q&A Session:
Q1 - "Do you like chocolate?"
A1 - J says, "Oh yes, definitely...." :)

Q2 - "What about bacon? Do you like it?"
A2 - J nods enthusiastically, "Yes - a lot, especially crispy bacon!" :) :)

Well, with that in mind - I'm still not entirely sure whether I would try this:

Mo's Bacon ** Bar
"... a combination of crispy applewood smoked bacon bits, alder wood smoked salt, and super-smooth deep milk chocolate... "

If you want to try it out, here's the link to Vosges Chocolate's official website: CLICK HERE

Be warned though, as interesting as it sounds, there have been some very mixed reviews on the taste, with some exclaiming, "YUM!" and others, "YUCK!".
(Apparently, it turns out that bacon doesn't always make everything better.... Haha... )



Wondering what they'll think of next,
J

Note:
** Yes, it's pork bacon, so it's completely not Halal.

TAGS: Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Personal

With Love From Paris

I'm alive! :)

Had a great time in Paris (& Rome, now in London) and will be coming home in a week. Miss you all.... *HUGS*
(You know who you all are)
Petit dejeuner in Paris...
See you soon! :) :)


Hugs,
J

TAGS: Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Personal

Notice Of Hiatus

*J does happy dance*
\o\ \o/ /o/

After many months of anticipation, it's finally come to the time for my long holiday.... So, I will not be updating from Wednesday, 16th of September (today!) till Monday, 5th of October...
(I probably won't be replying any comments too)

Where am I going? :)
I will be on a whirlwind trip through Paris(croissants!) -Rome(pizza!) -London(fish&chips!).
(HOORAY FOR J's WANDERLUST! BOOOOOOooooo FOR J's POOR BANK ACCOUNT!)

I'll try to find some (affordable) way to access the internet while I'm away, but no promises.
(Sorry....)


Hugs,
J

PS/
No, please don't be jelez in any way - I am so, so, SO very broke because of this trip but it's just something I decided I have to do this year (since I've been dreaming about it long enough).

TAGS: Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Personal

Providore by Passion Foods @ Solaris, Mont Kiara, KL

Another porky option in Solaris....

J : "What's that? New pork burger place in Solaris? Let's go!" :)

A friend had pointed out a new-ish restaurant in Solaris so we popped over for lunch one day. We found the location quite easily - it's located in the block of shops just opposite Cold Storage:
The exterior of Providore...

Inside, the restaurant is modern yet casual, with lots of purposely unfinished surfaces (eg. concrete floor+bar top) matched with sleek white chairs and simple wooden tables:
Inside the restaurant...

The lunch time menu is bit limited, with a strange mix of lunch appropriate light meals (eg. burgers, sandwiches) with some much heavier choices (eg. meat platter) on the specials board.

That day, we started off with the Beef & Bacon Wrap (RM 20+):
The Beef & Bacon Wrap...
Simple and nice. :) The beef was tender enough, well marinated and wrapped in a light flat bread.
(Wouldn't mind ordering this again)

Of course, I had to try the Open Faced Pork Burger (RM 28+):
My pork burger...
Mmmmmmm... a chunky and tasty pork patty, served with a jiggly egg (perfect!), lightly seared bacon and veggies atop a crusty piece of bread - YUM!

A word of caution though: Another friend who went to Providore on a separate occasion said that her pork burger was a little dry.... As for me, well, I was satisfied with my burger that day. :)

When I saw the Sanbitter drink (RM 7+) on the menu, I was curious:
It's so red.... Is it glowing??...
I tend to order things just because I've never seen it in other restaurants, and most times it works out - I get to try something interesting/ different, even though it may or may not taste fantastic.

In this case however, I ended up with a tiny glass of bright red liquid which tasted like bitter cough medicine (at best). :(
(Hey, if you like bitter drinks though then this is a good choice for you, I guess)


So it's: Good selection of porky options (among other things) in Solaris Mont Kiara, friendly service and comfortable ambience BUT food is ever so slightly pricey and nothing else bad to say really... :)

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Providore @ Solaris, Mont Kiara, KL

Taste: 6
Ambience : 6
Service : 6
Price** : RM 55+ per person
Parking: Limited ***

** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
***Try parking inside the Solaris basement parking instead...

Telephone No.: 03-6203 6870
Opening Hours:
Closed on Mondays,
Tues to Fri - 11am to 3pm, 6pm to 10pm,
Weekends - 11am to late

NOT HALAL

OTHER REVIEWS:
- Emmagem.com


TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Hartamas, Mont Kiara, Solaris, Providore, Western, Pork, KL, Kuala Lumpur

Getting Old! 4 Years (and counting)...

A slow-ish year (restaurant review-wise), but another one under the belt nonetheless....

Memoirs Of A Chocoholic is now four years old!
Oink-oink! I'm 4 years old! :)....
In many ways, it's been a fantastic year - one of fun & discovery:
1) Continued makan sessions with my fellow Saturday Night Dinner buddies (Thanks for being patient with me not letting you eat your food till I've taken a photo of it, and still letting me steal bits of your food after all this time...), and
2) Getting out of my shell to meet with other food bloggers (Thanks for being so much fun, and showing me that a love for food can bring people together...)

Last but not least, thanks to everyone who has been reading my blog, whether you have just stumbled upon it, or have kept coming back.... (Hope you find my reviews useful to some extent)


You know who you are dahlings! *HUGS*
:)


More hugs,
J

TAGS: Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Personal

Bella Italia @ Palma Condo, Mont Kiara

Another "hidden" restaurant in a Mont Kiara Condo....


[ BEGIN EDIT ]
(Oct 2009)

Sorry, it's closed! But another cafe has taken over this location already. If you want to, have a look at my review of the new cafe HERE.
(It's pretty good!)
:)

[ END EDIT ]

Disclaimer: OMG. Sorry but I lost the receipt agaiiiin.... :( :( So, no exact prices but I remember I ate there for < RM30 for my main+appetizer.

Anyway, have come across another hidden restaurant in a Mont Kiara condo:
The quaint restaurant by the pool side...
Located at the poolside of the Palma Condominium (specifically, it's near the ground level pool - ask the guards, because apparently this condo has 2 pools), it is simple yet scenic... I do worry though that the open air setting could get uncomfortably warm in the day time:
The covered, but open air seating...
The Mushroom soup was normal - creamy and fairly tasty... but it also tasted a little like canned soup:
The mushroom soup...
Calamari was also ok - crunchy and tender (but tasted suspiciously processed):
The Fried Calamari Set...
As for the mains, we tried the Grilled Lamb Chops:
The grilled lamb chops...
Just ok. Sauce was pretty nice (sort of a sweet-ish black pepper sauce) but the lamb could have been a bit more tender.

Also, we tasted the Chicken & Mushroom Risotto that night:
"Risotto"...
Honestly, it was like chinese Mun Fann (steamed rice bowl?) pretending to be a risotto. First of all, it wasn't short grain rice, and it tasted like it rice fried with cream sauce because the grains of rice were dry inside.

Still, I guess it's good carb-y comfort food for those who like rice.
(My friend Jo liked it, although she agreed its definitely not really risotto)

Well, I can't say that the food is authentic or extraordinary, but let's put it this way: The prices are very decent for Italian food in Mont Kiara.... :)

So it's: Simple setting by the poolside, with a fair selection of Italian dishes at reasonable prices BUT can be warm (it's open air with no air conditioning) and not much in terms of desserts.

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Bella Italia @ Palma Condo, Mont Kiara
(the condo next to the Mont Kiara Coffee Bean/ just a bit down the road from Plaza Mont Kiara)

Taste: 5
Ambience : 5
Service : 5
Price** : RM 35++ per person
Parking: OK* ***(It's free but limited inside the condo - and do not park for >6 hours or you will get charged RM10)

** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
*** It's free but limited inside the condo - and do not park for >6 hours or you will get charged RM10

Telephone No.: 03-2096 1116
Opening Hours: 11.30am - 9pm (Closed on Mondays)

NO PORK SERVED

OTHER REVIEWS:
-

Map:


TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Hartamas, Mont Kiara, Palma Condominium, Bella Italia,
Italian, KL, Kuala Lumpur

Siem Reap

Desktop holiday for you: Asian Edition - happy days travelling with friends in beautiful Siem Reap (Part 1)....

My own bit of sunshine (in the plane, on the way to Siem Reap).....
Happiness is: being on a plane, on the way to a holiday (aka. Flying away from work).....

My first breakfast in Siem Reap - soupy pork noodles & really wonderful iced coffee (At the Soup Dragon Cafe). The noodles were just ok, but the coffee *Drooool* - it was so good!:
Tasted like Chinese style pork noodles.....
J whispers, "I miss yooouuuu....".....

The main Siem Reap town area:
So colourful, and dusty too!.....

First stop: Angkor Thom entrance!
Some of the stone guardians protecting the gate.....
Big ancient "highway" :) .....


Next: Our first temple visit, Bayon temple:
A small looking but beautiful temple.....
Many decapitated statues (defaced/ stolen during the war).....
Comparing feet :).....
Beautifully detailed carvings adorn the walls.....
Hordes of tourists in the temple area.....
The famous smiling faces of Bayon (Hmmm, I wonder what they're thinking about?).....

Lunch time! Local Cambodian food, washed down with an ice cold local beer - BLISS!
Hot day + ICE COLD beer = happy J.....
Having a bite of local Amok - sort of like green curry - yum!.....
We were given a free dessert that was so so yummy - like a thin layer of mochi paste wrapped around a small chunk of slightly melted palm sugar, with a sprinkling of young coconut shaving (I guess it's a bit like onde-onde but somehow much more refreshing).....

I think I'll stop here for now - I'm afraid I'm overdosing you with photos.. :)
(I took so many photos in this trip - Siem Reap is so beautiful!)

Hugs,
J

THE REST OF THE SET - J'S SIEM REAP 2009 PHOTOS:
- Siem Reap 2009, Part 2
- Siem Reap 2009, Part 3
- Siem Reap 2009, Part 4
- OR go to J's Main Travel Page for more options. :)


TAGS: Blog, Weblog, Travek,Malaysia, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Personal

Cristang @ 8 Avenue, Petaling Jaya

Interesting non-Halal Portugese and Western food in the PJ area (near PJ Hilton)....

Joe beat me to this review by a few days... *pout*
(Haha... Just kidding... No worries. It's not a competition, anyway, right?)
:)

Cristang is Western/ Portugese restaurant in the fairly new commercial area called 8 Avenue (in the area opposite PJ Hilton/ behind the Courts Mammoth). I heard that they serve pork burgers... so how could I resist? :)
The restaurant exterior...
Inside the restaurant, the decor is simple and quite cosy:
Cosy inside the restaurant...
First up for the night, the Devils on Horseback (RM 10.80+):
Bacon! Oh, with asparagus...
Basically, it's a simple combination of bacon wrapped around asparagus. :) Other than one rebellious piece of asparagus (that was too fibrous), this was a nice appetizer - sinful yet without being overwhelming. :)
(Bacon makes everything better, right?)

The Otak-Otak Pate (RM 10.80+):
A mound of Otak-otak, served with crackers...
This was an interesting take on the normal otak-otak, but was a little too salty for me.

The Bacon & Egg Soup (RM 12.80+):
My bowl of soup...
Mmmm... It wasn't as interesting as I hoped. Kinda watery and bland... :(

Pan Fried Fish (RM 22.80+):
The pan fried fish...
Overall, OK. I thought it was a bit salty but was out-voted on this (the others thought it was ok).

P3 burger (RM 23.80+):
Our P3 pork burger...
There are a wide array of burger choices here, starting from the bare P1 (pretty much just a normal cheese(pork)burger) to the P6 (everything except the kitchen sink - has petai!). All in all, no complaints - the burger patty was juicy and was well complemented by the salty chilli con carne and various other toppings.

Of course we had to try some of their Portugese specialties as well - the Chicken Cristang (small) (RM 13.80+) and Pork Leg Debal (small) (RM 14.80+):
Chicken cristang (in front) & Pork Leg debal (foreground)...
I liked both the sauces, spicy and fragrant of herbs... but if I had to choose, I preferred the Chicken - the kaffir leaves added a nice oomph to the sauce.
(Also, the pork was a little chewy, but then again pork leg is hard to get just right....)

The Nasi Lemak Goreng (RM 12.80+):
Heart stopping plate of sin...
I can't imagine a dish more sinful than this, really - Nasi lemak, fragrant of santan, fried with bits of sausage and bacon (hmmm, sparse amounts but still) made for a really carb-y but satisfying meal....

Oreo Ice Cream (RM 18.80+), Chocolate Banana Crepe (RM 10.80+) and Tiramisu (RM 20.80+):
The chocolate banana crepe...
The deconstructed Tiramisu...
The Oreo ice cream...
Overall all the desserts were ok:
- The Oreo Ice Cream was refreshing and satisfying at the same time,
- the Banana Crepe was light, creamy,
- and, well, we expected more from the Tiramisu... :( Overall, it was ok actually (could have done with more coffee+chocolate flavour but that's just me). It's just that for 20+ bucks, we expected our socks to be knocked off).

We also tried some of the cocktails that night - Wild Sangria (RM 24.80+):
The Wild Sangria...
I thought it was quite nice - refreshing with the taste of strawberries adding a different twist to the usual sangria... but one of my friends complained that it didn't have enough alcohol in it.
(Haha... what to do? Can't win them all....)

So, it's: Casual restaurant, good selection of interesting non-Halal Portugese and Western food for reasonable prices BUT nothing much to complain about except that there were some "misses" on their menu - but hey, who's perfect, right?...

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Kristang @ 8 Avenue, Jalan Sungai Jernih (8/1), PJ


Taste: 6
Ambience : 6
Service : 6
Price** : RM38/++
Parking: OK (but I've heard the surrounding roads are pretty jammed on Weekday nights)

** Approximation - Per person, 3 course meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 03-7956 7877
Opening Hours: 11am - 3pm, 6pm - late (closed on Mondays)

NOT HALAL

OTHER REVIEWS:
- Lots Of Cravings
- Lingzie's Tummy Treats
- Verves in Composition
- Knits and Nibbles


TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Restaurant Reviews, Petaling Jaya, Portugese, Cristang Restaurant, Petaling Jaya, PJ, Asian Food, Western