Cheesey cakes~

Cheese cakes in Secret Recipe

If you were given a choice of New York (or was it Manhattan) Cheese cake

Creamy, full of cheese and absolutely nothing to describe except too cheesy


or a slice of Choc Cheese cake?

Light choc mousse and blends well with the cheese flavor so that you get a blend of two exotic flavors


Which will be your choice, cheese lovers? Cheese-cake lovers, actually, otherwise cheese lovers could refer to mousie

Have a 'cheesy' labor's day eve today and HAPPY LABOR's DAY!~ =)

Italian Set Lunch @ Santini Cafe

After reading about the set lunch promotion from Food Promotions, I invited my family to Tropicana City Mall one Saturday afternoon (when I was back home) for a nice lunch.

The mall was still pretty new, and renovations are still underway in most of the shops.
Santini Cafe is located on the ground floor, and is just next to San Francisco Steak House. Apparently, they are sister companies owned by the Tai Thong group.
Now, isn't that an interesting piece of news?


It is still pretty new as well, and they have really cheerful and enthusiastic people standing outside the cafe, waiting to tell you all about their lunch promotions.

They must be pretty happy that we walked in after their brief explanation.

As we sat ourselves down, the same staff who stood at the entrance just now (Indian guy), walked to our table again, and with an extremely friendly attitude, repeated whatever he said outside for our benefit again.
In fact, he even described the preparation and the type of food we are getting ourselves into.
I am very impressed; this is what I call self-initiative and proactiveness without even being annoying to the customer.

There are 4 choices for the daily set lunch; as follows (refer to the one for Saturday)


There is the tagliatelle radicchio which as he explained, looks like koay teow (haha, nice description for Italian food) or you can choose to stuff yourself with the Milanese breaded chicken.
Besides these 2, you can also opt for the Pasta of the Day; which was the Spaghetti with tomato sauce and mussels or Pizza of the Day (which they claimed are oven-baked and have this really thin crust that we must try).

We took them all; since we are in the right number =)

We were quickly served (service is prompt here) the breads, buns and butter usual only this cafe is a little out of the ordinary.
We get the french loaves
There's even rye bread in the bread basket


Instead of the usual butter, we have the parmesan cheese condiments and the spices to go with your bread.
Interesting start =)


There's even a carasau bread which has garlic spread on it

This tastes like your naan, or your tosai, as some commented (Smiles)

It was pretty good, and it was not too overwhelming in the garlic scent or oily.

The set lunches also come with the free flow of drinks; choices of Coke, Sprite, Iced Lemon Tea, Tea and Coffee (yeah, get it, refillable, FREE flow - what you get in Chilies)
Mind you, these don't come in small glasses either!

I've probably downed a few spoonful of sugars from a mug like this!

Even coffee and tea's refillable =)
How's that, coffee-lovers?

Breaded Chicken Milanese Style served with fries and tomato bruschetta

Everyone came to a mutual consensus that this was one of the best choice for the set lunch that day.
The chicken was breaded and fried to golden perfection.
The serving style was similar to that of Chilies' and they have definitely loaded the fries in this



Tagliatelle Radichhio served with dory fish, olive oil and a touch of chili

I couldn't contain my disappointment when I saw the small chunks which they call dory fish.
The plates were, OMG, huge that it's even bigger than my face!
The amount of pasta in it, hmmm, those tagliatelle which is like hardened koay teow could even go on top of my head and make my hair.
It was oily, and I was not too keen on this dish, I am gonna have to pass the next time I hear some weird name for a pasta.


Pasta of the Day; Spaghetti with tomato sauce

Looks appetizing but apparently, some of the spaghetti strands do not seem to be properly cooked as they were still hard. Let's say they taste like your hardened mee; not as hard as your Mamee sticks though.

Anyway, they still beat the tagliatelle radicchio hands down.

Pizza of the Day


This, on the other hand, was not too bad. As the guy said, it is thin crust and served with chicken (more like chicken floss) and mozarella cheese, this is a winner.

Perhaps the baking in the oven had to do with the good and unique taste that is just not in the other pizzas that we have tried.

We were too stuffed to try their desserts; and they have recommended a few; including a unique creme brulee; which looked so enticing in the menu snapshot.
Well, there will be another time, it is a really a great place to dine in and to share banter with your family or friends and I for one, second that warm and pleasant service provided by their well-trained staffs.

Thanks to Food Promotions, I have found another nice place for Italian food/set lunches in KL =)

Yong Teng Cafe @ Cameron Highlands

Another cafe which I would like to share on my trip to Cameron Highlands was this nice little cafe/stall located in Tanah Rata where we had our breakfast on the day of our departure.


Yong Teng Cafe is located in one the food stalls; and is run by an aged couple; who were both deaf and mute.
I really respect their strong determination and their enthusiasm as they seemed so friendly and chirpy to their customers.
According to my friend who brought us here, they serve really good pancakes here and the prices are really reasonable.
I guess they must be pretty popular here too:)


A glance at the menu did perk me up as I even see Oat Porridge listed here; oh my, that was so old-school to me!
It has been ages since I have heard or seen oat porridge served in any of the breakfast cafes/coffee shops.
Haha...the revolution of technology these days.

Hot barley to beat the chilly wind blowing at my face so early in the morning...brrrr


All of us proceeded to order pancakes; of course, since it's recommended here
Peach Pancake with Ice-cream (ice-cream is optional of course)

I think it only costs RM3.50-RM4 for a serving of pancake.

Banana Pancake with Ice-cream


Spot the difference between the banana and the peach pancake?

This is Cameron, it is a sin not to order anything without strawberry!
So a bunch of us went ahead and ordered the strawberry pancakes

To which I later regretted; as it was not up to my expectation:(
The strawberries were not really appetizing either and this comes from a huge strawberry fan.
The thing which really freaked me was how oily it was!

Bless me if I swallowed it down properly without feeling grossed out

Anyway, still, I would not criticize this stall because I like the old couple running it =)
They are really friendly, and well-known for their pancakes.

The pancakes are as you can see from the pictures; really thin and it is just like a flat piece of crepe.
The sides of the pancakes are slightly crispy and dry; and actually, I think their pancakes kinda resemble kuih apom telur too:)

Hope you find this place and if you don't you can ask, I think most people know them =)

Top Cafe @ Cameron Highlands

In February, I joined my university classmates on a road trip to Cameron Highlands.
The objective of the trip was to have a small gathering among the few of us who were close back then and at the same time, to get away from the hot weather in the city.

We arrived at Tanah Rata around noon and one of our friend who was the guide of the trip; led us to this little cafe which is hidden in a corner along the row of the post office in Tanah Rata


It was quaint little shophouse and we proceeded to the staircase to go to the 2nd level of the shop.


It had a rather simple but yet comfortable interior; with the rattan chairs that seem to bring back old memories of my late grandmother (she used to have these chairs too!)



They even had a reading corner with some old comics (Archies!) lined up and there's even board games available. I guess this cafe caters as a quiet escapade for people who just want a quiet afternoon tea.
They are actually really famous for their pies, scones, desserts, etc.
The best part about Cameron/Highlands is that you never seem to have a need for aircond:)

Fish & Chips; but since I opted for Salad, the lady called it the Fish & Salad instead (RM14.90)

It was crispy, and I found the fish a little over fried as even the fillet/flesh inside was getting a little harder than it was supposed to be. It was also a little too dry for my taste.

However, I do think the portion of this is reasonable for the price they are charging and it is way more than what I can finish.

Chicken Lasagna (RM9.90)

I am not sure whether they were too hungry or they just didn't care anymore, this dish was very appetizing in their eyes.

Chicken Spaghetti (RM9.90)

Nothing too special that you can't make yourself at home:)

Sandwich (I can't remember the full name but I think it's also priced at RM9.90)


We ordered tea each to warm ourselves in the chilly weather and 2 of my friends ordered the strawberry/banana milkshake. Not a good choice, since it was too sweet to put you at risk of diabetes!

Despite our full capacity with the lunch; our organizer decided to order a slice of the Apple Pie (RM2.50) for us to try since it was their highlight in this cafe; besides their strawberry shortcakes, etc.

Oh, this was good!
If everything was bad during lunch; this would definitely save the entire meal from total criticsm.
It was served hot, and the thin slice of the pie was just the great complement to the sweet chunks of apples with syrup in between; before you sink your teeth into the hard crust at the bottom.

It was really one of the best apple pie I have tasted and we were glad we didn't disobey the organizer's wish to order this for dessert; and we had fun poking all our forks into this.

Top cafe is truly a gem found in Cameron Highlands; and it is a really great place for afternoon tea or just purely for a time of silent meditation.

Chok Dee Thai @ Burmah Road

Chok Dee Thai resides comfortably in one of shophouses nestled along the famous Burmah Road. From the exterior, it exudes an air which spells elegance and exclusive dining environment.

I was not proven wrong when I stepped into the restaurant; where the ambience was enhanced with the lightly dimmed lighting and the arrangements of the furniture made the whole place looked comfortable for dining.



There were Siamese-influenced art hanging on the wall; all to add to the Thai ambience



The lady who came to take our order was really friendly and spoke fluent English; I believe she was the owner of the place.



As I glanced through the menu, I tried to pick most of the items which were marked '***' which were their recommendations.
When you're trying a new place, it's always good to try what's best on their menu, right? It'd be the safe and best bet.

The Lassi (RM4.00)

It was not as satisfying as expected; I believe we can get a better version of this elsewhere (in an Indian restaurant where they are the specialists)

Hot Honey Green Tea with Lime (RM4.50)

I ordered this with an expectation that it has an mild taste and boy, I was wrong.
It just tasted so wrong, too much flavor when you mix the sweetness of honey with the mild green tea and topped with the strong and sourish taste of lime.
I learnt my lesson; I should have opted for the honey green tea (lime was not a good choice to add to this drink)

Squids in Lemon Sauce (RM13.00)

The first to be served and this was really an appetizing dish.
I loved the freshness of the squids and the strong citrus taste and scent of lemon is a great complement to the fresh and succulent squids.
This is where citrus juice works best; and I was really impressed by this dish which they so highly recommend in the menu.


Kacang Botol/Four Angler Beans with Sambal (RM9.00)

This is another dish which was marked on the menu
Frankly though, it was just plain and something like I have tasted elsewhere in other Nyonya or Thai restaurants which serve the very same dish.


I don't find this such a winning dish; nor is it specially superior compared to its other counterparts.

Prawn cakes (RM15)

I found this another disappointment; compared to Maa Roy Thai. This was too dry and overly deep fried; and it had a small amount of prawn paste; which somehow tasted of dry breaded pastry in contrary to the supposedly prawn cakes.


Fried fish with long beans (RM12.00)

This was supposed to be one of the winning dish on the menu but it turned out to be a disappointment to this fish lover; yours truly.

All the fish were really deep fried and they turned out to be bits and pieces; and it just tasted like shallots.
I don't even taste or had a whiff of the fish scent; poor me:( It may be good to others; but it was disappointing to me as I felt it's not worth the price I was paying for a simple dish like this especially when the vegetables seem to be more abundant than the fried fish.

All that spices are best washed down with a bowl of fragrant white Thai rice; a staple diet of all Asians.


To top it all, I think this place is not too bad and neither is it any superior than the other Thai restaurants on the island. The prices are slightly higher though; but I believe it is price to pay for the ambience and fine dining environment in a nice restaurant like this.
It is worth a second visit though; if I ever do, I will opt for their other dishes.
After all, one can't finish trying everything on the menu for one time, right?