KL Sedap 2014 Part 6: Dip N Dip

So this place was recommended by a good friend of my Darling Wife who says we simply had to visit here if we were in KL.

The place is situated in Bangsar so it was a little out of the way from where we were staying (Berjaya Times Square) but we happened to go nearby for a little shopping one rainy afternoon and the opportunity was ripe for us to finally drop by!

Dip N Dip is primarily a dessert place so you can expect plenty of sweet treats here.
Prepare yourself... for the... Chocolate Overdose!

Brownies Crepe (RM28.50)

Yeah it is pretty nice to look at right? Wait til you eat it!

The Brownies Crepe is not to be trifled with I can tell you that! This crepe is completely bathed in chocolate so all you choco-holics must be jumping for joy right about now. And it's not just covered in just one type but THREE types of chocolate! Milk chocolate, Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate make up this fantastic treat.

Errrr.... but why do they call it Brownies Crepe? Where's the brownie???

Ask and ye shall receive! The brownie lies within!!
Oh yeah. That means the entire size of the crepe actually has a carpet of brownies inside. Yes. Literally a carpet of brownies as you can see from that picture.

Tell me that's not enough chocolate for you!!
To be honest with you, this thing is enough to share between 2-3 people. Seriously.
But hey everyone really enjoyed this!

Plus, depending on who's the artist, your design might be different!
We had a 2nd masterpiece!

By the way, they've also got other crepes like the Dip N Dip Crepe (fruits), Cinnamon Crepe (Apples, Banana and Cheese), Tripple Chocolate Crepe, Cookies Crepe and Mallow Crepe to name a few.
Well, more than a few anyways.

Chocolate Waffle (RM17.00)

Well, if crepes are not your thing then maybe you might consider the waffles!

They have the type with fruits and stuff but chocolate lovers will surely go for the Chocolate Crepe.
It's pretty straightforward. It's a waffle and it's drowning in chocolate. LOL
And comparing to the crepe, I guess this was a much simpler presentation to prepare.

Pain Perdu (RM17.00)

So here are are having all the typical desserts so we thought we would try something a bit different and we had never heard of Pain Perdu before so we ordered it.

So the Pain Perdu is basically a slice of thick toast which has been soaked in milk and then they pile on goodies on top. And by goodies, I mean a scoop of ice-cream and then they drizzle chocolate all over the thing!! You could also choose caramel and cinnamon by the way (but I think you all will still chocolate right!!!)

If you leave it long enough, the ice-cream will melt so feel free to use a straw if you must LOL

To be honest the whole idea sounds so tempting. I mean, milk-soaked toast already sounds so spectacular but in the end, everything is pretty much going to be overpowered by the chocolate.

Dip N Dip Eclair Pyramid (RM34.00)

Okay this is what I ordered as well because the idea sounds really promising.
We've got 11 mini-eclairs and then you top it up with (LIKE DUH) CHOCOLATE!!

So here's something where you can get involved in the creation of the dish. You can choose to dip the 'eclairs' into the chocolate or, like us, shower some chocolate love all over. Sounds kinda wrong but tastes kinda right LOL

BUT.....
Firstly, I consider these more as cream puff than eclairs. I mean, yeah, Choux pastry but this is just what I get when I see these little nippers.

Secondly, I do have an issue with the filling...

Yeah some of the 'mini-eclairs' came up empty. Literally.
I'm not sure if this was done on purpose or not but I expected every single one to have some filling.
To be honest, the pastry on its own was actually very dry and kinda hard too as opposed to the nice and fluffy texture you'd expect.

Full marks to the staff though. When he was clearing the dishes, he actually asked me why I didn't finish my dish and if anything was wrong. I explained to him and I saw him bring the dish to the managed behind the counter and he was explaining what I had just told him. I didn't stick around after that but I was quite happy that the staff was so proactive.

Anyways, it's quite obvious that the star of this dish (and pretty much all the dishes here) was the...

Strawberry Milkshake (RM14.00)

Guess what? The Strawberry Milkshake tasted like Chocolate too!!
Just kidding...

It was good! Thick and creamy and a nice change from all the chocolate we'd had that meal.
They've also got Banana, Oreo, Vanilla, Coffee, After Eight and also.. Chocolate. LOL

Adam's Verdict:
Dip N Dip Eclair Pyramid 1.5/5 -- Pain Perdu 2.5/5 -- Strawberry Milkshake 4/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Pain Perdu 2.5/5 --  Brownies Crepe 3/5

Razali's Verdict:
Brownies Crepe 5/5

Fateha's Verdict:
Chocolate Waffle 4/5

Azim's Verdict:
Brownies Crepe 3/5

Pak Busu's Verdict:
Brownies Crepe 4/5

This was a nice place to visit although it's more of a cafe than anything. A great dessert place especially if you're looking for chocolate and more chocolate. In the end, it proved to be too much chocolate for us so be sure to order sparingly.... Try and share if you can... Unless you're really the chocolate monster.

Dip N Dip

Bangsar 5900 Jalan Telawi 3,
Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Tel: +60 3-2201 5052
www.dipndip.ca

Operating Hours:
11:00am - 1:00am Daily

Krispy Kreme - New Store At Great World City!!!

Oh yeah this Christmas season keeps getting better and better!
Krispy Kreme is proud to open its 4th store located at Great World City!!

You can now enjoy your favourite doughnuts when you head down to Great World City!
Krispy Kreme's newest store boasts seating for 30 people at any one time so if you feel like having some doughnuts, coffee and a chat with some friends, this is the place!

Yeah yeah we know life's busy and doughnuts are great as an 'on-the-go' snack but it'd be nice to sit down and relax with an Original Glazed® once in awhile are we right?

Hazelnut Kreme Brulee ($2.95)

To commemorate the opening of the new store, Krispy Kreme has come up with a real mouth-watering doughnut that is gonna make a lot of you go "WOW!!"

The Hazelnut Kreme Brulee has a nutty cream filling but it's the outer layer that's gonna get you!
Caramelized sugar just like Creme Brulee!! Sounds power right!!! And apparently they are individually caramelized under a blowtorch for the desired end product!

This special creation will b available at the new Great World City store for the time being but will be available at the other Krisly Kreme stores a little later on.

Doughnut availability

Great World City: 13th December 2014 – 31st December 2014

All other outlets: 20th December 2014 - 31st December 2014

Another Limited Creation from Krispy Kreme is the Kool Kreme!

There's a Krispy Kreme Original Glazed® Doughnut underneath that mountain of either Chocolate or Vanilla Bean Gelato topped off with crushed Oreos, peanuts, walnuts and chocolate sauce!! Extra cool and yummy dessert especially after a long day of shopping!! LOL

Priced at $6.90, this is a real steal! Available while flavour stocks last!

And since it's Christmas time, they've got some special Christmas doughnuts too!

Evergreen Happiness ($2.95)

Get your favourite Krispy Kreme Original Glazed® Doughnut complete with red and green icing to make it an extra sweet Christmas!

Snowman ($2.95)

No prizes for guessing the name of this one (like duh).
Filled full of Strawberry Jam and finished off with icing (including his own scarf!!) plus some M&M buttons, Frosty himself would be impressed!

Snowflake ($2.95)

More icing on this doughnut but look forward to the Chocolate Kreme within!
Oh yeah... CHOCOLATE KREME SNOWFLAKES!

Holiday Tree ($2.95)

Vanilla icing not enough to entice you? How about the Caramel Kreme filling inside? :)

Wash down your doughnuts with some special concoctions this X'mas too including both hot and cold beverages depending on your mood.

Praline Latte, Spiced Mocha Latte are the hot choices and definitely for all you coffee lovers.
Looking for something iced and refreshing? Try the Rocky Berries Iced Tea or the Strawberry Passion Fruit Iced Tea! Available in both Medium and Large sizes, priced between $5.50-$7.50.

And by the way, the Christmas Menu items are available from now till 26th December 2014 at all outlets! Some of you may already have enjoyed them!! If not, time to head down now!

If that's not enough, Krispy Kreme will be giving away half a dozen Original Glazed® doughnuts (worth $15.60) with every double dozen purchase. Promotion ends on 2nd January 2015.

So head down to your nearest Krispy Kreme now and enjoy some sweet treats this holiday season!
If you can wait a few days (which will be hard I know...) then head down to the newest store at Great World City which officially opens on 13th December 2014!!

The other 3 Krispy Kreme stores are located at Tangs Orchard, Income at Raffles and Changi Airport Terminal 2 just in case you were wondering LOL

Congratulations to Krispy Kreme and looking forward to more stores and more yummy doughnuts!

(All images in this post were courtesy of Krispy Kreme)

Krispy Kreme (Great World City)

Great World City
#02-40A/B
1 Kim Seng Promenade

www.krispykreme.sg

Operating Hours:
10.00am til 10.00pm Daily

Ramadhan Special 2014: Chef Andi's Kueh Lapis

I know this guy. His name is Andi. And he's a chef.
He's been a chef for a long time and I can tell you this - his cakes are delicious!

Well, to be honest I'd only had his 'Western' cakes in the past. I'd visit his cafe and bakery and whatever I had was always delicious (especially his Lemon Majari cake!!). I mean, this guy even baked me a birthday cake once and it was awesome!

But when he told me he was gonna be baking Kueh Lapis, it was quite a surprise.
Let's be hones - Western cakes and Malay Kueh are two totally different stories am I right... Just because you're good at one does that mean you're definitely gonna be good at the other?

Well, in this case, the answer is - YES!!

Original

Prune

Pandan

Mixed Fruit

Coffee

The Kueh Lapis was really good!!
Even my Mum loved it and that's a big deal because she's very particular about Kueh Lapis.

The Lapis was soft and so full of flavour. You can go for the Original of course if that's your thing.
And you can see how generous he is with the Prunes! My personal favourite is actually the Mixed Fruit... cos I love Candied Fruit. Seriously.

Prices are as follows;
Original / Pandan / Coffee (1kg) - $45.00
Prune / Mixed Fruit (1kg) - $50.00

I know there are a lot of 'Home Bakers' around now and I know some of them are pretty good. Well this guy is pretty good too. Perfect timing to order for Ramadhan but you'd better order fast before he reaches his order limit. (I already have a head start cos I ordered 5 LOL)

And Chef Andi has a special offer to readers of The Halal Food Blog!!
When you place your order, give him the password 'The Halal Food Blog Ramadhan Special' and he'll give you a special discount!! Maybe something off the price or maybe free delivery?

You can place your orders by calling or sending an SMS to Chef Andi at 9725 4231.
Enjoy!!

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: All-Day Breakfast

The Halal Food Blog Team never had a good impression of food at The Coffee Bean.
Sure, it was a great place for a coffee (or an Iced Pure Chocolate!) but the food was... lacking.

I guess it all boiled down to one experience. Our first dining experience at The Coffee Bean in fact.
It was a few years back and it was at the outlet located at Changi Airport T2.
It was pasta and it was horrible.

And we always joked about going back to The Coffee Bean for another "great" meal.
So you can imagine our caution when we heard people telling us about the "fantastic" and "delicious" breakfast menu at The Coffee Bean.

One weekend, we woke up (in the afternoon) and walked over for some All-Day Breakfast goodness.

Salmon Brioche Eggs Ben ($11.90)

You guys probably read our review on Swensen's Breakfast so you know I'm a sucker for Eggs Benedict.

The Coffee Bean actually does have a more traditional Eggs Benedict on the menu but I thought I'd go for the brioche instead. In case you were wondering, Brioche is actually just a type of bread with a higher egg and butter content which gives it a unique crumbly but rich texture.

As always, smoked salmon is my preferred topping of choice (which is why I didn't choose the traditonal Eggs Benedict) and the smoked salmon here was of a superb quality. I really really enjoyed it!

The Hollandaise sauce was not too bad and went well with the brioche but it does tend to overload after awhile because of the richness of the brioche. But the side salad is just nice to cool your palette with some fresh and sweet flavours.

But what about the egg???

When I said in our Swensen's review that I was disappointed with the eggs there, can you imagine how I felt here? Probably like 10x worse.

It's supposed to be a poached egg. I complained that the Swensen's one was not runny enough but this one was worse because it was not runny at all! Yikes! Oh well. At least I enjoyed the smoked salmon.

And by the way, don't let looks fool you. It's REALLY filling because of the brioche.

Country Breakfast ($11.50)

The Country Breakfast was a bit more traditional.
Scrambled Eggs with some baked beans, hash browns, a black pepper sausage, brioche and a side salad.

When I look at this, I can't help but think to myself that it's something that most of us can whip up at home.
Scramble some eggs, get some hash browns, sausages, veggies and beans from the supermarket and maybe use some bread or a muffin. Sounds simple right?

Hahaha it ALWAYS sounds simple but most of us just want a hassle-free breakfast without cleaning up am I right? Well, if you're looking for a hearty choice this is probably it.

Nothing special or spectacular taste-wise I guess. Hash browns were a little soggy actually but the eggs were cooked better than the ones I had that's for sure. Overall quite okay lah for breakfast.
But the black pepper sausage was delicious by the way. Black pepper kick early in the morning!

And by the way, the price of your breakfast gets you a choice of either a hot or cold beverage.
You can choose from a list they have. We had the tea!

Adam's Verdict:
Salmon Brioche Eggs Ben 2.5/5 -- Country Breakfast 3/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Country Breakfast 4/5

I have to say that the menu offered does look very promising and I can see why so many people have actually been raving about the breakfast at The Coffee Been and also Beanstro.

I have a feeling there's going to be a Part 2 to this post. Maybe even a Part 3 and 4?

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

EHub @ Downtown East
1 Pasir Ris Close #02-08

Tel: 6582 0208
www.coffeebean.com.sg/coffeebean

Operating Hours:
8am til 10.30pm Sundays til Thursdays
8am til Midnight Fridays & Saturday

Old Town White Coffee Part II

So we visited Old Town White Coffee (OWTC) for the first time awhile back and that was when it had just received its Halal certification.

This time we decided to go back for some breakfast!

Omega Soft Boiled Eggs on Toast ($3.20)

My darling wife tried this when she visited with her friends recently and I've been hooked on the idea of trying it since she sent me a text with a pic of the eggs on toast... Soft-boiled eggs is one thing but double bonus when it's already on the toast!!

First thing I'm going to mention is the bread.
I'm not sure if it was intentional but the toast was a little too... toasted.
I'd even go as far as to say it was bordering on burnt. I'm someone who likes my toast with a little extra char and crisp but it's too much when you have that 'burnt' taste.

But the redeeming factor? The eggs!

These Omega eggs were of top-notch quality.
Big and solid and obviously of a very high-grade, these eggs made it worth the price of the dish.

A little bit of dark soy and pepper and you're all set!

A good question would be how are you gonna eat it?
Do you pick it up? Will the eggs run all over the place if you do? Believe it or not - I actually ate it with a fork and spoon! Cut off a piece and scoop it into the mouth. This way, you get bread and egg in one mouthful and no problems!

Old Town French Toast ($3.40)

Good old French Toast... bread covered in egg and fried and then topped off with peanut butter.
Wait... PEANUT BUTTER?!?!

The menu didn't say anything about peanut butter and it's definitely not a classic recipe to have it on french toast so it was actually a bit of a shock. Especially for my darling wife who doesn't really fancy peanuts...

Oh well, one simply cannot live on bread alone am I right?

Old Town Nasi Lemak with Sambal Sotong ($7.20)

One of the first few things I saw on an OTWC poster was the Nasi Lemak and I've been meaning to try it for the longest time. So even though I had some eggs and toast, I was still hungry enough to have some of their famous Nasi Lemak.

The rice itself was not too bad. Still can be considered quite tasty. I wasn't too impressed with the sambal though. I always prefer my sambal to have a bit more of a sweet taste and not just all chilli.

But I think the worst part was the Sambal Sotong. It is cooked with pretty much the same sambal that comes with your Nasi Lemak and has this really weird texture to it. I know people like their sotong to be soft but this was more like a jelly-like texture.

For the relatively high price of $7.20, I really expected more.

They also have a 'Special' version for an extra $0.40 which comes with Acar Timun (Cucumber Pickle).

Curry Potato Paratha ($3.80)

As you can see (and probably expected), the prata is the instant type which they just need to dry-fry on the grill so it gets warmed up. But to be fair, it is pretty soft.

The curry itself is surprising because it's got some taste despite being very very watery.
But sad news, it's not really a Potato Curry. It's more of a curry with potatoes.
Meaning, they have cooked the potatoes separately and then just added them to the curry probably just before they bring the serving out to you. In fact, you can see the potato at the bottom left of the bowl above still has a dry spot there...

Definitely not a dish worth the price tag.

Oh well, guess you can't win them all.

Old Town Teh Tarik ($2.20)

So I know I'm supposed to be going for the White Coffee which is what they are famous for... but I'm not really the kopi kind of guy lah.. So I decided to have the teh tarik.

And then after I received it, I immediately regretted it. The teh tarik was nothing impressive. Not really full-flavoured and really lacking any milk/sugar taste overall.
Maybe I really should stick to the coffee next time.

PS you can get the iced teh tarik for an extra $0.30.

Adam's Verdict:
Omega Soft Boiled Eggs on Toast 4/5 -- Old Town Nasi Lemak with Sambal Sotong 1.5/5
Old Town Teh Tarik 2/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Omega Soft Boiled Eggs on Toast 4/5 -- Old Town French Toast 2/5 -- Curry Potato Paratha 2.5/5

Well there are definitely some items worth having at OTWC.
More items to come next time!

Old Town White Coffee

White Sands
No 1 Pasir Ris Central #01-15

Tel: 6584 4404
www.oldtown.my

Operating Hours:
8.00am til 10.30pm Daily

Old Town White Coffee

I'm sure a lot of you have had Old Town White Coffee (OTWC) before.
But it was probably across the Causeway in Malaysia!

Well, you don't have to travel all the way to have it anymore. You can get your OTWC fix right here in Singapore because they have just recently been certified Halal!

But for our friends who may not have tried OTWC before, perhaps a little introduction is in order..
Firstly, Old Town White Coffee's main product is, well, White Coffee. Ipoh is known for its white coffee and the instant coffee mix has been available to us for more than a decade.
Well they also decided that besides coffee, people might also wants to grab a bit of Ipoh classics so they started serving food too!

So instead of just having a cuppa, you can also fill your tummy!

Apparently (from what I've been told), the menu in the Singapore outlets is a little bit more extensive than the outlets you might find JB. And with so many choices, we decided to start slow...

Ipoh Chicken Hor Fun ($6.20)

Okay this is definitely filed under the Ipoh Classics folder when it comes to makan.
The thin kway teow is completely swimming in steaming prawn and chicken stock. The dish is completed with some shredded chicken and prawns as well.

I'll be honest and say that I've heard so much about Ipoh Hor Fun but I had never tried it before. This is probably because there are not many Halal eateries where you'd be able to find it.

And for a first time, I'd say that this was not too bad.

One of the unique characteristics of the kway teow used for Ipoh Hor Fun us normally thinner than the normal kway teow you might use for Char Kway Teow. They do tend to get extra slippery when they're dripping with stock so be careful when you're using chopsticks!

For (lazy) people like me, you'll be happy to know that they peel your prawns for you so there's less hassle there. Doesn't really rank high in the taste department if you're expecting anything more than fresh prawn flavour.

And I was pretty disappointed with the shredded chicken but the tasty soup definitely made up for that. I'm normally not really into clear-soup dishes (eg Kway Teow Soup or Fishball noodles etc) and the picture makes it seems like its not much but that soup really does pack quite a strong flavour!

Supreme Asam Lemak ($8.20)

 My darling wife decided to go for something a little bit more unique.
Asam Laksa isn't really something new because we can get quite easily in SG (even when you have Maggi Mee!) but this is supposed to be the "SUPREME" version plus they added coconut milk which normally does very well with most dishes. Right?

Let me start by pointing out that they DO use the thicker version of the Laksa noodle and not the thin variety.

And you can see from the picture above that there's a big piece of chicken which comes with the dish. But what you can't see (hiding behind) is a whole sardine (which appears to have come straight out from the tin) and a prawn (unpeeled by the way).

The gravy itself is definitely packing a punch. We'd both say it's actually pretty tasty and definitely a good choice for people who are looking for a full-flavoured dish. Presentation was absolutely top notch in my opinion.

Unfortunately, there's also a lot going on with this dish.
Maybe a a bit too much going on to be more precise.
The chicken was actually really big and you pile on a whole sardine and a prawn and it's pretty much overload.

I guess maybe sometime less is more?

Cendol ($2.90)

For dessert, we had the Cendol.

Well if you start from the top, where all the gula melaka is, it taste delicious.
But as the ice melts down, I found myself wondering where all the delicious flavours went.
Mixing it all up made a little bit of difference I guess but it seems like it was still lacking...

And the actual Cendol?
I'm not sure if it's store-made or their own product or out of a packet they bought somewhere.
But I do know that it was probably one of the least appetizing textures of any Cendol we've ever had.
It just disintegrates into a pasty mush when you bite down and was lacking of any pandan flavour.

PS  do you see those 3 WHOLE red bean at the top?
Please ration carefully because those are the only 3 whole beans you're getting.
You see all the toppings before you. There are none hiding beneath the shaved ice.

Honey Lemon Juice / Orange Fizzy

On the left you have a majority of water with some lemon juice and honey.
On the right you have some Sprite (or 7-Up) with some Sunquick.
We both recommend the Orange Fizzy.

Adam's Verdict:
Ipoh Hor Fun 2.5/5 -- Supreme Asam Laksa 2.5/5 -- Cendol 1.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Ipoh Hor Fun 1/5 -- Supreme Asam Laksa 2.5/5 -- Cendol 2/5

I'm guessing that we definitely still have a few things to try at OTWC.
Dishes like the Nasi Lemak, Curry Mee, Javanese Mee and Steamed Rice Pots do seem nice!
Plus... next time we are DEFINITELY having the famous White Coffee!

Old Town White Coffee

White Sands
No 1 Pasir Ris Central #01-15

Tel: 6584 4404
www.oldtown.my

Operating Hours:
8.00am til 10.30pm Daily