Singapore: Waffles at Wimbly Lu

Becos I'm missing Spore again, so here's another entry on one of the cafes I visited during my recent summer break!

 

Wimbly Lu

15-2 Jalan Riang

Nearest MRT: Lorong Chuan

(Closed on Mon)

 

Directions frm Lorong Chuan MRT:

Go to the bus stop at Nanyang JC

Take bus no. 58 OR 105

Alight 1 stop later at Golden Heights

Walk into the estate towards Jalan Riang

 

 

Waffles with a scoop of ice cream -- strawberry cheesecake ($8.50)

 

Finally found the time to check out Wimbly Lu with my best friend, Ashley! Felt so proud of Ashley becos for the first time ever, she was the one who found the exact directions to Wimbly Lu and brought me there! Usually I'm the one who googles the directions/ make reservations etc cos I like to be in control lol....

 

We went there at abt 8.30pm and it wasn't too crowded so we managed to get a table immediately. I love the interior deco with fluffy little "clouds" hanging frm the ceiling, so pretty! However, I didn't like the fact that the tables were really close to each other. It felt as though the people sitting beside us could eavesdrop on our conversation anytime? We could barely gossip the entire time. SUXXX.

 

As we weren't feeling very hungry, we only ordered their root beer cake with vanilla ice cream and their waffles. I read online that Wimbly Lu serves the best waffles in Spore so obviously I had high expectations for it.

 

Sad to say, the waffles were really disappointing! I mean, come on, are all bloggers paid to write untrue stuff? The waffles was really bad! It wasn't crispy at all and tasted like it was undercooked? I mean I've worked in Udders (an ice cream shop) before and I knw how to make waffles. Pretty sure even the waffles in Udders tasted better than the one I had in Wimbly Lu! And their scoop of ice cream was really pathetic. It's tiny!!! Such a waste of calories.

If you're craving for waffles, just go to Salted Caramel at Upper Thomson or Strangers' Reunion at Outram instead.
(Read abt the amazing waffles at Strangers' Reunion here: http://weilingweilingweiling.blogspot.ie/2013/09/singapore-waffles-at-strangers-reunion.html)

 

The root beer cake was slightly better than the waffles! It's certainly an interesting combination. It's served in a wine glass, with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. There's a slight taste of root beer and I like that it's not too sweet. However, the slice they served was really small and miserable looking (which explains why I didn't take any photo of it) For $6, I'd say that this cake is worth the try but I wouldn't order it again.

 

Overall, Wimbly Lu was absolutely disappointing. Apart frm its cute whimsical decorations, the desserts were only average. Doubt I'd be visiting this place anytime soon.....

Kuala Lumpur: Authentic Hainanese delight at Yut Kee

Visited Kuala Lumpur for a few days with my family during my summer break. My dad drove frm Spore to KL, which took us abt 5 hrs in total. I used to visit KL every yr when I was younger as my mom is a Malaysian. However, due to my busy schedule, I think my last trip to KL was at least 5 yrs ago!

Spent 2 days in KL and as usual, we stayed in The Royale Bintang which was walking distance frm Bukit Bintang, the shopping district in KL! It's a nice hotel with facilities like swimming pool, gym, free wifi etc and I would recommend this hotel becos of its superb location! You can check out its website (http://www.royale-bintang-hotel.com.my/rbkl/index.html) for more info.

Anywayz I'm so glad that I managed to meet up with one of my classmates, Jiding, during my short trip to KL! She lives in Subang, abt an hour away frm KL and so touched that she came down with her mom to KL on a Sunday morning to meet my family and I! They brought us to a really authentic Hainanese coffee shop, Yut Kee for some tasty treats!

Yut Kee
35 Jalan Dang Wangi
50100 Kuala Lumpur
(Closed on Mon)

 

 

 

 

Toasted white bread with home-made kaya (RM 2.40)

Hainanese pork chop (RM 8)

Lum mee (RM 7)

Their famous roast pork!

Each serving comes with 2 slices of roast pork and apple sauce (RM 15)

Our spread (clockwise): Hainanese chicken chop, French toast, kopi, milo, lum mee, roast pork and Hainanese pork chop!

Hee hee with Jiding!

Family pic

Jiding and her mom came to pick us up frm the hotel and drove us to the place! So I'm not too sure how to get to this place by public transport! But I'd say you could take a cab!
 

So Yut Kee is an old Hainanese coffee shop which has apparently been around since 1928! We arrived there at abt 11am and there was alr a queue forming at the entrance! We immediately joined the queue and after waiting for abt 15 min, we realized that we were supposed to leave our name at the counter and not just stand arnd! So if it's your first time there, do inform the person at the counter and wait for him to call out your name when there's a table available!
 

We waited for abt 25 min before we got a place! I was really hungry by then! Decided to be typical tourists/ Asians, and ordered half of the stuff on their menu to share so we could try everything out! This is what I love abt being Asian -- sharing food!!! Somehow I feel that sharing food brings people closer!
 

We ordered their French toast (RM 3.50) and it was absolutely delicious! Can't believe that I didn't use to like French toast until this year! Their kaya toast was really yummy too! My dad even bought 2 bottles of their home-made kaya to bring back to Spore.
 

The lum mee was kinda disappointing. It looked so good to me but when I tried it, it was just meh~ On the other hand, the Hainanese pork chop was really tasty! There was loads of gravy on top of the pork chop and the meat was really juicy and tender! At only RM 10 (SGD$4), it's definitely a must-try when you visit Yut Kee! They also serve Hainanese chicken chop which was equally good!
 

Another must-try when you're at Yut Kee would be their legengary roast pork! Its only available on weekends (Fri, Sat and Sun) after 10am and as Yut Kee only prepares 14 rolls a day, it's usually sold out by noon. Although slightly pricey at RM 14 (SGD$5.50) for 2 slices, it's definitely worth the money! It's served with apple sauce at the side but I liked it better without the sauce.

 

All in all, it was a delightful brunch at Yut Kee! Special thanks to Jiding and her mom who kindly drove us to and fro frm our hotel to the place and treated us to the meal!

 

Gonna end off this entry with a photo of me carrying my dad's old sch hand-carry luggage bag taken on the day we left KL for Malacca!

 

Till the nxt time~

Lisbon: Famous egg tarts in Belem

Continuing frm my last entry on my trip to Lisbon (in April 2012).....
(You can read it here: http://weilingweilingweiling.blogspot.ie/2013/06/lisbon-portugal.html)

Gonna write abt Belem and the famous Portuguese egg tarts today! So Belem is in another part of Lisbon and to get there, you can take tram no. 15 frm Praça da Figueira Square or Praça do Comércio. I think the whole journey took less than 30 min!

Once you arrive in Lisbon, there are a few places you must check out:

 

Pasteis De Belem

Rua de Belem 84Lisbon 1300-085

Top of the list would have to be Pasteis De Belem, the bakery which sells the famous Portuguese egg tarts!

 

 

 

 

 

DO NOT leave Lisbon without trying these egg tarts. Everyone says that these egg tarts are the best they've ever had and I have to agree. It was amazing. I don't even like egg tarts but Portuguese egg tarts are so good! They're 1000 times better than Chinese egg tarts/ the ones sold in Hong Kong.

Even the egg tarts sold in random bakeries along the street were delicious! But nothing can beat the ones in Pasteis De Belem!!! Definitely the best of the best.

 

Once you arrive in Belem, you'd be able to spot the shop frm afar. There's usually a long queue outside the shop but it moves pretty fast. It's €1.20 per piece (€6.30 for a box of 6) and although slightly pricey, it's definitely worth the money!!!! It's served hot and you're supposed to sprinkle some cinnamon powder on the top before eating. The pastry crust was really crunchy and the egg custard was perfect -- it had a mild egg taste and wasn't too sweet. SO DAMN GOOD. It was definitely love at first bite~

 

I even bought back 2 boxes. Wish they had franchise outlets in other cities but sadly they don't. Wonder when will I ever get to eat this again.....

 

Belem Tower

 

Taken frm the top of Belem Tower

Belem Tower was built in 1515 and it served as a fortress to guard the entrance to Lisbon's harbor. Today, it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Monument. You can pay €5 to gain entry and get to the top of the tower.
BUT in my honest opinion, it's not worth the €5 becos there's honestly nothing much to see (as you can probably tell frm my pictures)

 

Jeronimos Monastery

 

 

 

Basically the tram stops right in front of this place. You cannot miss it. It's huge and really pretty!!!! And guess what? I didn't go into the monastery.... REGRETS!!!! I saw pictures of the interior and it looked really pretty!!! I've no idea why Minjung and I didn't go in to check it out (probably becos we were running low on cash) but if I ever go back to Lisbon someday, I'd love to check out this place!!!!
It's €6 to enter the monastery and if you had to pick between the Belem Tower and Jeronimos Monastery, I'd say just go for the monastery!!!

So that's all for Lisbon! I'd love to go back there someday with my family since my parents haven't been there before! It's such an interesting and beautiful place!!!

Will write abt the other Portuguese cities, Sintra and Cascais, another time! X

Dublin: Bday x Luigi Malone // Queen of Tarts // J2 Grill and Sushi // Kitchen

So I turned 22 yrs old a few wks ago (7 Sept!) And for my birthday celebration, I visited a few of my fav restaurants in Dublin with some close friends! I had loads of fun and I'm very thankful to everyone who made time to celebrate this special day with me!

 

Luigi Malones
5-6 Cecilia St
Temple Bar
Dublin 2

Buffalo wings with blue cheese

Chicken tequila spaghetti

Steak fajitas

Chicken fajitas

Fresh strawberry and chocolate pavlova

Hot fudge sunda

Minjung and I!

Alero and Aisling



Visited Luigi Malones with a few of my classmates for an advanced birthday celebration! We went there at abt 6pm on a weekday and managed to get the early bird menu which was €18.95 for a 2-course meal! Really worth the money!

 

So it was my second visit to Luigi Malones! My first time was in Cork (another part of Ireland) abt 1.5 yrs ago! I was the only person who ordered a starter -- buffalo wings with blue cheese. I really like this dish!!! It's similar to the famous spicy chicken wings served in Elephant and Castle (also located in Temple Bar) It's really tasty, not spicy at all! I love it!!!! For the ala carte menu, they offer a huge portion of buffalo wings which could easily be your main course!

 

For my main course, I had the chicken tequila spaghetti while all the other girls got fajitas! My spaghetti was okay, a little on the dry side. But they were very generous with the portion. It was huge and I could barely finish it! The fajitas looked amazing and it came with 5 tortilla wraps! I'm definitely gonna order that the nxt time I visit Luigi Malones!

 

For desserts, Aisling and Minjung had the pavlova and Alero ordered the hot fudge sundae. I shared with Minjung and it was my first time having pavlova! Pavlova is meringue-based dessert and it was served with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, strawberries and chocolate sauce.
I'm honestly not a fan of meringue becos I knw the amt of sugar which goes into making it. Hence I can't comment much on the pavlova except for the fact that they could have been more generous with the scoop of ice cream.

 

Luigi Malones also offers a wide range of gluten-free dishes so it's a plus point! I really enjoyed my dining experience at Luigi Malones esp since the staff were really helpful and attentive. And my lovely girls surprised me with a bracelet charm frm Links as my birthday present! Aww so sweet!!!

 

Queen of Tarts

Cows Lane
Dame St
Dublin 2

 

Directions:
Walk along Dame St and turn right on Cows Lane

 

A wide selection of cakes available for you to choose frm!

Summer tart: creamed spinach and leek, smoked salmon and roasted tomatoes (€9.95)

Frittata: Mediterranean vegs, basil and parmesan cheese served with tossed green salad (€9.95)

Rustic apple crumble tart (€4.95)

   

 

 

 

So, on the day of my birthday, I decided to go to Queen of Tarts for tea with Minjung. We met at arnd 1.30pm and walked to the place tgt. Plan was to have cakes but we ended up having a full meal at Queen of Tarts! I've been to this place abt 4-5 times, it's a nice place for afternoon tea and cakes. It gets really crowded at times so you might have to wait for a table. There's 2 outlets which are situated really close to each other (the other outlet is just along Dame St), I prefer the Cows lane branch becos it's a lot bigger!!!

 

I ordered the summer tart and Minjung had the frittata. My savoury tart was really yummy!!!! It looks so small but it was really filling! And I had a bite of Minjung's frittata which was really tasty as well! Minjung was too full to have desserts after. I was really full too but being the usual greedy me, I couldn't resist and so I ordered the rustic apple crumble tart! Sadly, the tart wasn't as nice as it looked! It was too sour and I really didn't like it. What a pity...

 

J2 Grill and Sushi

Unit A, The Campshires

North Wall Quay

IFSC, Dublin 1

Nearest LUAS stop: Mayor Square

 

Directions:

From Mayor Square LUAS stop, walk towards the quay

(You will pass by Marks and Spencer's on your right, keep walking straight)

Cross at the traffic light and the restaurant is on your right

  

Spider roll: Crispy soft shell crab, crab meat, masago and avocado (€14.50)

Yummy!!!!

Deluxe bento box of the day: Calamari, tempura, 2 pieces of sushi, 2 pieces of gyoza and edamame served with miso soup and sushi rice (€15.95)

King scallop wok fried udon (€15.50)

Chargrilled steak wok fried udon (€13.50)

Chargrilled steak with garlic butter sauce and chips and onion rings (€16.95)

Ambrish, Mavis, Jiding and I

So it's my 3rd time to J2 grill and sushi and I really like the food here! This place is just a mere 5 min walk frm my house and it's located just beside the quay! A lovely small restaurant which serves amazing Jap sushi!

We ordered the spider roll to share and it was simply delicious! Although I've to say that the presentation of the dish does look a little messy but do not judge a book by its cover, no regrets spending €14.50 (SGD$24.55) on 8 pieces of maki!!!

Ambrish ordered their deluxe bento box of the day. I've tried that on my previous visit and I've to say that the bento box is good value for money! I ordered the king scallop wok fried udon and it's my 2nd time having it! I love it! Normally, I'm not a fan of fried noodles but this was really yummy!!! We pinched some fries and onion rings which was served with Mavis' steak and the fries were exceptionally good, like super crispy and tasty!

No doubt one of my fav Jap restaurants in Dublin! Although a little pricey but the food here is definitely worth the try!

Kitchen
3 South Anne St
Dublin 2

(One of the lanes off Grafton St)

 

Starter -- Crispy calamari with vine tomato chilli jam (€7)

Cajun Creole jambalaya with chicken, prawns, cockles and chorizo with Arborio rice (€14.95)

Rib eye steak with herb roasties and steam broccoli with classic Béarnaise sauce (€19.95)

 

 

  

Guinness sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream (€6)

My greedy face hee hee

My dad came to visit me in Dublin a wk after my actual birthday so we had a belated birthday dinner one night after an event in my sch! Initially, I wanted to try the Wine Cave at KC Peaches for dinner but my dad found this place and suggested having dinner here instead. I'm so glad that I chose to visit Kitchen instead becos it was sucha nice place and the food was sooo good!!!

 

Kitchen is a small 2-storey restaurant in one of the lanes off Grafton St, one of the busiest street in Dublin. They offer an early bird menu on Sun - Wed all evening/ Thurs - Sat 5-7pm at only €20 for 2 courses/ €25 for 3 courses. Pity I had a sch event that evening so we only arrived at the restaurant at 8.30pm and hence missed out on the early bird menu.

 

We had calamari for starters and I really liked the sweet chilli sauce but my dad said it was too sweet. For mains, I ordered the ribeye steak while my dad had the jambalaya (which is similar to risotto) I opted for medium rare and it was cooked to perfection. The jambalaya my dad ordered was so yummy!!! I'm definitely gonna order that for myself the nxt time!!!

 

For desserts, I had the Guinness sticky toffee pudding and I really liked it! I love sticky toffee pudding! My dad thinks it's too sweet though but I love sweet stuff hee hee!!!!

 

Definitely a thumbs up for Kitchen and I'd love to visit this place again soon! The ambience was really nice, a perfect spot for dinner dates and the service was good too. Would recommend that you call in to place a reservation before heading over as it is a small restaurant with slightly over 15 tables.

 

-

 

And that is all for my 22nd birthday! My 2nd time spending my birthday in Dublin and even though I'm miles apart frm my best friend (Ashley) and my closest pals in Spore, I'm really thankful for everyone who took some time out of their busy schedule to celebrate this special day with me! And I'm also very touched by all the efforts put into surprising me. Thank you very much.

 

Gonna end off this entry with a group shot taken at Gideon's/ Ambrish's crib which was transformed into a "club" for my birthday celebration!

 

 

T'was a great night! Cheers to being 22 yrs old! I'm still feeling 19 though haha! X