Colouring is therapeutic

It took close to three weeks to complete this one page.

Today marks the last day of the long Raya weekend. Oh boy, time flies when you're having fun. I just woke up from a nap. I went for my second session at Hiit2fit gym at Publika this morning. 45 minutes of circuit training with the heart rate monitor showing you whether you're reached your target heart rate. I'm better with the cardio sets. The weights with the medicine balls and dumbbells and sit ups and kick ups was so painful I did less than the others and for once was too tired to be embarrassed. There were 14 in this class. According to the instructor this is one of the biggest group to date. It was a bit cramped initially but we soon settled to our spots and space wasn't an issue once the music started and we went from zero pain to maximum pain. 

We were divided into two groups, the weight training group and the cardio group. It was good I ended the class with the cardio section cos I managed to get to 90% of the heart rate there and 80% most of the time. The good thing with the heart rate monitor is they show your stats on the screen, together with everyone elses....so if you have a competitive streak this will push you further. 

The gym is located at the same level as Tonkatsu. And it faces the main Dutamas road. Tucked in a corner. The shower area is very nice. Clean, big and equip with nice shampoo and conditioner as well as a hair dryer. After the class, I was still able to walk( thankfully) and got a light meal before driving back to have a lie down. 

It's after the lie down that the main is obvious. And now I'm in pain. I'm assuming this is leading to some burning to fat. Fingers crossed.

Tonkatsu (トンカツ?)

The set menu: Fried pork fillet with loads of radish, multigrain rice and miso soup

We had tonkatsu dinner this evening. A first experience and finally I can proudly say I've eaten here. You may ask; what is tonkatsu? Well, from the name you may have guessed it's a Japanese dish. ( top marks there). It's a dish made out of deep fried breaded pork loin or fillet. It is served with shredded cabbage and originated back in the 19th century. We were served like so in a set. I hardly touched the multigrain rice choosing instead to concentrate on the healthier option of cabbage. Which I drenched in a sesame-like sauce which tasted very nice. The sauce came in a ketchup-like-squeezing bottle so I literally drowned my cabbage in sesame sauce.

I only have one decent picture to show. Too busy chatting and eating I forgot to take pictures. ( Which is a new experience for me )

Service: 7/10
Food: 7.5/10

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison @ Publika (Above Daiso)
Lot 56 & 57, Level UG,
Publika, Solaris Dutamas, KL
Tel: 03 6211 9399

Wondermilk

The door leading to Wondermilk in Publika.

My second time here. This time to buy a single cupcake after biting a deadly chillie during dinner. ( See earlier post )  Wondermilk is famous for its cupcakes. Apparently. I didn't know this until I did a spot of googling. I can't believe I've been walking pass this en route to Chawan, Thai Tuk Tuk, Rakuzen, Go Noodles etc and have never gravitated here for cupcakes.  I guess because it looks rather posh. And the menu isn't readily seen from outside. And with a name like wondermilk you'd think they well different milk shakes or something.

Cupcake selection. 

 I have tasted some awful red velvet cupcakes. So even though they were right there, I decided to err on the side of caution and try something different.

I spotted something I fancied. Salted Caramel cupcake.

 And I did.I chose salted caramel as my single cupcake to go.

The tiles leading to a bigger seating area to the left of the shop

 While waiting for the cupcake to be put in a single packaging I took this picture of the black and white tiles which I like a lot.

My cupcake overturned at home and ended up looking rather sorry for itself.

I also had vanilla milk to go. And when I got home, the cupcake overturned and I got this shot to show.

Wondermilk
Lot G2-7/G2-8
Publika Solaris Dutamas
Tel: +603 6211 1092

Lorong Seratus Tahun, Publika

Loh Mee

I tried Loh Mee at the food court in Publika for the first time. Definitely better than the one at Ulu Yam Restaurant Manjalara. ( See earlier blog post this month for further details). My verdict, passable. I think the best one is the one at Taman Batu.

The broth was thicker than Manjalara and it certainly had more ingredients but it lacked the taste I craved. Despite adding vinegar to it. It was however piping hot and currently as I'm blogging and feeling hungry I'm thinking I could do with a bowl of this right now and I won't complain so much hehe.

Wondermilk

Like the sign

Why is this place called wondermilk? Is it because their serve wonderful milk? They sell cupcakes  I heard a lady sounding very disappointed this evening when she came into the shop with a few children and found out some of the flavours had finished. Ahem ahem! And when she managed to choose the remaining  cupcakes....there was a disappointed " aaaah I don't have enough money". Followed a minute later by " I have enough money" ( Presumably after she dug into her purse for some spare cash)

Lesson learnt: always keep spare cash in your purse. Also don't buy too many cupcakes. It's bad for health

S.wine

Thai Larb Salad ( RM20)

 We had dinner here yesterday evening. A reward for surviving a harrowing Monday. Swine is located in Publika ( now so famous you don't need to explain further ). It's inside the big grocery supermarket called Ben's Independent Grocer's ( BIG for short). I like heading there, it's like walking deep into a secret corner. It's tucked near the wine area and you can either enter through there or through the place where they sell ham. The staff are quite attentive and you will be seated fast if there is an available table. Otherwise especially during the weekends, be prepared to leave your name and come back in 15 minutes to see the status of a free table.

The salad shown is our first. I'm not a salad kind of gal. But this salad was super. The leaves of green you see were crisp and crunchy a perfect marriage with the Thai inspired minced pork. Love it so much I intend to repeat the order the next time we eat here.

Chips, which came with the burger

 This other order is what I usually order. The Larb burger which isn't too much and comes with fries and a potion of coleslaw. All decently proportion. I tried the pulled meat burger once and the avocado something burger too. I remembered not liking them both very much.

Larb burger(RM28) Thai inspired pork patties

 And then of course there's the wine. ( swoon). Swine's house wine is pretty good. Better than Big Fat Joe's burger place. Wine here is delicate and depending on which you choose the effect subtle and makes the meal tastes that much better.

House red wine ( RM25 each)

Starbucks Publika

This is me with my new laptop at Starbucks inside Publika. I came here after a long day of meeting to try and do some work. Starbucks isn't the place for that. For starters their seating is limited. Really limited. and the 4 tables they had within easy access had no power points near by. There is a cosy corner but it was already full. Well there was one empty spot right in the corner but the couple beside didn't look too keen to share their space. And I wasn't too excited about being stucked in a corner.

I've tried and now I know. It's not the place to unwind and do work.. I think Coffee Society would be a better choice. Serves me right for being lazy and choosing the nearer option.

Fat Boys, Publika

Bangers and Mash

German sausages and mash. Yum! We had dinner at Fat Boys in Publika which is literally beside San Francisco Coffee and directly opposite BEN's. I had Fat Bastard burger with a glass of red wine. Swine 's house wine is better than the house wine served here. This had a mediocre taste and little body and also a rather small amount.

My burger

I think I prefer the sausages. Easier to eat and more meat.And the taste was better than my burger.  My burger was rather small and the meat patty a tad slim for my liking. The chips were a good size no complains there and we had pretty good service.

A meal for three people costs RM 95 (not too shabby)

Flea Market

The weekend fleamarket at Publika is nice to browse. It's air conditioned and as you can see from the picture, has natural sunlight. In the mornings, with the light streaming in and minus the humidity, you feel good and want to walk on and on and see all things.

The stalls differ from week to week. And occasionally there are different interesting things showcased here. A few years ago we had loads of pandas and loads of people streaming here for pictures. And then we had the tapirs, like the pandas but on a smaller scale which also attracted a whole lot of people,

Today we had the usually interesting array of things. Some nice artwork, soap, food, salad, beads, batik etc.

Kudos to the architect. Natural sunlight is important. And it makes a whole lot of difference to the scene. Pictures taken are clearer, we appear more gorgeous in our selfies and generally everyone is that bit more happy.

Sunday evening at Publika

Enid Blyton Faraway collection from mph Publika

 We bought a present for my dad. It's a secret so I won't post the picture until we've given him the present. ( Birthday present which means the post will be only in April) What I can post is the books which I bought. One of them is the Faraway series by Enid Blyton. Not sure why I never had this series so I hear it's going to be made into a movie. A good reason to buy this book and get aquatinted with the story.  I also bought Sophie Kinsella's latest book. A separate post for that.

Cafe Latte from Plan B roasters inside BIG

 And here is my third mug of coffee. The first was homemade before morning mass. Drank that to be awake for violin practice session number one. The second was at Kenny Hills Baker for breakfast after church. That was to stay awake and practice violin part 2. And here is my third, after dinner at Plan B Roasters. This time not to stay awake I just wanted a place to sit down.

Interesting Italian spirals.

I saw this interesting spirals sold at BIG. Tempted to get them, cook it and make some simple meal. Should I? Has anyone seen anything like this before? I've never been to Italy, so maybe these things are common place there. I need an Italian to comment here.

Coffee and cheese tarts

Anyone had any coffee from Plan B Roasters at Publika? They had some minor refurbishment. And one of the changes is a wall of tiles. I don't like that. It reminds me of being in my old chemistry lab.  Chemistry wasn't very nice because the class would be on a Friday afternoon. And I was nearly always in a mad rush to head home. The other new ( but not so good) thing is they've scrap the loyalty card. Buy ten get one free coffee. It was a good deal. I had two free cups of coffee before this deal ended. Which means I have had 20 cups of coffee there. ( Woo! Never thought of it that way before)

I had this brought to the clinic on MOnday morning. A friend gave me this for seeing her dad in clinic. How sweet is that? As a rule, I don't like sweet tarts but this here yellow cuties were mighty tasty. And I enjoyed mine very much. I also shared them with my mos and staff.

Here is new semi-obsession. Crepe cake. Do you think I have the skill to make thin tasty crepes? And do you think I have the patience to make 20 layers of crepe cake? It's close. I may depending on my mood. In the meantime, I'm trying to decide whether I should buy this ( very nice) crepe cake book I saw at the local bookstore. I saw it in mid 2014 already. Nobody has bought it. Which makes me think, maybe it's not that good. But the recipes sound very do-able. And they explain it in clear language for a novice like me

The picture above is banana crepe cake from Coffee Stain at Fahrenheit.  Look at how neat the layers are. And if you're curious you may actually count the number of layers there are.

Nandos: Love it ...hate it?

Quiet but a tad chilly

 My second visit. And it may well be my last. I had a yearning for nandos only after some research last night on food with little carbs led me to the nandos website. Only because I remembered in time, that there was on at Publika which is tucked in a corner away from the crowd. Not that there is much of a crowd there on weekdays. ( Which is a major plus point for dropping by on the way home for coffee and a meal). Let me clarify this is my second visit to the Nandos at Publika, I have also been to the branch at Jusco Maluri. Again, because its close to work. We've been there for lunch on a quiet working day at least once before I believe.

1/4 chicken with some "posh" salad

 So this is what I had this evening. If you think it looks small, you've spot on. Hardly a decent meal for a starving working person who had to sit through a rather lengthy meeting and traverse through traffic in town to get here. So no, this is not my idea of a good meal to end the day. The chicken was nice and tender. And tasted good. Pity it wasn't meatier. the salad I would avoid at all cost. It tasted cold ( salad..yes yes I know) and the beans were a tad hard ( undercook is another word which comes to mind) and it tasted vinegar-ish. )Each mouthful was a bit of a job swallowing.

Sauces arranged neatly by an OCD person surely

 The ambience is nice though. I love the lighting, the seating arrangement and the wooden floors and walls. It makes it inviting and cosy.

Interesting wash basin...tap and soap dispenser

And I especially like the delightfully inventive wash basin tucked at the end of the premise inside the shop. Just so, you may practice good hand hygiene.

Coffee Stain

Coffee Stain, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

I found this place by googling " coffee place , publika". Its a level above British India you need to take the escalator just beside it and cross the road. You can see the shop when you reach the top of the escalator.

Its a nice place. Quiet. But I suspect I was there at an odd time. The service was good. Of course, the important thing is: the coffee. It was good. I had the latte. Which was ( to me at least) full bodied and tasted rich and nice. It was served in a cute yellow glass. The shop is a corner lot so you also ( should you choose) get to see a crowd opposite eating mamak food and gossiping. The price was Rm9+ for one coffee which I thought was decent. I'll be back!

Here's the address:
Coffee Stain by Joseph is located at:
D4-G3-01, Publika, Jalan Dutamas 1, Solaris Dutamas, 40580 Kuala Lumpur
+603 6211 2022

Keropok Lekor

Keropok Lekor, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Last night, while browsing through my iPhoto albums on the iMac, I found some lovely old pictures. Some of which I've uploaded on Facebook already. ( Slow connection it took a while...unifi what is wrong with you this week?)

This was taken at Wau Penyu. One of the first eateries to be opened at Publika. And back then, we would refer to Publika as that place where Wau Penyu is.

How times have changed. Publika is now firmly known. Wau Penyu has since closed down. This is their version of keropok lekor which I something I like eating a whole lot of. ( Bad for the arteries, and most other organs in the body I'm sure)

Wau Penyu was a very happening place then. I remember seeing their buffet fare during buka puasa and the there were many people.

More recently when we wanted to have Dim sum at Publika....we also found another eatery which has closed down; Imperial Pot. Bad Feng shui maybe because the reviews weren't half bad. But when we were looking for it, it was tucked in a corner quite a distance from all other busy shops

Dishes from Zuo

Dishes from Zuo, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

I am still in the phase of wanting to eat at Zuo. Going by past record this should last at least 3 months. Here are the dishes I've tried:

1. Minced pork and ginger fried rice. 8/10. I like the ginger taste. Rice is nice and fluffly. And the thin sliced fried root at the side is a pleasant surprise.

2. Tauged and salted fish. 7/10. Crunchy Taugeh. Would like it dry. ( Notice the gravy in this picture)

3. Rice and chicken in a sauce which I've forgotten now. It comes with a small pile of black fungus which was very salty. 6/10

4. the egg 7/10 A nice side-dish which tasted home-cooked and good.

What I like is the seating area, the pleasant staff they have and the fact all dishes are served with these interesting cutlery.

I have only tried their ice oolong tea so no drink review from me

Antique Chairs

posh chairs....will get one!, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

We found a shop at Solaris selling antique furniture. Walking into it, was like walking into Mozart's house. Nice delicate chairs with lovely embroidery. I spied two footstools and an ottoman which would look good in my apartment. ( Once I chuck some junk out). The owner ( she served us) was a lovely lady who told us a bit about each piece of furniture which caught our eye. There was also a delighful dining table for RM 5000. Worth the money. But no place to put it.

Marmalade publika

Marmalade publika, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Have you ever eaten here? Marmalade has a few branches. The one at Bangsar Village 2 is nice. It has windows overlooking the road. And a huge play area for children. This is another branch at Publika Solaris Dutamas. It is positioned in a rather nice place. The front of the shop opens up to a garden. And to the right of this picture is the road. We have only succeeded in eating here just yesterday. Their opening hours are short. Closed by 9:00pm sharp and the last 3-4 visits here , it was booked for private functions.

Our experience was mediocre. the food was nice.  But I found the menu very basic. ( I think the marmalade at BV2 has a wider selection of food ) Service was tolerable. But they had no sink and I had chicken burger and fries with my hands so I left with sticky fingers. It was quiet. We were their first customers for the evening. Two chaps came in after us.

No I shan't be returning anytime soon.