Happy News!

Apologies for the short hiatus as it was quite a busy week previously. Anyway, last weekend was a great one because two of my friends had their own achievements unlocked!

My pretty Chemical Engineer friend has finally graduated last Saturday! 

See? So lenglui right? She's still single so... if you'd like to know her, please let me know okay! :p *Elly, if you see this, this is free publicity for you so don't kill me please. xD* 

On Sunday itself, we drove to Seremban for our friend's new computer shop opening! So proud of him as he is the first to be a boss amongst the rest of us!  

                           

 The guy with the black polo T is the boss now and the one in orange is his business partner. 

So if you'd like to purchase anything to do with your computers or laptops or even get them serviced, please feel free to visit their new shop, Rex

So if you'd like to purchase anything to do with your computers or laptops OR even get them fixed, please feel free to head to this new shop:

Rex Tech

Add: No. 169 (Ground Floor), Jalan S2B 22 Pusat Dagangan Seremban 2, 70300 Seremban 2, N. Sembilan. 
Tel. No.: 06-601 4652

To both of you, congratulations once again and welcome to reality! :p All that's left are the doctors who will be graduating soon. Heh, time flies so quickly man! 

Also, I'll be starting my new job next week. Gonna miss my holidays real bad but at the same time, pretty excited to a whole new working environment! Okay, time to go bye!

Rekindle @ SS2.

Two days back, went to Rekindle in SS2 (which has been around for quite some time) with the boyfriend and a super close friend of mine for a random night out to talk about life *how deep*. 

Never got to try it out as it's usually packed with people, including the night we went there. Besides,  I don't fancy going to SS2 because parking is always a problem and sometimes, it's even jammed up for no apparent reason.

Good thing was that we found a table this time and probably cause we were there by 8ish, assuming that most Malaysians have yet to start coming out for yumcha sessions because it's always "the later the night, the merrier the crowd will be." 

They have both indoor and outdoor seating area but as it was a little too cold inside, my friend chose the outdoor area instead. 

The indoor seat view from our table. There are more a few more tables inside and this is really just part of it.

Diners are required to order at the counter inside, where they also display a variety of cakes and the menu is there too! As it was our first time there, the staff were pretty friendly and helpful where they will introduce you to their specialties according to what kind of food you're looking for be it main meals or desserts.

Chilled cakes at a minimum price of RM 11.90 up to RM 16 (for those with alcohol).

More cakes (non-chilled) and the list of drinks and food that they serve in Rekindle, which you can see behind the counter.

It was quite an extensive list of things to choose from but I already had dinner that time, I had a slice of cake instead.

Because I'm a pork lover, I went for their Smokey Bitz Salted Caramel Mille Crepe Cake (RM 14.90). It's bacon bits and pork floss on top of the cake with more bacon bits in between the cake. I was feeling a little more adventurous that night to choose this and though the combination was weird, it was quite tasty.Unfortunately, it's not to my boyfriend or my friend's liking though I think it's oddly delicious.

The boyfriend's choice - Death by Chocolate (RM 11.90). The taste was quite rich in chocolate and the cake was quite moist too. For a price as such, I think it's quite worth it! 

My Hot Mocha (RM 11). Loved the latte art. :) Wasn't too sweet and tasted more coffee than chocolate. As I am not a coffee person, I prefer my Mocha to be more chocolate-y. :) 

Boyfriend's Hot Cuppacino (RM 10) with friend's croissant behind as the background. :p

Overall, their cakes are pretty decent, though a little pricey. Nonetheless, really wouldn't mind to try other cakes of theirs soon! By the way, they also have a new shop in Damansara Uptown, so if you are up for desserts and coffee, maybe you can give them a try!

Rekindle @ SS2 - Opens from 12 pm to 1 am
Ground Floor, No.25, Jalan SS 2/64, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Rekindle @ Damansara Uptown - Opens from 12 pm to 1 am
4 Jalan SS21/35, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Day 2: Bangkok, Thailand.

Our second day was pretty exciting as we had two awesome and memorable experiences:- 

1. An enjoyable time at Silom Thai Cooking School. (will talk about this in a separate post!)
2. Got conned at Patpong Night Market. 

We went for cooking class on the first half of the day followed by a trip to Jim Thompson's House.

Sneak Peak: the attendees of the cooking class at one of their local markets. 

After the cooking class which ended at around 12pm, we walked to BTS Chong Nonsi (only a 5-minute walk from the school) and took the Sky Train to National Stadium. From there, we walked for about 5 to 10 minutes before arriving at Jim Thompson House.

Outside the house, there is a counter on the left for people to purchase the admission tickets, which includes a guided tour. As you won't be able to enter the vicinity further without the admission ticket, I would suggest you to purchase it since it's only 150 Baht per adult. Unless of course, if you are not keen, you can still be amused with some performances and silk-making sessions by the locals there, which is just a little further from the counter. 

We were lucky because the next guided tour was only about 15 minutes away and so, just enough time for us to chill a while. 

Outside the counter at the compound area where you get to witness how silk extracted from the worms.

Local Thai at work. and yes, that's a pot full with silk worms. 

Exterior of the house.

Anyway, we got to choose two different languages for the guided tour - English or Chinese. Obviously we took the English one since our Chinese language is not that awesome. :p 

No photos were allowed but it was a good tour where you get to really focus on what the guide was explaining about the house and Jim Thompson's previous life. For those who may not be aware of, he revolutionized the silk industry in the 1950s to 1960s until his mysterious disappearance in Cameron Highlands. 

Nonetheless, the house was really well-maintained and there were only very little renovations to it. It was also his family's decision to have the house remained the way it was when it's turned into a museum today. The tour was not too lengthy but it took about 30 minutes to complete in total. Before leaving the place, a shot of us to prove that we're there! :p 

Boyfriend's shot. 

Mine. :p 

After the short tour, we headed to Cafe at Ease, which is just a few shops away from Jim Thompson House Museum. This was actually unplanned because we randomly stumbled upon it but oh well, why not right? :p

It was a rather quiet cafe with a cosy ambient that has both indoor and outdoor seating areas. The place was decked up quite nicely and they serve cakes and beverages.

Pretty decor eh? The outdoor seating. :p

As it was a little heaty outside, we decided to sit inside instead and there were some shelves that sell handmade things, which was unfortunately, very pricey.

My Thai Milk Tea and his cuppa coffee.

Red Velvet Cake, which was very dry.

And a selfie with the mirror. :p

To be honest, the drinks and cake wasn't really memorable as it was not really worth paying the price for and the food quality was below expectations. 

Anyway, moving on! We had a good 1 hour foot massage for less than 300 Baht each at a massage place which is a few doors away from the cafe. Headed to Siam via BTS for dinner after that at Som Tam Nua which will be talked about separately too, otherwise this post will become super long!

Yeap, our dinner. :p

After so much good food, of course must walk more right? So we walked around Siam Square where the Siam Market is just nearby. It was a pretty long market that sells various street food (where we ate again wtf) and clothes! 

As it was still early by the time we finished walking, we decided to head to Patpong Night Market since it was supposedly famous for Go-go bars and some Ping Pong show where ladies can do weird tricks with their lady-parts.

Have heard about this kinda shows since long time ago from a close friend of mine years ago and since we were in Bangkok that time, thought that this MIGHT be an eye-opener to us. He's also warned us that people will get conned here but never thought that it could happen to us.

WARNING: LONG STORY AHEAD. 

THE SCENARIO:  We were approached by a few people along the streets but we ignored them. Reason being was that we were contemplating on whether to experience those kinda shows or we should just walk around that street. Then, there was this one tomboy who approached us and showed us a list (without any pricing) of what shows to expect and you can sit there all night by buying just a drink at 100 Baht per person. Sounded very fishy but convincing at the same time cause we thought, "If we don't like the show, we can just walk out and since it's only 200 Baht for both of us, why not?" Yeap, so with that curiosity, we followed her up the stairs which led us to that bar. There were a few ladies at the stage walking, moving and doing some tricks. At that point, still pretty convinced it will all be alright. That lady who brought us there even asked us what do we want for a drink and we just ordered a beer each. She also asked us if we could buy her a drink and because we're nice people, we were fine with that. She left very quickly after taking her drink and we sat there for a while more. It was odd because the place was rather empty until an angmoh couple in their 40s entered the bar, which we felt a little safer. After a while, my gut told me that we should just pay for the bill first so that we can leave anytime we want later on and the "show" was getting boring. The boyfriend went to the counter and something didn't look right from where I sat. At the same time, the angmoh couple was leaving but the people from the bar wanted to stop them from doing so and I overheard that they wanted the couple to pay for something. The man actually said he already paid for what he ordered and walked out furiously. The boyfriend came back after a few minutes and asked 500 Baht from me. I didn't question too much and just passed him the money. We left immediately and I learnt from him that they wanted to charge us 10000 Baht WHAT-THE-FUCK. Clearly it was a conned job. My boyfriend argued with them that we only ordered that two drinks and that lady who brought us there said it was only 100 Baht each, which should sum up to 300 Baht. Anyway, after a short negotiation and frustration, we end up paying 900 Baht for that night and boy, we were so pissed after. That lady who brought us up to the bar also disappeared from her initial spot and we thought she must have gone looking for another victim. 

***

Well, I have to admit that it was an expensive but great lesson learnt there and we're lucky to be walking out alive. So, the next time any of you wants to be impressed by this kind of show, please think thrice! Anyway, as we lost 900 Baht for that reason, we decided to just call it a night and take a good rest for the next day. 

If you'd like to go for the places that we've gone to, here goes with the details:-

Jim Thompson House - Opens daily from 9 am to 6 pm

6 Soi Kasemsan 2, Rama 1 Road, Bangkok (a 5-10 minute walking distance from BTS National Stadium)

Cafe at Ease - Opens from 8.30 am to 6 pm

38/1 Soi Kasemsan 2, Rama 1 Road, Bangkok (5 minute walk from Jim Thompson House) 

Massage Parlour (I can't remember the name anymore but it's another 2-3 minutes walking distance from Cafe at Ease)

Patpong Night Market - Opens daily from 6 pm till midnight 

Soi Patpong, Silom Rd., Si Lom, Bang Rak, Bangkok (A 5-minute walk from BTS Sala Daeng)

SOP @ Paradigm Mall.

In celebration of my mom's birthday recently, decided to bring her to SOP (short form for Same Old Place) at Paradigm Mall since we hardly dine in at restaurants that serve German food. Also, with a bar and a restaurant concept, thought it'd be pretty decent for a celebratory event. On top of this, there was a pretty good deal from Groupon too!

Lucky us because we didn't have to make any reservations 3 days before we went there, in fact, only did it one day before.

At the price of RM 188, the platter for 6 included 9 items and mind you, this is non-halal yeah!

6-piece meatball worth RM 25.90. This was quite delicious served with some pasta sauce alike.

Mashed potato and Sauerkraut worth RM 8 each. Expected better Saurkraut as this was quite a let down to me. Mashed potato was alright.

Honey BBQ Pork Ribs and Wiener Schnitzel worth RM 38.90 each. Both were quite dry and the Pork Ribs wasn't marinated with the sauce prior to cooking it, hence, the flavour wasn't there. Felt like it's just dipping the pork ribs into the sauce separately instead.

This plate consists of Crispy Pork Knuckle worth RM 67.90, 6 pieces of Neurenberger sausages worth RM 45, Jeager Schnitzel worth RM 38.90 and streaky bacon worth RM 20. The sausages and bacon was alright but the Crispy Pork Knucke and Jeager Schnitzel was rather tasteless and a little too dry. 

The platter was pretty filling for seven but because my brother is quite a big-eater, he ended up ordering another burger for himself. -_-

We even ordered some drinks to complement the dinner as the Groupon deal does not come with any drinks. Tried one of their top German beers - Bitburger and it wasn't too bitter, so me likey! There was also an on-going Ladies Night promotion on that day with 70% off for German beers and it's still available now!

Due to the passing of my grandma last year, we are not allowed to have any major celebrations so yeap, no blowing candles or birthday cakes. However, SOP was very generous to provide a complimentary dessert for my mom and it's their Chocolate Lava Cake. I came to understand that their Guinness Chocolate Lava Cake is quite a favourite but I'm not sure if the one we had was with the alcohol as I couldn't taste any.

A family portrait of us with the complimentary dessert!

Attendees of the night! :) 

I personally liked the Chocolate Lava Cake a lot cause it wasn't too sweet and the portion is just about right, especially when you had a heavy meal before that. Also, it comes with two scoops of Vanilla ice-cream instead of one! :p

Overall, it was a simple celebration for my mom but I guess she loved it too. :p Last but not least, a portrait of me and her!

Mom, thanks so much for all your support so far and you know I love you, even though I suck at expressing it. Hope you stay young, healthy and happy always! <3

My verdict for this restaurant? It really didn't meet my expectations cause food was below average. However, no harm to be there for a drink or two since the price is pretty decent and the environment was quite comfy. If you'd like, you can also try their desserts, so here goes with the address:-

SOP @ Paradigm Mall - Opens from 12 pm to 10 pm daily.

Lot GB07, The Boulevard, Level G, Kelana Jaya. 

Tel: 011-2698 1585/ 03-7886 0080

Petite Audrey Cafe & Bistro @ Bangkok, Thailand.

Had dinner on our first day in Bangkok at Petite Audrey Cafe & Bistro in Siam Center, which is another cafe in Bangkok that is pretty popular where they serve Western-Thai dishes. 

Liked their decoration on each table, especially the table lamp. :p

The decor.

Because the decor was so pretty, I just had to.

Nice hor. :p

Pretentious people HAHA. 

Ordered a few items off the menu including their... 

Say Cheese fried potato balls with cheddar cheese dip (130 Baht), which wasn't impressive. Wish the cheese tastes a little cheesier. :/

A small Tom Yum Pizza (220 Baht) which was not like a usual pizza with thick dough but it's quite crunchy. In fact, this was rather thin and it's even thinner than tortilla wraps. Not very filling for both of us.

Mango Colada Moctail (140 Baht). Loved this cause it had strong mango flavour in it! :) 

Milo Volcano Crepe Cake (125 Baht). This is quite rich in flavour too and though it's a bit too sweet, the cream in between each layer is quite satisfying. :D

A picture of us together after the not-so-satisfying meal, but still okay la. 

Overall, I don't think the food was as nice as what some have described but then again, these were our personal opinions. I wouldn't mind going back for the dessert though and perhaps, may try their Thai Tea Crepe Cake next time round. :) If you wish to give this a try, address is as below:-

Petite Audrey - Opens from 10 am to 10 pm

418 4th Floor, Siam Center, Rama 1 Road, Pathumwan 10330, Bangkok Thailand. (Siam BTS Station)

After You Dessert Cafe @ Bangkok, Thailand.

This is a really backdated post - exactly a month ago from today and oh.. how I wish I'm back there now! 

Just a brief intro, After You is a dessert cafe in Bangkok which obviously serves desserts. :p They actually have a variety to choose from ranging from toasts to cakes and shaved ice desserts too.

Because cafe hopping kinda like a thing in Malaysia, we decided to hop into one of Bangkok's recommended cafes too. So hipster I know HAHA! Nah.. it's really because we wanted to eat instead of being hipster. :p

Okay but seriously, I was a little afraid that this might disappoint me but oh well, why not? Since visiting malls have already bored me to almost death. Though the cafe that we went to in Central World was pretty filled with people, we managed to get a table for two within seconds. If we were any later than that, we probably might need to wait a little longer.

As After You practises self-service concept for the orders, you get to see what they have to offer at their counter.

The pastry area.

The counter where you order and pay before the food is served to your table.

On the left of the photo, its a drink station where they serve you with apple-flavoured tea and you can refill anytime! I think this is really generous cause if it's in Malaysia, all you get to refill for free in most of the cafes is really just water. Still, not complaining! :p

Because it was only the first day and we have to kinda save our tummy space for other food, we ordered one dessert and a drink. While waiting for the orders to be served, we helped ourselves with the tea.

Of diners, honey, apple-flavoured tea and my boyfriend. 

Of course, a shot of ourselves. :p 

My drink was served quite quickly and may I present to you...

Royal Thai Milk Tea's cup...

with Royal Thai Milk Tea (85 Baht) inside. :p

The cup wasn't fully filled and I felt a little cheated... until I took the first sip. 

It was so heavenly good that I think I may have heard some Thai bells ringing inside my head *dafuqsorryIdontknowhowThaibellssoundlike*. The drink is nothing like our usual teh ais here because I can literally taste the fragrance of the tea besides the milk and because I love tea, I couldn't say no to this drink because it was just pure AWESOME *in a high pitch voice*!

So, with such a good drink, I was already a little more confident with what they have to offer. Waited for about 10 minutes or so and our dessert appeared right before our eyes.

The Baby Shibuya Honey Toast (155 Baht).

Yes, it's named as such because it's a smaller version of their usual Shibuya Honey Toast. As you can see from the photo, it's a mini toast drizzled with honey and served with two scoops of ice cream and whipped cream.

To start with, I'm never a fan of whipped cream but when I tasted the one at After You, it was really nice and soft with strong vanilla taste. Not sure if it's homemade by themselves but yea, it's really different from the usual ones we have here that tastes like nothing but sugar.

Moving on to the toast itself, it was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, which was really aromatic with butter and the natural sweetness from the honey. Best of all, each piece of the toast (including the center piece) maintains the same taste so it's really sinfully delicious with every bite you take.

With the warmth from the toast, it was just perfect to pair it with the original flavoured ice-cream that came along with the dessert!

The portion was quite decent for two but if I were to go back next time, I will definitely go for the large one instead because the mini one was too good and it wasn't enough for us! Besides, the price was reasonable for such great quality of food as the bill came up to only 240 Baht for both of us!

Besides the one in Central World, they have ten other outlets around including:-

• Siam Paragon
• Silom Complex
• Siam Square One
• La Villa Aree
• Thonglor 13
• Crystal Park
• Central Ladprao
• Int Intersect Rama 3
• The Mall Bngkapi 
• Crystal Rachapruek 

If you wish to find out more about their menu, you can always visit their official website.

Separately, if any of you have a great place to recommend whether it's in KL or PJ area that serves the same quality of food that is on par with After You, please let me know cause I've been craving for their toast since! *drools*

Day 1: Bangkok, Thailand.

After lunch at Somboon Seafood Restaurant, we took a walk around Central Embassy before heading to Erawan Shrine (in Chinese, it's called 四面佛), which was a 10-minute walk away from where we were.

Located next to Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, this is a really popular place where both locals and tourists would come here to pray and have their wishes come true. 

The board outside the entrance to explain why the shrine was built. 

The shrine.

From there, we continued our touristy walk to Central World Plaza (only 5 minutes away from the shrine) and apparently, it's the sixth largest shopping complex in the world. :o

Coming from another city in Malaysia, we wanted to be amused at how jammed it can be in Bangkok. Hence, the photo. Well, this wasn't the most jam-packed hour so it seemed common here. :p

Outside Central World Plaza.

The mall is pretty huge with at least 6 floors inside and the shops were all pretty spacious and comfortable. Nothing impressive since it's really.. just a mall to me. 

Decided to have a try at After You Dessert Cafe since it was recommended by some who have been there before (will blog about this soon!).  

Continued walking around Siam Square and from one building to another as they're pretty nearby. Step foot into Siam Discovery Center and Siam Center, Siam Paragon and Gaysorn (a place like Starhill in KL where really premium brands are available there).

And, because we are lack of time to visit Madame Tussauds in Bangkok, we considered it visited by taking photos outside the area. :p 

The boyfriend with his sifu, Tony Jaa.  

I can't pose as well as he did but yea, me and Tony Jaa. HAHAHA!

There was also Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World next to Madame Tussauds and I really liked the way they decorated the area. Again, we pretended that we've visited this place by taking photos.

So pretty right the decor? :p

After all the window shopping, mall-hopping (in which most shops are the same, only in different malls), photo-taking moments yadahyadah... we had our dinner at Petite Audrey's in Siam Centre (which will also be blogged about separately!).

So, if you'd really like to visit some of these places, you may either stop being lazy and walk the helluvah out since they're so near to each other - which was very similar to the Golden Triangle in KL or well... take the BTS train.

As for me, I enjoyed the walk more because you tend to see more things around you and you get to burn more calories that you've gained through the non-stop eating sessions. :p

Just to sum it all up, we've visited the following on our first day:-

Erawan Shrine - Opens from 6 am to 12 am.
A 10-minute walk from Central Embassy, located in front of Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel (Also accessible via BTS Chidlom Station)

Central World Plaza - Opens from 10 am to 10 pm.
4,4 / 1-2,4 / 4, Ratchadamri Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
A 5-minute walk from Erawan Shrine.

Gaysorn - Opens from 10 am to 8 pm.

999 Ploenchit Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Thailand

A 3-minute walk from Central World Plaza.

Siam Discovery Center and Siam Center - Opens from 10 am to 9 pm.
Siam Tower, Rama 1 Road, Bangkok, Pathumwan 10330, Thailand
A 12-minute walk from Gaysorn.

Siam Paragon -  Opens from 10 am to 10 pm.
991/1 1st Floor, Rama I Road, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
A 2-minute walk from Siam Discovery Center.