The Daily Grind @ Bangsar Village 1

Hello everyone! We have a good burger place to recommend and it is non other than THE DAILY GRIND. Since it is at the same level as their underground car park, it could be misleading to some people.  It is a fairly small restaurant located right at the corner at the lower ground (LG) level with a separated smoking area. If you are looking for variety and good burgers, this would be the perfect place for you.

These are some of the dishes that we have ordered while we were there!

 Dog's Dinner (RM12)

THIS. It is the yummiest Dog's Food we've ever tasted before. If you love Betty Midwest Kitchen's dog food, you would love this even more. It is cheesy and well seasoned. The portion was quite big considering this was shared among 7 person. The two dog bones in the picture are biscuits which were also very yummy! We definitely recommend this dish if you happen to visit them one day. 

Japanese Yodel Burger (RM35)

Love mushrooms? Love cheese fondue? This is the burger that you need! It is a combination of sautéed mushrooms,  mushroom tempura and cheese fondue sauce. AND of course a juicy and well seasoned beef patty. It comes with a side salad and some crispy hot fries. 

Triple Stack Burger (RM37)

This burger has basically everything that a burger needs. Between the burger buns, it has three 100g beef patties, cheddar cheese, beef bacon, fried egg, mushroom, sautéed onions. The beef patties are all juicy and everything tasted really well together. What's not to love about this burger? This burger also comes with a side salad and fries. 

Old Fashioned Waffles (RM18)

This is one of their signature dessert that can also be eaten as a main. It is pretty huge and inexpensive for that portion. If you like waffles, we would definitely recommend this. It is warm when served and comes along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a jar of maple syrup. They are also quite generous with the strawberries! 

On a side note, they also make their own ketchup and chilli sauce which taste pretty good! If you like it, you can even buy home a few bottles as they are also for sale. Their service were excellent as the waiters/waitress were very friendly and helpful. Plates were also changed for us before they served the waffles.

Bring someone along this weekend to The Daily Grind and check out their yummy burgers for yourself! This is our favourite place so far for burgers and waffles! We hope you have a great time and enjoy the weekend ahead. Till then, xx.

Acme Bar & Coffee Review @ Troika

     Finding for a romantic and classy place to dine in with your loved ones or friends? Acme Bar & Coffee would be the perfect place for you! Not only that the place looks beautiful but the price and portion of the food served is quite reasonable. The portion of the food at Acme was fairly big for us considering we are all pretty big eaters. Acme Bar & Coffee has 2 levels in which we were seated at the 2nd level of the restaurant. The 2nd level is smaller, quieter and has more privacy comparing to the 1st level. The menu offers quite a range of different type of food so you will have plenty of options to choose from.

We ordered 5 different types of main dishes and 1 dessert that night.

 Grilled marinated lamb shoulder (RM 43)

This plate of lamb shoulder was really really good. It was grilled with ABC kicap chilli marinade which made every bite very flavourful. The portion was humongous so if you're a small eater, it will be best to share this dish with someone. It comes with peas and shoestring fries which complements well as the side dishes. With such portion and flavour, we think that RM43 is quite reasonable!

 Mac and Cheese Hot Dog (RM25)

Mmm mmm, this mac and cheese hot dog right here is by far our favourite way of having a hot dog bun! The onion rings that comes along with it were so so good! It was crunchy and seasoned well. The bun had a good crust on the outside but soft on the inside. The mac and cheese lacks a little cheese but it still went very well with the hot dog bun together.

 Chicken Milanese Pasta (RM31)

This version of pasta has a lighter taste compared to the usual chicken/beef bolognese. To me, it was under seasoned for the pasta but if it was eaten along with the chicken, it was quite alright. Otherwise, the chicken was delicious.

Ala Moana Salmon Fillet (RM39)

This dish was a big disappointment for us as the salmon skin was burnt. The salmon fillet was not marinated well enough and under seasoned. The piece of salmon given to us was a very small piece. We would not recommend this dish unless you would not enjoy any of the other dishes available there.

Sizzling brownie and oreo ice cream (RM19)

Acme Bar & Coffee is famous for its sizzling brownie and we have heard many positive reviews about it. So we ordered it as our dessert but it turned out to be such a huge letdown. The cake was small and burnt at the bottom. There was not much to rave about as there are many other cafes out there that serve better cakes. To us, the oreo ice cream did not go quite well with the cake either.

If you happen to go to Acme Bar & Coffee, dishes that we would recommend would be their grilled lamb shoulder and mac and cheese hot dog. Let us know if you love them as well! We have yet to try their breakfast menu but we will review on it once we do. 

We hope this post would be helpful to all of you especially those who wants to check out Acme Bar & Coffee. Here is their address and contact number :

Acme Bar & Coffee
Unit G1 The Troika
19 Persiaran KLCC
50450 KL
Malaysia

Contact : +603 2162 2288

Till then, xx. 

Hail's Soft Serve @ Damansara Uptown

Hey guys!

Cafes and dessert places have been quite a trend these days so we thought we would share a great place for dessert and fellowship. We went to Hail's Soft Serve to check out what's the hype all about and oh boyyyy their soft serves were worth every single penny. It was quite empty when we got there since it was a Monday afternoon so we've managed to snap a few pictures of how it looks like inside!

The place has a very pretty design which I'm sure many girls would love. It was very clean with soft music playing in the background. It would make a very cozy place to enjoy some dessert on a hot and sunny day.

They had 3 different flavours that we could choose from; pink peppercorn, strawberry rose and black sesame. You can also have 2 different flavour in a cup/cone which is the twist version whereby you can choose a seasonal flavour mixed with Hail's signature flavour. 

Hail's soft serve menu and price

So we tried two different flavours while we were there, 

 Strawberry rose (RM 9.50 before GST)

Pink peppercorn with lemon pie combo (RM16.90 before GST)

   Even the presentation of the soft serve were so delicate and pretty which made us feel so bad for destroying it. Strawberry rose was one of their seasonal flavour where they will change every two weeks. It was our favourite flavour of the day as it tasted a lot like a frozen strawberry yogurt. Some soft serves could be too sweet for our liking but this one had just the right amount of sweetness. Very refreshing very yummy indeed. Another plus point, they used real strawberries in their strawberry rose soft serve so no artificial colouring. 

   On the other hand, their pink peppercorn was their signature flavour in which it had a very unique taste. On the first bite, a punch of pepper taste kicks in and then followed by the sweetness of a soft serve. But after the first few bites, the pepper taste didn't had that strong punch anymore and it tasted like a vanilla soft serve. We paired this flavour with a lemon pie combo which in our opinion, elevated the flavour of the pink peppercorn soft serve. The lemon curd and the vanilla crumbs complemented really well with the pink peppercorn. 

   You can also choose your own toppings in which the price varies according to what you pick. There are salted caramel popcorn, vanilla crumbs, meringues, coconut snow, sago pearls and many more topping choices that you can choose from. 

   Hail's Soft Serve is located along the shops in Uptown Damansara. You can check out their address below. We would definitely recommend this place for soft serves and we hope you will enjoy them as much as we do! Till next time, xx.

Hail's Soft Serve

28, Jalan SS21/58, 

Damansara Utama,

47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Best places to shop in Bangkok

Bangkok is known to be the shopaholics' paradise. After visiting Bangkok for several times, we've decided that the TOP 3 places to shop are the famous PLATINUM MALL, CHATUCHAK and ASIATIQUE. If you are planning to look for cheap and nice clothings, accessories and bags, these two places will be best for you.

1. PLATINUM MALL (2000++ shops)

Clothes in Platinum Mall

What you can find : Clothes, clothes and more clothes. There are Superdry t-shirts knock-offs which are of similar quality to the authentic ones! You can also find plenty of bags sold at zone 3, level 3. The price range in Platinum for clothes is about 250 Baht to 400 Baht. Get your clothes at wholesale prices when you buy 2 or more pieces and it is not necessary to get the same designs. The wholesale prices are fixed as long as you buy 2 pieces and above, so you might get a black face from the shop owner if you try to haggle more. There are also shops selling korean quality fashion and hair accessories, ranging from 100 Baht to 200 Baht on the whole of 5th floor. We were also surprised to find knock-off makeup brushes (MAC, Sigma etc) of good quality for about 150 Baht here as well. These are sold at stalls next to the escalators and not in the proper shop units.

How to get there : The most convenient way is of course, to take the taxi. Taxi fares in Bangkok is pretty cheap compared to other countries especially if you are going in a group. It would be more worth it to take a taxi and split the fare among yourselves, but remember to insist to have the fare calculated by meter.  To avoid traffic jams, take the BTS and stop at Chit Lom. It takes about 10 minutes to walk from the Chit Lom BTS station to the mall. You can also stop at Ratchathewi, which is about 10-15 mins walk to the mall.

Opening hours : SAT, SUN, WED : 08.00 - 20.00 ; MON, TUE, THU, FRI : 09.00 - 20.00


2. CHATUCHAK

Entrance to Chatuchak Market

What you can find : Nice phone covers for less than 69-89 Baht. High-waisted shorts for 80 Baht. You will also see a couple of stalls by the road selling coconut ice creams but we found a cute small shop with wooden tables and chairs at Section 15 that sells awesome coconut ice cream with various toppings you can choose from! Don't forget to try their fresh orange juice with no added sugar when you're at Chatuchak! If you find haggling fun, this is the place for you! We always get summer dresses here for only 150 Baht, after haggling. Shop owners here are friendly and very willing to give lower prices if you buy more.

chatuchak orange juice

Coconut ice cream at Chatuchak

How to get there : Take the BTS and stop at Mo Chit station (Terminal Station). You will see many stalls set up along the road on the way to the market. It's just a fair 5 mins walking distance from the station to the market. There are many food stalls here so you do not necessarily need to eat before you go!

Opening hours : 6.00 a.m - 2.00 a.m (Weekends only)

3. ASIATIQUE

Asiatique night view

What can you buy : Local designer clothes, tribal-style clothes and handcrafted stuff. The clothes style is rather vintage-y here! However, the prices are slightly higher compared to Platinum Mall and Chatuchak. (Price range : 250 - 600 Baht).  You can haggle here as well but they usually give only 20-30% discounts. There are many restaurants that are decorated beautifully over here and the food is not too expensive.This place will also be great for couples who want to have a romantic dinner after shopping!

How to get there : There are a couple of ways to get to Asiatique. What we love to do is to take the BTS (again) and stop at the Saphan Taksin station. We then take a free Asiatique shuttle boat from the Central Pier (5 minutes walk from BTS station) to Asiatique. Click here for the complete guide of how to get there on their own website.

Opening hours : 4.00 p.m - 11.00 p.m


Places that are not recommended for cheap fashion shopping: Chinatown and MBK mall. But if you want to buy cheap lower quality accessories and hair ties, Chinatown would be great for you. However, most of the stalls there require you to buy a minimum of 6 pieces. Meanwhile, if you are interested to tailor make your clothes and to get fake branded tees at a low price (about 250 Baht), MBK mall (6th Floor) would be suitable for you. There is also a departmental store called Tokyu in the mall which sells pretty clothes but the prices are at the higher end (800 Baht and above).

Easy Portuguese Egg Tart Recipe

Portuguese egg tarts! We drool at the sight of their fluffy pastry and soft, silky egg custard. Here's a simple recipe on how to make these yummy tarts, and we promise you that it will be super easy! No mixer needed, you will just need simple culinary tools. This recipe we are sharing here makes 25 tarts.

Ingredients :

500g ready-made puff pastry

For the filling:
300g milk
200g whipping cream
80g sugar
3 egg yolks
3 eggs
2/3 tsp of vanilla essence

Method :

1) Roll out the pastry to a rectangular shape about 4-5mm thick and then roll it up in a Swiss roll form. Chill until firm if its at room temperature.

2) While the pastry is in the fridge, start making the filling. Cook whipping cream and the milk until you see a bit of steam but not boiling. Stir in the sugar and heat until sugar fully dissolved. Remove from heat and add the mixture slowly into the beaten eggs and egg yolks in another bowl. Mix well. Add in the vanilla essence to the mixture. Set aside to cool.

3) After the pastry becomes firm, divide the pastry into 25g portions. Flatten the pastry and roll it out into about 3mm thickness. Press it into tart moulds.

4) Pour the filling into the pastry tarts. Then bake it at 220 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Note: Pastry shrinks when it's heated but do not worry about it, it will turn out fine!

Ways to get rid of bad breath

Feeling less confident when talking to someone due to your bad breath? Find out why and how to cure it!

There are many people who are experiencing this problem so don't be shy to ask for help if its affecting your daily life. It is not something you should be ashamed off. The following few methods are known to cure or reduce bad breath. Try it for yourself!


1. Practice a good oral hygiene

One of the most famous reason for having bad breath is poor oral hygiene. This causes excess bacteria build up in the mouth which gives out a smelly odor. Brush your teeth at least twice daily and after your meals if possible. This is because bacteria lives on the food particles left in your mouth after eating and they release certain sulphuric compounds which gives out that trashy smell.


2.  Keep your tongue clean

If you haven't already know, 90% of bad breath cases are caused by the tongue. The tongue has a large surface area for bacteria to grow on it. Don't just brush your teeth, clean your tongue as well! It is equally important! Gently brush it with a soft nylon toothbrush or a tongue cleaner after you brush your teeth. You can easily get a cheap one in the supermarket these days.


3. Drink More Water!

The drier your mouth, the worse your breath gets. By drinking water, it will prevent bacteria from building up in your mouth. Also, don't replace your 8 cups minimum of water daily with other sugary drinks especially sodas. The sugar in the drinks will cause the bacteria to multiply and also causes cavities which also leads to bad breath. Try putting 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into your water everyday as it helps eliminate bad breath.


4. Avoid breath mints and/or gum that contain sugar

Do not be fooled when you see statements like "for fresh breath" on breath mints/gum packages! It will only give a temporary effect which only lasts less than an hour and will actually worsen your breath after the mint effect is gone. Chew on fresh mint leaves instead! The mint leaves will give a longer lasting fresh breath, plus it can be found easily!


5. Blow your nose more often

Your breath gets worse when you have allergies, post-nasal drip or a common cold. This is because when your nose is blocked, you tend to breathe more using your mouth instead of the nose since its all clogged up, hence it will cause the mouth to be dry causing less saliva to filter the bacteria in the mouth. If you are experiencing this, try going to the doctor to cure the root of the problem instead!


6. Stop Smoking

It will give you bad breath in a nanosecond, but may only take 20 years to kill you!The chemicals in the cigarette are known to cause bad breath as the chemicals will accumulate and be deposited in your mouth.

In addition to the things mentioned above, eat your way to fresher breath! Here is a list of food that will help reduce bad breath.

1) Anise seed
2) Cinnamon
3) Fennel
4) Cloves
5) Fresh mints
6) Parsley
7) Lemon juice
8) Green tea

Fancy some chilling fruit juice on a hot day? Try this juice recipes at home and you will be on your way to a cleaner, fresher breath!

Juice 1
Ingredients:
- 1 cucumber/zuchinni
- Few handful amount of spinach and kale
- 2 slice of watermelon
- 10 strawberries

Juice 2
Ingredients:
- 1 cucumber/zuchinni
- 1 cup kale
- 1 lemon
- 1 fennel bulb

Method : Just juice them all together and get it down your throat while its fresh! Do not leave the  juice for more than 10 mins.

Tips : The amount of spinach and kale can be adjusted to your own liking! If you are a fan of celery, you can use them instead of kale.



Stay confident with your clean, fresh breath! xx