DOME

Recently, I have grown a bit obsessed with the cakes from a cafe in Subang Parade called DOME. Found the best cheesecake ever there. =)

Here are just some of the food that I've tried:


Espreski RM18++

Honeycomb

Espreski is a range of drinks at DOME that is made of milk and ice cream, with shaved ice made of mineral water, and having cute chocolate things on top, such as Crunche Honeycomb, Nestle Chocolate frogs and such.

This, to my disappointment, isn't much to rave about. For its price, one can easily get ice cream-blended drinks of the same taste elsewhere. The part that I don't like about this range of drinks is the fact that whatever is placed on the dome of cream can be bought at supermarket at a much lower price.

Rating: 2.5/5
Overly-priced drink without a wow.

Chicken Foccacia with Avocado sauce RM22++

This is an extremely disappointing food, given that my hopes about the quality and taste of their main course grew so much over the week, after tasting their bakery products.

The bread is rather hard, although it tastes pretty good. I think it may be the type of bread (flat bread, foccacia, etc), rather than bad baking. I like the wedges, really crispy and tasty without being overly salted, in fact, I think they make their own wedges, because it feels rather bland.

However, the main part, the chicken, was so dry and hard, it tasted like cardboard, and I just couldn't finish it. I could find much wow in the avocado sauce spread on the bread as well.

Rating: 2.5/5
Kind of just liked the wedges. I would fail everything else, apart from the fact that this is a most healthy meal. Extremely healthy.

Meanwhile (while my handphone is down, and no pictures), I must say their Marble Cheesecake IS a clear winner in my pursuit of the best cheesecake. I swear it beats Hilton Hotel's, Bakerzin's, Ippudo's Japanese, McCafe, and light Cedele's one, ALL hands down. The way there is thought put into every corner of Dome's cheesecake is clear as crystal, and it not only made me want to take a second mouth, but want to try every single cake out of their bakery. The gap between Dome's bakery and others is so large that I'd gladly pay some RM13 for a slice. Superbly satisfying yet feels healthy. Strange. But no, don't trust my blinded judgment. Cake, by any measure can never be all that healthy, especially not if you eat one after a full meal everyday. Dome's is just too nice that I am blinded. haha. If you are a cheesecake fanatic like me, must try should you spot DOME in Malaysia.

And the other thing is the Heavenly Scones. Yes, they are heavenly. Extreme good since I first tasted scones at Nanyang Cafe. This must be the taste ieat talks about when he visited Europe. I am sure. This one, yes, I can say that it's a value for money, healthy and tasteful breakfast. Read more "DOME..."

Esquire Kitchen @Subang

I thought that it would hard to find a good place for Chinese food in this Muslim country, but strangely enough, there is one in a mall near my place, and I found it within the first week. =)

Esquire Kitchen - Sze Chuan & Shanghai style dishes

The menu.

Ambience & Setting
I find it quite normal. No specials done up to create any particular mood. Wooden furniture, and some hanging lamps.

The array of circular hanging lamps reminds me of the ramen restaurant, O-An in Singapore.

The general setting of furniture.

It's quite a large restaurant for me, because I seldom see places of this scale anymore is land scarce Singapore. The greatest contrast is that none of the eateries in Malaysia can be packed till you see a snaking queue outside. Not even during meal times. But the restaurants still earn enough to survive.

In Singapore, if the food is not good enough or if nobody knows about the place, and it doesn't get queues at meal times, that eatery can say byebye in a month's time.

Table setting. Can see that it's strangely quite bright at dinner time.

I am still not very used to having ultra long days here. The sky starts to bright at 8am, but remains like noon is never going to come. It is still cold and feels of early morning at 10am (the hottest in Singapore), feels warm at 12pm, and sun peaks at 2pm. The sun doesn't goes down until 8pm.

Service

To be honest, I am not sure if there is over here... ... I am okay with no smiling, plate banging etc. But food coming slowly is something my partner and I are really trying to get used to. I think the standards in general are quite equal on both sides of the causeway. It's the speed of food being ready that is quite different.

Our drinks.

This is how drinks and the sauces were served at first. Tea, hot or cold, is free flow.

Food

Mapo Tofu

I think this mapo tofu is okay. I was expecting it to be spicier since it's Sze Chuan style, and I also know mapo tofu dishes in Singapore to be on the chili hot side.

Huge plate.

I think it tastes pretty good and balance, but it is almost exactly like the sauce my mum uses for mapo tofu at home, those bottled ones from Lee Kum Kee etc. So if you are there to try food, not eat things you like, this is not something that needs to be looked out for.


Rating: 4/5
I make it a point to have some tofu now and then for my meals, and I like mapo sauce, so this is something I would normally call for.

Sze Chuan Sour & Spicy Soup

This totally looks like fish maw soup or shark fin's soup right??? hahahaha. And I can tell you it tastes the same too! LOL. But for those who do not take sour stuff, this is not for you. It is on the vinegary side, but is too my liking.

That's some hei mu er inside, which I like. =)

Rating: 4/5
It is well-balanced, with good texture.

Eggplant Sze Chuan Style

This is my favourite dish of all! I think this is a must try. It tastes sweet and salty at the same times, like a good plate of char kway teow, Singaporean style.

The eggplants are cooked to squishy soft, easy to eat and doesn't feels or taste like eggplants at all.

Rating: 5/5


Shanghai Mee

This is basically fried mee as we know it. It is not as sweet as the eggplant, but basically char kway teow as well. Pretty okay and Singaporean style.

Rating: 4/5

Dong Bo Rou

This is the star of the day that we really came for. =) Both partner and I walked round and round and round the mall trying to find the Sze Chuan restaurant that his colleagues brought him to on Day 1 here, just for this Dong Bo Rou.

And indeed, it is very nice as my partner told me.

The sauce is sweet salty kind, but not the same as that for the eggplant. The meat is so well cooked together with the fats in between (this is pork belly), that melts in your mouth.

Rating: 5/5
This is worth the trip!

Xiao Long Bao

Xiao Long Baos are one of my favourite Chinese snacks, and I'd try it as long as I see it on the menu. But this one is really disappointing. The skin breaks very easily, and is still sticky, as if not cooked well. The minced meat does not tastes too good either.

Rating: 2.5/5
I wouldn't order it again even if I were dying for xiao long bao.

Tau Fu Hwar

I am still in the Singapore mode, and reading ieatishootipost's post on tau huay all the time is really making me crave it every now and then. I have eaten two tau huays in Subang so far, and none of them are close to what we have in Singapore. I think the people here just don't go for the same tastes, are not as food crazy, do not demand so high standards, and face weaker competition too (like I said, if an eatery does not have business in Singapore, it closes, if an eatery does not have business in M'sia, they can still scrape by).

Anyway, this tau huay does have the bean taste and is smooth, but it is firm till it feels more like pudding or jelly, rather than the creamy or dissolvable ones I have back home.

Rating: 4/5
It would do for a tau huay crave.

Overall food rating: 9.4/10
The eggplant and dong bo rou are must-tries. The other dishes are generally nice and above average as well, and very Singaporean style, so this place is a good one to satisfy some Chinese taste craving.

I have also subsequently tried a number of their takeaway dian xin, and they are very nice! Do buy the char siew bao and walnut cookie! Read more "Esquire Kitchen @Subang..."

French Toast & Lemon Tea @ OTWC

So it's another day of better internet connection at Old Town White Coffee across the street... ...

The decor here.

I like the view and feel of the 2nd floor. Reminds me of the kiddie days at standalone MacDonalds. Ah, that was when there was still enough land in Singapore to have standalone two storey buildings.

Love, love the feel. 古色古香.

Today, I decided to try yet another thing on the menu that I haven't eaten, and those are French Toast and Fresh Lemon Tea.

French Toast

Enticing.

Yuuuuummmm, wow, this must be the nicest French Toast I've had so far. It looks delicious, cuts down like Tofu, eats like crispy tofu, and is very well, not overly salted. Makes me want to take one bite, after another, and another.

It is also very soft white bread. And I like the way the serving is always rather generous at Old Town.

Tofu-like soft white bread soaked in egg and milk probably, like the usual French Toast recipe.

Between the slices, hides fragrant peanut butter, which is really a tasty surprise. And it gets even better when I cut towards the center, where the honey and butter is.

Surprise and delicious peanut butter.

Altogether, this makes for a nutritious and balanced breakfast, with a good amount of carbohydrates, some fats to kick start the fat metabolism, and honey to top it off. Some times, there is wisdom in traditional breakfast.

Rating: 5/5

Fresh Lemon Tea

wow.

I was actually a little doubtful if they'd really give me fresh lemon tea, and not from the canned drinks... ... But yes, it is real unsugared, unmilked tea with a fresh slice of lemon floating . Truly just my cup of tea.

Very nice balance there again. Now, I think, apart from the White Coffee, this has to be my other favourite drink. Much healthier than the Rose Float. haha, I felt so guilty with that one.

Rating: 5/5
This comes in cold one too.

Overall rating: 10/10
These two things are absolutely the kind of breakfast that will get you licking off the fork and knife, and teacup. :PPP

PS: Having tried the other breads from Old Town, I would say, just skip them if you don't dine here often. Go straight for this French Toast. Get your value and money's worth. =) Read more "French Toast & Lemon Tea @ OTWC..."

Ben & Nick's Diner @ Subang

haha, I actually managed to find good food on the first day here! Thanks to the introduction from my SO who has been here about two weeks.

We had tealight dinner at a bar called Ben & Nick's Diner, which is super convenient, and just under the building we live at. Pretty lucky that good food is at a stone's throw away!

B & N

I like the motto "Love Food, Hate Waste". Hard to disagree with it. =)

Settings

This place is quite the bar, with outdoors sitting, tealights, half pulled down blinds, romantic for a good date. =) It's also quiet enough for a small business talk, friend meetup, anything.

It also has well-set tables.

The standard Western cutlery setting.

Rating: 4.5/5

Mango Juice

Niceee! =)

This is thick, and felt like real juice, even though I think they still do add sugar. Definitely the drink if you like mango as much as we do.

Rating: 4.25/5

Fish 'N' Chips

Love it.

I was delighted though not exceedingly surprised to find good Fish 'n' Chips here, because I know that this dish generally tastes better in Malaysia (have no idea why).

The fish is crispy, and has a tasty batter, unlike the many plain and normally soggy ones in Singapore. The fish is also soft and yummy.

The fries are really well-cooked, but not salty at all. (It does seems that Malaysians do not salt their fries.) But I am fine with it, since I am not that fond of overly salted ones in kopitiams back home. If any flavoured is wanted, all you have to do is dip it in the tartar sauce, which is the standard tartar sauce taste.

I really like the fish a lot. Definitely better than Fish & Co., of which, I have not eaten a second time after I failed it on the first try. (I only recommend the Swordfish there... ..., and Sharkie Freeze.)

Rating: 4.5/5
At RM 13.90, this is one of the cheaper items on the menu of B & N. The pricing is Singapore standard.

Lamb Shank, ~RM 40... ...

My hp is not doing justice to the lamb shank.

This is yummy, this is a must try. My SO loves it so much. And true enough, when I tasted it, it was wow, since I know that lamb meat is not easy to cook deliciously.

The meat of this tears off really well, is soft yet cooked, and tasty without the fishy smell that lamb meat normally has.

This lamb shank also comes with homemade mashed potato, which I really like. The potato still has small cubes of potato inside the mashed bits, and tastes purely of potato with some butter. Good!

In fact, this tastes exactly like what my mum taught me to make. Basically, just boil the potatoes, peel it, mash it with a fork/spoon etc, then add butter/magarine, add some salt, pepper, cheese accordingly to suit your taste, mix well, and tadaa! Tasty and real mashed potatoes, not from powder like 7-eleven's or KFC, or perhaps, even Popeyes'. =)

Homemade. I don't really like powder mash potatoes. So this is good.

Rating: 5/5
This is a must try, and easily the star of B&N.


Overall rating: 9.25/10
Visit for good ambience and good food if you're in the area! Read more "Ben & Nick's Diner @ Subang..."

Old Town White Coffee @ Subang Jaya

I was so excited to learn that there is not only Carrefour, but also the familiar Old Town White Coffee just a short walk from my temporary stay place in KL, Malaysia.

It is always heart-warming to be eating and buying from a name that sounds closer to home, i.e. Singapore.

I thought it'd be nice to start my food blogging in Subang with a very simple task of comparing the OTWC chain across the two countries. And I am really glad to say that standards are the same!

Everything from the decor, the waiters' uniform, the ordering system, the utensils, cup, and food are the same! Much to my relief. haha.

I have eaten quite a lot from the menu, and today, I decided to try the Javanese Mee, Plain Thick Toast and Organic Spirlina Orange Juice.

Javanese Mee, RM 6.80

The display of this mee reminds me of Cold Ramen from Kado Man. It consists of dry mee served on a large round plate, in Javanese mee style sweet mee goreng-like sauce, with toppings of half an egg, crispy you tiao, baked potato cubes, chopped peanuts, green onions, spring onions, with a lime to enhance.

I especially like the taste of slightly sour lime juice mixed into the sweet sauce. It coats the noodles very well, and really made me feel like this is a well-round balanced bowl of ramen. hahaha, I still can't get out of the ramen life.

The baked potato cubes also tasted delightful, with slightly crispy, on-the-verge-of-burnt feel, yet bites in as rather soft. However, it tasted a bit bland, although I am fine with this, since I feel eating pure food is healthier than soaking in butter etc.

The crispy you tiao are no so to my liking though. It may taste good to people who like crispy toast bread and biscuit like food. But for me, I prefer you tiao to still be dough soft on the inside.

The chopped peanuts are also self-cooked, probably either roasted or fried till fragrant. Very nutty and adds dimension to the mee.

The mee is not bad, but nothing too special.

Rating: 4/5
I think the best main course from OTWC is still Ipoh Hor Fun.

Organic Spirulina Orange Juice, RM 5.20

I like this!! It has just the right intensity of sourness, yet retains the tea feeling. I think so far, all the beverages from OTWC are really good, apart from Si Mut Milk Tea and Nanyang Kopi 'C', which are strange to me.

Rating: 4.5/5

Plain Thick Toast, RM 1.50
As with the normal toast bread, I don't really like this. I feel that the skin though toasted to the right level of crisp, is bitter. I much rather prefer the moisturized inner portions of the bread.

Rating: 3.5/5

Overall rating: 8/10
I still like this place as much as ever. haha. It is affordable in Singapore and really cheap in Malaysia. I think my favourite cold drink here is the Organic Spirulina Orange Juice!! Why hadn't I tried that earlier? I like the Rose Float, Black Currant Yoghurt Smoothie, and Organic Wheat Grass Honey too. Not to mention OTWC original, Hazelnut White Coffee and Iced Mocha White Coffee.

There are two outlets in Subang, both are within walking distance (~15 min):

Subang Avenue
Lot SG-08, Subang Avenue, SS16,
47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: 603-5636 8988
Fax: 603-5636 8788
(On sight of Carrefour, walk/drive further down, OTWC is the middle of 3 block of condos, ground floor, easily spotted.)

Subang Jaya SS15
No. 92 Jalan SS15/4,
47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: 603-5621 0092
Fax: 603-5621 0092

(From Carrefour, cross the overhead bridge, walk till the end corner, turn left, walk straight up the slight slope, OTWC is easily spotted along the shophouses on your left, with the brown canopy and Old Taste printed on it.)

PS: They have free wifi here with really good connection and speed. Makes it real good to blog their food. =)

P/S/S: I totally hate addresses. Seriously, how many of you can spot places using plainly addresses? At most times, the place is right in front of you, and you're still looking for that door number!! LOL. Landmarks and walking directions are definitely easier. Much easier still if you're driving, since one can't possibly crawl in the car at one foot per second! All websites need to do is show some pictures of landmarks around or describe the landmarks. Read more "Old Town White Coffee @ Subang Jaya..."