Skinny Pig by Uno @ Plaza Arkadia, Desa Park City

I have been frequenting Desa Park City lately and I came across a newly opened non-halal restaurant somewhere in April - Skinny Pig by Uno.

If you're wondering, Skinny Pig is managed by the people of Uno Group. I managed to do some research and got to know that Uno has been operating in 1997. I thought to myself, "Since the eatery has been there for more than 20 years, the food shouldn't be bad."

Then, last Saturday, when my cousin came over to KL, I've decided to bring him to Skinny Pig by Uno at Plaza Arkadia, Desa Park City.

We were one of the few earliest customers that particular day. I was kinda glad that the environment was really nice. Well, it's Plaza Arkadia, of course it's nice! Anyway, setting the environment issue aside, we proceeded to order few items on their menu, one of them being MaMa Belly since we've seen their advertisement on Instagram.

Being avid fans of Hakka style pork, all of us couldn't resist this dish as we all love, love, love deep fried pork belly.

Basically, we ordered few things:

1. Lamb Ragu
2. Pork Ribs
3. MaMa Belly
4. Iced Americano
5. Pepsi
6. Gua-Pel
7. 100 Plus

I have read reviews that their portions can be quite small but setting those negative reviews aside, we thought we would like to experience it ourselves by going and eating there.

When our drinks came, one of my cousins actually felt a bit disappointed that Gua-Pel isn't freshly squeezed juice. Well, if you're wondering, it's not stated on the menu whether it is bottled or freshly squeezed.

~ Gua-Pel @ RM12 ~

We made no noise because we thought, well, this could be miscommunication since we didn't ask the waitress. No biggie...

Then our main dishes came...

~ Pork Ribs @ RM38 ~

Pork Ribs is served one, yes, ONE piece of butterhead lettuce with one quarter lime. We were like, "What??!!"

It was seriously disappointing because we went to Naughty Nuri last weekend and we ordered Pork Ribs as well. The portion was big enough for our entire family of 6 but this one... it wasn't even enough for one person! The price that they charge is about the price that Naughty Nuri charges. WTF?!

Then, Lamb Ragu came...

~ Lamb Ragu @ RM22 ~

The portion for Lamb Ragu was alright but then again, the bread it came with sucks! Well, honestly, it was served with one piece of toast, cut into 4 halves. The bread is just like the normal Massimo or Gardenia bread loaf sold in grocery stores! I was half-heartedly thinking, "Is this even quality food that they charge us for? For this amount of money, I might as well buy Massimo or Gardenia bread outside!"

On the taste, it was quite good.

Then, our last dish came - MaMa Belly.

~ MaMa Belly @ RM22 ~

To our HORROR, the pork belly was served on almost withered lettuce and shredded cabbage!!!

What the freaking hell is that?!

MaMa Belly looked so freaking pathetic to the point, my cousin's jaw dropped and said, "WTF? This is the nice advertisement you've told us about?"

To be honest, I was a bit embarrassed... I was the one who suggested that we should go to Skinny Pig and the dish that my cousin ordered totally looked half dead. We talked about it and decided not to make a big fuss as we could write a review later on their Facebook.

As soon as I got home, I went to my laptop and wrote a review, expressing my dissatisfaction towards MaMa Belly. I wasn't expecting compensation or anything but merely an explanation on why their advertisement is so different from the real dish - the quantity of the pork belly especially. Within a few hours, the team at Skinny Pig replied to my review and this is how they replied.

Instead of rectifying the situation, the person behind the computer screen said we ordered the wrong dish. Our supposed-to-be MaMa Belly was not MaMa Belly but instead, it was Crackle 'n Pork Salad. WTF is wrong with these people?

Are they stating we do not know what we ordered? We specifically pointed at MaMa Belly when we ordered and we even double confirmed our order of MaMa Belly with the waitress and she repeated correctly. Even when we paid the bill, it was printed on the bill that we ordered MaMa Belly!!! That particular person has the gut to say we ordered Crackle 'n Pork Salad instead?!

If we were being served Crackle 'n Pork Salad instead of MaMa Belly, how should we be certain of that since there is NO ILLUSTRATION on the menu?

~ Picture obtained from Skinny Pig's Facebook ~

Are we supposed to be mind reader? That was our first patronage to Skinny Pig and they made us really uneasy, unhappy and mad at our decision to even go there in the first place!

To make things worse, this person 'explained' to us that Crackle 'n Pork Salad is served with crispy croutons, roasted pumpkin, dried cranberries and almond flakes, alongside with a dressing of honey and mustard.

WTF is that explanation?

Do you even see almond flakes, roasted pumpkin, dried cranberries, crispy croutons or even the dressing in the picture above?

Does this person even know what is on the menu?! How dare he or she gave invalid explanation?

All that I could see is a few pieces of pathetic pork belly with low quality vegetables. How can you, a restaurant managed by Uno (since 1997) serve this to the customers? The person behind the screen said only, "It saddened us that you and your guests did not have pleasant dining experience." 

Is there any apology for the mistake?

Oh, yeah, the apology is - let's try to play the BLAMING GAME!!!! Oh, it's the customer's mistake that the dish she ordered was Crackle 'n Pork Salad. The salad is actually quite nice as it is served with crispy croutons, dried cranberries, roasted pumpkin and almond flakes. Not to forget, we have our homemade honey and mustard dressing as well! Hopefully the bitchy customer doesn't catch my mistake - teehee!

No, you're freaking wrong - there wasn't any apology but all that I felt was - we were being blamed! I responded by confirming that we ordered MaMa Belly and it was RM22. Let's say if we really were being served with Crackle 'n Pork Salad, the ingredients that the person behind the screen mentioned were not served in the dish AT ALL!!! Now, whose mistake is it? Me, again?!

When family and friends from my Facebook actually commented on that, Skinny Pig by Uno has the nerve to totally remove my review!

Probably their policy is - if you can't settle the issue, DELETE THE FREAKING COMMENT!

Like, what?!

Is this how Skinny Pig by Uno handle dissatisfied customers? Is this even professional of them to completely throw out customer's reviews and comments instead of trying to improve based on what people commented?

So, they think they are good enough that they can delete customer's reviews and feedbacks, huh? Bravo, Skinny Pig, for being so freaking unprofessional!

Nana's Green Tea @ Pavilion

Courtesy of stupid sister, I had the privilege to dine at Nana's Green Tea last Christmas.

Since both of us weren't so hungry, we decided to order one set of meal to be shared between the two of us - chicken with tartar sauce served with mashed potato and vegetables. The intention was that we wanted to order two different beverages.

I was craving for Hojicha Latte after returning from Korea. I've missed the taste of the tea and in Malaysia, it is so difficult to get this kinda tea. I was so happy when I got to know Nana's Green Tea is serving it.

Basically, for me, Hojicha tastes like Oolong Tea with a little bit of brown rice taste. You'd have to try it out if you've never tried it before. I'm so addicted to it right now.

Since stupid sister is a big fan of green tea, naturally, she'd order green tea but this time around, she wanted it to be way over the top. Hence, she ordered the one with topping and whipped cream.

Erm... I'm not a big fan of green coloured green tea but if you were to ask me to drink green tea, I'd go for tea leaves type of green tea. Yes, I'm as old-school as that. I love tea at it's most natural form and there is no doubt about it. I even went as far as learning about tea leaves from this old uncle staying in PJ when I was doing my degree.

I was as crazy as that.

Dinner was ah-okay but the food was nothing to shout about. We ended our day with few pictures.

That's stupid sister with green tea and behold... the picture below!

It's yours truly!

With my love!

The Coffee Code @ Sibu

Coming from a small town in Sarawak where Starbucks and Coffee Bean outlets are not easily accessible. I have always been a fan of Starbucks. Let me tell you a secret - I used to work for Starbucks and the memories of working there with a team of awesome staff are awesome.

Late of 2014, a new cafe was set-up and opened on 22nd of December at Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg, Sibu. My sister and I were ecstatic because we had been waiting for a cafe that serves good coffee for a while. During the first two weeks, we didn't bother to go to the cafe because whenever we passed by that area, we saw crowds and crowds of people.

If you are a resident of Sibu, you would have been familiar of Coffee Code's menu. Their signature dessert is Black Code Waffle. There are different variations of the waffle but we love Perfect Match so much that whenever we go back to the cafe, we would order it.

Priced at RM10.90 inclusive of GST, I would say it is a pretty good deal. Their waffles have gotten me addicted and even when I am based in KL now, I couldn't find waffles as good as theirs. There is just something about the texture of the Black Code waffles.

Perfect Match is served with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream but since my sister and I always are on the top of everything, we tripled the ice-cream. You can do so as well with an addition of RM2 per scoop.

I couldn't have enough of these yummy waffles and even blogging about it now makes me salivate. I always make it a point of visit The Coffee Code for their waffles.

Earlier in the entry, I mentioned that The Coffee Code has variations of Black Code waffles, right? I'm going to include a picture of their other variation, All About Love, below.

This variation is priced at around RM19.90, which is a bit steep because honestly, I don't really like fruits and fruits actually make the waffle soggy. You don't get to choose what kinds of fruits to go along with the waffle because it depends on what is available in town as well.

If you are unsure you want to try out their Black Code waffles, don't worry, they do have the normal brown waffles at slightly lower price.

Aside from waffles, they serve turkey ham and tuna pita pockets too.

The price ranges from RM14.90 to RM16.90 if I am not mistaken.

Honestly, I don't really fancy pita pockets, hence, I never really bothered to order any of it however, courtesy of my friends, I was able to snap a picture of the turkey ham pita pocket with thousand island sauce.

Just like any other cafes, The Coffee Code serves cakes and brownies too! Sometimes, they would have pies as well.

The choices of cakes depend on what they have in-store. I understand that they do have different cakes everyday. So, walk into The Coffee Code and be surprised!

The prices of cakes are around RM9.90 to RM13.90 so, check the cakes out if you are going to the cafe.

We are going to move into the star of the cafe - beverages! A cafe will never be good without good beverages! Honestly, I have tried a number of different beverages from The Coffee Code.

Take note that their prices for hot and cold beverages do differ. I am only to tell you the price of that particular beverage that I ordered. In the picture above, it clearly is latte. Priced at RM11.90, it's clearly a bit expensive for it's size. Oh, they only serve beverages with one standard size.

I tried out their Mocha as well.

I am usually a big fan of Mocha but honestly, at RM13.90, this is not up to my expectation. The only part that makes this beverage nice is the chocolate syrup, I guess.

I tried out their Iced Chai Latte at RM13.90 as well.

The taste of the Chai Latte to me, is similar, every cafe I go - for this one, it's a little too bland to my liking. I like my Chai Latte rich and thick.

If you're a Green Tea Latte lover, fret not, they do serve it too at RM13.90 as well.

I never ordered this beverage before so I couldn't give you any feedback.

Honestly, I have quite a high expectation for their beverages but I am a bit disappointed. I am an avid coffee drinker and I know my coffee well. I know the differences between the beans and the taste and pairing but well... I'm not gonna complain because it's acceptable.

Earlier last year, The Coffee Code started serving chocolate shakes!

My sister and I ordered their Nutella and Ferrero Rocher Milkshake at RM23.90. Erm... again, it's quite a hefty price to price for Sibu standard. I am not stating it's worth it or not but it is kind of expensive even for introductory price.

Our friend ordered Oreo Milkshake which was mediocre at RM21.90. It was quite bland the day we ordered it.

Anyway, I'm not gonna complain much about it.

If you are ever in Sibu, do pay The Coffee Code a visit and remember to try out their Black Code waffles.

Yoogane @ Bugis Junction

I was at Singapore around 2 weeks ago for the lousiest interview experience ever. Since it was really a bad day, two of my very, very close friends treated me for a nice dinner and they kinda accompanied me just to calm me down.

My friends actually let me choose which restaurant or cafe to go to for dinner and I opted for Yoogane at Bugis Junction. The reason was pretty simple - when I was at Seoul last year, I didn't have the chance to dine there even though I have came across so many Yoogane branches.

I am not so much of a cheese fan due to several reasons so, I usually try to avoid cheese at all cost. That totally explains the reason why I didn't try the ddakgalbi at Yoogane in Seoul.

Anyway, back to Yoogane at Bugis Junction - we opted for ddakgalbi with cheese. I was in a really bad mood so I guess my friends knew food would be the only way to clear my mind.

The set is available at SGD$52.90 or probably a little bit more than that - I don't quite remember. The set is for 2 to 3 persons if you wanna know but honestly, the portion was alright for the 3 of us but I guess we could eat a little bit more. Anyway, if you're a big eater, this portion would be just enough for 2 persons.

They do serve buffet style banchan or better known as side dishes. The banchan ranges from kimchi to marinated bell peppers to coleslaw with weird sauces. I am not that adventurous when it comes to food so, I didn't try out the peppers or coleslaw.

We didn't manage to take a lot of pictures because throughout dinner, we were trying to catch up.

Oh, just like Yoogane in Seoul, you'll be given an apron each to protect your clothes with.

You could clearly see that I was being busy with the apron. LOL!

We didn't manage to finish up the cheese because I guess the 3 of us couldn't take food that is too cheesy. We managed to finish up the ddakgalbi and had second serving of banchan.

After dinner, we managed to take a short walk around Bugis. Then, we decided to head back to the hostel since I was kinda tired.

It will be another while for me to visit Singapore.

Buffet feasting at BBQ-K @ Mont Kiara

I kid you not, eating has to be my middle name.

Although most of the times I would be preaching about losing weight but the truth is, I love food too much to totally ditch it.

What is more satisfying than a good buffet?

A good buffet with bottomless meat, meat, meat and more meat!

Stupid sister and I settled for Korean BBQ Buffet at BBQ-K, Solaris Mont Kiara to satisfy our crazy meat cravings.

Personally, I feel like BBQ-K at Solaris Mont Kiara is a bit country-style restaurant. My apologies that I did not take any picture of the interior design in the restaurant. I forgot to even take pictures of the entire restaurant because I was too hungry when I got there. Certain pictures posted here are courtesy of the bloggers stated on the pictures. If you wanna know more, you can visit their websites as well.

So, the first thing stupid sister and I did - we attacked the appetizer bar.

We were too hungry to wait for the meat to be cooked so, we went ahead and fill our tummies with a bit of traditional Korean appetizers like kimchi, japchae, kongnamul and others.

They do have decent number of appetizers to satisfy all your cravings but alas, again, I forgot to take pictures. The only picture of appetizer that I took was kimchi-bokkeumbap.

Kimchi-bokkeumbap is kimchi fried rice.

I am not a big fan of fried rice but because this is kimchi fried rice, I love it. The flavour from the kimchi that they used to fry the rice was really good - I love a good ol' kimchi anytime!

Then, we moved on to the meat, meat, meat, meat and more meat section.

Basically what we saw on the day we went to BBQ-K was the same as what VKeong's pictures portrayed. I'm sorry that I forgot to take pictures.

The selection on the day was quite wide actually. Lemme try to recall what they served on the day we went there - bacon, marinated pork belly, beef, lamb and chicken (soybean paste, gochujang, soy sauce), squid and probably yakitori too.

We started out with marinated pork belly and squid because I told them I wanted squid instead of pork. Stupid sister on the other hand, was more attracted to the pork belly so, you can more or less see in the picture below that the staff barbequed both for us.

Oh, if you are not into barbequeing for yourself, the staff at the restaurant would do it for you.

However, if you would want to savour each and every moment barbequeing for yourself, you may tell the staff that you would like to do the grilling on your own - they'd be happy to oblige.

Stupid sister and I opted for the staff to help us because we were all dressed up, reading for our shopping spree after the big meal.

On the whole, the grilling experience was fun and carefree because there will be someone to assist you.

However, if you were to ask about my opinions on the food, read on for my verdict.

I am quite a skeptical person when it comes to ordering pork outside. I am always turned off my the porky smell or taste that pork has. The pork belly and bacon served at the restaurant on the day I went there was really too porky to the extent that I couldn't eat much of pork - stupid sister had to gobble everything down else we would have to pay penalty for not finishing our food. I didn't like the bacon at all.

Conclusion - the porky smell of pork is overwhelming.

The only meat that I found decent on that day was the beef - it was juicy and the thickness was just right. The chicken and squid were okay as well - nothing much to shout about.

I liked the appetizers though - quite a lot of selection available.

They are serving beverages from orange juice to sik-hye to green tea to coffee to tea. 

Fruits are available as well.

Desserts are also served but upon request.

We ended up without dessert because we were too full.

Total damage - RM120 for two pax.

For the price we have paid for, the meal was worth it. Imagine going into any Korean non-buffet restaurant and you order Korean BBQ. You will have to fork out at least RM200 to satisfy your tummies.

Do take note because they do have different prices on different days and occasions.

Price (Business hours: 11am to 12am):
Monday - Closed
Lunch (Tue - Thu) - Adult RM45 nett, Children RM20 nett
Dinner (Tue - Thu) - Adult RM60 nett, Children RM30 nett
Lunch & Dinner (Fri - Sun) - Adult RM60 nett, Children RM30 nett

Plan your visit to get the best deal, okay?

If you are not anywhere near Mont Kiara, BBQ-K does have two other outlets within Klang Valley. Addresses are as below.

Mont Kiara Solaris branch
15-3, Soho KL, Jalan Solaris 2,
Mont Kiara, 

50480, KL
Tel: 03-6206 5539

Sunway Giza branch
D-08-01, Block B, Sunway Giza,
Jalan PJU 5, Kota Damansara, 

47810 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 018-220 0710

Sri Petaling branch
No, 22A-1, Jalan Radin Bagus 3,
Bandar Baru Sri Petaling,
57000 KL
Tel: 011-3994 0013

Happy grilling, people!

Overnight oatmeal is simply addictive!

The past two weeks had been a living hell - I was so sick that whenever I stood up or wanted to do anything at all, I got headache! This headache of mine was basically caused by the pressure in my blocked right ear - blame it on the flu. It was bad enough when one side of your ears is blocked and on top of that, the pressure and headache made it unbearable. I ended up seeing two different doctors because antibiotics weren't prescribed to me by the first doctor and the medication he gave me wasn't strong enough to counter the flu I was having. The second consultation was with a specialist and on the third day onward, I felt so much better.

Anyway, I haven't been dieting or exercising much for the past few weeks because I got headache whenever I stood up. Everyone was telling me to start eating rice and noodles because I wasn't really recovering with less nutrition.

They won.

I ate.

A lot of food.

At least that is what I think.

One of the nutritious beverage that I have been making these days would be overnight oatmeal. I bet you have heard about this overnight oatmeal sensation from your Facebook or Youtube. I have gotten hooked after the first try!

Basically, what you need are items like what you are seeing in the picture below.

Chia seeds, oatmeal, milk and yogurt - as easy as that :)

For your information, you are encouraged to used rolled oats but since I don't really like rolled oats, I replace them with instant oats. Personally, I think they taste the same.

In the original recipe, you're also told to use greek yogurt but nah, I don't want to spend extra because greek yogurt is so much more expensive than the normal yogurt. It's only the consistency is different. Greek yogurt is thicker, that's it.

If you want your overnight oatmeal to be sweet, you may add honey, brown sugar or anything that you like but I like the way it is. I am going to share my recipe with you all.

First and foremost, prepare your oatmeal - around four tablespoons for two servings.

You may add on the quantity of the oatmeal according to your appetite but my advice is not to overdo it else you may end up throwing them away since not everyone may like it. Try it out for the first time and then, you may decide whether you love or hate it.

Secondly, add in your chia seeds.

I added 2 tablespoons of chia seeds for two servings.

Honestly, if you want more chia seeds, you may go ahead as well. Chia seeds will absorb all the liquid and they would bloat up, giving you a pudding-like texture.

Again, don't overdo it.

Thirdly, add in the plain yogurt.

I'm not really sure whether you can use flavoured yogurts but well, there's no harm trying, right?

My measurement is two tablespoons for two servings.

Fourthly, add in the milk.

In this case, you can actually use almond milk, rice milk, fresh milk, low fat milk or whatever milk you can find.

I usually mix the dry ingredients with 2 cups of milk.

Last but not least, shake your bum, bum!

Best time to exercise, aye?

Shake it up and place it in the fridge overnight.

The next morning, you can take it out of the fridge - enjoy it cold or if you're sick, like me, warm it up in the microwave for a minute or so.

Cut up some of your favourite fruits and voila - overnight oatmeal is ready!

I hope you will be trying out overnight oatmeal because yes, they are addictive and honestly, that is usually my breakfast. It gives me enough energy in the morning whether I am working out or not.

MAD About Coco - seriously!

It has been a while since I last visited any cafes, especially after my Eat Me Dessert Cafe @ Bangsar experience.

Since Bangsar is a little too far from where I am staying, this time around I decided to go to Publika instead. Well, at the same time, I could pay my girlfriend a visit there as well since she's working there.

I have passed by this cafe called MAD About Coco several times but I never really stepped into it yet. The signature Afro hair really caught my interest since quite a while ago and I've told myself that I would go there one of these days.

Finally, Miss A and I made our way to MAD About Coco.

Of course there is bound to be obligatory pictures outside the cute cafe, with the Afro logo.

We managed to take good shots that day due to the good lighting outside the cafe. It was at the same time as well, Miss A, wanted to pose like a supermodel.

Well,  she is one good example of the case of being overly exposed to her ex-supermodel manager!

If you do not know yet, MAD About Coco is a cafe revolving around chocolate and more chocolate, that is why it is called 'chocolatier'. You can actually put it as 'heaven for chocolate lovers'. They are serving desserts like crepes, pancakes, waffles, churros and a number of other sweet treats. However, if you go there on an empty, stomach, fret not because they do have savoury food like pastas, sandwiches and burgers.

When we entered the cafe, the ambiance caught us by surprise! Both of us actually loved the vintage vibe that the cafe has - it was indeed a comfortable cafe.

We went over to the counter to make our order and was given a No.13 as our table number. If you are a first timer here, they do have menus on each of the tables but you would have to order and pay at the counter.

Then, just like any typical cafes, you may return to your table and soon, your beverages and food will be served.

As you are waiting for beverages and food to be served, you may even spend some time taking pictures because at MAD About Coco, Afro hair props and big chunky glasses are prepared. Miss A and I went crazy over the Afro hair and glasses!

Seriously, we did enjoy ourselves - probably enjoyed ourselves too much at MAD About Coco. There were so many things to talk about since we had not seen each other for quite some time.

Picture-taking session went mad with all the props as well!

Okay, I am not gonna be lame about the props. Let's continue with the beverages and food.

Miss A opted for the classic Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows while me, being the typical coffee fan, I ordered a cuppa latte.

I know I should be ordering their signature chocolate beverages but then again, I was feeling a bit heaty due to the weather and chocolate would be one of the food that I would need to avoid until I have fully recovered.

Just to let you know, when you are opting for Hot Chocolate beverages, you have three choices of chocolate you could go for - white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate.

The differences?

White chocolate is the sweetest of the bunch and with the lowest cocoa intensity whereas dark chocolate isn't that sweet but it comes with highest cocoa intensity.

Be sure of what you want before you order.

Just in case you are wondering, here are snapshots of their menu.

For those of you who are not chocolate lovers, still, they have coffees, teas, juices and sodas.

Since I was feeling so under the weather and decided not to take heaty food, we totally skipped desserts. Although we did wanna try out their signature The Innocent Devil Tiramisu Ball, we ended up not ordering because Miss A was feeling unwell too.

I have checked online and saw so many fantastic pictures of their chocolatey desserts and these pictures certainly do tempt me...

~ Pictures courtesy of Malaysian Flavours ~

Verdict?

Miss A actually liked her Dark Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows so much that she intended to go for the second up if she wasn't feverish that day. The verdict on my latte - not the best I have tried so far.

However, I will certainly be going back for the desserts very soon!

If you're thinking of visiting the cafe, here are the addresses of their two outlets in KL.

Publika
A1-01-09, Solaris Dutamas,

No.1, Jalan Dutamas 1, 

50480 Kuala Lumpur

Fahrenheit 88
Lot 01-03 (01) & Lot 01-03 (02),

Jalan Bukit Bintang,

55100 Kuala Lumpur