Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Chocolate Lava Cake/Moltan Cake

I've been posting so much review on restaurant and coffeehouse that I think I should drop a few post on my own baking adventures. I'm no professional in baking, most of my baking experiences are based on online recipes and trial and errors.

So today, I'll be posting about my all time favorite recipe! Chocolate lava cake, a oh-so-sinful dessert that just melts in your mouth. This desert has a solid but firm texture on the outside, but when you cut into the centre, rich velvety chocolate oozes out. With a spoonful of pure vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate oozing out from the cake, what you get is a lustful bite of haven.

I've made it a couple of time and I've never receive any lashback from it, so I suppose its good enough for everyone. A fine delicate dessert but its just so simple that amateur wouldn't have an issue preparing it!

My first attempt at it

My third attempt at it 


The two pictures above, I prepared it during a Christmas party at my friend's place and I was too busy working in the kitchen till I forgotten to snap a picture of it, these were taken by my friend's iPhone. I apologize for the bad resolution. But the whole plate was worthy of a five star hotel dessert, so don't fret about something so simple!

Prep Time : 20 mins
Cook Time : 10/15 mins
Serves : 4 ramekins

Ingredients :
Good quality dark baking chocolate - 113g
Butter - 113g
Eggs - 2
Sugar - 35g
All purpose flour - 40g
Coffee powder - a pinch (optional, my preference to enhance the chocolate taste)
Cocoa powder - to coat the ramekin after buttering (optional)
Butter - to coat the ramekin
Chopped walnuts, icing sugar and mint leaf for garnishing

Steps :
1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. (Place a heatproof bowl/pyrex bowl over a pot of boiling water. Reduce the heat to low once place the bowl on top. Add chopped chocolates and stir till smooth)
2. In a mixer, beat eggs and sugar till fluffy and light.
3. Once the chocolate are fully melted, add in the butter. (Usually the heat in the chocolate will melt the butter, if the chocolate had cool, put it over the pot to help melt the butter)
4. Add chocolate butter mixture in sugar and eggs and add the flour. 
5. Add a pinch of coffee powder to enhance the chocolate taste. Mix well till fully incorporated, don't overmix.
6. Butter the ramekins and coat it with a layer of cocoa powder to give it a richer cocoa flavor.
7. Fill it with the mixture at least 3/4 of the ramekin.
8. Bake it in a preheated oven of 180C for 10 minutes to have gooey center or 15 to have solid center.
9. Serve it with vanilla ice cream, sprinkles of icing sugar and chopped walnuts and garnish with mint leaf.

Tips :
*The mixture can be kept overnight if you intend to bake it other times.
*This can be made advanced and if you intend to bake it a month later, put it in the freezer; if you plan to bake it 2 days later, the fridge would be fine.
*Check the chocolate lava cake when placed in the oven to ensure you don't over bake it. The moment, you see its solid on the outside, take it out and serve immediately, NEVER leave it in the oven or you'll overbake it.
*Use a kitchen knife to go around the edges to ensure easy flipping when you flip it over the plate.
*BE CAREFUL as the ramekins are very hot.

Original recipe adapted from Molten Lava Cake.

-thevanillapudding-

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Whisk Outpost or Whisk Espresso Bar+Bake Shop

I've been to Whisk Outpost a couple of times with friends and family. So this would be a post for all those past experiences. However, some pictures are of bad resolution and lighting as they were taken from my iPhone, so pardon me for that.

Whisk Outpost was the brain child of some young adult who may be slightly older than I am and I must say it is a growing success till this very day. The coffee scene in Malaysia has been expanding with various coffeehouse popping up in the neighbourhood. 

Whisk Outpost has no lavish interior, they used mostly stool, wooden panel and tile floor to give a rustic feeling to their customers. When you stepped into the coffeeplace, you'll get a cosy feeling, away from those hectic busy days or the clicking of laptops like those you hear in Starbucks. Its like a good ole place where you hang out with friends with some good coffee and cakes.




This shows the interior of Whisk Outpost in Empire Shopping Mall. See what I meant about the rustic and cosy feeling? 

Rose Cake @ RM 11 (I think thats the price)
The rose cake deemed to be one of their best seller. I had this at their Subang outlet and it was just way too sweet for me. It tasted like rose which obviously meant they used rose flavor coloring - the taste was very refreshing and flora like. However, their sugar level was crazy! It is definitely something for the sweet tooth, not for me!

Granny Cake @ RM 11


This cake was good and makes it to my must have list. Don't shy away from this beauty that is so simple in terms of name and looks but tasted like a million bucks. Its basically a simple cake with apple bits and butterscotch cream. It wasn't very sweet, but moist and rich enough to taste the apple bit. The butterscotch cream compliments the cake very well, rich, thick, sweet and slightly buttery to compliment the cake's bland taste. It was pure bliss!

Hazelnut Hot Chocolate @ RM 13
My mate ordered the hazelnut hot chocolate to compliment the cake. Well, I'm never a fan of hazelnut honestly, I'm more almond or cashewnut. Haha. The chocolate taste was rich with hazelnut taste, however, it was a little dilute to my liking. Oh, they even forgotten to add the hazelnut in when they served the drink and we had to return it for them to add hazelnut! 

Chocolate Mud Cake @ RM 11
We had this at their One Utama outlet, located near Candylicious. It was one of my favorite, to be honest. It was super moist and rich in chocolate. So sinfully delicious that I didn't mind ordering a second one! If you love chocolate, this is good without too much cream to satisfy your taste bud!

Red Velvet Cake @ RM 14 ( I think)
Had this at the One Utama outlet. Just like the rose cake, it was too sweet for me. The cake itself is a mixture of cocoa and sugar and was overly sweet to my liking. And here comes the cream cheese which is again sweet and creamy on its own. That's like triple dose of sugar! It was moist nonetheless.

Hot Chocolate
My mate ordered this and I didn't bother trying because I am not a fan of hot chocolate either. I prefer my milo to hot chocolate. Haha.

On a side note, I've tried their pour over and also their cafe latte. The pour over was basically the barista pouring hot water in a controlled hand movement over the grinded beans to generate pure long black or just pure coffee. It was a tad too sour, it was some beans from Singapore, named Nylon. The cafe latte was too milky for my liking, some liked it milky, however, I prefer my latte to have slightly stronger taste of the coffee and less milky taste.

I would still go back for my cuppa. Maybe try a different thing, the cakes were decent and it has a good atmosphere for you to lie back and read a book or chat with your friends. They may not have the best coffee in town, but its a good start for an indie cafe like them. 

Empire Shopping Mall, Subang
One Utama Shopping Mall

-thevanillapudding-

Friday, February 22, 2013

El Fresco Cafe, The Italiano Cafe, Empire Subang

I had lunch with my college girls yesterday. We met up after one of them attended an interview nearby Sunway, so we headed off to Empire Shopping Mall for a good hearty meal. We wanted to have lunch at the The Vanilla Place but the awkward setting in the middle of the walking passage in the mall turned us off.

Our second option brought us to El Fresco Cafe, located in Jaya Grocer. It has no fancy setting, just like a cafeteria in the middle of the grocer. It serves mainly western food with a choice of pasta, pizza, panini, chicken and steak. They even have a variety of desserts such as tiramisu, flan and pannacotta. Their beverage menu is not lacking either!

There was quite a crowd too, family, housewives who are out shopping and some office employees. It's Italian based restaurant but prepared by local Malay chef, so halal it is!

Spaghetti Agio E Olio @ RM 15 


As usual, I ordered my all time favorite type of pasta - agio e olio. The spaghetti was boiled to perfection - al dente. Tossed in a thick coating of olive oil, herbs, garlic and some chilli flakes, there was nothing much to rave about the pasta. It was decent in taste and alright in portion but RM 15, it was a tad too expensive for something so plain.

Seashall Marina Pasta @RM 17


This pasta was named quite long which I don't remember at all. Taste wise, it's just plain weird. Coated in thick tomato base and a rich amount of cheese tossed in between, the combination ain't right. It was also a tad bit spicy surprisingly. It wasn't a dish that we will ever order again. Enough said.

Cafe latte 


Another mate ordered the cafe latter which was surprisingly good. It was generous in terms of coffe, I'm assuming they used illy beans from the cup which had the word illy engraved on it. It was rich but at the same time, the sweetness wasn't too overpowering, enhancing the coffee taste with a balanced sweetness. 

Tiramisu @ RM 7




My mate ordered the tiramisu to satisfy her sweet cravings, and mine as well. Haha. For RM 7, it came in a pretty little glass that looks miserable. It was nice but not great. The tiramisu was rich in mascarpone cheese, no doubt about that as you can see from the entire cup. But tiramisu isn't tiramisu without the ladyfingers. I am guessing they soaked it in too much coffee and it became way too soggy, hence ruining the structure of the tiramisu completely. But if you love the cheese more than the sponge, then this might be something you like to have.

Overall, its a decent place. No great food or maybe I have yet to try their chicken or steak with panini, I saw many people having that, perhaps that would be their specialty. Perhaps that was a better choice. I'll be back for other food during my next round to Empire, till then, I would just suggest you to drop by if you like trying new eatery!

Rating : 2.5/5
Price : RM 15 ++


-thevanillapudding-

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Vary Pasta, Damansara Jaya

This is one of my top 5 favorite restaurants - one that I always go back to without fail and one that I always order the same dish without fail. And no I never get bored of it......ever. 

Vary Pasta is located in the small row facing Atria which is no longer known as Atria but some random construction site. Due to their isolated area and difficult to maneuvar road, not many people knows about this beauty. The restaurant is just a small lot with a couple of tables and a very cold air conditioning. It has a simple interior with pretty pictures of ancient kitchens and dinner tables. It is cosy and suitable for families.

Of all my visits there, rarely are there people coming in without families, usually families will hog the restaurants or couples. It is quite well known among people living nearby, but rarely outsiders visit this restaurant.

Their specialties are on their pasta and I will definitely give credit to that. Their pasta comes in a generous portion with generous amount of ingredient at a very reasonable price. If you're there during weekends, it is pretty crowded when you're late.

Spaghetti Agio Olio with Mushroom @ RM 11
 In every of my visit, I would order my Agio Olio very faithfully without doubt. It is rich in olive oil, fresh herbs and garlic that each mouthful was orgasmic. It's simple in taste, but it makes you crave for more. The mushrooms were a generous amount too. You can chose to have mushrooms/prawns/chicken.

Grilled Chicken with Spaghetti and Fries
 This whole plate was below RM 18. Totally worth the money for the portion and the taste. The chicken was grilled to perfection with a very rich sauce to compliment it. The spaghetti was just good ole plain herbs and olive oil spaghetti, but it was a good combination of everything. It is a hearty meal in fact at a very good price.

Pork chop with spaghetti 
This portion is huge with 2 huge cutlet of pork with half a plate of pasta! The pork was savory and was served with a black pepper base if I'm not mistaken. This is also one of my parents favorite. The pork was succulent and at times chewy, if you do not like chewy pork, I would still recommend it. That is how highly I think of this place.

Lamb Chop with Pasta and Fries
They serve three pieces of lamb, or should I say rack? It is huge in portion for all three elements, so if you're a big eater, this might just be your thing! At times, the lamb chop can be slightly overcooked while other times it is just perfect. However, I usually don't have much complains for their lamb chop because its been consistent in term of taste and texture.

Tiramisu
The first time I had their tiramisu, it was godly. However, gradually I think its standard dipped slightly. I think they soaked the lady fingers far too long and the rum wasn't very strong in this case. The tiramisu was partially frozen when it was served. It is good but not as good as last time.

I've been here countless of times but I don't have all the pictures of the food I had in the past. But below are the few that I will recommend to people that are not in the above :

1. Creamy Garlic Spaghetti (cream based - like carbonara)
2. Pumpkin Soup (very rich in taste and texture)
3.  Pork Knuckles (recommended to be share by 5 people - succulent juicy roast knuckles)
4. Spaghetti with Capers, Bacon and Capsicum (I forgotten the real name)
5. Creme Brulee (really not bad)
6. Pancakes (its slightly thicker than it should be, but if you want something hot and cold, this is it)
7. Mushroom Soup

What you shouldn't have - apple strudel. It was horribly tough and disappointing.

This is one of my most frequent place because of its reasonable price, cosy ambience and consistent preparation of their dishes. I would definitely recommend this place - no one ever disliked this place whenever I brought them over. That's how good they are.

Ratings : 4.5/5
Price : RM 11 - RM 20/pax 

Vary Pasta
21 Jalan SS 22/23, Damansara Jaya, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
03-7710 6100

-thevanillapudding-

Monday, February 18, 2013

Kaffa Espresso Bar, Uptown Damansara

Had a girls nightout on Valentines Day and we proceeded for coffee after dinner. We found Kaffa Espresso Bar while scouting around Uptown Damansara. I've heard of it and it was on my "to-visit" coffeehouses. 

Kaffa Espresso Bar has a good ambience of jazz music with wooden furnitures to make up the interior. Their interior were plain with a simple counter and some hanging posters or paintings on the simple wall. They have an outdoor section if you're into smoking. The one thing that I kudos them for will be their lighting, it is so suitable for taking pictures! 

It was relatively full with several empty seats, there weren't many seats to begin with. The smell of coffee lingers in the small shoplot and makes you crave for everything being served. Mind you, the aircond is crazily cold too! We were freezing when we first stepped into the coffeehouse.

On a side note, Kaffa Espresso Bar is a relatively new outlet, founded in January 2013.

Hot Chocolate @ RM 10
I will say their forte is NOT hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was quite bland and dilute. I guess I would have prepared a cheaper and more delicious hot chocolate.

Hot Mocha @ RM 10
 This was a better choice compared to hot chocolate. The coffee taste was slightly stronger compared to the chocolate which is to my liking. However, I think they're a little too stingy in terms of their drinks preparation ratio. I find that for both hot chocolate and mocha, they are slightly dilute and the richness or the chocolate/coffee was very mild.

Cappucino @ RM 10

Cappucino @ RM 10
Among all 3, my favorite was the cappucino and yes, it's my drink too. Haha. It was rich in coffee, not dilute as the other two drinks. I love how they were generous of the coffee in this drink and the moment you sipped some cappucino, you're able to taste the bitterness with a tinge of sweetness in the drink. The sweetness wasn't overpowering! Thank god for that. I might just order this again.

Red Velvet @ RM 10

Red Velvet @ RM 10
Their red velvet cake makes it to my list of good but can be better list. It is worth a shot. The cake was slightly dry in my opinion. The cream cheese was decent though. However, I think they were being very stingy in terms of the cake size, it was miserably small slice for RM 10 compared to the ones I had at Whisk or Fatspoon. I felt a little ripped off.

Cheesecake @ RM 10
I think the full name on the card was Dairy Cheesecake or something. This is definitely NOT my type of cheesecake. Pretty as it looks, it was so milky! I stopped at the first bite - I'm more of a creamcheese or New York Cheesecake person. Unless you really love strong milk flavored cakes, I recommend you abstain from this. The milk taste was crazily strong to my liking!

Nightout with The Girls

I think they have a lot of room for improvement. Their price were standard pricing of coffeehouses, however, the quality doesn't really fit the price. I doubt I will go back any sooner, even if I do, I will stick to my trustworthy cappucino and perhaps a brownie. They serve main courses too but at a very hefty price! 

There was something that I wasn't please about. They charged me a service charge of RM 1 when I placed an order at the counter to take away a piece of red velvet cake! That is so absurd! Felt like I was being scammed by them for that service charge. Seriously, RM 1 when I didn't even seat there and consume that cake! Ugh. 

Also, unlike most coffehouse, they charged service charge which I find quite a ripped off either. As I remember, most coffee house don't charge a service charge like Artisan and if I'm not mistaken, Whisk. It's a way too expensive place to dine for that type of quality in my opinion.

Ratings : 2.5/5
Pricing : RM 10 per drink

97, Jalan SS 21/37, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Mon - Sun7:30 am - 12:00 am
03-7732 4502

-thevanillapudding-

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Greenlicious, 10 Boulevard

Valentines Day was a busy day for me since I was out and about with so many friends! I went for dinner with my girls or I would rather call them my sworn sisters since high school for a girls nightout. We had vegetarian dinner since one of them was a vegetarian and with all the sinful consumption during Chinese New Year, vegetarian meals seems like a very good idea!

We decided to give Greenliciou a try. It is located in 10 Boulevard, practically a very quiet row of shophouses in Damansara area, close to Kayu Ara that area. Parking was easy as it was relatively deserted at night, quite dangerous to be going alone if you're a female! 

Stepping into the restaurant, we were overwhelmed by the sense of peacefulness and quietness of the restaurant. Their interior were classily polished with white furnitures and shelves of organic products. They were playing instrumental music to give a sense of serenity. There were a few customers, but you don't get the usual noisy crowd in most restaurant. It felt so peaceful until we arrived, I think we were a little too hyper!

Flower Tea (Pot) - refillable

Very cute cups that looks like we're having shots
Their beverages were very healthy in terms of choices - mostly are flavored tea. We picked the flower tea as recommended by them as it was claimed to be better as when refilled, it would still have smell of flowers. Basically, its flowers soaked in hot water. It smelled very floral, however in terms of taste, it was quite bland. I felt I was drinking water!

Golden "Meatballs" @ RM 18


This dish was their CNY special. It was yam, tofu and vegetable mashed together. The clump was fried and served in a thick sauce that made up of carrots and eggs and I suppose vegetarian oyster sauce. The "meatball" was very mushy, the first bite it feels like you're biting into some huge mush. However, after several bites, it tasted good. The exterior was crunchy and delicious because it was coated with some sort of bread crumb or was it oats, I can't really tell. But what really set the dish was the sauce, it complements the "meatball" prefectly with its thick and unforgiving sauce and generous amount of eggs.

Lotus Wrapped Red Yeast Rice

During CNY, you get glutinous rice wrapped in  lotus leaf with abundance of pork and mushroom. However, this modified version was red yeast rice served with yam and a whole lot of different type of vegetables. Mostly were crunchy vegetables and I'm pretty sure yam was part of it! It was surprisingly delicious and addictive. It was so well prepared and marinated and flavorful that we just go back for more!

Hokkaido Miso Ramen
A generous serving for one person. It was ladent generously with tofu, vegetarian wanton, eggs, seaweed, cabbages and vegetables. It clearly is fibre loaded. The soup was thick and slightly salty, just like how miso tasted like. The seaweed were the nori type, it was crunchy and tasted funny since I'm never a fan of it. Their eggs were wonderfully prepared with a slightly wet yolk. This whole bowl was quite satisfying!

Overall, the food were pretty decent. It is quite expensive and I guess most organic food are pretty pricey. The bill came up to RM 84 for 4 pax. However, if you like healthy options, maybe you should give this place a shot. Their food are delicious but not sinfully oily. The atmosphere itself was another selling point. 

The service was fast and friendly, the guy who I suppose is the superviser is quite good looking too, but slightly on the feminine side. However, he was a joyful and very helpful person. And he looks like an actor too! 

Ratings : 4/5
Pricing : RM 25 perperson (Estimated)

Unit A-G-12, Block Allamanda, 10 Boulevard, PJU 6A, 
Lebuhraya Sprint, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia\
03-7724 1109
Operating Hours : Mon-Sun : 11.30a.m - 10p.m


-thevanillapudding-

Friday, February 15, 2013

La Bodega, Bangsar

Happy Valentine Day! I spent the morning having a wonderful breakfast at La Bodega, Bangsar on this special day. The original plan was to head off to Antipodean for breakfast, but it was so packed and there was a waiting list! So, we detoured to La Bodega which was just next door of Antipodean. 

It was pouring in the morning and that makes sitting at the sidewalk of La Bodega more cooling than the usual hot weather. We sat outside on their sidewalk while enjoying the morning breeze from the rain. The smell of rain was glorious, its not everyday in Malaysia that you are able to enjoy a breakfast at the sidewalk without sweating! 

Long Black at RM 11
Mom and dad ordered a cup of long black. The coffee in La Bodega were prepared using illy beans. The long black prepared was more acidic to my liking, but my parents loved it. It was rich in texture and leaves a lingering taste in your mouth. That is when the little piece of pastry comes into handy. The pastry is basically soft sponge butter cake overloaded with sugar to curb the bitterness and sourness of the coffee.

Fresh Juice - a combo served with English Breakfast 
The fresh juice was a little dilute and sour to my liking.

Caffe Latte @ RM 12
I need milk in my coffee. I would never touch an Americano or Long Black. Latte is one my favorite coffee drink whenever I'm in a coffeehouse. To be honest, their latte is pretty good with a subtle hint of of coffee instead of it being drowned in milk. It wasn't excessively sweet, but rich enough to savor the coffee bean's slight bitterness.

Big Breakfast @ RM 33 (if I remembered correctly)
A hearty breakfast ordered by my youngest brother. In terms of portion, it is smaller than the ones I saw in Antipodean and definitely slightly pricier. It comes with two farm fresh eggs cooked to your choice which in this case he picked scrambled, beef bacon, toast, sausages, sauteed mushroom, grilled tomato and baked beans. In the whole plate, my favorite was the beef bacon and mushrooms. Is the whole plate worth it? Well, I guess if you're willing to pay, why not?

Rye Bread Toast with condiments
Of all things, my mom had to pick toast. The rye bread was a little tough actually. To me, I won't order toast for breakfast since I can make it on my own as I felt it is of a waste of money.  

French Toast with Maple Syrup and Butter @ RM 11
Their french toast were pretty good. They took a surprising twist by using a baguette, perhaps something slightly soft but holds its texture. As most french toast uses plain bread, it usually becomes a lumpy piece of bread with no crisp to it, however, this was different. It was crispy and not soggy, a total plus point! 

Egg Benedict with Smoked Turkey Ham with Hollandaise Sauce

Perfect egg benedict

All those yummy yolk
I had the egg benedict for breakfast and was it filling. The eggs were poached perfectly with a gooey yolk in the center. The turkey ham was slightly salty which did well to reduce the overpowering taste of the yolk. A piece of small ham, some yolk and rye bread was a good combination. The hollandaise sauce was thick and rich, however, I'm not a fan of extra buttery sauce. The butter was so rich that a small taste of it makes me feel sick, so I barely touched the dressing at all. To me, it was quite filling after the first egg because of the richness of the yolk.

Beef Bacon as Extra Sides @ RM 7
The beef bacon was godly. Instead of hard bacon that you get in most hotel breakfast, these were cooked till tenderness. Definitely beef bacon of high quality!

I would definitely be back for a second round, perhaps to try their main courses and have more coffee! Their food is definitely a tad bit pricey, however, there is quality in it and the portions are pretty filling for me. So yes, give this place a try for breakfast if Antipodean is full! However, one downside - parking is hell!

Ratings : 4/5
Pricing : RM 30 per pax (estimate)

16, Jalan Telawi 2, 
Bangsar Baru, 59100 KL. 
Tel : 03 2287 8318, 03 2287 3808
Operating Hours : Monday-Friday (Noon-1AM), Sat, Sun

-thevanillapudding-