Time-out Session @ Coffee Famille, Kota Damansara

Once again, we are back to Coffee Famille @ Kota Damansara, this time to meet up with a close friend of KS.  We had been telling him how good this place is and it got him very interested, so much so that he kept insisting that we gather here for a drink.  Well, finally after all the pestering,  we are at Coffee Famille.

As it was a very hot afternoon, especially right after attending an outdoor wedding lunch at a park, I just have to order a cold drink to cool down - Ice Drip Coffee (RM 18).  Firstly, it looks so adorable that it was served in a cocktail-like glass on top of a pot full of iced water.  As for the coffee, it was medium-bodied, with a very light texture as well as having a nice chocolate aftertaste (milk chocolate, to be specific).  The bitterness is pretty mild even when chilled.  I think I just found a coffee that I will keep coming back for.

KS, who was on a slightly more adventurous mode, ordered the Sumatra Mandeling (RM 16).  It sort of didn't turned as he expected and joked that it tasted like Nescafe, which has a very earthy and raw taste similar to dirt.

In my opinion, it has an aftertaste similar to guava - a very mild fruity sweetness right at the very end.  And , it was not too acidic.  Flavour-wise, it was pretty flat throughout the journey and didn't have the roller-coaster effect according to KS.  Think he is already accustomed to the complex flavours of the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.  Well, not really the kind of taste that we prefer but taste is a very subjective thing.

For desserts, there was no tiramisu for this week unfortunately.  Instead, we chose the warm, classic chocolate cake (RM 12).  The moist, dense cake has quite a rich chocolate flavour but I find the icing on the top was just slightly on the sweeter side, especially right after sipping strong, bitter coffee.  The tiramisu is still the best.  Cheesecake the next time, maybe?

Oh, can't wait to be back again for another caffeine adventure ;-)

Coffee Famille

6-G, Garden Wing

Sunsuria Avenue

Persiaran Mahogani

PJU5 Kota Damansara

47810 Petaling Jaya

GPS:  3.154654,101.58997

Nasi Lemak @ Brilliant Nasi Lemak House, Kota Damansara

It was a holiday and we were planning to head to IKEA for some furnishing ideas.  But before that, we circled into Kota Damansara (near Sunway Giza) to search for somewhere decent for lunch.  And then, it caught my attention - Brilliant Nasi Lemak House.  Since it has been a while I had a good nasi lemak meal, I suggested to try this place.

This is one non-halal place with the usual nasi lemak but with a Chinese feel to it.  As with any good nasi lemak, every component of the dish plays an important role for it to meet the mark and in my humble opinion, I think Brilliant Nasi Lemak House made it.

The sambal was nicely prepared with a balanced flavour of sweet and spicy.  The sambal alone did a good job to flavour the nasi lemak.  In terms of the level of hotness, it was just slightly above average.  The rice, unfortunately, was lacking some santan  aroma but it was still a decent serving of rice - not too soggy or dry.  A plus point is the huge portion of the rice.

For me, I ordered the Nasi Lemak with Deep Fried Chicken (RM 8.20) since I was in the mood for some fried stuff (despite the hot weather).  The fried chicken drumstick was very juicy and yet, the skin on the outside was crispy and seasoned nicely.  The flavour is not too intense such that it blends well with the sambal.  I loved it.  I only wished they had given me more of the sambal.

KS ordered the Nasi Lemak with Rendang Pork (RM 8.20) as he felt it is pretty rare to find pork to go along with nasi lemak.  Instead of the traditional beef rendang, this was made up of tender pork pieces.  The flavours of the rendang was a bit mild, i.e. the spices are not as intense as the usual rendang and has a closer resemblance to pork curry instead.  Still, the meat was beautifully cooked with the right level of moisture.

As the weather was pretty hot, we ordered the Red Bean & Cendol Dessert (RM 4.80) to cool.  I love the mashed red beans as they were sweet and did much to flavour the ice.  However, aside from the cendol jellies, the ice barely tasted like cendol dessert.

They have a variety of nasi lemak dishes with the Brilliant's Nasi Lemak (Deep Fried Chicken Drumstick, Sambal Prawns & Sambal Stuffed Squid) and Dessert Set (RM 17.80) being one of their main highlights.  But we were not up to it since it looked a bit too heavy for lunch.  Maybe next time.  If you are not up for nasi lemak, the menu also offers other dishes such as wan tan mee, noodles, chicken rice and various snacks and desserts.

As we were leaving to take a picture of the shop, there was a sign placed right outside the shop with a tagline "The Best Nasi Lemak in Kota Damansara awaits you here!"  Not sure if it is really the best in town, but it was definitely good enough for me to come back another time.

Brilliant Nasi Lemak House

25, Jalan PJU 5/10
Dataran Sunway
47810 Kota Damansara
Tel:  03-6150 6998

Oppa Froyo @ 9 Berries, Sunway Giza

9 Berries - If you have not heard of this name, then you're missing a great deal of low-fat sweet treats.  This is one of the few places serving the best froyo - very light in taste, the Oppa-style.

Previously at KL City Walk, they have recently moved to a better location at Sunway Giza, Kota Damansara.  Now, not only are they nearer to get to now, they are open all day through until 10pm.  Woo-hoo!!  I am so going to visit them every weekend :P

This time, we ordered 2 large cups (RM 9.90 each):

1.  Original froyo with cocoballs and chocolate biscuits - Still the best flavour :)  The cocballs really goes well with the froyo.

2.  Strawberry and Korean Citrus froyo with strawberries and chopped walnuts - The strawberry froyo tasted very natural while the Korean citrus froyo tasted like a mixture of lemon and orange.  The strawberries were a little too sour, though.

You must be wondering why I mentioned the "Oppa-style".  That is because 9 Berries have on their menu the various Oppa Set, consisting of the Oppa Froyo, Omni Waffle (Belgian waffle with toppings) and Parayo (frozen yogurt smoothie)!

9 Berries
Lot G11, Ground Floor,
Sunway Giza Mall 
47810 Petaling Jaya

Open daily 10am-10pm

Coffee Time @ Coffee Famille, Kota Damansara

If you have a thing for coffee, then you definitely should drop by Coffee Famille @ Kota Damansara.  You know their coffee is good because the moment you pushed the door open, you will immediately be greeted by a very strong but lovely aroma of freshly roasted, brewed coffee.  Boy, does it make me feel excited with the smell.

Looking at the menu, only did we realize that there's so many types of coffee to choose from.  Not knowing what to drink, we requested the waiter to recommend, who is superbly helpful as he took the time to explain which coffee would be suitable to our liking (he knows his stuff).

For KS, who prefer strong black coffee, he recommended the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe (RM 16), which according to him, has a distinct fruity (citrus) and flowery taste that will leave a very unique aftertaste.  Beware, because it is very very bitter at the start.  But, if you take the time to let the coffee gently travel across your tongue (as though you are drinking wine), you will be able to taste the fruitiness of the coffee behind that bitterness.  KS loved it very much.  I love the homemade biscotti - sweet and cruncy.

As for me, I prefer the coffee with milk, so Homey Cafe Latte (RM 12) was recommended to me.  It is coffee latte with gula melaka.  However, the taste of the gula melaka was not very distinct.  But, it is nevertheless a very nice cup of smooth, fragrant latte.

We also ordered the Famille Sandwich (RM 15) - their house-baked rosemary bread sandwiches filled with chicken ham, mushrooms, vegetables and cheese, accompanied by a refreshing salad.  The bread is super fragrant and because it has been lightly toasted, it was warm and crispy.  The bread is not too dry and tasted very good.

For desserts, we ordered the Tiramisu (RM 12), a must-have coffee dessert.  This beautiful dessert is well-presented and you can know how much effort they have put into this dessert.  It's like a piece of art that you  would stare forever.  I also love how much espresso taste it has.  All the flavours of the tiramisu, - espresso, mascarpone cheese - blended perfectly well without overwhelming each other.  Not too sweet, but not too bitter.

We love the whole setup of this cute, little cafe because it is very relaxing, just like home.  If you need a quiet spot for some private time, or hangout with friends for some small chat, this is a very nice place to visit because it will leave you feeling totally recharged (of course, there's the caffeine kicking in).

By the way, if you are a cyclist, you get 10% discount.  What a good way to encourage me to start picking up cycling.

You can visit their website or their Facebook page for more info.

Coffee Famille

6-G, Garden Wing

Sunsuria Avenue

Persiaran Mahogani

PJU5 Kota Damansara

47810 Petaling Jaya

(near Tune Hotel)

Dim Sum Lunch @ Yat Dim Sum Yi, Kota Damansara

Finding a nice, comfortable place serving good quality dim sum is no easy feat.  Even at Yat Dim Sum Yi @ Kota Damansara, a lot of things didn't really go right.

At first, when the drinks came, we were quite amazed with the quality of the herbal drinks - Lo Hon Guo tea and Pear & White Fungus drink.  Although on the sweeter side, but it is real stuff, i.e. not too diluted.  Totally love their herbal drinks.

As it is a made-to-order style, we browse through the menu and selected 5 different dim sums, of which 3 are chef's recommended.

First dim sum to arrive is the Yat Dim Sum Yi Lo Mai Kai or glutinous rice with chicken (RM 5.00) - a standard dim sum item to order.  We enjoyed it as not only was the chicken tender and well-marinated, the rice is seasoned well enough to give a nice fragrance.  There were quite a lot of ingredients added to the rice too.  Plus, it was not too oily.

Next came the Baked BBQ Pork Bun (RM 5.00), which turns out to be polo bao with char siew.  I love this dim sum because of the crust on top of the bun, sweet and flaky.  Filling-wise, standard char siew bao filling.

After this, the other dim sums were pretty much a disappointment - if you plot the level of our enjoyment on a graph, you'll see a significant downwards trend after each dim sum arrive.

The Pan-fried Radish Cake with Dried Meat (RM 5.00) tasted quite good at the first few bites, but after a while, it became a bit tasteless.  We felt it was a bit too soft and mushy (a bit gluey).  Unlike other places, the radish cake here was not pan-fried enough to have that thin layer of crispiness.  Also, the dried meat is pretty limited in each slice.

Next comes the Steamed Pork Dumpling in "Shanghai' Style or Shanghai siew long bao (RM 6.00), which was supposedly have two "thumbs up" by the chef, is a huge disappointment and is not at all worth ordering.  Although the dumpling skin is slightly on the thick side, which KS didn't really like, but what actually spoiled this dish (according to me) is the meat that they have used.  By right, a good siew long bao will have a clear, sweet pork broth inside.  But here, the broth has a weird pork smell and is murky with all the fats (there were many unidentifiable bits of whitish product, which I suspect is fats, although it could be anything else).  Eating that made me lost all my appetite.

The last dim sum to come (thank goodness!) is the Stuffed Pan-fried Eggplant (RM 5.00).  This is alright - pretty standard except that I find the eggplant/brinjal a bit under-cooked, but still okay.  Sauce-wise, mediocre.

Nevertheless, their food is still edible but is it worth the money?  I don't think so.  For the price they were charging, we were expecting a much better quality but obviously, there are some misses.

But I must give them some credit too - the shop is very clean and airy.  Even on a hot sunny day, it is quite cooling in the shop.  If not for its food quality, it will be a very good dim sum place.

Yat Dim Sum Yi
13-1, Jalan PJU 5/15,
Dataran Sunway,
Kota Damansara,
47810 Petaling Jaya

Dinner @ Gong Fu Kitchen, Kota Damansara

Today's dinner bring us to Gong Fu Kitchen @ Kota Damansara.  Serving Cantonese dishes, this restaurant boasts that no MSG has been used to ensure authenticity in its taste and promote good healthy eating.

First up is the double-boiled soup.  Their soup choices are rotated everyday, so if you come everyday, you'll bound to sample different nutritious soups.  Since it was Friday, we had the double-boiled old cucumber soup.

The soup is very nice to drink.  It very flavourful and packed with the sweetness of the carrots & old cucumbers.  It has a little spiciness in it as they have added salted mustard greens.  I like it as the saltiness is just right.  Perfect start to a meal.  Plus, I can confirm it has no MSG, as we did not return home feeling very thirsty.

For the mains, we ordered the Three Fortune Chinese Sausage Claypot Rice.  There were a few other choices but we decided on this mainly because it was labelled Chef's Recommendation and the picture looks really good.  Obviously, for illustration purposes as the real thing did not look as pleasant in the pictures.

Presentation wise, so-so.  It is basically plain rice cooked in claypot and topped with cured, waxed meats & vegetables, drizzled with some dark soya sauce.  A little disappointed as we were expecting it to be like the usual claypot rice.

Still it tasted alright, as the waxed meats flavoured the rice.  But we found it a bit too oily, could have been from the waxed meat.  Not a dish that I would order again - too unhealthy.

We also ordered the Honey Roasted Pork Chee Cheung Fun as the second main dish.  Now, this dish is worth coming back for.

I like how the layer of rice noodle is not too thin or too thick.  I always dislike it that it breaks the moment I pick up the chee cheung fun, but here, it holds pretty nicely.

They have also put in a lot of pork & vegetables.  The soya sauce tasted quite sweet and blends very well with the dish, without masking the roasted pork.  Didn't try the dried chillies to go together with the chee cheung fun as I was having sorethroat, so can't comment.

We ordered hot sugarcane with carrots herbal drink.  Sweetness is just right, perfect to soothe my throat.


Gong Fu Kitchen
22A, Jalan PJU 5/21
The Strand, Kota Damansara
47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Frozen Yogurt @ 9 Berries, KL City Walk

NOTE:  Starting from 20 October 2012, 9 Berries will be operating from a new place at Sunway Giza Mall, Kota Damansara.

Along the longest strip walk in KL, KL City Walk, lies a very nice, cozy little stall that serves delicious frozen yogurt (commonly known as froyo).

Owned by a very friendly Korean couple, Andy & Mimi, 9 Berries is very nicely decorated.  They display a lot of Korean items such as accessories, CDs and decorative items, all for sale.  So, while your taste-buds enjoy the icy treat, your eyes can feast on the goodies.

KS and I decided to drop by right after work to snack a bit before going home (and get stuck in the Friday jam).

1)  Korean style frozen yogurt

Unfortunately, there are only 2 flavours available.  So, we decided to go for the Original flavour instead.

We ordered a medium size (RM 6.90) and it comes with two toppings - cornflakes & chocolate chips (In fact, you're free to decide what toppings you want.  They  have choco balls, Oreo Biscuits, a range of fruits etc).

The yogurt is so nice!  Unlike the frozen yogurt from Tutti Frutti, their frozen yogurt is very light and fluffy.  Also, the texture is very smooth.  Taste-wise, real yogurt and the sweetness is just right.

Just the perfect treat on a hot afternoon!

Note, I am no big fan of yogurt (never really liked the taste), but I actually like the frozen yogurt they serve here at 9 Berries.  So, you can imagine how nice it tasted.

Definitely will be coming back for a second round to taste the other flavours.  Maybe this time, I will go large (Large for RM 9.90).

And apparently, their frozen yogurt are made daily with fresh milk.  So, you can be sure the quality is good.

2)  Liege style Belgian Waffle

The key feature of Liege style waffle is the tasty sugary coating on the surface of the waffle as a result of the caramelisation of the pearl sugar during the baking process.  It is usually denser and chewier than the normal waffle we normally find - Brussels waffle.

This is my first time eating Liege style waffle and so, was kinda caught by surprise when it turned to be chewier than the usual waffle.

The texture is a bit like wholemeal bread and slightly on the drier side.  Despite having the caramelized sugar coating, it was not very sweet.

It would have been much nicer if it was slightly warmer to bring out the crispiness of the sugar coating.  But I guess it could be because it is almost the end of the day, and the waffle has slowly gone soft.  Maybe if eaten while it is still fresh would have been much better.

Still, it tasted great when eaten together with the frozen yogurt.  The combination is quite good since the waffle does not go soggy very fast when combined with the frozen yogurt.

They also serve yogurt smoothies on their menu.

For those working nearby, it is definitely worth dropping by this cozy little stall to sample this non-fattening, healthy treat.

Note:

• If you are coming from Pavillion using the overhead bridge, just get down at Bank Islam.  The entrance to KL City Walk is between Bank Islam building & Impiana Hotel.
• 9 Berries is closer to Jalan P Ramlee (right behind Wisma Hong Leong).

9 Berries
F4, KL City Walk
Jalan P Ramlee
50250 Kuala Lumpur

(open on weekdays until 7pm)