Tai Soo No 1 Ipoh Famous Dessert, Ipoh

Date visited : 26 May 2018

When we talk about dessert in Ipoh, almost everyone that I know will mention Funny Mountain Tau Fu Fah. But to me, Funny Mountain is no longer funny as it is highly commercialized and it is too crowded with tourists. So I decided to look for another alternative for good Tau Fu Fah (Soybean Curd)... and I found it.

Tai Soo No 1 Ipoh Famous Dessert is a humble store located along the busy street of Jalan Raja Musa Aziz. And here they offer more than just Tau Fu Fah. They have Tau Fu Fah in different variations, cendol and ais kacang as well.

So if you are among a group of friends or family who would appreciate more variety, this would be a good choice.

Now let's talk about their Tau Fu Fah first.

This is their plain Tau Fu Fah with Gula Melaka (palm sugar). Tau Fu Fah with Pandan Syrup is nice but Gula Melaka gives the Tau Fu Fah an added caramel toffee like taste. The Tau Fu Fah here is very smooth and served in a reasonable portion.

This is Tau Fu Fah with Soya Bean and Pandan Syrup. It's a mixture of both hot Tau Fu Fah and cold Soya Bean drink. I will usually choose this on days I'm torned between a hot serving of tau fu fah or a cold and refreshing soya bean drink.

This is their Red Bean Cendol. The red bean and cendol is soft and sweet. However, when mixed together with the shaved ice drenched in Gula Melaka, it's not overly sweet.

And this is their Ais Kacang Special. Their Ais Kacang Special consists of shaved ice drenched in Gula Melaka, Rose syrup and evaporated milk, cincau (grass jelly), cendol, sago, red beans, sweet corn, roasted peanuts and then topped with a scoop of corn flavoured ice-cream. I actually preferred my Ais Kacang without ice-cream but I forgot to inform the staff on that and by default, it came with the ice-cream.

So if you want to try something new or enjoy your dessert away from the tourist crowd, why not come here for a change.

OUR RATING

Ambience : 3/5

Service : 4/5

Food Quality : 3.5/5

Price Range : $

Other information:

Address : No 24 Jalan Raja Musa Aziz, 30300 Ipoh, Perak

Contact No. : 012-527 8881

Business Hours : 11am - 6pm (Closed on Wednesdays)

Transaction : Cash

Links : https://www.facebook.com/ipohfamous/

Softcore, Sunway

Date visited : 1 January 2018

I've passed by this place many times but I have never made it a point to try it out. My chance came on the first day of 2018. I had a late brunch so I was looking for a place to have some light snacks and dessert. So this was the first place that came to my mind... Softcore.

The interior was very cozy and tastefully decorated. They have a variety of teas and juices to choose from. So even if you're not hungry, this would be a good place for a drink as well.

Before I start with the food that we ordered, let me show you our pretty drinks...

The refreshing pink drink in front is called the Pample Rose. It is made of pink grapefruit and sun dried orange topped with soda. The yummy white one at the back is the Oreo Cookies Milkshake. It is a blend of vanilla and oreo cream cookies.

And as for food, my husband and I didn't want anything heavy so we decided to go for some snacks instead.

My husband ordered the Hashbrown Stack. Their homemade hashbrowns are crispy on the outside while still soft and delicious on the inside. It is served with crispy beef bacon, coleslaw, a fried egg and some salad.

I on the other hand had a hard time choosing what to eat because there are so many interesting selections on their main menu and their special menu.

I finally decided on their Golden Toast. The two brown pieces you see in the photo are their version of french toast and they are topped with caramelized banana, fresh strawberries and blueberries. The toast are unique and it doesn't look nor taste like ordinary bread. It also have a crispy outer layer and a soft inside. They are drizzled with maple syrup served with lemon puree, strawberry jam & whipped butter. It has a combination of salty, sour and sweet flavours all in one dish.

Since the signature dish of this place is their molten cake, I had to try at least one of their chef's recommended selection.

I chose their Taro Molten Cake. It is made from purple yam, fried yam strips, yam coulis, gula melaka and served with vanilla ice-cream. I'm glad it did not disappoint me but made me want to come back and try other flavours as well.

On overall, this place is a very comfortable place to chill and chat with your friends while enjoying your food and drinks.

OUR RATING

Ambience : 4/5 

Service : 4/5

Food Quality : 3.5/5

Price Range : $$

Other information:

Address : 56, Jalan PJS 11/7, Bandar Sunway, 46150 Subang Jaya, Selangor

Contact No. : 03-5613 7273

Business Hours : 11am - 10.30pm (Sunday-Thursday) / 11am - 11.30pm (Friday-Saturday) / Closed on Tuesdays

Transaction : Credit cash & Cash

Links : https://www.facebook.com/gooeyness/

Porcupine Place, Puchong

Date visited : 10 February 2017

I've heard about this place for quite some time now but I've always delayed my visit here because it's so near to home and I kept telling myself that it can wait... But now I kept asking myself why didn't I come earlier and I'm kicking myself for it.

It was by chance that I finally get to try out this place. We were organising a farewell dinner for our now ex-colleague and we had to choose a place... so TA-DA! Porcupine Place in Setiawalk, Puchong.

It was still CNY season and the Lion Dance team was going around to bless the tenants in Setiawalk, so that explains the few cute characters standing at the shop front.

Before I go into details of all the super delicious food I've tasted here, let me introduce you to the porcupine brothers, Peter and Patrick Porcupine (I named them... hehe). They will be assisting me today.

Porcupine Place is a very cosy restaurant suitable for all and for any occasion. The staff here are very friendly and attentive, making us felt so welcomed and comfortable. They have so many things on their menu for us to choose from.

They have many unique drinks in the menu and mine's called the Pink Lemonade & Basil. You should be adventurous and try something different too.

We ordered a few items for starters while waiting for others to arrive and salad is definitely a MUST have. This is the Quinoa Salad and it's vegetarian friendly.

This is the BBQ Pork Skewers. It's grilled Thai marinated pork escalopes with cool Japanese cucumber salsa, herb and chilli dip. This is really delicious.

The following dish is called the Quack & Oink. It's smoked duck and house smoked bacon wraps with capsicum confit and lemon cream finish.

And this is called the Spicy Fish & Prawn Pops. It's fragrant fish patty marinated with chilli padi and seared prawn with sour cream finish.

It's meant to be eaten in one bite to have that burst of flavours in your mouth.

When our group is complete, we ordered a few mains for sharing and the first one served was the Herbed Atlantic Cod.

It's seared cod fish in melting herbed butter and tomato salsa with creamy leeks, spring vegetables with fresh lemon finish.

Next we have the Spicy Seafood Burger.

The patty is freshly made of snapper fish and prawn, layered with their house lemon ginger mayonnaise, cucumber and spring onion finish. The taste of the patty combined with the other ingredients makes it unique and delicious.

Next we have the ChimiChurri Lamb Rack.

It's grilled New Zealand lamb rack with Brazilian Chimichurri Crust served with roasted potatoes and chunky root vegetables. You can choose the level of doneness to your own liking. The meat is tender, juicy and delicious.

And we also ordered their house special pasta, the Spicy Oink Oink.

It's usually not served as shown above. We had to separate the Spanish Chorizo (pork sausage) because one of our friend is a pescatarian (a person who does not eat meat but does eat fish and other seafood) would also want to try this dish, so they recommended to serve it this way.

Our last main dish is also one of their best seller, the Sticky Honey Chicken.

It's roasted chicken quarters in honey glaze served with kimchi and seaweed rice, sesame seeds, egg and lemon quinoa salad.

The taste of the chicken and the rice complimented each other very well. No wonder this is a popular choice.

After spending some time chatting and laughing, we finally had space for dessert. If you love the taste of basil, you should try this... the Tarte Au Citron Basilic.

The green in colour is a basil sorbet and those white foam like drops are their homemade marshmallows. You really have to try it.

For the chocolate lovers, this is for you... the Molten Butterscotch Sea salt Lava served with Dark Chocolate ice-cream.

You could also opt for Vanilla ice-cream if you feel the chocolate is too overwhelming.

And now presenting the best item of all... The Scotsman!

It's a dose of espresso with Scottish whisky, brown cane sugar, fresh cream and chocolate fudge. I'm really not a coffee person, but this is really out of this world!

It's so delicious that we ended up licking the chocolate fudge off our cups!

Porcupine Place also provide catering services and accepts order for customised cakes, cookies and other bakery items. Just call them if you want more information.

OUR RATING

Ambience : 4/5
Service : 4.5/5
Food Quality : 4/5
Price Range : $$$

Status : Non Halal
Will we go back for more : Yes.

Other information:

Address : B-3A-G Setiawalk, Puchong

Contact No. : 03-5888 9929
Email : porcupineplace@gmail.com

Business Hours : 10.30am - 10pm (Tues - Fri) / 9.30am - 10.30pm (Sat-Sun) / Closed on Mondays

Transaction : Cash & Credit Card

Links : https://www.facebook.com/porcupineplacepuchong/

Yellow Apron, Sect 13 PJ

Date of visit : 24 December 2016

It's Christmas Eve and we were cracking our heads for a place that serves good food but not overly congested and fairly priced to have a peaceful family dinner. After much thought, my sister decided to recommend the Yellow Apron in Section 13, PJ. Since it was a rainy evening, I didn't get to take my own photo of the premise, so I had to borrow one.

It was spacious, not crowded and with great ambience. The staff was very friendly as they were full of smiles and kept checking with us if everything was alright. Most of their selection on their menu comes with an option for a smaller portion at a slightly lower price. It was very thoughtful of them to have that kind of option especially for the small eaters and for those wanting to try different dishes at the same time.

Now let's see what we had...

Since I have a soft spot for salted egg, I chose The Lip-Smacking Salted Egg Seafood Spaghetti Carbonara (that's what they called it on their menu). It was delicious and the taste of the salted egg was not too overwhelming. The anchovies for me was a good addition to this dish.

And this is what they call a Mademoiselle Melca's Chicken Adobo. It's a classic Filipino dish and it's worth trying.

Wait till you hear the name for this dish... The Classic Not Classic Tagliatelle Lamb Sausage Bolognese. It was alright but the taste of the bolognese was a bit too sour for me.

Next would be The Fantastically Fusion Fried Chicken Burger. It was completed with a touch of sambal belacan to make the burger a bit more Asian and a very generous portion of home made potato chips.

And this is The Dua Dua Beef Burger. I didn't get to taste it so I can't comment much on this. But since my sister did not complain about it, I guess it was acceptable.

Let me present to you the Musang King Pie. Since I'm not a fan of processed durian, my Brother In-Law told me that this was a really awesome durian pie. Maybe the durian lovers out there should give it a try.

Another plus point for this place is that it is spacious enough to cater for private and corporate events. Do check it out and let me know what you think about this place and what you would recommend differently.

OUR RATING

Ambience : 4.5/5
Service : 5/5
Food Quality : 3.5/5 (It's good but not awesome)
Value for Money : 3.5/5 (The choice for a cheaper smaller portion was a good idea though)

Status : Pork Free
Will we go back for more : Yes. It deserves a second visit.

Other information:

Address : No 3 Jalan 13/6, Petaling Jaya

Contact No. : 03-7931 2077

Business Hours : 11.30am - 10pm (Mon-Sat) / 10.30am - 10pm (Sun)

Transaction : Cash & Credit Card

Links : https://www.facebook.com/yellowapronpj/