EAT: Top five Must-try Food at Rock Cafe, Sunway!

For Sunway students, Rock Cafe was a place with many memories. It's located just a mere 500 metres from Sunway University College and within the light industrial area of Sunway as well. Because of that, many of us (myself and my college mates included) always headed to Rock Cafe for lunch and occasionally dinner after those late nights of group study. Back then, about a couple of years ago, there wasn't that many food options and certainly not that cafes around. Rock Cafe had so many options with all the different food stalls located within their grounds which automatically made it the default choice and also a crowd’s favourite, seeing that there is definitely something for everyone. For those who don’t know, Rock Cafe is actually a food court similar to that of Asia Cafe (now closed) and Ming Tien (also closed).

It's probably been approximately 4 years since I last went there. When I went back to Rock Cafe recently, it looked almost the same but of course, there has been some minor tweaks here and there. Revisiting it again after so long, I had the opportunity to to try the different foods from a couple of different stalls. Here's my short list of the top food you should try from Rock Cafe.

1. Nasi Bakar Ayam Indonesia, from Ayam Bakar Stall

Nasi Bakar Ayam Indonesia | RM10

Nasi Bakar Ayam Indonesia | RM10

First on this list is the Nasi Bakar Ayam Indonesia. When this dish arrived, the rice was wrapped in banana leaf which I learnt was because the rice was also cooked on the grill. I’d always love it whenever banana leaf is used because of how aromatic it is. True to my expectations, the rice tasted amazing because it’s infused with the banana leaf and also cooked with spices which made the rice so colourful. The chicken was grilled to perfection and its shiny glaze, made it so drool-worthy! It was absolutely flavourful and the chicken is perfect to be eaten with the rice. Now, I wonder why I haven’t tried this before, after all those years!

2. Grilled Chicken with Arabian Pita Bread, from Arabian Corner Stall

Grilled Chicken with Arabian Pita Bread | RM14 for half chicken

The second food I’d highly recommend is the Grilled Chicken with Arabian Pita Bread. Arabic cuisine is one of my favourite cuisines and I have been tasted some of the tastiest Arabic cusines around, so I have a benchmark that I always compared against. Most places fall short of it, which is pretty disappointing for me. But this one I had can easily hands down beat some of the more “famous”  Arabic restaurants that I have tried. What I loved most from this type of cuisine is the arabic pita bread and their oh-so-delicious garlic sauce.  I could just eat these two combination.

Grilled Chicken with Arabic Briyani Rice | RM14 for half chicken

Their version of garlic sauce, is less creamier compared to what I’d usually prefer but is still rich in garlic flavour. The bread served which is actually called khubz  is baked in the tannur oven, and when served fresh and hot is actually very crispy. This was cold when it served, personally I like it when it’s hot. Texture was, it was pretty authentic and thin as you can see from the pictures. The chicken was one of the best kind I have tasted where it’s juicy and delectable. It’s worth pointing out that they served 1/2 a chicken which is more than enough for one person, this dish would be ideal for sharing. There is also an option to swap the bread for Arabic Briyani Rice  which goes well with the chicken as well.

3. Fried Rice, from Uncle Huat Fried Rice Stall

Fried Rice of Char Siew with Prawns and Fried Egg | RM 9 (small)

I was told that the normal waiting period for Uncle Huat Fried Rice is 45 minutes and yet, customers are willing to wait that long just to eat this fried rice. With such acclamation, it’ll almost be a crime not to have tasted it. So we placed our order for the Fried Rice of Char Siew with Prawns and Fried Egg.  I didn’t really timed the waiting period because I was with friends and we were all munching on other things anyway, but it was a reasonable wait. The glorious plate of fried rice looks amazing especially with the fried egg as the topping. Taste-wise, it certainly didn’t disappoint as with every bite you can taste the “wok-hei”  in the dish.

Fried Rice of Char Siew with Prawns and Fried Egg | RM 9 (small)

4. Tandoori Chicken, from Tandoori Chicken stall

Tandoori Chicken | RM7

Tandoori chicken is another one of my favourite places and frankly, I’ve been very picky about my tandoori chicken ever since I tried the best one from Pak Putra, Malacca. Sadly, Malacca is not exactly near and I’ve been on a hunt for one that is closer to home. So when I saw that there was tandoori chicken from one of the food stalls, I knew I had to try it. So I ordered Tandoori Chicken with Garlic Cheese Naan Bread. By the looks of it when the dish arrived, it appears very promisings especially the serving size of the chicken which is pretty huge. Taste wise, the chicken was marinated sufficiently as you can taste the flavours in the meat too and not just on the surface. As for the garlic cheese naan, I tasted more garlic than the cheesy bits. It is delicious nevertheless!

Garlic Cheese Naan | RM4.60

| Tandoori Chicken with Garlic Cheese Naan Bread |

5. Portuguese Grilled, from Uncle Tan’s Portugese Grilled Fish stall

Portuguese Grilled Stingray | Price depends on the weight

What was interesting about the Portuguese Grilled Fish stall was that the seafood are obtained fresh daily from Pulau Ketam, so freshness is guaranteed. There are a wide variety of seafood choices to pick from but we chose to try the stingray one. Those type of grilled fish is actually my favorite type. The serving portion was just nice and actually suitable for sharing. As for the taste of it, it's spicier than usual and I kinda hoped it had more dried prawns with more different spices used. Nevertheless, it was still good but can be improved. I still have it on one of my top food to eat in Rock Cafe because of my biasness to grilled fish! :p You'll find other kind of dishes below which you can try too.

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Besides the top 5 dishes to try, there are also a few other interesting food that you can try in Rock Cafe. As I’m writing this post, I just realised how diverse the food options are since there are various international cuisines you can pick from. In fact, of the five dishes I listed above … if fried rice is considered as Malaysian dish then the rest of it originates from another country. :) There are actually many other type of food you can also have, have a look at the rest of the food below.

Chong Qing Spicy Mee | RM6 (small)

Chong Qing Spicy Mee | RM6 (small)

Cold Mee | RM6 (small)

Japanese Chicken Katsu Curry Rice | RM8.90

| Grilled Lamb with Homemade Mushroom Sauce |

| Famous Indo Deli Spicy Hell Chicken with Noodles |

Roti Canai Burger | RM6

| Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl |

Rojak | RM6

Fried Oyster Mushroom | RM 10 (medium)

Aaaaand that sums up all the different food that I managed to try at Rock Cafe. There are actually a lot more food stalls selling various other type of food, what I managed to cover is just a handful. And from the ones I tried, I have picked my top five picks as you have read above. :) If you’re around Sunway, it’s worth dropping by Rock Cafe to have your meal. Since students are the main customers here, the prices are actually affordable and reasonable. As you can see, the food are all prices below RM15. Plus they are open 24 hours too, so if you ever have hunger pangs at midnight this is the place you can head to.

Rock Cafe also have screening of the football matches making it a perfect place to yumcha with friends, along with contests which run concurrently with the football matches. For example, you can guess the number of goals or the winning team to win the official football merchandise. Alcohols like beer and cider drinks are also sold at Rock Cafe. Do let me know in the comments below if you tried or do try the food at Rock Cafe!

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// Medan Rock Cafe, Jalan PJS 11/20, Bandar Sunway //

//Open 24 hours //

Beauty: Review on BareforBare's Whitening Body Lotion

If there's anything that I'm guilty for neglecting, it's actually body care. As ladies, we usually place so much more emphasis on our face care; from face wash, toner, moisturizer, sunblock and even numerous different kind of masks with various benefits for the face. But when it comes to the body, most of the time I won't apply anything to it. Occasionally, on those rare days I’d use a body scrub during my shower or I’d remember to use my in-shower body lotion.

What I actually don’t realise is the fact that we live in a tropical climate country where we are exposed to about approximately 200 plus hours of sunshine in a month. As wonderful it is to have a climate akin to an all-year summer, these sunrays in the form of ultraviolet (UV) radiation come with its harmful consequences too. One of the more serious consequences is actually premature aging of the skin and of course, the more common effect of exposure to these UV rays is a melanin pigmentation  —in other words, tanning of the skin.

There is actually a pretty simple solution to avoid this all from happening! Wear a body lotion which comes with sun protection as well, such a simple way to overcome it. Meet Bare for Bare’s Whitening Body Lotion, a multi-functional body lotion that comes with a SPF15 which would offer you sufficient protection to get you by the day.

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bare for bare

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Shop online, click on the links below!

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Originated from Singapore, Bare for Bare is purely inspired and formulated with natural and botanical ingredients in every of its products to give the best to human and Mother Earth. It offers a range of masstige and exclusive home-spa inspired quality that pampers you endlessly and to suit every of your needs, whenever you need some relaxation and to unwind.

The journey of Bare for Bare started from our very unique concept of Mix & Match in our Body Care series of Body Wash and Body Lotion. It allows you to personalize scents that’s uniquely-yours, to uplift your mood, based on your needs and preference of the day. Each product is richly formulated and infused with combinations of essential oils, giving you the most uplifting and pampering body care regime experiences.

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True to what Bare for Bare’s embodies, my initial thoughts when I first opened the box was how aromatic it actually is. The body care range actually comes in four amazingly aromatic scents for you to choose from – Rosemary, Lemongrass & Ginger, Green Tea and Bergamot & Geranium. The one I have is the Bergamot & Geranium smells absolutely calming and relaxing, especially if you’re stressed …. the smell of this will rid away your worries.

Bare for Bare Whitening Body Lotion SPF15 | RM79

The Bare for Bare Whitening Body Lotion SPF15 is the latest addition in the Body Care category. comes in a size of 180ml, priced at RM79. This product contains the key whitening ingredient in this specially formulated whitening body lotion, known as melavoid. The melavoid is obtained from the roots of punarnava, a well-known herb with high medicinal benefits. It has dual lightening action that prevents the initial phase of melanin formation, at the same time, treats skin by evening out skin tone and reduces spots in number and intensity, prevent the formation of new dark spots, resulting in brighter and even skin tone. With these benefits obtained, it’s a no wonder that it’s been included in this product.

Shea butter being one of the key moisturizing ingredient in the world of body care, hence it’s no surprise that this lotion is also a very good remedy for dry skin due to its natural ability to protect skin’s natural oils. In addition to that the lotion’s benefit is enhanced with the inclusion of  Macadamia Oil which has high content of Omega 9, hence the skin will be nutritiously moisturized, and softened, while Omega 6 works well to restore the skin barrier function and reduces water loss, keeping skin plumped up and healthy. With Sunflower Seed Oil being another part of the ingredients, this oil acts as an emollient that softens rough and dry skin especially areas like elbows, knees and heels too!

The product when pressed right out of the tube, appears clumpy and uneven. However, it was actually really easy to apply and spread the lotion. What really amazes me the most is after spreading the product, it felt as though my skin was like a sponge soaking up all the nutrients! There was no sticky feeling, and my skin was actually smoother after the application. The best part? It’s how amazing delicious my skin is. I have to stop myself from smelling myself too much. It’s such a nice aroma, very calming and relaxing —similar to that aroma commonly used in spas.

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Needless to say I’m pretty sold and have incorporated it in my daily regime, I mean how could I not to with such an aromatic scent! You can purchase them from the official website [ www.bareforbare.com ] – worldwide shipping or from the following e-commerce sites ---> { Lazada } { Shopee } { 11street } . If you prefer shopping through a brick-mortar shops, you can get them from  Parkson’s PLAY UP Advance located at the Fahrenheit88’s mall or at all SASA Malaysia’s 26 outlets!

Till next time,

xoxo

Out & About: Best Florist is A Better Florist!

Do you want to get the inside scoop on who the best florist in Malaysia is? There’s no doubt that A Better Florist takes the throne as the florist crew who has pushed the limits and won the hearts of entire Malaysia... including a couple of other places. A Better Florist’s story as a flower shop started with being a florist Singapore was thrilled with. 

They were offering something different, were creative and fast. Singaporeans are a known tough crowd, so if they love it too, it’s guaranteed that this is a good florist. After they became the best Singapore flower delivery, they expanded to other places, and now offering Hong Kong flower delivery. This is where they expanded to quickly become the best florist in HK. In other regions or countries, they have earned the title to being the best florist in Dubai and the best florist in Kuala Lumpur, amongst others. 

When you purchase your first flowers or a hamper from A Better Florist, it will be the last time you ever go looking for another florist, because there’s really no need for it once you found A Better Florist. Not only do they have a keen sense for aesthetics, they also have everything you would ever need, from funeral flowers to grand opening flowers KL business usually need. They cater both from smaller to bigger businesses, and know how to make everything from funeral flowers to Valentine’s Day floral wreaths.

Besides the gorgeous flowers, which come in trendy mason jars, but also in elegant, traditional burlap wrapping, A Better Florist has a hamper selection to offer for just about any special event. From a new born baby hamper, to a get well soon hamper, they can create it all from scratch, and tailor it to according to your wishes. Whatever you order is going to look exactly like you want it to look like, so you don’t end up having the same hamper or fruit basket as someone else at the party.

The way they differ from other flower shops is also by their delivery and the way you can shop. While online shopping isn’t a revolution, the ease of the experience definitely is a pleasant change, especially because you can order from your phone. And the condenced flower collections make it even more simple to order. As far as delivery goes, they have a same day flower delivery that is completely free and can arrive with your flowers in about 90 minutes. This is not just for flowers, they have a fruit basket delivery and a hamper delivery.

A Better Florist makes it to one of my favorite options when it comes to flowers Malaysia has to offer. If you would love to try them out, you can also check out their UAE flower delivery as well as their flower delivery Hong Kong which is just as amazing!

Till next time,

xoxo

Eat : Guess What! - Vietnamese Food at A Steal in Kota Damansara

GUESS WHAT?

If I asked you to guess the name of this restaurant, you’d probably won’t be able to name it correctly even though I’ve just spelt it out for you above. Because the name of this Vietnamese restaurant is Guess What! Yes, you read that right. The inspiration behind the name came from the owner’s wish to have a name which is easily recognized. Besides, with such catchy name, he’s hoping more would hear about his restaurant with a quirky name.

What Guess What is a Vietnamese restaurant located strategically within the rows and rows of restaurants, the food haven of Kota Damansara. The restaurant had only just recently opened and I foresee that in the days to come, when more people come to know of the place, it’ll be brimming with customers. I say this because the average price of the dishes here actually RM10.78. In case you’re wondering, I have actually computed that by taking all the prices of the food and averaged it out. :D

The prices are indeed very much affordable in comparison to many other Vietnamese places, but how does it taste? I have travelled to Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam and fell in love with the food there, so my expectations are pretty high. And, Guess What hit all the right notes with some of my favorite dishes. Let me share more my favorites dishes and those that I’d highly recommended.

Fish Sauce Chicken Wings | RM 6.90

The picture of the chicken wings are self-explanatory, it’s fried chicken wings. Fried chicken have always been my weakness, but this one was addictive because oh, it was so well-marinated with the fish sauce that you can taste it through the crispy skin and the flesh too. The secret to this lies in the type of fish sauce used, which is a premium kind where fresh fish is used to make it. The result is a rich, authentic flavor which is apparent in the chicken wings.

Summer Roll | RM 6.90

Summer Roll | RM 6.90

Deep Fried Summer Roll | RM 6.90

Mango Papaya Pork Salad | RM 6.90

Summer Roll is one of my favorite appetizers and it’s hard to get it wrong with something so simple! Guess What’s version was packed with fillings and of course, with the mandatory prawns accompanied with their signature sauce. The sauce is different from the usual one as it’s the chef’s special recipe which have been improvised from the usual sauce recipe.

Australian Beef Pho | Beef Slice - RM 12.90 // Ribeye Slice – RM17.90

Whenever I have any soup noodles, I judge it first on the smell of the broth and next on the taste of it. If the soup doesn’t even pass this simple test, chances are that the bowl of noodles sucks. The bowl of Australian Beef Pho with Ribeye Slices arrived and you can already smell the aromatic, rich beefy scent. A sip of the soup will send fireworks in your brain. Just by the color of the soup, you know that the soup is very flavorful which is a result of overnight cooking of 8-10 hours using the beef’s neck bone as the main ingredient for the broth. The beef slices are thin, to give it a nice texture. If you order the Ribeye Slices version, you’re actually getting 100g of ribeye.

Beef Internal Organs | RM 12.90

Beef Internal Organs | RM 12.90

If you’re more of an innards person, then I’m certain you’ll be delighted that you can have a delicious bowl of Beef Internal Organs where the same soup broth as the Australian Beef Pho is used. There are a variety of different beef innards in this dish such as honeycomb beef tripe, tendon, stomach (spongy type) and beef’s heart . If eating beef’s heart is too overwhelming for you, you can also opt to change to beef’s shin. Alternatively, you can actually customized it to specific items that you would like to have or not have.

Handmade Beef Ball | RM 13.90

Another favorite of mine is the Handmade Beef Ball which as its name suggest is chunky, meaty beef balls made in-house. The sizes of the beef balls are unbelievably huge, so huge that you can’t finish it in a single bite for sure. 

Pork | RM 8.90

Pork | RM 8.90

Chicken | RM 8.90

Fish | RM 12.90

If you always had trouble deciding if Vietnamese cuisine would be suitable for your non-beef eating friends, you won’t be faced with that hassle over here in Guess What as their menu is extensive and it includes pork, chicken and fish, even. The egg in the Chicken dish is a poached egg, made using a special machine to ensure the consistency of the poached egg. For the Chicken and Pork dish, the broth is made from chicken broth and pork lards which makes it yummy! Toman fish is used for the fish dish because it doesn’t have the ‘siang’ smell.

Clams | RM 8.90

But the winner of all the non-beef dishes for me would be the Clams. Priced at just RM8.90, the bowl arrived looking like I’ve just ordered a bowl of just clams soup. There were so many clams in the bowl that I lost count. The best part was how chewy, juicy and it actually is! You can actually taste the natural sweetness in the clams.

Stir Fried Australian Beef Vermicelli | RM 12.90

Let us move on to the dry noodles now, where they also serve Stir Fried Australian Beef Vermicelli or better known as Bun Thit Nuong in Vietnamese. This was actually one of my favourite Vietnamese dish ever since I tried them during my trip to Ho Chi Minh city. It’s a dry noodles where you have vermicelli served with the most important ingredient – the sauce. This dish is topped with stir fried beef, basil leaves, zucchini and pickled radish, just to name some of the toppings.

Heritage Coconut Soup | RM 12.90

An interesting dish that I have tried here is the Heritage Coconut Soup which is a fragrant soup cooked with coconut juice and beef broth. It gives it a very flavorful taste and you’ll find coconut flesh, coupled with beef balls in your soup. Do try this, if you’d like to taste how coconut goes with beef.

The dishes I mentioned above are my short-listed favorites one but there are actually quite a number of other dishes available as well. There are banh mi of four different varieties to pick from ; beef, pork, chicken and tuna. There are also the rice dishes with choices such as Vietnamese Pork or  Chicken Chop, Lemongrass Pork or Chicken and Beef Stew to choose from.

Sang Tao 1 | RM 5.90  (Hot) RM 6.90 (Cold)

As with most Vietnamese cuisine, Vietnam is famed for its coffee and the ones served in Guess What certainly doesn’t disappoint. In fact, the coffee served here is actually served with tea (but not pictured above), just like how it’s done in Vietnam because the coffee on its own can be too strong. In fact, it’s so strong that no amount of ice can actually dilute the coffee. The drip coffee is served strong, so as to remain authentic to Vietnamese experience of drinking coffee. If you prefer a coffee with a chocolate aftertaste, you can actually order the Phat Hai.

Durian Cendol | RM 11.50

The only dessert served here currently is the Durian Cendol and for me, that only option is sufficient because this is so delicious you don’t need to have any other desserts. Unless you’re not a fan of durian, else I am pretty sure you’ll like this. The durian used for this is brought in especially from Betong, Thailand. The durian taste really does differ from the usual one we have here in Malaysia. Do give it a try and share your thoughts with me. :)

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Guess What

// 7, Jalan PJU 5/6, Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor //

Open daily from 11AM to 9.30PM

Review : Drink up CAROMA Bentong Ginger Tea, for a healthier you!

Growing up, I have always thought of ginger as a mythical food because I couldn’t comprehend how a root can taste so spicy when eaten. Needless to say, I was not a huge fan of ginger. Till today, I avoid eating ginger if I have a choice not to. But the health benefits of ginger is endless, a simple Google search on the “Benefits of Ginger” will return you with pages, after pages of information explaining the numerous benefits.

Although I was not a fan of eating ginger, I still wanted to reap the benefits of it. One of the possible way to do that is actually through the consumption of – lo and behold! – ginger tea. Similar to consuming ginger, drinking the tea also have many benefits. In the market, there are many different versions of ginger tea. I’ve had the opportunity to try CAROMA Bentong Ginger Tea which a tea, infused with Bentong ginger. The word “infused” may cause you to think that the ginger flavor in the tea is mild.

But, it was anything but mild! The ginger taste is prominent, strong and intense. After taking a sip of the tea, I know that the product manufacturer didn’t stinge on  the amount of ginger they used to make the tea.  The tea is easy to brew, similar to a 3-in-1 coffee premix where the tea are in sachets and you just need to pour the contents into a cup and add hot water! It’s so simple and easy to make, which definitely beats the old school way of actually cutting ginger and boiling it with your tea. There are in total of 10 sachets in each of the box.

As I mentioned earlier, the taste is pretty strong and some might dislike the spicy taste. For me, I felt it was slightly too spicy for my liking. So what I did was simply to add some honey in my tea, to sweeten things up. Alternatively, you can simply increase the amount of hot water. The recommended level was 150ml, which is actually just a small glass. I would prefer the ginger taste to be slightly milder, hence I opted to add in more water… approximately 250ml of water.

Now, from the start of this post I kept mentioning on the benefits of the tea, in general but never specifically listed them down. Here are some of the benefits of the tea, which I hope will be able to convince you to try the tea out. :)

• Digestion | Ginger can help with those that suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome as it is known to have a calming effect on the digestive system and helps to relax the intestines during any such episodes. Besides that, it has been proven effective in helping to release gas so it’s recommended to drink some ginger tea before bed and the ginger will work its magic while you’re asleep.
• Nutrient Absorption | Ginger tea have an ability to aide in the absorbtion of all of the beneficial nutrients in the food that we consumed. When more nutrients are being absorbed, these nutrients can signal your hormones to let the body know when it’s full and that prevents you from actually over-eating.
• Blood Circulation | Ginger can help thin blood, improving overall circulation. As ginger improves blood flow, it can generate a warm feeling inside the body. If I’m travelling to a cold country, I am going to bring some of these ginger tea to help warm my body up!
• Natural Pain Reliever | Regardless of the kind of pain you’re experiencing, ginger can act as a natural pain reliever. Along with fighting inflammation that can cause aches and pains, ginger also works on a hormonal level to relief pain.

The CAROMA Bentong Ginger Tea is available only at selected locations of Village Grocer. In conjuction with Village Grocer’s Health and Wellness’s event which would be held from 1 – 11 March 2018, there would also be sampling of the CAROMA Bentong Ginger Tea , so you’ll be able to try the taste of the tea before purchasing it. Note: The product is still available at the outlets listed below after the event date. So, drop by and get your own cup of these ginger tea at the following locations :-

| Bangsar Village | Bangsar
| Mont Kiara | Mont Kiara
| Sunway Giza | Kota Damansara
| Desa Park City | Desa Park
| My Town | Peel Road, Cheras

However, for those that prefer to shop online, fret not as CAROMA Bentong Ginger Tea is also available online through 11Street. There is an on-going promotion where you get a free box of 5 sachets with every purchase of 2 boxes. Here’s the link for the online purchase >>>> http://www.11street.my/productdetail/caroma-bentong-ginger-tea-2-box-10-sachets-x-20g-22317742!

 

I'll like to end this post with a simple video that I shot of my mom, making this CAROMA Bentong Ginger Tea just to show you how simple it really is to make this healthy drink!

Till next time,

xoxo